Night After Night

Illuminating Downtown's Dark Years.

Charles Gayle in 'Rising Tones Cross'

Jazziz
July 1999

The early 1980s were a period of transition for the avant-garde fringe in New York. The loft scene – the days in which Ornette Coleman's hom on Prince Street and Sam Rivers' Studio Rivbea provided workshops for experimenters to develop their art –was drawing to a close, and the arrival of the Knitting Factory and its explosive impact on the Downtown scene was still a few years away, it fell to the artists themselves to create new opportunities.

As chronicled in Ebba Jahn's 1984 [sic – 1985, actually] documentary, Rising Tones Cross (just released on video), two such motivated visionaries were bassist William Parker and dancer Patricia Nicholson. The film centers around the Sound Unity Festival, a precursor to the couple's current Lower East Side bash, the now four-year-old Vision Festival.

It was German bassist Peter Kowald, on an extended sojourn in New York that included a hefty formative role in Sound Unity, who convinced Jahn to make a film about the upstart festival. "It was clear to me that I wanted to have a German protagonist and an American protagonist," Jahn says. Her friend Kowald was the German of choice, naturally, but America's representative had yet to be confirmed. "Originally, I had thought of Ornette Coleman. But on the day I arrived, first thing in the morning I met Charles Gayle, the most un-famous saxophonist at the time in New York City." That meeting, combined with a choice encounter with a cameraman who was working on Shirley Clark's Coleman documentary, Made in America, led Jahn to shift her focus "from the most famous avant-garde saxophonist to the most un-famous."

Instead of simply a compilation of festival footage – though performances by musicians like Jemeel Moondoc, Don Cherry, and Peter Brötzmann abound in the film – Rising Tones Cross was intended to be a tool for music education. "For many people who saw the film in Germany, it was the first time they ever heard this type of music," she says. "They said in the beginning they had difficulty. But after a while, they could, all of a sudden, hear it 'click' in their ears, and something opened up."

To help facilitate this reaction, Jahn put the most difficult music at the end of the film, easing the audience into it gradually. She also included a number of scenes intended to dispel common myths about free jazz. For example, when Brötzmann's strapping 11-piece ensemble – boasting a tenor phalanx comprised of the leader, Gayle, David S. Ware, and Frank Wright – seems to be blowing chaotically onstage, Jahn's camera pans across Brötzmann's diagrammatic score to reveal an extraordinary amount of careful detail, planning, and scripting – the architecture girding the maelstrom.

And having overcome an initial distrust and some reluctance to take part in the film, the enigmatic Gayle is revealed to be affable, erudite, and quite well-versed in jazz history, a far cry from his dark public persona and stage presence. "He was perceived as a philosopher in Germany," says Jahn.

Now that the film is available on video – through Jahn's Website (http://members.aol.com/FilmPals/store.htm) and through NorthCountry Distribution – Jahn looks forward to her film reaching new viewers. "I would like it to be in colleges," she says, "where people learn about jazz. I think it's a good tool for people wanting to learn a little bit about this music. Nobody else has made a film about this music. And at the end of the century, the time is probably right for it."

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The Vision Festival, now in its 18th season, will be held June 12-16 at Roulette. Rising Tones Cross was issued on DVD by the FMP label in 2005; I have no idea whether it's still available, but you can watch the first 26 minutes of it here. Below, the Peter Brötzmann scene I described in the article, mistakenly labeled as the Vision Festival (which was launched in 1996).

Order Up… Burnt CDs for Five.

John Shiurba

Jazziz
May 1999

Bay Area guitarist and free-improvisor John Shiurba hit upon the idea of his new Limited Sedition record label soon after buying a CD burner last year: "I just wanted to put out CDs of my music, and music that I think is worthy," he explains. "But the idea of shopping tapes of this kind of music to labels seemed like a dead end. When the CD writer opened the door to small editions, it just occurred to me that here was the perfect medium for improvised music. If you have an audience of five people, then you can make five CDs and not have a closet full of aluminum coasters."

Free improvisation and the recording industry have endured a troubled union from the beginning. Improvisation is a fleeting mode of musical communication, felt by many to exist purely in the moment of creation, and to be resistant to documentation. And the audience for the music is so comparatively small that it renders recording improv too costly for most record companies, anyway.

