sounds of Paris
Pierre Boulez (1925-2016), . . . explosante-fixe . . . (for solo MIDI flute, two “shadow” flutes, chamber orchestra, and electronics, 1991–93); Ensemble Intercontemporain (Matthias Pintscher, cond.), live, Paris, 2015
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
what’s new
Otherworldly sounds for an all too worldly world.
Lea Bertucci (flute, alto saxophone, electronics) with Bradley Eros (visuals), live (Quarantine Concert presented by Experimental Sound Studio, Chicago), 4/7/20
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
sounds of New York
Robert Dick (bass flute), Stephanie Griffin (viola), Gamin (piri), live, New York, 2/29/20
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
Now spring has arrived
on a mountain with no name
in early morning haze—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
alone
Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996), Air for solo flute (1995); John McMurtery (flute), live, 2007
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
what’s new
Brian Blade & Life Cycles (BB, drums; Myron Walden, woodwinds; John Hart, guitar; Jon Cowherd, piano; Doug Weiss, bass; Monte Croft, vibraphone, voice; Rogerio Boccato, percussion), “My Joy,” “Slow Change,” “Hello to the Wind,” “The Final Four,” live (studio), Seattle, published 1/10/20 (recorded 9/27/19)
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other morning, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
The moon disappears
into darkening treetops
collecting the rain—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
27 years later
Art Ensemble of Chicago (Roscoe Mitchell, 1940-, reeds, flute, percussion; Famadou Don Moye, 1946-, drums, percussion) and Guests (Hugh Ragin, trumpets, flugelhorn; Tomeika Reed, cello; Silvia Bolognesi, bass; Jaribu Shahid, bass; Dudu Kouate, percussion), live, Italy (Cormòns), 2018
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
like nobody else
Art Ensemble of Chicago (Roscoe Mitchell, 1940-, reeds, flute, percussion; Joseph Jarman, 1937-2019, reeds, flute, percussion; Lester Bowie, 1941-1999, trumpet, flugelhorn, MCOTD Hall of Fame; Malachi Favors, 1927-2004, bass, percussion, vocals; Don Moye, 1946-, drums, percussion), live, Germany (Hamburg), 1991
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
Culture’s beginnings:
from the heart of the country
rice-planting songs—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), from Narrow Road to the Interior (translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill)
Why not begin the week with something new?
Nathalie Joachim (vocals, flute, electronics) with the Spektral Quartet and a Haitian children’s choir (recorded), “Suite pou Dantan: Prelid” (Fanm d’Ayiti [Women of Haiti]), 10/8/19
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
sounds of New York
day two
Sam Pluta (1979-), Broken Symmetries (2011-12); Wet Ink Ensemble (Sam Pluta, electronics; Joshua Modney, violin; Erin Lesser, piccolo; Alex Mincek, tenor saxophone; Eric Wubbels, piano; Ian Antonio, percussion), live, New York, 2016
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Bellwood, Ill.
MCOTD Hall of Fame
Morton Feldman (1926-1987, MCOTD Hall of Fame), For Christian Wolff (1986); Eberhard Blum (flute), Nils Vigland (piano, celesta), 1992
It can be hard to recall, after an hour or two, what the world sounded like before this began.
**********
lagniappe
listening room
Clear, open, luminous: pianist Aki Takahashi’s recently released recording of For Bunita Marcus (1985), available on Spotify, is one of the finest renderings of Feldman’s unique sound-world that I’ve ever heard.
