Month of April , 2008
As if my life hadn't recently been consumed by a fascinating musical tome, here comes a diverse collection of essays compiled by Paul Miller, aka DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid entitled Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture.
How diverse are these essays? Well, contributers include Pierre Boulez, Chuck D, Brian Eno, Vijay Iyer, Moby, Pauline Oliveros, Steve Reich, Saul Williams, and of course Paul Miller himself. In addition, it comes with a companion audio CD.
This isn't Paul Miller's first foray into the realm of words on paper — his 2004 book and CD Rhythm Science was something of a DJ manifesto, laying out his artistic vision and philosophy.
This volume is more than twice the length of that book, and promises a fascinating array of perspectives on music. The press blurb on the MIT Press page says:
If Rhythm Science was about the flow of things, Sound Unbound is about the remix--how music, art, and literature have blurred the lines between what an artist can do and what a composer can create. In Sound Unbound, Rhythm Science author Paul Miller aka DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid asks artists to describe their work and compositional strategies in their own words. These are reports from the front lines on the role of sound and digital media in an information-based society. The topics are as diverse as the contributors: composer Steve Reich offers a memoir of his life with technology, from tape loops to video opera; Miller himself considers sampling and civilization; novelist Jonathan Lethem writes about appropriation and plagiarism; science fiction writer Bruce Sterling looks at dead media; Ron Eglash examines racial signifiers in electrical engineering; media activist Naeem Mohaiemen explores the influence of Islam on hip hop; rapper Chuck D contributes "Three Pieces"; musician Brian Eno explores the sound and history of bells; Hans Ulrich Obrist and Philippe Parreno interview composer-conductor Pierre Boulez; and much more. "Press 'play,'" Miller writes, "and this anthology says 'here goes.'"
It is immediately reminiscent of John Zorn's Arcana volume in its focus on giving a voice to the producers of the music, something that I always cherish and pay extra attention to.
If you don't hear from me for a couple of weeks, you know what I'm spending my spare time doing.
Digg"Young" John Young, a stalwart local pianist has passed away. Perhaps best known outside of Chicago for appearing on 5 of Von Freeman's albums, he accompanied innumerable musicians as a house musician at a number of local venues.
Obituaries:
Cryptogramophone, the venerable west coast based label is turning 10 and is celebrating in style. As well they should — 10 years in independent niche jazz label land is equal to at least 40 years in any other business, utilizing math akin to calculating dog years.
First, they've released a 2 CD/1DVD retrospective, Assemblage 1998-2008, with the CDs covering their considerable catalog and the DVD adding some priceless footage of some of their artists. While the CDs do an excellent job of picking some notable points of their catalog, the DVD provides some previously unseen footage of Nels Cline's Andrew Hill project rehearsing and performing, and of Bennie Maupin playing with his Polish band.
The Cline footage includes over an hour of interviews, footage of the recording session, and a live performance of the band. Bennie Maupin is presented live in Poland playing music with his band to an appreciative audience.
To put the icing on the proverbial cake, Cryptogramophone is taking over the Jazz Standard starting Wednesday, April 23rd and continuing through Sunday the 27th. So all New Yorkers should stop by, catch a few sets, eat some cake, and bring some presents, because 10 years in the jazz record business is worth celebrating.