But the falling cost of home-recording technologies has enabled less marketable musicians to document their work and to sell it to enthusiasts in a creative and cost-effective way. Shiurba's Limited Sedition (www.sfo.com/~shiurba/sedition.html), for instance, documents his own music and that of his fellow Bay Area improvisors with extremely limited-edition runs on recordable CD (or CD-R).

Such a D.I.Y. approach is not without precedent. In 1973, British guitarist Derek Bailey released a series of four solo-guitar recordings on reel-to-reel tape, making individual custom copies to order. (These rare recordings were issued on CD as Incus Taps on the Organ of Corti label in 1996.) But Shiurba is among the first to devote an entire record label of strictly limited, numbered editions of well under 100 copies that will never be re-pressed. He has released eight hand-designed recordings since founding Limited Sedition last July. His production costs average around four dollars per disc. This, coupled with grassroots promotion via the Internet, helps him turn modest profits into new recordings quickly in order to keep pace with the rapid evolution of the music and its creators.

Already, Shiurba is not alone. Saxophonist David Gross has begun to release limited-edition CD-Rs of music recorded live at the Zeitgeist Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts on his Tautology label (members.aol.com/Tautology3). And Splatter Trio percussionist Gino Robair, who runs the more conventional Rastascan label (www.rastascan.com), has taken the notion a step further, creating individual "private concert" releases on CD-R. "They're more than just a live improv," Robair explains. "I do a bit of digital hacking on the material before burning a CD-R. They're one of a kind, and I've made them to order. I think this is the way that many improvisors will be working very soon."

Beyond the obvious benefit of low overhead, this approach to recording allows an artist to explore even the most unlikely creative impulse. Saxophonist Dan Plonsey gave Shiurba a whimsical solo-oboe recording made on the day he purchased the instrument. And Robair, who has played on two Limited Sedition releases and compiled a disc of Splatter Trio rarities for the label as well, has plans for an album of music performed entirely on…Styrofoam? "A handful of Styrofoam and a bow and that's it," says Robair. "You can see why we need a label like Limited Sedition."

Swing shift.

Sometimes the road ahead is simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time…and knowing the right people. Back in the spring of 2000, with my illustrious public-relations career at an impasse after BMG Classics eliminated almost everyone in the department, I got an interesting offer from Larry Blumenfeld, then the editor in chief of Jazziz magazine.

Jazziz was and is based in Palm Beach County, Florida, but Larry worked from New York City, coordinating his labor with another editor, R. Dante Sawyer, down at the home office. The magazine, which started out as a smooth-jazz-friendly vehicle and always retained a place for commercial sounds, flourished under Blumenfeld and Sawyer. Major articles on artists like John Zorn, David S. Ware and Dave Douglas became newly prominent under their watch.

The reason Larry approached me in 2000 was that Dante was leaving Jazziz, en route to India and a spiritual trek. Would I be interested in taking on his position as associate editor of Jazziz, with the understanding that Larry himself would be leaving the company in four months' time?

The answer, of course, was yes. Not just any magazine editor would have taken a former publicist on board as an editor. But Larry, who'd done P.R. work himself in the past, had been assigning me freelance pieces for some years by the time he hired me outright, and trusted my objectivity. Having been laid off by BMG, I was unemployed only for a single weekend.

This, then, was my bridge back to journalism, from which I'd stepped away in 1993 for the sole reason of finding my way to and in New York City. Larry was a terrific colleague and guide, and I got to work with some extraordinary writers: among them Neil Tesser, Steve Dollar, Harvey Pekar, Ed Hazell, Steve Futterman, Lee Jeske and a new face on the scene, Lara Pellegrinelli.

Larry reasoned that when his time to depart arrived, Jazziz might invite me to stay on and perhaps even replace him. An invitation like that did actually come, with the stipulation that I'd have to relocate to Florida to take it. The notion was tempting, but I'd worked far too long and hard to get to New York in the first place; leaving after seven years didn't feel like a viable option. Happily, Billboard magazine came calling, and with it, a return to classical music after a five-year hiatus.

I bring all of this up not only as a wallow in pleasant nostalgia, but also because Lara and I are digging through piles of Jazziz back issues retrieved from an emptied-out storage unit, and I'm about to start posting some of my old odds and ends here for safe keeping and convenient retrieval.

