Way back in March of 2009 I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Imani Winds bassoonist and Pittsburgh native Monica Ellis. I was particularly interested in hearing about Imani’s Legacy Commissioning Project launched in 2007 to commemorate the ensemble’s 10^th Anniversary. Through the LCP, Imani has commissioned ten composers of color to create new works for wind quintet. Imani have been premiering the new works as they’ve been completed and, with the release of Terra Incognita, we can all begin to share in the fruit of this ambitious project.

Terra Incognita includes LCP commission Cane, a work by critically acclaimed jazz pianist Jason Moran. Cane traces the journey of Moran’s ancestors, brought as slaves from Togo to what is now Louisiana, and focuses in particular on the life of Marie Therese Coin Coin. Coin Coin’s master gave her her freedom after she had given birth to several of his children. A remarkably forward-thinking woman, Coin Coin was eventually able to establish her own plantation and purchase her children’s freedom as well.

Cane is infused with clave-like rhythms that locate the music within Coin Coin’s African roots. The rhythms are layered together and often create asymmetries that constantly push the music forward, and to my ears, portray Coin Coin’s irrepressible drive to make a better life for herself and her family.

As impressive an achievement as Cane is, it has plenty of good company on an album that also features legendary jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter’s title track composition Terra Incognita and Paquito D’Rivera’s Kites. Clarinetist D’Rivera and pianist Alex Brown join the quintet for Kites and contribute some of the album’s most direct forays into jazz. But what’s amazing about Terra Incognita as a whole is not how jazzy it is, but how these three outstanding composers explore the wind quintet as a creative medium. The results are refreshingly difficult to pin down in terms of generic influences and in this regard the album lives up to its name.

As I’ve said many times, Pittsburgh New Music Net isn’t about criticism (dangerous work that should be left safely in the hands of trained professionals), it’s about new music advocacy, and as such, I’m happy to tell you why I think a composer, performer, or composition are significant. Imani Winds have described the goals of the Legacy Commissioning Project as follows:

1. To introduce to audiences of all ages instruments that they may not have seen or heard before; and to show by example to African-America and Latino communities that there is a place in the Classical music world for them.
2. To champion the works of composers of under-represented cultures through diverse programming.
3. To expand the language and sonority of Classical contemporary music, so that it includes styles and techniques that are non-traditional to the genre

Those are important goals, and Terra Incognita is a significant and impressive step toward achieving those goals. While it’s appropriate to celebrate the recording of Cane as a milestone in the LCP, the album as whole embodies LCP goals. Most importantly, the success of the project can be seen in the extent to which the music regularly defies expectations, and in that regard, Terra Incognita is a place I think you’ll enjoy getting to know.

Terra Incognita drops on August 24. Here’s a video preview of the album.

Monday August 30 8 pm 21+ $16 advance/$20 door
Thunderbird Cafe, 4023 Butler St., Lawrenceville

HENRY GRIMES (bass, violin, poetry)

http://www.henrygrimes.com

with special guests Ben Opie and Edgar-Um

Tickets on sale now at Paul’s CDs in Bloomfield, and
online at http://www.thunderbirdcafe.net

HENRY GRIMES has played more than 38O concerts in 24 countries (including many festivals) since 2OO3, when he
made his astonishing return to the music world after 35 years away. He came up with great R&B / soul musicians, but drawn to jazz, he went on to play, tour, and record with Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Haynes, Steve Lacy, Charles Mingus, Gerry Mulligan, Sunny Murray, Sonny Rollins, Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp, Cecil Taylor,
and McCoy Tyner. Since re-emerging on the scene at Vision Festival, he has played with Rashied Ali, Marshall Allen, Fred Anderson, Marilyn Crispell, Andrew Cyrille, Bill Dixon, Dave Douglas, David Murray, William Parker, Marc Ribot, and Cecil Taylor, and held residencies at Berklee, New England
Conservatory, and the University of Michigan, while receiving several Meet The Composer grants. He also plays the violin and has published a volume of poetry. He can be heard on 85 recordings on labels such as Atlantic, Blue Note, Columbia, ESP-Disk, Impulse!, Pi Recordings, Prestige, Riverside, and Verve. Henry Grimes now lives and teaches in New York City.

And don’t forget that Alia Musica Pittsburgh’s summer recital series continues this weekend as well when clarinetist Rachael Stutzman performs music by Bernstein, Copland, and a premiere by Federico Garcia. The concert takes place at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Friday at 7:30 and you can find out more about the show from the AMP homepage.

