Posts Tagged ‘new music’

ABS just posted a feature on the trumpet titled Miles Beyond: The New Sounds Of Trumpet. Of course, we here at Greenleaf are fans of the instrument. And there are some great tunes streaming from Forbes Graham, Peter Evans, Kris Tiner, Nate Wooley, and Toshinori Kondo. Great feature. Reminded me of the D:O post Dave did awhile back.

So much cool stuff happening with this instrument. Hard to absorb it all.

I always love following along with visual charts like this. Wish that iTunes would have something like this for a visualizer option for new music compositions. Maybe a more nerdy software will come to be with charts accompanying the music.

Hat tip to Crooks and Liars for pointing us to this great vid.

Plenty more on the Tube. Been digging this playlist from the user d21d34c55.

As we roll out the preorder for the second piece of Spark Of Being, we also launch a new Subscribercast. The newest addition is a continuation of Dave detailing tracks from the aforementioned trilogy release. This time, subscribers get an in depth look at the Creature Theme — from the morse code rhythmic breakdown, to isolating some of the many sound sources used, to the final versions.

Be sure to check out the Travelogue subscribercast as well, if you missed it.

More Subscribercast updates coming soon. More exclusive downloads as well. For now, enjoy the new podcast and the exclusive first listen of Expand.

Check this out…

SUNDAY JUNE 13th
An unprecedented concert of new jazz works with renowned composers and performers for the telematic music medium. Telematic music is real-time performance via the internet by musicians in different geographic locations. Performers will be located in New York and San Diego, playing together as one trans-continental ensemble in real-time and “real-space”. There will be local audiences as well as a world-wide webcast. The music explores elements of jazz fused with artistic properties of telematic technology including multiplicity, heterophony, swing, polyphony, synchronicity, and nodality. The transparent densities and intensities are manifested to create this new music reality of telematic jazz.

Composers – Mark Dresser, Gerry Hemingway, Oliver Lake, Sarah Weaver
San Diego Performers – Hafez Modirzadeh saxophone,Michael Dessen trombone, Alex Cline, percussion, Mark Dresser, contrabass
New York Performers – Amir ElSaffar, Oliver Lake, saxophone, Min Xiao-Fen , pipa, Gerry Hemingway, percussion, Sarah Weaver, conductor

Steinhardt School, New York University
35 W. 4th Street, 6th Floor – New York NY, 10012
7:00pmEDT

Center for Research and Computing in the Arts (CRCA), University of California San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive – La Jolla, CA 92093-0436
4:00pmEDT

Tune into the video webcast here on Sunday.

As many found out via email this week, we launched a new Subscription Series. The expanded benefits lists includes an exclusive first listen of Dave’s new record, Spark Of Being: Soundtrack (the first release in a trio of releases slated for a Box Set release).

If you are a Subscriber, or become one, all you have to do is sign into your account at the store (the store recognizes your subscriber account), go to the Spark:Soundtrack album page, and click on the tracks. (We’re working a on Play-All function to update soon)

Once you are signed in at the store, you can play all of our front-line titles in their entirety as many times as you want. This is included in all new levels of Subscriptions. Plus you can get higher percentage discounts than before, access to the new Subscribercasts, et al. Updates with streaming our Full Book packages coming soon.

For the Subscriber Downloads Blog with the massively large 10+ hours of unreleased content, you sign in at the same place with the same user/pass just as before. Newbies will get an email with user/pass for this blog if they subscribe at the higher two levels. We’ll update you with a new track to download soon.

We built the new system with help from our subscribers. We hope you’ll continue to send us your feedback, suggestions, or funny stories about running into Dave at the local pool (thanks, John T!).

Happy weekend.

I went to see a pretty cool show last night here in Chicago at the Harris Theatre. Fulcrum Point puts on a season worth of great concerts, and since my buddy Joe Darnaby is acting stage manager, and all-things-techy guru for the company, I try to make it out to as many as I can. Plus I love new music. Always have, always will.

At the show last night, the piece that stuck out was Cinque Quadri da una cittá fantasma (Five Paintings from a Ghost Town) by Luciano Chessa. For piano, three turntables, and chalkboard. You can check out a video clip of Chessa playing this here.

The turntable part, played by Joe, took the infinite loop at the end of the three LPs to generate polyrhythms that lay as a bed for the piano. And the chalkboard (part of the second movement I believe) was close-miced to get the chalk sounds and scratching. As the chalkboard player — also the pianist — began to write and draw more and more frantically, the LP loops got louder and louder. Finally, the two players left the stage as the loop continued. Apparently it’s written in the piece that the players must exit and drink a glass of Laphroaig, a heavily peated scotch (and my favorite). Upon returning to the stage for the later movements, the piano became much more interesting. And later, a specific set of 3 LPs began to play super-quite music instead of the loop.

