Myth/Science
After some thinking and discussions with collaborator Jason Adasiewicz I came up with the notion of forming a large group to perform this project AND to specifically enlist his talents to accomplish the task. The first step in the process was to completely dismiss the idea of commenting or honoring Sun Ra. Neither one of us are fanatics and there's not much more anyone is going to add to the discussion of the man and the legend. The more interesting idea was of creating new music using someone's un-finished, un-wanted and abandoned material. In my mind it doesn't matter who's tapes these are, it's just source material , in this case it happens to be Sun Ra. The aggregation of musicians was another selling point since this project, and it's debut performance at the Chicago Jazz Fest, would give me the ability and excuse to convene these members. Greg Ward – alto sax Taylor Ho Bynum – cornet Ingrid Laubrock – tenor sax Tomeka Reid – cello Mary Halvorson – guitar Jason Adasiewicz – vibes, arrangements Nick Butcher – electronics Tomas Fujiwara – drums Mike Reed – drums, electronics The band is basically comprised of a long time group of mine, Loose Assembly, and a collection of New York based peers that have a similar artistic and career trajectories. This was an important feature not only to further musical relationships but to showcase a stylistic and generational density that exists beyond the confines of our locales and beyond the minds of those who measure one against the other. The Music: This project was possible with the support of the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.
A short list of lists
The Village Voice Top 50 Jazz Records for 2010
Stories and Negotiations #29 Sun Rooms #39 New York Times Albums of The Year by Ben Ratliff New York Times Top Songs of The Year by Ben Ratliff NPR Music Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2010 by Patrick Jarenwattananon Best of...The Hungry BrainIn January of 2001 Josh Berman and myself began the Sunday Transmission series at the Hungry Brain. Since then we've presented different Jazz and Improvised Music every week and combined our efforts into the Umbrella Music group, which programs different concert around Chicago each week. After many late night discussions about how to celebrate the 10 year anniversary we came up with an idea to make the festivities last an entire year. Starting on January 9th, 2011 we will showcase a special “best of” night along the regular weeks of programming. We also hope to record each show and release a limited edition compilation recording along with a hand made book and possible video. Here's a list of some confirmed shows that will be part of the anniversary program. January 9 AGOGIC featuring Andrew D'Angelo and Coung Vu Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue
On November 20 my group Loose Assembly will do its' first performance in over a year. The last show was part of the 2009 Umbrella Music festival and featured special guest Roscoe Mitchell. That concert was recorded and released on 482 Music last week and this upcoming show will act as a CD release for that album Empathetic Parts. Although, most CD release concerts showcase the material from the recording I believe we'll take this opportunity to try some new stuff as well. The program has not been completely set, but the creative faucet is open and it will be unique to the event and possibly a new recording in the making. The free concert itself will be on the Pritzker stage at Millennium Park, but don't worry the show IS NOT OUTDOORS. The fantastically designed band shell allows for a large window to drop down and the entire performance and audience will be encapsulated on the stage itself.
Show at 4pm doors at 3pm. FREE! In other news, People, Places & Things has finished the record we started working on 3 weeks ago. I'm especially happy with the tune I wrote while on the road in funky hotel rooms. The entire band contributed to the arrangement with guest Josh Berman on cornet. The new piece, entitled House of Three Smiles, is derived from the solo Jason Adasiewicz takes on his tune I Hope She is Awake. His tune was of course to his love and wife Val, but gained a second meaning when they produced a beautiful daughter – Isabella Rose. He would soon introduce the tune with this new angle as well. As an envious admirer of these close friends and adopted family I thought of how to make the tune my own and remembered the poem by W.S. Merwin – Song of Three Smiles. This recreation has its' own personal value which can be more fully understood by reading the poem. Thanks to Mike Stevens for introducing me to Merwin and to Isabella for letting me know that a good banana can make everything better. You can check out the new tune here. New idea on the same old question
Over the last few weeks I've done a good handful of interviews mostly due to the tour that People, Places & Things just concluded. Although it's nice to get some attention to help promote the shows it becomes tiresome answering the same questions. It makes me wonder how much homework the interviewer did in preparation. Most, if not all, of the answers to the questions are already out there in interviews and reviews of the People, Places & Things recordings released since 2008. The question that seems particularly bothersome is some version of
