Night After Night

New Music Boston: May 2015

Georges Aperghis, by Charlotte Oswald

NEW MUSIC BOSTON
May 2015

(Updated May 13)

1

Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble
David Fulmer, Rotaries; Edgard Varèse, Déserts; Ron Nelson, Rocky Point Holiday; plus music by Respighi
Eric Hewitt, conductor
Boston Conservatory Theater, 8 the Fenway, Boston
8 p.m.
FREE
More information

Alisa Weilerstein & Inon Barnatan
Joseph Hallman, DreamLog; plus works by Beethoven, Schubert, and Rachmaninoff
Presented by Celebrity Series of Boston
Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, 30 Gainsborough St., Boston
8 p.m.
$30 and up
More information

John Wiese + Nick Hennies + The Epicureans
Presented by Non-Event
Exploratory percussion music, sound art, and improvisation
Goethe-Institut Boston, 170 Beacon St., Boston
8 p.m.
$15, members and students $10; advance $12, members and students $8
More information

2

New England Philharmonic
Matthew Brown, How the Solar System Was Won; Gunther Schuller, Meditation (Symphonic Study); Andy Vores, Drive (Violin Concerto No. 2); plus music by Rachmaninoff
Danielle Maddon, violin; Richard Pittman, conductor
Tsai Performance Center, Boston University, 685 Commonwealth Ave., Boston
8 p.m.
$40, seniors $25, students $10
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Radius Ensemble
Gabriela Lena Frank, Four Pre-Inca Sketches; Sofia Gubaidulina, String Trio; Arvo Pärt, Fratres; plus music by Schumann
Pickman Hall, Longy School of Music of Bard College, 27 Garden St., Cambridge
8 p.m.
$20, seniors $16, students $10
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Times Two
Owen Weaver + Maria Finkelmeier
Compositions by Javier Alvarez, Alvin Lucier, Christopher Cerrone, Maria Finkelmeier, Elliot Copper Cole, and Robert Honstein
The Record Company, 960 Massachusetts Ave., Boston
8 p.m.
$10 suggested donation
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8

Talea Ensemble
Georges Aperghis, Happy End
Animated feature film by Hans Op de Beeck, Bruno Hardt, and Klaas Verpoest
Sebastien Roux, computer music production; James Baker, conductor
Institute of Contemporary Art, 60 Northern Ave., Boston
8 p.m.
$15, members and students $10
More information

9

Philip White & Chris Postiokos + m@rk0 T|m!|N + Stephan Moore & Mark Cetelia + Skinny Vinny
Presented by Non-Event and Washington Street Music
Saxophone and feedback duos, damaged technology, and electronic improvisation
Washington Street Arts, 321D Washington St., Somerville
8:30 p.m.
$7 suggested donation

Williams Percussion Ensemble
John Luther Adams, Strange and Sacred Noise
Clark Art Institute, 225 South St., Williamstown
4 p.m.
More information

11

Edelweiss Piano Trio
Stephanie Ann Boyd, Ancestry Variations; plus works by Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Brahms
Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, 30 Gainsborough St., Boston
8 p.m.
Free admission
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12

Joseph Bastardo
Modular synthesizer improvisation
Presented by Non-Event
Café Fixe, 1642 Beacon St., Brookline
8 p.m.
$5
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Equilibrium Concert Series
Karl Larson, Andy Costello, piano
Scott Wollschleger; Secret Machines No. 6; Robert Honstein, Grand Tour; Olivier Messiaen, Catelogue d’oiseaux, no. XIII: Le Courlis cendre; John Cage, Music of Changes (excerpt); Brian Ferneyhough, I. From Opus Contra Naturam; David Grant, For; Clifton Ingram, Encolpius; Keith Kusterer, Trivia Surreal; Ofer Pelz, 1..2…3….; Damian Rodriguez: …Tre, Va!
Lily Pad, 1353 Cambridge St, Cambridge
7 p.m.
$10

