what’s new
Tim Berne (alto saxophone), Matt Mitchell (piano), Dave King (drums), live, New York, 1/7/19
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lagniappe
reading table
in my thatched hut
even dreaming
the cold—Kobayashi Issa, 1763-1827 (translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue)
sounds of New York
Tim Berne (alto saxophone), Michael Formanek (bass) Andrew Cyrille (drums), live, New York, 2018
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lagniappe
reading table
One need not be a Chamber – to be Haunted –
—Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), from 407 (Franklin)
sounds of New York
This guy’s one of my favorite alto players and composers.
Tim Berne’s Almost Human (TB, alto saxophone, composition; Matt Mitchell, piano; Dan Weiss, drums), live, New York, 12/14/16
#1
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#2
This guy takes me places no one else does.
Tim Berne’s Snakeoil (TB, alto saxophone; Oscar Noriega, clarinet; Matt Mitchell, piano; Ches Smith, drums, vibraphone), “Small World in a Small Town” (T. Berne), live, Brazil (Sao Paulo), 2015
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Art Institute of Chicago
Joan Mitchell (1925-1992), City Landscape, 1955
This guitar player gets around. Last weekend Wilco—he’s been a member since 2004—headlined Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival. Here he’s playing a small performance space in Brooklyn.
BB&C (Tim Berne, alto saxophone; Jim Black, drums; Nels Cline, guitar), live, New York (Shapeshifter Lab), 2012
#1
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#2
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#3
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday morning
Columbus Park, Chicago
tonight in Chicago
These guys will be at Constellation, as will I.
Tim Berne’s Snakeoil (TB, alto saxophone; Oscar Noriega, clarinet, bass clarinet; Matt Mitchell, piano; Ches Smith, drums, vibes, conga), “Lost in Redding,” live, Buenos Aires, 2015
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lagniappe
art beat
Bruce Davidson (1933-), Palisades, New Jersey, 1958
sounds of New York (day two)
Here, as in the city itself, density and spaciousness coexist.
Tim Berne’s Cornered,* “Embraceable Me,” live, New York, 10/12/14
*TB, alto saxophone; Oscar Noriega, clarinets; Ryan Ferreira, guitar; Matt Mitchell, piano; Michael Formanek, bass; Ches Smith, drums, vibraphone.
two takes
This is, to these ears, exhilarating.
Tim Berne’s Snakeoil,* “Cornered (Duck)”
Live, New York (The Stone), 5/8/13
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Live, Washington, D.C (Atlas Performing Arts Center), 10/9/13
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
Music should be no more complex than it needs to be. And no matter how complicated it may actually be, it should never seem that way to the listener. If it does, immediacy has deteriorated into abstraction.
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*TB, alto saxophone; Oscar Noriega, bass clarinet, clarinet; Matt Mitchell, piano; Ches Smith, percussion.
