Douglas Ewart
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.
DiggI 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.
1 8 Bold Souls, Sideshow (Arabesque, 1992)
2 William Parker/In Order To Survive, The Peach Orchard (Aum Fidelity, 1998)
3 Greg Osby, Banned in New York (Blue Note, 1998)
4 Myra Melford Extended Ensemble, Even the Sounds Shine (hatHUT, 1995)
5 Douglas Ewart and Inventions Clarinet Choir, Angles of Entrance (Aarawak, 1990/1998)
6 Anderson/Crispell/Drake, Destiny (OkkaDisk, 1994)
7 Jon Jang, Two Flowers on a Stem (Soul Note, 1995)
8 Horace Tapscott, Thoughts of Dar Es Salaam (Arabesque, 1997)
9 Charles Gayle, Touchin’ on Trane (FMP, 1993)
10 Anderson/Kowald/Drake, Live at the Velvet Lounge (OkkaDisk, 1999)
Continuing on through my '90s list, I'm going to talk about the other two albums that hail from Chicago, 8 Bold Souls - Sideshow, and Douglas Ewart and Inventions Clarinet Choir - Angles of Entrance.
The 8 Bold Souls is:
Ed Wilkerson Jr - tenor, alto and bass saxophones, clarinet and alto clarinet
Mwata Bowden - clarinet, baritone, and tenor
Robert Griffin - trumpet and flugelhorn
Isaiah Jackson - trombone
Aaron Dodd - tuba
Naomi Millender - Cello
Harrison Bankhead - bass
Dushun Mosley - drums and percussion
Let's talk about timbre for a second. Baritone and bass saxophone, trombone, tuba, cello, bass....yep, this is definitely a low-end heavy lineup. Mingus had a penchant for the lower end of the register. When I think of groups that dealt with the deep sounds, the rock band Morphine always comes to mind, with the slide bass, baritone sax, and rumbling vocals. I've heard it described as low rock. This is low jazz.
This is my favorite recording from this group. It opens with the 17 minute Black Herman, named after the most prominent early African American magician in the United States. It starts off quiet and meditative, with a steady pulse and fascinating writing, highlighting Mr. Wilkerson's impeccable taste in orchestration and composition. Like other tracks on the album, in turns into a deep swinging piece with great solos and fantastic backgrounds that really frame the whole affair in a meaningful manner. The songs that Ed Wilkerson writes have topography, taking advantage of the full range of tones, dynamics and sound combinations.
This album also has my favorite cover of Ornette Coleman's Lonely Woman, arranged for the octet, and turning into a 17 minute jam session. It opens with a statement of the main theme on the cello, solo, a beautiful interpretation that is soon joined by the bass, leading to some fantastic arco interplay. The arrangement of the melody for the whole band is absolutely stunning, and spirals upwards both density and dynamics before leading seamlessly into the solos.
As a whole, Sideshow features some absolutely fantastic writing from Mr. Wilkerson and equally as inspired playing from the band. I love the possibilities with the octet and the 8 Bold Souls take advantage of the full range.
The second album hailing from the windy city I'm going to discuss is Douglas Ewart and Inventions Clarinet Choir - Angles of Entrance. I always thought of the title as conceptually akin to Point of Departure. We all have to start somewhere. I must admit, this was one of two albums I suspected might not show up on any other lists, because it was released on Mr. Ewart's own small label Arawak and didn't enjoy wide distribution. I was pleasantly surprised to see Peter Breslin included it on his list.
Lester Bowie had his Brass Fantasy. Anthony Braxton had his tuba orchestra. Douglas Ewart has his clarinet choir. Maybe it's something in the water here in Chicago.
The incredible lineup is:
Douglas Ewart, Mwata Bowden, Anthony Braxton, J.D. Parran, Roscoe Mitchell, Henry Threadgill, Ed Wilkerson Jr., and Don Byron (only on the last track) on every clarinet under the sun, joined by Malachi Favors on bass.
When I say every clarinet under the sun, that includes: Bb bass, Bb contra bass, Eb contra alto, Bb soprano, Eb alto, and also the B natural Ewartophone.
The first 4 tracks were recorded live in Atlanta. The final two tracks feature a solo clarinet piece from Mr. Ewart and a track from Merkin Hall in New York.
I wonder if there is a fascination with both the character of instruments and with timbre that leads to creating a band of clarinets. It certainly creates an otherworldly sound. The album features some great compositions and improvisations, the former of which are all attributed to Mr. Ewart, and the latter of which is to be expected with a lineup like this.
Track four, Red Hills, has become somewhat of an AACM anthem, often played when the AACM Great Black Music Ensemble convenes. The title of track three, One Love, is most likely a reference to Mr. Ewart's land of birth, Jamaica, which he still carries with him in both his accent and persona. He also has a nyabinghi drum choir that performs on occasion in Chicago.
I don't have much to say about this album, since there aren't many words that come to mind. It's absolutely singular listening experience and I enjoy it thoroughly every time I put it on. Maybe Mr. Breslin can chime in with his thoughts on the album at some point.