“what made you want to re-investigate the music of Chicago circa 1954-60?” My first thought is to just say “read the fucking liner notes!” or take a look on the web at some of the material that's already out there. Of course I'm not that crass, and do my best to explain the idea...again. Something occurred to me after one of these interviews which seems to answer a deeper meaning to the question. If we're really doing our best as creative people we are essentially saying something about right now despite the source material. A great interpretation of a Jazz standard can only be accomplished when the artist makes the piece their own. My attempts with People, Places & Things' first three recordings are also commenting on recognition right now. At best it is an attempt to get people, especially critics and musicians, to look at all that is happening and possible outside of the world of New York – in other communities especially their own. The cultural capital that does or could exist in other places is essential to this observation so that these moments and places don't wither. It is the building blocks for communities, artists and the infrastructures that surround them. More specifically for me it is important that another moment in Chicago is not under recognized or under represented. Of course this applies to more than Chicago and more than the Jazz and improvised music world, but all aesthetic movements. As this tour came to an end I am more convinced that the Bostons, Detroits, D.Cs of the world have lost the ability to sustain a scene because of a myopic sense of what and where the music is most valued. For those of us who venture out to these places it is important that the community of fans, artists and documentors are healthy and vibrant. If not it makes what we do more difficult and maybe even slightly pointless. This will only be possible when all of those entities recognize the value in itself and in the possibilities for other people, places & things. I was highly impressed by the scene surrounding the Clown Lounge in St. Paul, which seems to have their own valued scene and a commitment to itself. Thanks to J.T. Bates for hosting us and all of the folks up there that are a great model of what is possible. NYC show has moved! **This show has been moved**
Drom
New York, NY
(212) 777-1156
18+
Darius Jones Trio open
$10.00 with Student ID, $15.00 General Public
Doors 6:30PMShow starts at 7:00PM
It's been a while so here's some newsFIRST: NEXT: A live recording of a piece entitled Empathetic Parts will be released on 482 Music on October 20th.
Recorded live at the 2009 Umbrella Music Festival, it features Roscoe Mitchell as special guest as well as a composition by the great drummer Steve McCall – I'll Be Right Here Waiting – originally on the record Air Time (Threadgill, Hopkins, McCall). AND: MISC: I'm also very happy and proud of my colleague and friend, cornetist Josh Berman who had a very nice feature in a recent issue of Downbeat (We've come along way since the Diversey Days!). Things I'm listening to: Documenting A Brief Moment in CivilazationClifford Jordan (left) and John Neely (right) at a South Side recreation center, around 1949 That being said, I'm still in the midst of this “dissertation” with the recent release of About Us (482 Music) and the forthcoming third record in the series, Stories and Negotiations, bringing three ubiquitous members of Chicago in the 50's into the fold (due out in April on 482 Music). In the process I've taken to daily reading from the extensive website The Red Saunders Research Foundation. Although named after the noted drummer/bandleader, the site is an extensive data base of a forgotten time period in Chicago music: "Since 1997, the Red Saunders Research Foundation has been dedicated to increasing our knowledge of the musicians who filled the clubs and recording studios of Chicago with great music during the two decades after World War II. Some musicians from Chicago were appreciated by the fans early on, like Gene Ammons and Johnny Griffin--yet their full worth only gradually become apparent to jazz critics over the years. Others were not widely appreciated until much later in their careers, like John Gilmore, Clifford Jordan, Norman Simmons, or Muhal Richard Abrams. Far too many others have been forgotten." It has proven to be an invaluable asset to me in not only learning about venues, musicians and labels, but also giving leads and depictions of the state of the music industry. From the usage of ads placed in newspapers such as the Chicago defender or the records acquired through the musicians Union, the website does more than keep a history of music, but rather points to the social/cultural development in a time period of one of America's great cities. To hear how People, Places & Things have worked to make the music of this time period our own check out these streams: Proliferation About Us Stories & Negotiations Something to do in November Over the past couple of years I've gotten the chance to perform very frequently in Poland. To non-musicians there is a curiosity as to why? Trying to explain in words the vibrant energy and reception that I and other Chicago based musicians have experienced wouldn't quite do it justice – you would have to experience it first hand. I know that not everyone can just make the trip, but maybe the best example of the unique environment and connection to Chicago is the Made In Chicago event that will take place in Poznan, Poland this November. In its' fourth year the event showcases a wide array of contemporary Chicago Jazz and improvised music. I had