All in all, a great performance. And thanks to Joe for sharing a glass of that Laphroaig with me after the performance. Fulcrum Point, we’ll meet again.

A few links to pass on this fine Tuesday.

Destination:Out, unequivocally my most treasured source for discovering new jams, has a new post today following up a great post last week. The band, Amalgam; the record, Prayer for Peace. The two tracks posted are killer. Great way to start the day. Or end it. Really any time.

Next, a new Konono No.1 album was announced. Details via Pitchfork. The album titled Assume Crash Position hits the street June 8th. Here’s hoping for a stream to come soon. Info on a new Congotronics vinyl box with included Assume Crash Position LP over at the label site (Crammed).

Last, La Blogotheque (found via TwentyFourBit) is featuring a Wilco performance of “Country Disappeared.” Pretty cool performance — quiet, stripped-down, no vocal microphones. Definitely check it out.

A good read at BerkleeMusic.com. The Music Business Handbook is a downloadable PDF you can get by giving them your email — which I believe is part of the second chapter, Direct To Fan. It’s a good overview of what kind of marketplace up-and-coming artists find themselves.

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Some new music hit the web this month that I’ve been listening to — as I take a short break from my Alphabetical Listening Project. Definitely worth your time.

Brad Mehldau’s Highway Rider through Nonesuch. One of my favorite producers, Jon Brion, who did Largo, did a bang up job throughout.

Dave Holland’s newest, Pathways, for Octet sounds great. I’ll be picking that one up shortly. Check it out here.

Last, some reissued, remastered boxed sets from Black Saint / Soul Note are available now. I’m specifically excited about picking up the Charlie Haden box, but the others are on my To-Buy list as well. All are available here.

Anything I’ve missed? Pass on what’s found it’s way to your ears in the comments if you’d like.

Jonny Greenwood’s newest orchestral work, a BBC Commission called Doghouse, is streaming over at BBC3.

From BBC3:

BBC Concert Orchestra – continuing the Song and Dance theme, Doghouse, the BBC Concert Orchestra’s Composer in Association Jonny Greenwood’s latest work, forms the centrepiece of today’s concert, recorded last month at the BBC Maida Vale Studios and presented by Sara Mohr-Pietsch. It’s set in relief against other musical styles this unique broadcasting orchestra has been associated with over the years: radio theme tunes, light music, and film music.

File under Required Listening.

My A to Z listening project fell by the wayside last week. Not because I wasn’t trying — I assure you, I put my all into it. But I couldn’t make it through the E’s. I was pulling my hair out. I now agree with the commenters who thought it was an ill-conceived project. Glad I tried anyway. And I was able to delete about 20 or so albums that I didn’t even know I had that were just plain bad (how did Metallica’s Load get on my computer?!?)

So back to full album listening. Here are a few records, new and old, that I’ve been listening to recently. Please, pass on anything — again, new or old — that you have been digging (or not digging if you want) in the comments section here.

NEW RELEASES:

Gil Scott-Heron – I’m New Here [XL]
What a voice. With spoken word and grainy singing, interesting percussion and production elements, I keep coming back to this record for more. And the title track is a cover of a Bill Callahan tune masterfully done here.

Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me [Drag City]
The long-awaited — well, at least by some — new album from the folk pixie turned sophisticate long-form songwriter. A sprawling 3 LP (or 3CD) collection of beautifully arranged tunes. My highest of recommendations.

Nels Cline Singers – Initiate [forthcoming Cryptogramophone]
Details on this forthcoming double-disc and an advance track preview of “Grow Closer” at Crypto’s website. The release date can’t come soon enough.

Citay – Dream Get Together [Dead Oceans]
I got turned onto this label last year when Chicago-stalwarts Califone released their last one, and the Gray/Kotche duo On Fillmore did the same. One of their first releases this year was from this band. One thing I love about the album is the guitarist unapologetically goes guitar-hero on the best tracks. Check out the free downloads at the links above.

OLD HAT:

Abercrombie/Holland/DeJohnette – Gateway I
Getting my hands on that $1 set from the new Dave Holland site last month got me going back through his catalog. One of my faves is this one. Still have some of those guitar riffs from “Backwoods Song” written out in my old college notebook somewhere.

Altschul/Bley/Peacock – Virtuosi
Picked this LP up at Laurie’s Planet of Sound in Lincoln Square for $3.99. A steal. Anytime I see Paul Bley’s name on anything, I buy it. Hasn’t failed me yet.

Fleetwood Mac – Then Play On
Also grabbed this one at the same shop. It’s quickly rising up on my Desert Island list. Don’t let the band name fool you. Quite a different band when Peter Green was leading the troupe.

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Also, I’ve have been checking out In The Soul Kitchen from DJ Harry D at 90.3 FM KUSF. Trying to school myself a bit more in R&B. These playlists have been a great start. Keep ‘em coming Harry!