Huntington String Quartet
Benjamin Park, String Quartet No. 1; plus works by Bartók and Schubert
Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, 30 Gainsborough St., Boston
8 p.m.
Free admission
More information

13

Vasari String Quartet
Samuel Taylor, Granules of Gray; plus works by Haydn, Bartók, and Mendelssohn
Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, 30 Gainsborough St., Boston
8 p.m.
Free admission
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14

New Gallery Concert Series
Rite of Spring Extravaganza
Amy Beth Kirsten, kiss to the earth; David Rakowski, Mind the Gap #18 for Sarah Bob (world premiere); Eric Hofbauer, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring
Calyx Piano Trio, Sarah Bob, Eric Hofbauer Quintet
Community Music Center of Boston, 34 Warren Ave., Boston
7 p.m.
$20; seniors, students, and children $15
More information

15

Boston Young Composers Ensemble
Rona Park, Bubbles; Jacob ter Veldhius, Grab It; Spencer Topel, Violine; Judd Greenstein, At the End of a Really Great Day
Galatea Fine Arts, 460 Harrison Ave., Unit B6, Boston
8 p.m.
$10 suggested donation
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Guerilla Opera
Per Bloland, Pedr Solis
Zack Box, Boston Conservatory, 8 the Fenway, Boston
8 p.m.
$15, seniors $10, students free
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Phoenix
Judd Greenstein, Clearing, Dawn, Dance; plus works by Biber, Mozart, Stravinsky, and more
Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, 85 W. Newton St., Boston
7 p.m.
Table seats $30, standing room $20, students $10
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16

Guerilla Opera
Per Bloland, Pedr Solis
Zack Box, Boston Conservatory, 8 the Fenway, Boston
8 p.m.
$15, seniors $10, students free
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Harvard Group for New Music
Ian Power, bind me, take me, amplifier, humidifier; Josiah Wolf Oberholtzer, Invisible Cities iii, Ersilia; Justin Hoke, rue, increase; Kai Johannes Polzhofer, „Keiner kennt seinen eigenen Namen, keiner kennt sein wirkliches Antlitz” (Léon Bloy); Manuela Meier, emergent properties #1; Marta Gentilucci, e/merge I; Sabrina Schroeder, Stircrazer | Hammer + Flutter; Sivan Cohen Elias, Playground; Trevor Bača Al-Kitab, Al-Khamr
Ensemble Dal Niente
John Knowles Paine Concert Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge
5:15 p.m.
Free admission; tickets required
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17

Classical Composer Focus Series
Steve Rouse, chamber works for string quartet, soprano and piano, and cello and double bass
Lily Pad, 1353 Cambridge St, Cambridge
7 p.m.
$10
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Guerilla Opera
Per Bloland, Pedr Solis
Zack Box, Boston Conservatory, 8 the Fenway, Boston
2 p.m.
$15, seniors $10, students free
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20

Morgan Evans-Weiler + Mike Bullock
Morgan Evans-Weiler, Viola Viola Cello; Mike Bullock, Emulation WW
Metropolitan Waterworks Museum, 2450 Beacon St., Boston
7 p.m.
Limited parking
More information

21

Guerilla Opera
Per Bloland, Pedr Solis
Zack Box, Boston Conservatory, 8 the Fenway, Boston
8 p.m.
$15, seniors $10, students free
More information

22

Guerilla Opera
Per Bloland, Pedr Solis
Zack Box, Boston Conservatory, 8 the Fenway, Boston
8 p.m.
$15, seniors $10, students free
More information

Jeph Jerman/Tim Barnes + Fraufraulein (Anne Guthrie + Billy Gomberg)
Presented by Non-Event
Exploratory percussion music and electroacoustic composition
Goethe-Institut Boston, 170 Beacon St., Boston
8 p.m.
$15, members and students $10; advance $12, members and students $8
More information

Lorelei Ensemble
Shelter: Shaw Pong Liú, Peace is a Woman in a House (world premiere); Carson Cooman: The Dawning Light (world premiere); plus selections from Las Huelgas Codex
Marsh Chapel, Boston University, 735 Commonwealth Ave., Boston
8 p.m.
$30, students $15
More information

