what’s new
One-word review: Wow!
Patricia Brennan Septet (PB, vibraphone, electronics, composition; Jon Irabagon, alto and sopranino saxophones; Mark Shim, tenor saxophone; Adam O’Farrill, trumpet, electronics; Marcus Gilmore, drums; Mauricio Herrera, percussion; Kim Cass, bass), “Palos de Oros” (Suit of Coins), published 8/6/24
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
sounds of New York
Being & Becoming (Peter Evans, trumpet; Joel Ross, vibraphone, electronics; Nick Jozwiak, bass, electronics; Michael Shekwoaga Ode, drums), “My Sorrow Is Luminous” (Yanka Dyagileva, 1966-1991), live, New York, 2023
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lagniappe
reading table
A Word that breathes distinctly
Has not the power to die—Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), from 1651 (Franklin)
what’s new
Denver Butson (words, voice) with Mat Maneri’s ASH Quartet (MM, viola; Lucian Ban, piano; Brandon Lopez, bass; Randy Peterson, drums), live, New York (Bar Bayeux, Brooklyn), 3/27/24
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
sounds of New York
These two sets, live-streamed last night, are very different. The first is wonderful. The second? One of the best things I’ve heard in a long time.
First Set: Patricia Brennan (vibraphone, electronics) & Adam O’Farrill (trumpet, electronics) Duo, 10:00-
Second Set: Patricia Brennan’s SeVeN (Patricia Brennan, vibraphone, electronics; Adam O’Farrill, trumpet, electronics; Jon Irabagon, alto saxophone, sopranino saxophone; Mark Shim, tenor saxophone; Kim Cass, bass; Dan Weiss, drums; Mauricio Herrera, percussion), 1:14:00-
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
sounds of all over
Hear in Now Expanded* + QWANQWA**, Weaving Strands of Sound from Addis Ababa to Chicago, live (music begins at 13:30), New York, 4/3/24
*Tomeka Reid (cello, compositions), Mazz Swift (violin, compositions), Silvia Bolognesi (bass, compositions), yuniya edi kwon (violin), Chad Taylor (drums)
**Misale Legesse Muleta (kebero), Anteneh “Bubu” Teklemariam Barago (bass krar), Selamnesh Zemene Taye (vocals), Kaethe Hostetter (violin), Endres “Endris” Hassen Ahmed (masinko)
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
sounds of New York
Ches Smith & Laugh Ash (CS, electronics, drums, percussion; Shara Lunon, voice and vocal processing, lyrics; Anna Webber, flute; Oscar Noriega, clarinets; James Brandon Lewis, tenor saxophone; Nate Wooley, trumpet; Jennifer Choi, violin; Kyle Armbrust, viola; Michael Nicolas, cello; Shahzad Ismaily, bass, Moog), live, New York, 3/20/24
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Des Moines, Iowa (Des Moines Art Center)
Agnes Martin (1912-2004), Untitled #3 (1974), detail
sounds of New York
Earle Brown (1926-2002), Times Five (1963), for chamber ensemble; Argento New Music Project (Michel Galante, conductor; Francesca Ferrera, flute; William Lang, trombone; Jacqueline Kerrod, harp; Conrad Harris, violin; Michael Katz, cello), live, New York, 2023
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Ill.
timeless
Bix Beiderbecke (1903-1931, piano, composition), “In a Mist,” rec. 1927 (New York)
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lagniapppe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
two takes
Carlos Simon (1986-), “Between Worlds” (2019); Miranda Cuckson (1972-), violin
#1 (1/21)
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#2 (9/21)
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About “Between Worlds”
Bill Traylor was born a slave in Alabama in 1853 and died in 1949. He lived long enough to see the United States of America go through many social and political changes. He was an eyewitness to the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation and the Great Migration. As a self taught visual artist, his work reflects two separate worlds— rural and urban, black and white, old and new. In many ways the simplified forms in Traylor’s artwork tell of the complexity of his world, creativity, and inspiring bid for self-definition in a dehumanizing segregated culture. This piece is inspired by the evocative nature as a whole and not one piece by Traylor. Themes of mystical folklore, race, and religion pervade Traylor’s work. I imagine these solo pieces as a musical study; hopefully showing Traylor’s life between disparate worlds.
—Carlos Simon
*****
Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts (2023)
sounds of New York
James Francies (keyboards) with Immanuel Wilkins (alto saxophone), Tyshawn Sorey (drums), “My Favorite Things” (R. Rodgers), live, New York, 6/23/23
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