Thanks for everything, Larry. And hey, does anyone know what became of Dante?

Ken Thomson goes bang.

Ken Thomson, by James Hirschfeld

Ken Thomson and I first crossed paths back in 1997, when I was the publicist for the Knitting Factory and its first-annual [sic] Texaco Jazz Festival (formerly What Is Jazz?), and he was part of an intrepid team broadcasting multiple events for Columbia University's invaluable radio station, WKCR-FM.

Since then, I've eagerly and admiringly followed Ken's exploits as the force-of-nature reedist who fronts avant-skronk jazz quartet Gutbucket; in the new-music all-star aggregate Signal; with the composerly chamber-jazz combo slow/fast; and in the riotous Bang on a Can street band Asphalt Orchestra – the last of which you'll see tearing up the pavement anew at Lincoln Center Out of Doors this summer.

All of which makes it a distinct pleasure, if hardly a surprise, to congratulate Ken on his new status as clarinetist for the Bang on a Can All-Stars, announced mere moments ago. No question, Evan Ziporyn is a tough act to follow…but if anyone can do it, Ken can.

Watch Ken in sax-dervish mode, fronting Gutbucket in his "dOg Help Us" at Le Poisson Rouge:

Kindest thanks.

To everyone who surfed into Night After Night yesterday after news of my winning an ASCAP Concert Music Award became public – including the many who came via a supremely kind citation on my brilliant colleague Alex Ross's blog, The Rest Is Noise – thanks very much for stopping by.

I'm thrilled by the recognition from my friends and colleagues at ASCAP and the vital constituency they represent; humbled to be cited alongside genuine heroes like Jon Deak and Tania León, as well as the numerous worthy winners of the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards who will share the stage at a ceremony this Friday afternoon; and grateful beyond words about the response that flooded my social-media feeds yesterday.

Suffice it to say that I never knew you could win a prize simply for demonstrating an ongoing concern for the health and well-being of living composers and their work – the primary thing that has motivated this line of work I've been pursuing, on and off, since college in the late ’80s, and in earnest since taking jobs with Time Out New York and Billboard around 12 years ago. Whatever small part I've played in the rude health of contemporary music has been my privilege, my pleasure and, frankly, my obligation as a grateful listener whose life has been enriched and given focus by the work of so many others – many of whom I've been fortunate to meet, and most who I will not.

Of course, anyone who cruised in here yesterday might have wondered just what's going on – or isn't, as the case may be. Truth is, I've been in a bit of an unannounced hiatus here since mid-March, when I went into overdrive planning for a recent trip to London and Reykjavik. (Were I as gracious a host as Alex, I might simply have mentioned this…)

Believe me, it's time and other obligations, not a lack of interest, that have kept me from posting here more frequently. Hyperactive as I tend to be on the social-media front, and inundated as I clearly am with work from my two chief employers, I have never lost interest in blogging even for a moment, nor faith in the freedom and creative space blogs still represent. I'm never short on ideas I'd like to explore here; it's just that life and sleep get in the way. I'm working on it.

Thanks kindly, everyone. The Rest Best Is Still to Come.

Pianist R. Andrew Lee: new album now, New York City concert March 16

 

Pianist R. Andrew Lee, whose previous recordings for the Irritable Hedgehog label have featured illuminating performances of works by Tom Johnson, Ann Southam, William Duckworth and Jürg Frey, has just released a new album that brings to light a long-lost milestone of early minimalism: November, by California composer Dennis Johnson, winds through a set of pitches, motifs and improvisatory webbing with blissful leisure.

Reconstructed by the invaluable composer, musicologist, writer and advocate Kyle Gann, November now extends to roughly five hours in duration. Evidently it was once closer to six hours; La Monte Young, a friend and associate of Johnson's, has cited it as a crucial influence on his own solo-piano milestone, The Well-Tuned Piano. Gann's story about rebuilding November from a wobbly cassette – eventually augmented by a cryptic score and Johnson's fading memories – makes for a fascinating read.

Lee's set is available via Bandcamp as a four-CD set or as a download in a variety of formats, including lossless files. You can find out more about Lee on his website, follow him on Twitter and, if you plan to be in New York City on Saturday, March 16, hear him perform November live in its entirety at Issue Project Room.