23

Guerilla Opera
Per Bloland, Pedr Solis
Zack Box, Boston Conservatory, 8 the Fenway, Boston
8 p.m.
$15, seniors $10, students free
More information

Lorelei Ensemble
Shelter: Shaw Pong Liú, Peace is a Woman in a House; Carson Cooman: The Dawning Light; plus selections from Las Huelgas Codex
Lowell Lecture Hall, Harvard University, 17 Kirkland St., Cambridge
8 p.m.
$30, students $15
More information

28

Jason Lescalleet + Caroline Park & Asha Tamarisa + Dinnersss
Presented by Non-Event
Electroacoustic and electronic music
Barbara Lee Family Foundation Theater, Institute of Contemporary Art, 60 Northern Ave., Boston
7 p.m.
FREE
More information

29

American Repertory Theater
Matthew Aucoin, Crossing (world premiere)
Rod Gilfrey, Alexander Lewis, Davone Tines, Jennifer Zetlan, A Far Cry
Citi Shubert Theatre, 265 Tremont St., Boston
7:30 p.m.
$25-$110
More information

Boston Percussion Group
New pieces by Thomas Oboe Lee, Daniel T. Lewis, and John Murphree
House concert, East Boston (address upon RSVP)
8 p.m.
By donation
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NEC Youth Philharmonic Orchestra
Michael Gandolfi, The Garden of Cosmic Speculation; plus works by Chadwick, Chausson, and Rimsky-Korsakov
David Loebel, conductor
Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, 30 Gainsborough St., Boston
8 p.m.
Free admission
More information

30

Odyssey Opera
Benjamin Britten, Phaedra; Richard Rodney Bennett, Ophelia; Lennox Berkeley, Four Songs of St. Teresa of Avila; Judith Weir, King Harald's Saga; Peter Maxwell Davies, Eight Songs for a Mad King
Modern Theatre, Suffolk University, 525 Washington St., Boston
7:30 p.m.
$15-$50
More information

31

American Repertory Theater
Matthew Aucoin, Crossing
Rod Gilfrey, Alexander Lewis, Davone Tines, Jennifer Zetlan, A Far Cry
Citi Shubert Theatre, 265 Tremont St., Boston
2 p.m.
$25-$110
More information

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This calendar is maintained as a personal project and has no connection to the Boston Globe. No payment or promotional consideration is required or accepted for inclusion. To send information about a concert, master class, lecture, or other new-music event, email me via the link on the About page.

Playlist.

Sebastian Fagerlund - Violin Concerto ("Darkness in Light"); Ignite - Pekka Kuusisto, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Hannu Lintu (BIS)

Kayo Dot - Choirs of the Eye (Tzadik)

Los Angeles Percussion Quartet - The Year Before Yesterday (Sono Luminus)
(William Kraft - Fore!; Shaun Naidoo - The Year Before Yesterday; Erik Griswold - Give Us This Day; Joseph Pereira - Mallet Quartet; Isaac Shankler - Blindnesses; Nicholas Deyoe - Lullaby 5)

Slayer - Show No Mercy (Metal Blade)

Slayer - Live Undead/Haunting the Chapel (Metal Blade)

Slayer - Slayer 26 April 2015 (Rdio playlist; studio recordings in concert order)

Slayer - The Forum, Inglewood, CA, Nov. 14, 2014 (YouTube)

Slayer - Hell Awaits (Metal Blade)

Slayer - Reign in Blood (Def American)

Slayer - South of Heaven (Def American)

Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss (Def American)

Slayer - Divine Intervention (American)

Exodus - Blood In, Blood Out (Nuclear Blast)

Cinchel - Live at ESS 12/6/2013 (Bandcamp)

Album review: Colin Stetson & Sarah Neufeld, 'Never were the way she was'

Album review: Colin Stetson & Sarah Neufeld, Never were the way she was
Boston Globe
April 28, 2015

Proclaimed "the Neil deGrasse Tyson of the avant-garde saxophone world" in a concert review by some wag who used to write for The New York Times, Colin Stetson has made a beautiful new record with his Arcade Fire colleague and touring mate Sarah Neufeld. You can hear one track via the Soundcloud clip embedded above, and if gorgeous, evocative, contemplative, and creative pan-genre instrumental music holds any appear for you, then you should definitely try to hear the rest.