Wednesday April 23:
7:30 PM- The Jeff Gauthier Goatette
Jeff Gauthier - vln, Nels Cline - gtr, David Witham - pno, Joel Hamilton - bs, Alex Cline - drms
9:30 PM- Nels Cline & Alex Cline Duo
Nels Cline - guitars, Alex Cline - drums, percussion
Thursday April 24:
7:30 & 9:30 PM – The Nels Cline Singers
Nels Cline - guitars, Devin Hoff - bass, Scott Amendola - drums, effects
Friday April 25:
7:30 PM – Scott Amendola Band
Jenny Scheinman - vln, Nels Cline - gtr, Scott Amendola - drms, effects, Special Guest - gtr, bs
9:30 PM & 11:30 PM– The Nels Cline Singers
Nels Cline - guitars, Devin Hoff - bass, Scott Amendola - drums, effects
Saturday April 26
7:30 PM– Myra Melford/Ben Goldberg Quartet
Ben Goldberg - clarinets, Myra Melford - pno, Stomu Takeishi - bs, Scott Amendola - drms
9:30 & 11:30 PM – The Bennie Maupin Ensemble
Bennie Maupin - woodwinds, Michal Tokaj - pno, Darek Oles - bs, Munyungo Jackson - perc, Michael Stephans - drms, Hania Rybka - vcl
Sunday April 27
7:30 & 9:30 PM – The Bennie Maupin Ensemble
Bennie Maupin - woodwinds, Michal Tokaj - pno, Darek Oles - bs, Munyungo Jackson - perc, Michael Stephans - drms, Hania Rybka - vcl
Two more write ups of George Lewis' new book on the AACM: Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader
FIMAV lineup announced and previewed
Ethan Kaplan, VP of Technology at Warner Bros. Records asks some interesting questions about how we value art
Progress in music requires progress in our methodologies in writing about music. Certain vocabularies and methods of comparison that were adequate for writing about jazz in the past are no longer efficacious, or desirable.
For one thing, the notion of linear progress and progression in so-called jazz music has been a myth for some time now, as long as 50 plus years depending on who you ask. As the field of influence for improvising musicians continued to widen over time, it made less and less sense to insist upon clear lineages and predecessors. All of this is worth mentioning as an introduction to a review of Fieldwork's new album Door, because the music doesn't fit neatly into any preconceived box or precedent, so we have to approach it with a right understanding of methodology in order to convey at least some of its essence.
Fieldwork has had more than one lineup, but as of this writing, the lineup is Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman, and Tyshawn Sorey. The previous two albums have only Vijay Iyer in common, and the previous release has both Lehman and Iyer - to my ears and understanding, Sorey is a natural progression and fit for the band and its concept, and I hope this lineup stays intact for future efforts. Door's street date is April 22nd, the same day as Vijay Iyer's new quartet record, Tragicomic, and Fieldwork is scheduled to play an album release show at Joe's Pub on May 31st.
Door is a truly collaborative effort, with each musician contributing compositions: six by Tyshawn Sorey, three by Vijay Iyer and two by Steve Lehman. The group feel is emphasized no matter the composer, with each musician sharing rhythmic and melodic duties and layered interplay that defies the basic traditional roles if each member's instrument. Sorey and Iyer have a particularly strong rhythmic connection and rapport throughout, with some incredibly tight and telepathic improvisatory passages. As I've come to expect from a certain group of musicians, the line between improvisation and composition is blurred throughout Door, reflecting a strong affinity with processual predecessors in the AACM and elsewhere.
It's interesting to note that given the change in lineups for all three of Fieldwork's albums, this recording sounds like a logical continuation of the band's ethos from the past two records. Sorey leaves a distinct mark on the album, both compositionally and with his incredible musicianship. Given Sorey's take-no-prisoners chops and abilities to tackle any rhythm or polyrhythm, his own compositions downplay his own instrumental abilities in favor of examining permutations of themes, and a more minimalist angle than both Iyer and Lehman's writing. Sorey lays down some positively sinister beats and fills throughout the album, summoning John Bonham as often as any other easily identifiable influence. Although I haven't heard it myself, I'm told that the writing here is consistent with what Sorey did on his first solo album That/Not, a record that I really need to pick up after hearing his compositions on Door.
I'll tell you what Fieldwork is not: it's not your grandpa's jazz, it's not free improvisation, it's not a postmodern hodgepodge or pastiche, and it's not light listening. It's much more difficult to say what exactly it is. It certainly reflects the unique musicality of the three participants, and the singular alchemy that occurs when the three of them come together. There is no shortage of risks taken, and the music reflects this with occasionally thrilling results. The end product is diverse but coherent, varied but focused. It certainly sounds like the vanguard of the music that I pay attention to, and as such it should come as no surprise that it's on Pi Recordings, a label that continues to put out the most consistently interesting music of any label I can think of.
This is very challenging music - it's an album that in my multiple listens required undivided attention to get a feel for what was going on musically. If that kind of affair is your bag, then you will find Door a highly rewarding collection of music.
Bennie Maupin!