(Re)New Amsterdam at the Empty Bottle, December 16, 2012

Dominic Johnson and Ellen McSweeney of Chicago Q Ensemble, by Marc Perlish

"After the Deluge, an Outpouring of Support From Afar"
The New York Times, Dec. 19, 2012

A notebook about (Re)New Amsterdam, a remarkable show of solidarity in which Chicago's young, vital new-music community participated in an afternoon marathon concert meant to raise funds for New Amsterdam, an invaluable New York City record label and fledgling concert presenter that suffered devastating losses during and after Hurricane Sandy. The details are all in the article, but it's important to note that New Amsterdam can still benefit from your assistance. Read this page for more information, and give what you can.

Hats off to Marcos Balter, Doyle Armbrust and all of the amazing Chicago musicians who participated in this inspiring event. I expect to hear more from all of you.

Voices of Latin America at Carnegie Hall

Gilberto Gil, by Marco Hermes; Osvaldo Golijov, by Tanit Sakakini; Gustavo Dudamel, by Chris Christodoulou

"Calling Out the Neighboring Virtuosos: Voices of Latin America at Carnegie Hall"
The New York Times, Nov. 5, 2012

Pretty happy with the way this one turned out…I feel like I'm getting better at creating an equilibrium in covering events that present a ton of ground to cover, if that makes any sense. Where once I would have struggled to make sure every single name, concert and tie-in was cited, in the process destroying any semblance of engaging prose, I think I'm finally getting a feel for providing just enough and not too much. (Comments to the contrary are welcome.)

One more thing I have to mention: Every journalist I know has at least one equipment-failure story. I've got two good ones and one great one from the analog-tape era, but this article represents my first-ever digital-era malfunction—Gilberto Gil granted an interview for this article, not a moment of which ended up on my high-end Edirol. (Since there were no problems with the other interviews, I'm inclined to think the failure was actually in the ubiquitous cheap, plastic Radio Shack phone adapter.)

Even if I don't think the article suffered much from the loss, ultimately, I was thrilled and honored to speak with Mr. Gil, and thus crestfallen to discover the snafu. Unquestionably there's something to be said about old-school pen-and-pad, if you're up to it.

The New Season: David T. Little and Olga Neuwirth

“Spotlight Illuminates Work by 2 Composers”
The New York Times, Sept. 9, 2012

Just back from a brief but badly needed vacation to find the annual New Season issue of The New York Times Arts & Leisure section is out. I haven't had any time to digest this year's epistle, but for years now (since long, long before I became a Times contributor), this feature has been one I've looked forward to throughout the late summer, then used as a directory in the weeks and months that followed.

It's not always easy to find a clever topic that will stand out among the contributions of my excellent colleagues, but this year, I took a different tack: Rather than digging around for trends or themes or other curious linkages, I simply wrote about two composers whose works I'm eager to hear this season, David T. Little and Olga Neuwirth…and conveniently, each had two big events coming up in the months ahead.

From there, though, it was curious and fascinating to find at least a few minor points of commonality between these two composers, whose styles are otherwise sharply contrasted.

All mod CON: Conrad Schnitzler tribute in NYC July 24–30, 2012.

A bit of late-breaking news here: Conrad Schnitzler, the influential, prolific German electronic-music pioneer who was an early member of Tangerine Dream and a founder of Kluster, and who passed away in August 2011, is the subject of CON-Mythology, an ambitious week-long tribute that starts today in New York City. Included among the festival's events is a 60-hour continuous, no-repeats playback of Schnitzler's music outside of Audio Visual Arts (AVA), located at 34 East 1st Street in Manhattan, running from Friday at 6pm EST until Monday at 6am and also streaming on the web.

In addition, Harvestworks (596 Broadway, sixth floor, just south of Houston Street) will host three of Schnitzler's Cassette CONcerts, based on a boxed set of tapes Schnitzler designed to allow for performances of his music that didn't require his presence. The CONcerts will take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 4 to 7pm EST; Friday's event features the live participation of Gen Ken Montgomery, the New York sound artist behind much of this festival. Here's an excerpt from one such concert:

For complete details, including further events involving Anthology Film Archives, the Clocktower and WFMU, check out the CON-Mythology site.