In the spotlight are two improvising trios recently heard in Seattle: Crump/Laubrock/Smythe and Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog. If you missed them, or don't live in our part of the world, here's your chance to check them out in the company of Andy Milne, Nate Wooley, Zeena Parkins, John Zorn's Bagatelles and several other stalwarts of the Downtown improv scene.
We also survey new recordings from Shelley Hirsch, Guy Klucevsek and Tyshawn Sorey (channeling his inner Morton Feldman via Awadagin Pratt and Roomful Of Teeth), plus premiere recordings of solo works by octogenarian John Harbison and nonagenarian Thea Musgrave. A 70th birthday salute to French acousmatician Denis Dufour and a 50th anniversary look at a performance in France by Frank Wright’s free quartet round out the program.Creative and improvised music with host Michael Schell, on the Northwest foremost and longest running radio show devoted to new and exploratory music.
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Flotation Device 2023-10-08: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell
Intro and SET 1: Dufour at 70 [0:00]
1. [1:31] Denis Dufour: Organa, Op. 109. From Complete Acousmatic Works, Vol. 1 (Kairos, 2021). NOTE: Realized 2000
2. [10:33] Ingrid Laubrock: Ants in My Brain. From Fragile (Intakt, 2022) with Ingrid Laubrock (tenor and soprano saxophone), Andy Milne (piano), Ryan Streber (recording engineer)
3. [19:34] Ingrid Laubrock: Monochromes (excerpt). From Monochromes (Intakt, 2023) with Ingrid Laubrock (tenor and soprano saxophone), Jon Irabagon (sopranino saxophone), Zeena Parkins (electric harp), Tom Rainey (drums, recorded percussion), Nate Wooley (recorded trumpets), Adam Matlock (recorded accordions), Harry Bertoia (sonambient sculptures), Ryan Streber (recording engineer)
4. [26:12] Cecilia Lopez, Ingrid Laubrock: cuerda floja. From Maromas (Relative Pitch, 2023) with Ingrid Laubrock (soprano and tenor saxophone), Cecilia Lopez (electronics, processing), Chris Benham (recording engineer). NOTE: For more on Cecilia Lopez, see https://tinyurl.com/CeciliaLopezComposer
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SET 2: Crump/Laubrock/Smythe at Earshot [29:58]
1. [32:08] Ingrid Laubrock on Coltrane and Braxton (from Flotation Device, September 19, 2021)
2. [35:12] Stephan Crump, Ingrid Laubrock, Cory Smythe: Benthos (excerpt). From Channels (Intakt, 2019) with Ingrid Laubrock (tenor and soprano sax), Cory Smythe (piano), Stephan Crump (acoustic bass), Martin Pearson (recording engineer)
3. [44:43] Tyshawn Sorey: Untitled Composition for Piano and Eight Voices. From Stillpoint (New Amsterdam, 2023) with Awadagin Pratt (piano), Roomful of Teeth: Estelí Gomez, Mingjia Chen, Eliza Bagg, Virginia Kelsey, Steven Bradshaw, Avery Griffin, Thann Scoggin, Cameron Beauchamp (voices), Francisco Gonzalez Navarro (recording engineer)
4. [55:08] Outro with Kate Gentile: bippf (with Cory Smythe)
5. [58:58] Marc Ribot: Maple Leaf Rage. From Hope (Northern Spy, 2021) with Rubin Khodeli, Gyda Valtysdottir (cellos), Ceramic Dog: Marc Ribot (guitars), Shahzad Ismaily (bass, keyboards, recording engineer), Ches Smith (drums, percussion, electronics)
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SET 3: Ribot at Earshot [1:12:27]
1. [1:14:18] John Zorn: Bagatelle #277. From John Zorn's Bagatelles Vol. 9 (Tzadik, 2022) with Asmodeus: Marc Ribot (guitar), Trevor Dunn (bass), Kenny Grohowski (drums), John Zorn (conductor), Marc Urselli (recording engineer)
2. [1:21:05] Frank Wright: Winter Echoes. From Last Polka in Nancy? (Sun, 1973) with Center of the World: Frank Wright (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet), Bobby Few (piano), Alan Silva (bass), Muhammad Ali (drums). NOTE: Recorded live October 10, 1973 at Nancy Jazz Pulsations, Nancy, France
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SET 4: Night at the end of the tunnel [1:34:34]
1. [1:37:11] Thea Musgrave: Light at the End of the Tunnel. From Sola: Music for Viola by Women Composers (Delphian, 2023) with Rosalind Ventris (viola). NOTE: Composed 2020, premiere recording
2. [1:38:36] Shelley Hirsch: Tattered Clothes. From Sext Tongs (forthcoming) with Shelley Hirsch (voice, electronics), Joanna Mattrey (viola), Mario Viele (recording engineer)
3. [1:42:17] Guy Klucevsek: String of Garlands. From Hope Dies Last (Starkland, 2023) with Bachtopus accordion quartet, Robert Duncan (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2021 in memory of Anne Garland
4. [1:46:34] John Harbison: Nocturne. From Piano Works (Naxos, 2023) with Se-Hee Jin (piano), Mark Perry (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2019, premiere recording
5. [1:52:20] Outro with Guy Klucevsek (with Pauline Oliveros): Tremolo No. 6
Photo credits: Pauline Oliveros and Guy Klucevsek by Linda Montano, Ceramic Dog (Shahzad Ismaily, Marc Ribot, Ches Smith) by Ebru Yildiz, Cecilia Lopez by Ian Kornfeld, Thea Musgrave and unidentified monarch by John Stillwell, Center of the World (Alan Silva, Muhammad Ali, Bobby Few, Frank Wright) by Jacques Bisceglia, trio (Stephan Crump, Cory Smythe, Ingrid Laubrock) via Stephan Crump, Shelley Hirsch via Simon Ho, Denis Dufour via the artist, Tyshawn Sorey via the artist, Asmodeus (Trevor Dunn, Kenny Grohowski, Marc Ribot, John Zorn) by Jazz Desk, Andy Milne and Ingrid Laubrock by Caroline Mardok