Playlist

King Crimson - The ConstruKction of Light (Virgin)

Cecil Taylor - The Complete Cecil Taylor in Berlin '88 (FMP < Bandcamp; due May 5)

Project X - Heaven and Earth (EGM)

Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath (Roadrunner)

Koes Barat - Koes Barat (Sub Pop)

Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat, Op. 106 ("Hammerklavier"); Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 ("Moonlight"); The Ruins of Athens - Chorus of the Whirling Dervishes, Turkish March (arr. Bax) - Alessio Bax (Signum)

Sarah Davachi - Qualities of Body Permanent (Constellation Tatsu)

Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld - Never were the way she was (Constellation)

Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works Volume II (Warp)

Slayer - A Decade of Aggression (Def American)

Hellhammer - Demon Entrails (Century Media)

King Crimson - Level Five (DGM)

Kara-Lis Coverdale - Triptych I (Bandcamp)

Kara-Lis Coverdale - A 480 (Constellation Tatsu < Bandcamp)

Kara-Lis Coverdale - Aftertouches (Sacred Phrases < Bandcamp)

Hugues Dufourt - Antiphysis; Brian Ferneyhough - Funérailles - Versions I & II; Jonathan Harvey - Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco; York Höller - Arcus - Ensemble Intercontemporain/Pierre Boulez, Péter Eötvös (Erato/Warner Classics)

MIT Wind Ensemble - waking winds (Innova)
(Peter Child - Concertino for Violin and Chamber Winds - Young-Nam Kim; Brian Robison - The Congress of the Insomniacs; Gunther Schuller - Song and Dance - Young-Nam Kim; Evan Ziporyn - Drill)

Hafdís Bjarnadóttir - Jæja (Bandcamp)

Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase. (Kscope)

Eliesha Nelson - Permutations (Sono Luminus)
(Nikolai Kapustin - Sonata for Viola and Piano - James Howsmon; John McLaughlin Williams - Two Pieces for Solo Viola; Ross Lee Finney - Second Sonata for Viola and Piano - James Howsmon; Jeffrey Mumford - wending; George Walker - Sonata for Viola and Piano - James Howsmon)

King Crimson - Happy with What You Have to Be Happy with (Sanctuary)

Hellhammer - Apocalyptic Raids (Century Media)

Hafdís Bjarnadóttir - Sounds of Iceland (gruenrekorder < Bandcamp)

David Torn - Prezens (ECM)

David Torn - only sky (ECM; due May 4)

King Crimson - The Power to Believe (Sanctuary)

Quiet Music Ensemble - The Mysteries Beyond Matter (Farpoint)
(David Toop - night leaves breathing; Alvin Lucier - Shadow Lines; Pauline Oliveros - The Mystery Beyond Matter; John Godfrey - hand tinted)

Jason Lescalleet and Olivia Block at 3S Artspace, April 18, 2015

Jason Lescalleet and Olivia Block: Sonorous Vessels
3S Artspace, Portsmouth, NH
April 18, 2015

Sound artists Jason Lescalleet and Olivia Block collaborated for the first time in the world premiere of Sonorous Vessels, a new piece inspired by and extending upon Alvin Lucier's Music for Piano with Amplified Sonorous Vessels, on Saturday night at 3S Artspace in Portsmouth, NH. I wrote about Lescalleet's series and this particular concert in the latest installment of my Newer Music column for the Boston Globe last week (column here), added more insights from Block here on the blog a few days later (post here), and then made the quick, pleasant drive up from Boston to Portsmouth for the event.