The name strikes fear in the hearts of those who knew him as a foil to Miles Davis on Bitches Brew and On The Corner, a companion to Herbie Hancock throughout the 1970s, and as a powerful musician wielding a mighty bass clarinet in addition to flute and other reeds. You might not have his 1974 release as a leader, Jewel In The Lotus, but when you hear the name Bennie Maupin it conjures aural imagery of digging deep in a funk riff, freaking out over synthesized keyboards and electrifying drum grooves.
If you did hear his 1974 release, you might have realized that while Bennie Maupin certainly could play that dirty electrifying funk, it wasn't necessarily the vibe of his own music. Jewel In The Lotus reflected a different aesthetic, and Maupin obviously had his own sense of direction and purpose in his music (incidentally, Jewel In The Lotus finally made it to CD). If you need more convincing, with their usual vision and foresight Destination: Out was on the scene before the CD reissue to tell you why Jewel In The Lotus is a gem.
After a lengthy hiatus from recording as a leader, Bennie Maupin rose from the ashes to record Driving While Black in 1998, and then 8 years later in 2006 recorded a fantastic album for Cryptogramophone, Penumbra. Only two years later, a quick turnaround in the context of Maupin's career as a leader, we now have Early Reflections, an album featuring Maupin and a trio of Polish musicians. It's a very different affair than Penumbra was, but equally rewarding to my ears.
The title and cover art of the album are appropriate: this is early morning music, reflective, contemplative, shaking off sleep and greeting the sun music. That's not to say that it doesn't reach energetic musical heights, but it takes its time getting there, with the patience of sunrise. Maupin is joined by three Polish musicians who have been his touring ensemble for the past two years, all young players who he met while doing some of his own studies in Poland.
Early Reflections is a striking album - carefully composed, no wasted notes or excess, sensitive dynamics and a clear musical vision. It achieves all of this without becoming wallpaper music, dinner music, or coffee shop music. It's far more stirring and purposeful than the album Maupin's old comrade Herbie Hancock recently won a Grammy for. It is what it is, to spin a tautological truism, and it is a largely meditative affair with some flourishes and flairs that provide the necessary contrast to make it all worthwhile. Maupin squeezes every ounce out of the CD format, packing in 76 minutes of music that alters the space time continuum in the way only good music can.
This album is being released on 4/22 at the same time as a 10 year retrospective CD/DVD for the Cryptogramophone label, complete with a celebratory stand at the Jazz Standard in New York - more on that later.
George Lewis, Nicole Mitchell, and Douglas Ewart convened to discuss the AACM and its history, and to play a brief concert. While the backdrop of George Lewis' imminent book release loomed large (and in fact loomed in the lobby, as the University of Chicago Press arrived to hock them post show), it wasn't the explicit topic or focus of the discussion.
The panel was lightly moderated by a student from the Art Institute of Chicago, who worked to put the event together under the auspices of their Masters of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy program. As a result, the ostensible topic was the organizational aspects of the AACM, although the conversation didn't follow very specific topics. Having recently finished George Lewis' book, there wasn't anything particularly revelatory in the panel, although there were several good laughs and moments of clarity from each panel member.
The panel lasted about an hour, and it was followed by a trio performance of about a half an hour. Nicole Mitchell brought the two extreme ends of her flute arsenal, her piccolo and her bass flute, Douglas Ewart played bass clarinet, didgeridoo, and piccolo, and George Lewis played trombone and laptop.
It struck me while listening to George Lewis process both his own instrument and the outputs of the other two musicians on stage that what he is not content with just creating the musical input, he also wants to create the room and acoustic space the music happens in. That is to say that when we play acoustic instruments, the walls and room provide basic acoustic treatments of reverb and space. George Lewis has the ability to augment those basic properties, but also take the acoustic space any other number of places.
It was basically one long improvisation, and to show that the AACM has still got it, there were a number of people who got up and left during the proceedings. Going on 45 years later, they still make many people visibly uncomfortable with their musical explorations.
A very nice event put on at the Cultural Center here in Chicago. I encourage any New Yorkers to check out the New York event happening May 9th that also features a great panel and a fantastic trio.