I haven't decided which albums to tackle next. I'm going to try and determine another thread of commonality so I can write about a few at once, but if not, I'll just lump them together.
More later....
I had the pleasure of seeing Douglas Ewart and Inventions last night at the Velvet Lounge here in Chicago. I've seen this band many times over the years, almost always at the Velvet, and in various configurations. Last night's band was a Septet, featuring: Douglas Ewart on clarinets, sopranino sax, didgeridoo and flute, Ed Wilkerson on tenor and didgeridoo, Mwata Bowden on baritone sax, clarinet, wood flute, and didgeridoo, Dee Alexander on vocals, Duriel Harris on vocals, Darius Savage on bass, and Dushun Mosley on drums.
I've also seen the band as a quintet, an octet, a nonet, and a tentet, with members such as Jeff Parker, Lester Lashley, Hamid Drake, Avreaayl Ra, and Wallace LaRoy McMillan.
Douglas always titles his concerts; last night and the night before were entitled "Good Friend Better Than Pocket Money." Well said Douglas.
The show started off with a quartet of Mwata Bowden, Darius Savage, Dushun Mosley and Duriel Harris taking the stage for a meditative groove that backed the poetry of the lovely Ms. Harris. Mwata played didgeridoo and also used a stick to strike the instrument for percussion, and the Savage/Mosley rhythm section put a nice steady groove behind them.
That segued into a trio of the other three musicians which ended up being a highlight of the show: Douglas Ewart on bass clarinet, Ed Wilkerson on tenor, and Dee Alexander on vocals.
In any case, back to the music: this trio played a truly sublime improvisation. Dee can do incredible things with her voice. With my eyes closed I could have sworn I heard an analog synth of some kind coming from the stage, but indeed it was Ms. Alexander's voice. Ewart and Wilkerson have a deep musical repoire they've cultivated over the years and it showed here as they wove their lines together, creating spontaneous counterpoint with incredible results.
A word about Ed Wilkerson: he's one of my favorite tenor players and hugely underrated for both his own instrumental musical abilities as well as his compositional prowess. His work with his big band, Shadow Vignettes (the subject of a recent documentary, Odd Eye O Mumbo Jumbo) as well as his innovative 8 Bold Souls. He's a fantastic player in the inside/outside tradition, and his tone makes me melt every time. There seems to be no note or phrase that escapes the wrath of his enormous sense of conviction that pervades his stage presence and music. Last night he was on as usual, and he is aging very well musically, fitting into every situation with restraint or boldness depending on the needs of the situation.
Another highlight of the evening was the opener of the second set that had Darius Savage switching to fretless electric bass and turned into a steady rocking, rollicking, marching number with an incredibly catchy melody and fantastic solos by Mwata Bowden on clarinet, Ed Wilkerson on tenor and Mr. Ewart on flute.
The didgeridoo numbers are always a treat for me. All 3 players, Bowden, Wilkerson and Ewart are excellent circular breathers so they can get into some deep trance and grooves which I always enjoy.
The only downside of the evening were the chatty folks behind me who stick out like a sore thumb at the Velvet which is well known amongst regular audience members as a sanctuary for quiet listening.
Douglas Ewart and Inventions will be back at the Velvet in June for two nights to celebrate a CD release of material culled from many appearances at the Velvet, a long overdue document of this band. I have no problem saying that every time I see Inventions I hear something magical happen.
I think I'm going to go back to the Velvet tonight to see the Great Black Music Ensemble big band. Word on the street is that Fred Anderson will make a return to performing after a lengthy hiatus by appearing with the band on June 10th. More details later.
Remainder:
Check out the republished articles from Bells, a '70s music 'zine, being reprinted by the folks at Metropolis [via AMN].
"Part One includes reviews and discussions of the work of Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, Sun Ra, Marion Brown, Roscoe Mitchell, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Don Moye, Anthony Braxton, Leo Smith, Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill, David Murray, and others."
The new NYC issue of All About Jazz has an interview with Jimmy Cobb, a spotlight on the Black Saint and Soul Note labels, a nice Ted Panken feature on Muhal Richard Abrams, a piece by Marc Ribot about the Tonic situation, a feature on Alvin Batiste, as well as the usual assortment of reviews and listings. You can download a PDF of it here.
As an aside, Mr. Abrams will be gracing Chicago's Millennium Park stage this summer to play a solo set of piano music, in a double bill with MacArthur grant winner and ragtime revivalist Reginald Robinson. Should be an interesting juxtaposition.
And speaking of Black Saint and Soul Note, All About Jazz has an article up about the label.
If you subscribe to the American Composers Forum podcasts here, you can listen to a recent interview with Susie Ibarra.
I'm going to see Douglas Ewart and Inventions at the Velvet Lounge tonight, also featuring Ed Wilkerson, Mwata Bowden, Dee Alexander and others. Will report back with details and maybe even some pictures if I remember to bring a camera.
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