A terrific performance. Photos now…words to come.

Block Six, the very pleasant restaurant and bar at 3S Artspace. Mostly populated by diners who aren't headed to the performance in the next room.

Olivia Block's gear, partial view.

Olivia Block's gear, another partial view.

Jason Lescalleet explaining his performance series and the evening's program.

Performance in progress.

Performance in progress.

Performance in progress.

Playlist.

King Crimson - Thrak (Virgin)

Taake - Stridens Hus (Candlelight < Bandcamp)

Taake - Noregs Vaapen (Candlelight < Bandcamp)

John Mackey - Wine-Dark Sea - University of Texas Wind Ensemble/Jerry F. Junkin (YouTube)

Conrad Schnitzler - Ballet Statique (Con) (M=minimal)

Arnold Schoenberg - Concerto for Piano; Concerto for Violin - Peter Serkin, Pierre Amoyal, London Symphony Orchestra/Pierre Boulez (Erato/Warner Classics)

Emperor - Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (Candlelight < Bandcamp)

King Crimson - THRaKaTTaK (DGM)

Evan Caminiti - Meridian (Thrill Jockey)

Liturgy - The Ark Work (Thrill Jockey)

Nordic Affect - Clockworking (Sono Luminus; due July 31)
(Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir - Clockworking; Sleeping Pendulum; Hildur Guðnadóttir - 2 Circles; Hafdís Bjarnadóttir - From Beacon to Beacon; Þuríður Jónsdóttir - INNI - Musica da Camera; Anna Þorvaldsdóttir - Shades of Silence)

Eve Risser - Des pas sur la neige (Clean Feed)

Playlist.

Porcupine Tree - Signify (Kscope)

Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier (Sanctuary)

King Crimson - Beat (Virgin)

Radu Malfatti - darenootodesuka - Wandelweiser Composers Ensemble (b-boim)

Fraufraulein - Extinguishment (Another Timbre)

Robert Rich - Filaments (Soundscape)

Radu Malfatti - Tokyo Sextet (2005): Electronic Version - Taku Unami (Slub Music)

King Crimson - Three of a Perfect Pair (Virgin)

Cecil Taylor - In Berlin '88 (FMP < Bandcamp; due May 5)

Chris Dingman - The Subliminal and the Sublime (Between Worlds; due June 16)

Henry Threadgill - In for a Penny, in for a Pound (Pi Recordings; due May 19)

Tim Berne's Snakeoil - You've Been Watching Me (ECM)

Meridian - Tuyeres (Caduc)

Jeph Jerman/Tim Barnes - Matterings (Erstwhile)

Vanessa Rossetto - Misafridal (Music Appreciation)

King Crimson - Vrooom (DGM)

Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians - Ensemble Signal/Brad Lubman (Harmonia Mundi)

Alvin Lucier - Music for Piano and Amplified Sonorous Vessels - Judith Gordon, Greg Brown (YouTube)

Kobe Van Cauwenberghe - Give My Regards to 116th Street (Carrier)
(Alex Mincek - Strata; Taylor Brook - Sui Generis; Rama Gottfried - Spindle; Aaron Einbond - Silent Screen; Paul Clift - 1950 C; Christopher Trapani - Really Coming Down)

Gavin Bryars - The Sinking of the Titanic; Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet - Cockpit Ensemble/Gavin Bryars (Obscure/Venture)

Olivia Block - Heave To (Sedimental < Bandcamp)

Robert Hood - Minimal Nation Mix (M-Plant)

Various Artists/James Holden - DJ-KiCKS (!K7 Records)

David Torn - Cloud About Mercury (ECM)

Olivia Block on Jason Lescalleet, Alvin Lucier, and Sonorous Vessels

Olivia Block, by Richard Termine for The New York Times

Newer Music bonus track

As reported for my Newer Music column in the Boston Globe yesterday, sound artist Jason Lescalleet is launching a quarterly duo-concert residency at 3S Artspace in Portsmouth, NH, this Saturday night with the world premiere of Sonorous Vessels, a composition jointly created with Chicago sound artist and composer Olivia Block. Inspired by Alvin Lucier's Music for Piano with Amplified Sonorous Vessels, the collaboration marks the first time that Lescalleet and Block have worked together.