Jesse Stacken, a pianist based in New York, has released a really interesting and enjoyable album entitled "That That," joined by Eivind Opsvik on bass and Jeff Davis on drums. Going in with no background on any of the musicians on the album, I was interested to hear what they had to offer. I get a lot of promos these days for a number of reasons, and I set the bar higher for reviewing randoms than I do music I'm familiar with.
One of the first things that struck me in listening to the album was the focused brevity of the tracks. The recorded medium used to provide mandatory constraints on the length of compositions and improvisations recorded in early jazz. By the time we get to the LP that has become less of a concern, and in the age of the CD we have Pat Metheny releasing The Way Up, a bloated 68 minute composition that seems to fill up space just because it can.
There's something to be said for restraint and constraints, and the impact that kind of focus has on musicians who are given a certain amount of time to put in their two cents. I'm all for coloring outside the lines, but it's not always what's called for by the music and the players, and the focus on this album is not only refreshing but is also works.
There's a great balance of improvised pieces and compositions on the album, and the improvisation that opens the affair was one of the things that drew me into the listening experience. The trio has tuned their rapport and achieve powerful states of improvisational flow as a result. I'm not sure if it's the length of the tracks or the way they flow together, but the whole listening experience goes by quickly and seamlessly.
Overall, a really impressive album from a musician who I was not familiar with but will certainly look out for in the future.
I will be there and will report back:
Chicago Cultural Center Presents George Lewis
Tuesday, April 15, 4:15 - 5:45pm
Chicago Cultural Center, Cassidy Theater
78 E. Washington Street., Chicago
Free
George Lewis: Composer, Musician and Author of "A Power Stronger Than Itself: A History of the AACM" talks about the rich history of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, an organization founded in Chicago in 1965. He will be joined by Nicole Mitchell and Douglas Ewart, the current leaders of the AACM for the discussion. The three musicians will also perform together. An event co-produced by the Masters of Arts Administration and Policy Department at the School of the Art Institute and the Chicago Cultural Center.
George Lewis, Edwin H. Case Professor of Music at Columbia University. He has taught at UC San Diego, Mills College, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Simon Fraser University's Contemporary Arts Summer Institute. He has served as music curator for the Kitchen in New York, and has collaborated in the "Interarts Inquiry" and "Integrative Studies Roundtable" at the Center for Black Music Research (Chicago). A member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) since 1971, Lewis studied composition with Muhal Richard Abrams at the AACM School of Music, and trombone with Dean Hey. An active composer, improvisor, performer and computer/installation artist, Lewis has explored electronic and computer music, computer-based multimedia installations, text-sound works, and notated forms.
His artistic work is documented in over 120 recordings and has been awarded by a 2002 MacArthur Fellowship, 1999 Cal Arts/Alpert Award in the Arts, and numerous fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. His oral history is archived in Yale University's collection of "Major Figures in American Music," and his published articles on music, experimental video, visual art, and cultural studies have appeared in numerous scholarly journals and edited volumes.
I guess it should come as no surprise.
Miguel Zenon (apologies for the lack of diacriticals), the New York based Puerto Rican born musician and recent recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship has just released a fantastic new album: Awake. As a listener I had primarily known Miguel for his musicianship, rather than his skills as a composer, seeing him as a sideman a number of times. I knew he wielded a mighty saxophone but apparently his use of the pen and staff paper is just as skilled.
Not being sure what to expect, I was surprised and pleased to hear intricately composed chamber music, kinetic fender rhodes fueled small group improvisations, and intense rhythmic interplay throughout.
He retains the core of his previous ensemble in Luis Perdomo on piano and rhodes, and Hans Glawischnig on bass — gone from his previous effort is Antonio Sanchez, here replaced by Henry Cole, who keeps good musical company and also plays with David Sanchez. The band achieves the kind of constant motion and interplay I've noted in Dafnis Prieto's ensembles, but retains its own unique approach and voice in that context.