the extreme pleasure of performing there last November and this year's edition seems to have out done itself. Conceptually the event takes aspects of the Chicago landscape (events like the Saxophone summit, presentation of new commissions, workshops for students) and transplants it in the western Polish town. The event is the brain child of Wojtek Juszczak (one of Europe's most largest supporters and promoters of Chicago Jazz) and Jazz institute Executive Director Lauren Deutsch. The two have worked together as programming partners with Juszczak staff at the cultural center Estrada Poznańska the taking the lead on production. The 2009 edition show (see below for full line up). Per usual there is the featured blowout set this year presented by the fantastic saxophonist and composer Ed Wilkerson. The rest of the schedule includes representatives of the AACM, top-shelf local working bands, and ad hoc groups built around the visiting artists. A festival like this does more than give Chicago musicians the chance to play on foreign soil —it also creates a international brand and identity to the exciting things they’re doing with Chicago jazz. Friday, 20 November 2009, 8:00 p.m., Scena na Piętrze Theatre 8 Bold Souls Edward Wilkerson saxes Mwata Bowden saxes, clarinets Tomeka Reid cello Ike Jackson trombone Gerald Powell tuba Robert Griffin trumpet Dushun Mosley drums Harrison Bankhead bass Friday, 20 November 2009, 10:00 p.m.,Blue Note Club Willie Pickens Trio Willie Pickens piano Dushun Mosley drums Lorin Cohen, bass Saturday, 21 November 2009, 8:00 p.m., Scena na Piętrze Theatre Indigo Trio Nicole Mitchell flutes Harrison Bankhead bass Hamid Drake drums Saturday, 21 November 2009, 10:00 p.m., Blue Note Club Saalik Ziyad The 5 after 7 Project Saalik Ziyad vocal Fred Jackson saxes Shaun Johnson trumpet Dushun Mosley drums Lorin Cohen, bass Willie Pickens piano Sunday, 22 November 2009, 8:00 p.m., Scena na Piętrze Theatre FINAL CONCERT ED WILKERSON’S CHICAGO ENSEMBLE Edward Wilkerson saxes, composer, conductor Mwata Bowden saxes, clarinets, composer, conductor Tomeka Reid cello Ike Jackson trombone Gerald Powell tuba Robert Griffin trumpet Saalik Ziyad vocal Fred Jackson saxes Shaun Johnson trumpet Willie Pickens piano Dushun Mosley drums Harrison Bankhead bass Nicole Mitchell flutes Lorin Cohen, bass Friday, 27 November 2009 , 8.30 PM Blue Note ORBERT DAVIS QUINTET Orbert Davis trumpet Ari Brown tenor sax Ryan Cohan piano Stewart Miller bass Ernie Adams drums Saturday, 28 November 2009 8 PM – concert Aula NOVA - The Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznan / Music Conservatory/ CHICAGO JAZZ PHILHARMONIC “Collective Creativity” ORBERT DAVIS – conductor, trumpet, composer Stewart Miller - bass Ernie Adams - drums Ryan Cohan - piano Ari Brown – reeds Mwata Bowden – reeds Nicole Mitchell – flutes A New CD & Preview Night After a bit of a delay the new People, Places & Things record has finally arrived. Instead of doing a CD release show, we’ve decided to do a CD preview event at the Hideout Wednesday August 5. We’ll get started at 10 pm sharp (seriously) and with the entrance fee of $12 you’ll receive a copy of the new album. The official street date won’t be until October, but by that time I’m hoping to have the third installment of this project finished. Below are the liner notes from the record to further explain where People, Places & Things are at in our development. The original focus of our quartet was to investigate and reinvent some of the under-recorded, under-recognized aspects of the vibrant Chicago jazz scene circa 1954-60. On Proliferation, we brought ideas and new approaches to music of another time. This second offering is primarily About Us. (A forthcoming third document will bring us full circle; inviting principal players of that past to share in the ideas of today.) To borrow from both Muhal Richard Abrams and Sun Ra (two of the most significant musicians in the Chicago legacy), numerology isn't lost in the underlying concept here. On Proliferation we created three pieces dedicated to places and people in Chicago of the 50's. On this record About Us, we’ve invited three important and influential members of Chicago's improvised music community to join in. I was fortunate enough to perform with David Boykin in his group The Expanse, as well as an improvising trio with bassist Karl Seigfried (later turned quartet with flutist Nicole Mitchell). David may be the most innovative composer walking the streets of Chicago. His boundless energy and tone speak directly to the great Chicago tenor legacy. I'm forever grateful for my musical growth due to being part of his sonic explorations. Jeb Bishop has established himself as one of the most respected trombonists in the jazz/improvised world. As one of the most ubiquitous figures on the Chicago scene, his big, punchy tone and instinctive sense of melody sets a high standard for a future generation of improvisers. Although Jeff Parker is one of the most highly regarded musicians in Chicago, his greatness is more than just his musical prowess (I know that seems impossible). When anyone speaks of Jeff they first refer to his unique sound, which can traverse any terrain and is never mistaken. However, Jeff's true gift is an idea: the idea that you can operate in any genre, place, or setting without being mistaken for anything other than your own “sound.” I hope that this second of three records takes us closer to the idea of our own “sound.” M. Reed |