As a part of the column, Block — whose most recent solo album, Karren, was among 2013's most extraordinary achievements — kindly consented to answer a few questions about the project via email. As these things go, only a very tiny portion of her response made it into the final edit. But what she has to say about Lescalleet and the project is well worth reading, so with her permission, I'm posting the entirety of her response here.

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Jason told me that while the two of you have shared programs before, you've not collaborated directly. What appeals to you about his work? 

What I value most about Jason’s work, particularly in his recorded compositions, is his incredible sense of composition and pacing. I also like that the sense of humor he uses in his presentation and titles belies his serious and absolute expert approach to composition. To me, he is a lot like Luc Ferrari in that his work is beautifully crafted, juxtaposes mysterious sound spaces in intriguing ways, and includes a sense of levity, but always has an underlying darkness. In Jason’s case I would use the word “bleak” instead of “dark,” though. I also appreciate Jason’s inclusion of (what I think of as) the epiphonographic sounds of each medium — the hiss of tape, or the burned sounds of digital overdrive.

What do you look for in potential collaborators, and what made you suspect that Jason would be a compatible match to your own methods and goals? 

In general, when I think about working with a collaborator, I go one of two ways. I look for someone who has a sensibility that I trust, or maybe a similar sensibility to my own, so that I know that I don’t have to worry about the basic issue of whether or not I will like or trust the choices that this person will make during the process.

Or I will look for someone who makes work in a genre or instrumentation different than my own. For instance, I like the idea of working in different genres of music, particularly pop music, and shaping the sound of it or bringing something different to it. 

I would place Jason in the former category, as an artist who has an artistic sensibility that I trust. We like similar sounds, and I appreciate his sense of pacing, so I think playing together will feel pretty comfortable/natural.

I also like that Jason's performed/live work can in some cases sound different from his studio work, which is an approach I feel like we share. In live situations, my sense is that Jason focuses on the relationship he can create with the acoustic space by working with tonal feedback, utilizing the room shape with subwoofers, and emphasizing the dynamics. These qualities are additions to the the material he plays and manipulates on the tapes.

Jason performs in a subtly dramatic way by standing and moving from tape machine to tape machine instead of merely sitting at a table and turning knobs or staying behind a laptop — there is definitely an acknowledgement of the audience.

I think a lot about performance vs studio work. In live performance it’s important to create a relationship between gesture, object and sound. I like thinking about the audience as existing in the same space and helping to shape the sound of the room tone with bodies and breath and movement.

Jason explained how the Lucier angle came about, but could you tell me something about your own interest in Lucier's music and his impact on your creative work? 

To me the most influential quality about the work of Lucier is his emphasis on spacial acoustics/room sound, and the acoustic qualities of materials. I also like that sounds seem to exist for the sound's sake in Lucier’s work. His scores include directions for very close listening to single sounds as part of the music-making process. For example, the performer might be directed  to play a long tone, then listen for certain overtones or timbral qualities in the sound, and make subsequent decisions based upon what is being heard. The emphasis on listening in his text scores shares some common threads with Pauline Oliveros’ Deep Listening Meditations, although my impression of Lucier’s text scores is that they are more like scientific investigations rather than meditations. I remember hearing a performance of Vespers in a large concert hall, and noticing the way that the echolocation sounds were activating corners of the space behind me. The piece introduced an idea about sonic depth of field that continues to influence me, particularly in my multi-speaker compositions. 

