Cage-tennial

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Today is John Cage’s 100th birthday. Like much of the rest of the artistic universe, I remain quite fascinated by him, his ideas, and his music. I just want to pay brief homage to the man and his memory.

I don’t want to offer up an in-depth discussion of his life, times, and output, but I needed to at least alert regular readers to this day. (I’ll save such time and energy for something I’m much more excited about: Wagner‘s bicentennial.) I always make sure to cover Cage with my music appreciation students. Not only are the responses and assignments interesting to read, but it’s always great to see so many eyes and ears opened. (As with most things, I encourage them to simply react – I don’t care if they like it or not…that isn’t the point.)

For those wanting more information or context, Alex Ross is a great place to start for today’s digital celebration. And below are some videos that I often include in assignments. Ross’s preview post is quite nice, especially this line: “For much of his life, Cage was cast as a court jester or holy fool. As empires crumble, he seems saner than ever.”

John Cage on sound

Cage performing Water Walk on national television

4’33” for full orchestra

 

MTH-V: Montreux Redux

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As mentioned in my previous post, I saw a burnin’ lineup at Montreux Jazz Festival‘s Miles Davis Hall this past July. For this “return post” in the MTH-V series, I thought I’d feature some live clips of those three groups: James Carter Organ Trio, Spectrum Road, and Neneh Cherry & The Thing.

Below is perhaps my favorite single James Carter clip on YouTube. It’s a full concert from Germany in 2004, the year his Organ Trio – with fellow Detroiters Gerard Gibbs and Leonard King – began. (I saw them that spring at Detroit’s Orchestra Hall and they blew the roof off the place.) Since then they’ve been tearing it up across the globe and through two official releases: Out of Nowhere and At The Crossroads. (Those musicians are also featured on Live At Baker’s Keyboard Lounge.) Do watch the full concert if you have time, but if you don’t the first tune alone (Eddie Harris’s “Winter Meeting”) sums it up pretty well, especially Carter’s final chorus. An interesting tidbit from the Montreux performance: Carter eulogized both Whitney Houston and Andy Griffith (whom died that week). He based the opening cadenza for “I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone” on Houston’s “Saving All My Love For You,” and then for his last chorus on “JC On The Set” he quotedThe Andy Griffith Show’s theme song over the rhythm changes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_d0I97ZNl0

Next up, Spectrum Road. This is a live clip taken about ten days before I saw them. It includes a bit of everything: solos by Reid, Medeski, and Santana, and vocals by Jack Bruce. While Reid may show off a bit more than I’d like, the group works quite well as a unit. And Medeski always brings the madness, of course. Spectrum Road is a tribute to The Tony Williams Lifetime, one of the first fusion bands. If only I had a clip of when John McLaughlin made a surprise appearance at the end of the Montreux set…

Capping off this post, and the Montreux set, is Neneh Cherry & The Thing. This is one of the better, more representative videos I could find with decent audio and video quality. I wasn’t aware of either group, let along their collaboration, before purchasing my ticket. But I can safely say that I’m now a fan and would love to see them again. It’s not for the faint of heart. But it is lovely…

Summer Recap

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*Dusts keyboard off*

Well, my return to the blog at the beginning of August turned into my return at the beginning September. It’s been a great couple of months filled with music and travel, and it was far busier than I had anticipated. (And I expected a lot.)

This year’s study abroad program was another success, course-wise. Classroom business aside, I saw some great music while abroad. I saw Umberto Giordano’s Andrea Chénier again, this time with an even better cast. I also saw the world premiere of Detlev Glanert‘s Solaris. Until this year I was unfamiliar with his music, but I must say I’m fond of both his style and that opera specifically. (I’d like to cover my thoughts on that work more in depth at another time.) Both of those performances were part of the world-renowned Bregenzer Festspiele.

While in Europe, I also trekked to Montreux, Switzerland to attend an evening of jaw-dropping performances at the Montreux Jazz Festival. I’d never been, and fortunately the weekend I went included a great lineup: James Carter Organ Trio, Spectrum Road, and Neneh Cherry & The Thing. I initially planned to see Spectrum Road and Tricky share a double-bill, but Tricky backed out last minute and the other two bands served as replacements — it was better than the original lineup!) I’m a long-time Carter devotee, as has been described on this blog a time or two (MTH-V here), so seeing him for the seventh (?) time was a lovely surprise. Especially with his organ trio, he knows how to get the audience to its feet within just a couple minutes. (A couple choruses into his first solo, the audience was going nuts.) Spectrum Road – the fusion supergroup tribute to Tony Williams made up of John Medeski, Jack Bruce, Cindy Blackman Santana, and Vernon Reid – was ear- and mind-blowing. (It’s why I never travel without my earplugs.) They performed what I considered to be a near perfect blend of hard rock and jazz. It was the epitome of fusion. And if that wasn’t enough, John McLaughlin joined the band for the final two numbers. (!!!) The recent collaboration between Neneh Cherry and The Thing closed the show (and cleared the hall of those attendees with weak constitutions). They showcased a sublime blend of the avant-garde, spoken word, and groove. It was Pharoah Sanders meets trip-hop. I couldn’t get enough.