Lots of great new music coming up as we head into the fall and I’ll be updating the main events calendar in the near future.

Missy Mazzoli, a New York composer, comes to Pittsburgh with her group Victoire for their first performance outside of NYC.  I interviewed her via Skype to talk about the group, the music, genre, and women in music, among other things.

Listen to Victoire’s A Door into the Dark here.

Check out Matt Marks’s video I Don’t Have Any Fun here.

And if you haven’t already heard, there’s an Alia Music recital on Sunday, August 1 featuring flutist Kerrith Livengood, cellist Simon Cummings, and pianist Matthew Gillespie. Sorry I didn’t get around to posting this on the calendar, but  consider yourself fully informed.

PNME premieres McGowan’s new commission on Friday, July 30 & Saturday, July 31 at City Theatre (1300 Bingham, the South Side). Both concerts start at 8PM. Complete details are at www.pnme.org.

L-R: Kevin Noe, Lindsey J. Goodman, Nathalie Shaw, Norbert Lewandowski, Conor Hanick

On July 14 I had the very enjoyable opportunity to talk with several outstanding musicians of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. We covered a lot of ground, including their vision for the venerable Pittsburgh ensemble, the challenges of the summer schedule, harsh financial realities the organization faces, the nature of multimedia performance, and the occasional bits of fun they are able to squeeze in during their few available breaks. It probably comes as no surprise that these artists, so obviously thoughtful and energetic when it comes to their performance, are just as thoughtful and energetic when it comes to discussing their art.

I’ve split the video up into two segments to appease the YouTube gods. A small caveat that during the first few minutes of Part I there were some unwanted bleeps and bloops from the second camera as we were adjusting settings, so apologies. It goes away pretty quickly and the content was too good for me to cut it out. I’d attribute the problems to blogging on a shoestring budget, but that would imply the existence of a budget, so, ya know… In any case, I’m sure you will enjoy hearing what your PNME musicians have to say about the amazing music they bring to our city.

PNME’s summer season continues through the end of July, so check it out. And remember that “first limers” get in free!

Part I: Musical Challenges, A Typical Day, Hopes for the Future

Part II: Financial Challenges, Multimedia, Having Fun

On Friday, July 16, 2010, On Fillmore will bring their unique style of music to the Warhol Museum.  I’m not exactly sure what to call it: extremely slow jazz, soundtrack music, haunting music.  Since I’m hardly a writer, I won’t need to worry about inventing a term for what they do.  But it would be wise for you to check it out.

The duo of percussionist Glenn Kotche (Wilco, Loose Fur) and bassist Darin Gray (Grand Ulena, Jim O’Rourke) have concocted an incredible sound world on their latest record, Extended Vacation, which is full of creeping vibraphone and bass lines, homemade percussion, and man-made bird calls.  While on the record marching bands and dirty percussion blast against the somber vibe/bass lines, the duo will strip it down to pitched and unpitched percussion and upright bass.  Pieces from all three of their records will be performed.

On Fillmore @ The Warhol Museum
July 16, 2010 8pm-10pm
Tickets $12, call 412.237.8300 for more information

I had the pleasure to interview Darin Gray and the audio artifact is below.

On the compositional process, juxtaposed rhythms, and the live set up

On guest Dede Sampaio and his bird calls

On homemade instruments and implements

On soundtracks and recent musical interests

Watch the video for “Master Moon” from the lp Extended Vacation: “Master Moon” by On Fillmore on Vimeo.

For more information: www.onfillmore.com

For more information on the show at The Warhol: http://www.warhol.org/calendar/events_detail.php?eventID=1934&dateYear=2010&dateMonth=7&dateDate=16

I had the distinct privilege of being a Composer Fellow at the 2010 John Duffy Composers Institute and could easily (and may still) devote an entire post to the value of that experience, but far and away, one of the best parts was working with John himself. If you ask John why he started the Institute his answer is simple: “I love music, and I love theatre.” This love for his art permeates everything he does as a composer and stalwart advocate for other composers.

Near the end of our two weeks in Virginia, I sat down with John and let the camcorder roll as we talked about his many efforts in the service of American music, his vision for propagating new American opera, and his ongoing creative activity. I’ve divided our conversation into three segments and posted the video after the jump.

Introduction and How the Duffy Institute Came to Be

On the Founding of Meet the Composer

Life Gets Richer: John’s Latest Projects