In recent years I have been following my own investigations into the acoustic possibilities of glass. There are piles of broken pieces of frosted glass on the strings inside the piano, and glass jars in various locations on the wood and tuning pegs and strings. I tap them gently with soft mallets, creating shimmering broken glass sounds, using the damper pedals to create resonance with the glass timbres inside the piano or to stop the dreamy decay suddenly. So for me, the Sonorous Vessels project is a way to develop the interests I have already started to play around with, and to work with the added element of processing that Jason will bring. The most important part of the preparation for this performance with Jason is the extra day of rehearsal time in the space with the piano that 3S has generously set up for us. The performance is so much about this room sound and this glass and this piano. The emphasis on site specificity is very much in the spirit of Lucier.

Jason Lescalleet and Olivia Block present Sonorous Vessels on Saturday, April 18, at 8pm at 3S Artspace, 319 Vaughan St., Portsmouth, NH. Tickets: $14, members $12. (603) 766-3330, www.3sarts.org

Newer Music 06: Jason Lescalleet

Jason Lescalleet, by Tim Bugbee

"Lescalleet fosters community on CD and new concert series"
Boston Globe
April 14, 2015

The sixth episode in the continuing saga of Newer Music focuses on Jason Lescalleet, a performer whose work made an impression on me years ago and still does. I recall vividly instances of Lescalleet's visceral, almost violent approach to tape-loop manipulation during New York City encounters with nmperign and Joe Colley, and I've appreciated the recordings he's made since: in particular a brilliant 2CD solo set, Songs About Nothing (my year-end pick for the best record of 2012 in Time Out New York), and rich, mysterious duo projects with Kevin Drumm and Graham Lambkin, all for the Erstwhile Records label.

The article focuses in particular on This Is What I Do, the monthly series of full-length CDs that Lescalleet is releasing via his own record label, Glistening Examples, and on a new quarterly concert series starting this Saturday, April 18, at 3S Artspace in Portsmouth, NH. The series, curated by Dan Hirsch, concentrates on duo projects, including events with Drumm (July 11), Lambkin (October 10), and Aaron Dilloway (December 12). But even among that company, the first concert stands to be something very special indeed: the world premiere of Sonorous Vessels, jointly created by Lescalleet and Olivia Block, and meant as a continuation of Alvin Lucier's Music for Piano with Amplified Sonorous Vessels.

Coming tomorrow: More from Olivia Block about this new collaboration, exclusively here.

Also coming tomorrow: Jeff Witscher, featured in Newer Music in February, offers an alternative to your Tax Day doldrums with a performance at Boston Cyberarts Gallery in Jamaica Plain (141 Green Street). He's sharing the bill with Eric Frye and Roy Werner (G.S. Sultan); the show gets underway sometime around 8pm, and will set you back a mere $10. More here.

Older Newer:

01, November 2014: Michael Pisaro
02, December 2014: Asher Tuil
03, January 2015: Zs
04, February 2015: Jeff Witscher (Rene Hell)
05, March 2015: A Winged Victory for the Sullen

Vijay Iyer Trio at the Regattabar, April 10, 2015

Vijay Iyer and Stephan Crump, by Justin Saglio for the Boston Globe

Vijay Iyer Trio at the Regattabar, April 10, 2015
Boston Globe
April 13, 2015

I'll admit it, I was nervous going into this one. I hadn't written about jazz regularly since my days as the assistant editor of Jazziz, fully 15 years ago – an odd development, really, since access to jazz and improvised music was what caused me to move to New York City in 1993 in the first place.

Sure, I did some small pieces here and there for Time Out New York, but reviewing concerts is a different thing than profiling artists or previewing events. Going into this specific assignment, I also knew that Vijay Iyer is an artist whose work has attracted a lot of attention and ink, meaning that whatever I wrote wasn't likely to float under the radar.

Happily, the gig gave me a lot to think about, the writing came easily, and the response has been gratifying. I remain happy to defer to the excellent Jon Garelick as the principal jazz writer for the Globe (read his review of Iyer's new CD, Break Stuff, here). But I'm also eager to augment Jon's efforts, whenever and wherever it's useful to do so.

One more thing: Henry Threadgill is among the greatest American composers of all time – period, full stop.