The last month has been busy with getting back into the groove, including a fun gig with The Fencemen just a couple days after I returned home. I don’t usually plug my dates and projects on here, but I figure every now and then can’t really hurt…

Recording-wise, White Gold Scorpio‘s new album Halloween Island is now available for free download until the official release on 10.31.12. WGS is a Brooklyn-based “noir”-rock project I’ve had the pleasure of contributing some tracks to. You can find me on two songs: “Scare You Like I Do” and “Throw Myself at You.” I really dig the album and encourage you to check it out.

Furthermore, Matt Borghi and I are wrapping up a full-length album for Teag & PK, our longtime collaboration, and we couldn’t be more proud. All of the recording, etc., is complete and we’re now just dealing with the logistics, prose, and visuals. I’ll discuss it more when it’s ready for release. It’s a series of ambient improvisations, and we think it’s some of the best stuff we’ve recorded in that regard. We can’t wait to share it with everyone!

July Update

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Blog posts will be fewer and far between until the first part of August (e.g., no “MTH-V” this week). I’m teaching overseas and my schedule can get pretty hairy, but I’ll be writing when I can. It’s a busy but fun program filled with great music (Bregenzer Festspiele), art, and history. I’m also trying to wrap up some recent recording projects which I’ll discuss more fully later.

Until then, check out any previous posts you may have missed out on… 🙂

Digital Music Battle Royal: Reax & Roundup

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If you’re a musician or know one personally, then the past ten days or so have likely affected your blood pressure. What started as a simple All Songs Considered blog post (that annoyed me) snowballed into an all-out blitzkrieg throughout the net, with guns blazing (bombs dropping?) from all sides: for, against, attempting to find compromise, tearing everyone down, etc. I even received some flak for my quickly-written rant.

Because no one wants to read yet another article on this topic, suffice it to say that I stand by my two big points from last weekend:
1. NPR’s Emily White illegally acquired most of her library, despite her stating otherwise via some creative rationality.
2. My beef was not with Emily White specifically. What she wrote bothered me, but, as I stated last week, I know that she’s one of millions. Instead, I was “shocked and chagrined” by NPR Music’s de facto endorsement of her position by allowing its publication via All Songs Considered. After all, NPR Music is a major media organization that relies heavily on listener support. An interesting juxtaposition if you ask me…

Anyway, I thought it’d be worthwhile to curate a number of last week’s posts related to this issue for anyone wanting to return to the battlefield. While I have so much to say on this topic, I need a mental vacation from it. (And I’m also scrambling to pack…) I’m not necessarily endorsing the POV of all of the below articles. I full agree with some, fully disagree with others, and have mixed feelings about most.

In somewhat chronological order:

“I Never Owned Any Music To Begin With” — NPR Music’s All Songs Considered, by Emily White

“Euphemistically Stealing” — MT-Headed Blog, by yours truly

“Letter to Emily White at NPR All Songs Considered” — The Trichordist, by David Lowery

“In Defense Of Emily White (The NPR Intern)” — Hypebot.com, by Emily White

“File sharing? It’s nothing personal. Seriously.” — McCarthyisms for Your Work Week, by David McCarthy
(David’s elusive online beyond the blog, but he’s a friend, former classmate, and someone with whom I always enjoy engaging on a variety of topics.)

“A Personal Aspiration Towards Ethical Listening” — Lubricity, by Alex W. Rodriguez

“White Vs. Lowery (Or I Don’t Have Time For This)” — The Clatter of Keys, by Erin McKeown (She’s great in concert, by the way…)
(Honorable Mention: Best Title contender)

“Music Followup” and “A Response to This Guy’s Response to This Other Thing on the Internet” — My Quiet Life, by Chris Wage

“Hey Dude From Cracker, I’m Sorry, I Stole Music Like These Damned Kids When I Was A Kid” — Huffington Post, by Travis Morrison
(Honorable Mention: Best Title contender)

“I buy more music than Emily White, and you should too” — CityPages, by Erik Thompson

“A Perpetual Debate: Owning Music In The Digital Age” — All Songs Considered, by Robin Hilton

“Emily White, David Lowery And The Future of Music Consumption” — Forbes.com, by Leor Galil

“Can we ease up on Emily White a little bit?” — by David MacDonald
(Another former classmate. I knew he’d chime in on this – and from this perspective – and that’s part of the reason I held off from posting this until now.)

 

PS: For giggles, I decided to listen to a little Cracker, for which I paid many years ago, when clicking “Publish.” That, coupled with all my previous contributions to NPR, should help to bring balance to The Force.