Zenon is his typically nimble self on his horn, bringing his bag of saxophone pyrotechnics to the forefront while maintaining remarkable warmth and sense of direction throughout. I wasn't sure if the flow of the album worked on my first couple of listens, but now I'm quite sure it does. The chamber string track opens the album, a group improvisation provides a mid-album interlude, and Zenon playing solo a capella closes the affair, providing a nice symmetry and intriguing progression. The middle interlude features guest horns, with Tony Malaby, Ben Gerstein, and Michael Rodriguez stepping on for duty, providing foils for the free improvisation. Zenon's solo saxophone closes the disc, and after hearing the track I'd love to hear Zenon play in more stripped down settings, like a duo with a drummer or a trio with no chordal instrument.
Awake will certainly make me go back through Zenon's existing catalog to hear what he's done to this point. The band is tightly tuned, handles like a BMW, a stick shift with no cruise control. If my past experience with Zenon is any indicator, I'd imagine this music to be even more potent in a live setting so I hope I get to see them in action.
The artist's dilemma and the meditator's are, in a deep sense, equivalent. Both are repeatedly willing to confront an unknown and to risk a response that they cannot predict or control. Both are disciplined in skills that allow them to remain focused on their task and to express their response in a way that will illuminate the dilemma they share with others. And both are liable to similar outcomes. The artist's work is prone to be derivative, a variation on the style of a great master or established school. The meditator's response might tend to be dogmatic, a variation on the words of a hallowed tradition or revered teacher. There is nothing wrong with such responses. But we recognize their secondary nature, their failure to reach the peaks of primary imaginative creation. Great Art and Great Dharma both give rise to something that has never quite been imagined before. Artist and meditator alike ultimately aspire to an original act.
--Stephen Batchelor, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Vol. IV, #2
George Lewis is many things to many people: a performer, composer, improviser, scholar, and a professor. It would be misguided to overemphasize any one of these areas of experience and expertise in evaluating his newly released book on the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), A Power Stronger Than Itself, as the end result reflects both the careful theoretical critiques and understanding of academic rigor and the unique, invaluable perspective of a performer, musician, and member of the AACM.
The 500+ page tome is not merely a historical account; there is critical analysis of the racial politics of composition, improvisation, and experimentation, the world of grants and foundations in the arts, and the repercussions of increasingly global musical dialogues, all of it interspersed with incredible historical information that only someone with insider access to the AACM could have collected. The book is packed with revelations both theoretical and factual, the former the culmination of years of thought and analysis that come together to present a cogent critique and understanding of the world of improvised, experimental music.
It is instantly amongst the best books I've read on the subject, and is in a league of its own in terms of approaching issues of racial politics in experimental music, an area that has heretofore been tip-toed around more often than it has been discussed head on. In the factual department, the biographical nuggets he offers on many AACM members points to a continued need for these stories to be told, as they are incredibly rich with detail and interest. As a member and peer of the musicians he writes about, Lewis strikes a remarkable balance between rightly celebrating the significant accomplishments of the individual members without veering into hagiography.
In terms of a time line, the book covers the AACM from its earliest origin, following the AACM's progress all the way up through the latest generation of AACM musicians. In the process Lewis dispels the oft perpetuated myth that the AACM is wholly indebted to the mystical collectivism of Sun Ra, an oversimplified attempt at regional linear evolution that doesn't take into account the myriad musical and philosophical influences at work in the early AACM formation. There is some particularly interesting information about the structure of the organization and how it dealt with a migration of members from Chicago to New York, and how we can understand the various waves and generations of AACM musicians. What develops out of this is a picture of an organization that has survived amongst internal disagreements, against social and financial odds, with the recurring theme being a belief in the organization's mission and resilience.
While the accomplishments of A Power Stronger Than Itself are not to be underestimated, the writing points to more work left undone. In the course of his discussions, Lewis points to numerous areas of discussion that deserve further exploration and analysis. It's a landmark study, providing a foundation of critique and inquiry that can and should lead to further discussion and research in the future. We can only hope that George Lewis will continue to publish works of this magnitude, but even if not, he will have left his mark on the study of jazz and improvised music.
My review copy said the release date is in May, and it is available for pre-order at a very reasonable price. Put your orders in now and clear your schedule for reading time, because it's a book that requires close attention. I'll be picking up the finished copy so I can have access to an index and the photographs I'm told will be included in the official release.
Syndicate
