Flotation Device celebrates the 50th anniversary of Gavin Bryars’ Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (a touching ode to musical and spiritual constancy) and The Sinking of the Titanic (a lament whose title particularly befits a program called Flotation Device), both premiered together in December 1972. We relate Jesus' Blood to Heiner Goebbels’ remarkable new album A House of Call (wherein recorded voices collide with live instruments), and Titanic to John Adams’ earliest canonical work, Christian Zeal and Activity.
We also examine Satoko Fujii’s latest experiment in hybrid composition, featuring a big band filled with stars of the Downtown and Japanese free improv scenes. And we revisit a Miles Davis studio session that's also turning 50. The Polish band Kurws and solo projects from New York’s Gabriel Zucker and Ukraine’s .at/on round out the playlist.
Creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world, with host Michael Schell. Annotated playlist with Comments.
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Flotation Device 2022-12-11: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell
Intro and SET 1: Get down with it [0:00]
1. [1:44] Miles Davis: Billy Preston. From The Complete On The Corner Sessions (Columbia, 2007) with Miles Davis (trumpet with wah-wah), Carlos Garnett (soprano saxophone), Cedric Lawson (Fender Rhodes electric piano), Reggie Lucas (electric guitar), Khalil Balakrishna (electric sitar), Michael Henderson (bass guitar), Al Foster (drums), James Mtume (percussion), Badal Roy (tabla). NOTE: Recorded December 8, 1972 at Columbia Studio E, New York. An excerpt was included in Get Up With It (Columbia, 1974).
2. [14:19] Gabriel Zucker: How To Know, Forever. From Leftover Beats From The Edges Of Time (ESP-Disk', 2021) with Gabriel Zucker (piano, electronics)
3. [21:52] Heiner Goebbels: Wax and Violence - 4. Ti gu go Inîga mî (Some of them say). From A House of Call, My Imaginary Notebook (ECM, 2022) with Haneb (recorded voice, Lichtenstein Farm near Windhoek, Namibia 1931), Ensemble Modern Orchestra, Vimbayi Kaziboni (conductor), Gerhard Gruber (recording engineer). NOTES: Premiered by Ensemble Modern August 30, 2021 in Berlin. For more background on Goebbels and Bryars, see host Michael Schell's reflections at https://www.kbcs.fm/2022/12/16/flotation-device-looks-back-at-2022/⠀
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SET 2: Bryars' blood never failed us yet [29:13]
1a. [35:09] Gavin Bryars: Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (excerpts). From The Sinking of the Titanic (Obscure, 1975) with Gavin Bryars (conductor), Michael Nyman (organ), The Cockpit Ensemble, John White (tuba), Derek Bailey (guitar), Sandra Hill (double bass), John Nash (violin). NOTE: Composed 1971. Premiered December 11, 1972 at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
1b. Gavin Bryars: Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (excerpts). From Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (Point Music, 1993) with Tom Waits (vocals), chorus, orchestra, Hampton String Quartet, Michael Riesman (conductor)
1c. Gavin Bryars: Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet - single "A track" (excerpt). From Gavin Bryars: A Portrait (Philips, 2003) with Tom Waits (vocals), chorus, orchestra, Hampton String Quartet, Michael Riesman (conductor). NOTE: Composer's condensation of the 1993 release
2. [49:20] Gavin Bryars: The Squirrel and The Ricketty-Racketty Bridge. From Solo Guitar Volume 1 (Incus, 1971) with Derek Bailey (guitar). NOTE: Premiered December 11, 1972 at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
3. [55:55] Outro with Gavin Briars: The Squirrel and The Ricketty-Racketty Bridge (Bailey, Bryars, Fred Frith and Brian Eno)
4. [58:54] Kurws: Podchody/Foot chase. From Powięź/Fascia (Dur et Doux, 2022) with Dawid Bargenda (drums), Hubert Kostkiewicz (guitar, waterphone, bells, chimes), Jakub Majchrzak (bass), Piotr Zabrodzki (recording engineer)⠀
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SET 3: Dreams [1:08:22]
1. [1:09:59] Satoko Fujii: One Hundred Dreams (excerpts). From Hyaku (Libra, 2022) with Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax), Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon), Wadada Leo Smith, Natsuki Tamura (trumpets), Ikue Mori (electronics), Satoko Fujii (piano), Brandon Lopez (bass), Tom Rainey, Chris Corsano (drums), Joseph Branciforte (recording engineer)
2. [1:27:08] .at/on: Дніпро. From Українська (Adventurous Music, 2022) with Anton Holota AKA .at/on. NOTE: Album title means "Ukrainian"
3. [1:30:10] John White: Jew's Harp Machine. From Machine Music (Obscure, 1978) with John White, Christopher Hobbs, Gavin Bryars, Michael Nyman (Jew's harps). NOTE: Composed 1972⠀
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SET 4: In need of flotation devices [1:32:55]
1a. [1:36:30] Gavin Bryars: The Sinking of the Titanic (excerpt). From The Sinking of the Titanic (Obscure, 1975) with Miss Eva Hart (recorded voice), Sandra Hill (double bass), Angela Bryars (music box), John Nash (violin), The Cockpit Ensemble (strings), Gavin Bryars (conductor, piano). NOTE: Composed 1969, premiered December 11, 1972 at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
1b. Gavin Bryars: The Sinking of the Titanic (excerpt). From The Sinking of the Titanic (Touch, 2007) with Gavin Bryars (bass), Philip Jeck (turntables), Alter Ego: Manuel Zurria (bass flute, bottles), Aldo Campagnari (viola, bottles), Francesco Dillon (cello, tape recorder), Oscar Pizzo (keyboards, bottles), Fulvia Ricevuto (percussion), Paolo Ravaglia (bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, tape recorder), Eugenio Vatta (sound design). NOTE: Recorded October 1, 2005 at Teatro Malibran, Venice, during the 49th Venice Biennale
1c. Gavin Bryars: The Sinking of the Titanic (excerpts). From The Sinking of the Titanic (Point, 1994) with Alexander Balanescu, Bill Hawkes, Jonathan Carney (violas), Gavin Bryars (bass, occasionally with octave pedals), Roger Heaton (bass clarinet), Dave Smith (tenor horn, woodblocks, tam-tam, Korg M1 keyboard), Martin Allen (bells, marimba, cymbal, woodblocks, tam-tam, bass drum, water gongs), James Woodrow (electric guitar), Chris Ekers (sound designer), Children Strings: Camilla Thornton (viola), Caroline Dale, Sophie Harris (cellos), Children Voices: The Westhaston Boys' Choir, Christopher Barnett (director)
2. [1:53:23] Outro with John Adams: Christian Zeal and Activity
Photo credits: Heiner Goebbels by Wonge Bergmann, Gavin Bryars at Queen Elizabeth Hall by Vicky Hallam, Hyaku (Sara Schoenbeck, Ingrid Laubrock, Chris Corsano, Tom Rainey, Natsuki Tamura, Wadada Leo Smith, Satoko Fujii, Brandon Lopez, Ikue Mori) by Eva Kapanadze, Anton Holota (AKA At/on) via the artist, Autumn by F.-H. Barthélemon, Gabriel Zucker via the artist, John Adams by Christine Alicino, On The Corner (Reggie Lucas, Miles Davis, Michael Henderson, Badal Roy) via Voodoo Down Records, Kurws (Dawid Bargenda, Jakub Majchrzak, Hubert Kostkiewicz) by Paweł Starzec.