Flotation Device previews the touring production of Anthony Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X. We examine its musical sources (including Davis’s contemporaneous Epistēmē band), its position in opera history, and its new revised version captured in a recording by Odyssey Opera. We also celebrate the 75th birthday of Fred Frith with a Henry Cow recording supplied by our 50 years ago in the avant-garde department, comparing it with contemporaneous tracks by soprano sax reviver Steve Lacy, scat singing liberator Jeanne Lee, and even Jethro Tull, via an oddity that languished in the vaults for three decades before its unveiling in 2002. Also enduring a long oblivion was Opus Clavicembalisticum, the 4½ hour piano tome by the recalcitrant English Parsi composer Kaikhosru Sorabji, who imposed a 46 year performance ban on it. We sample 30 minutes from Daan Vandewalle’s new recording of the complete piece, enough for you to decide whether it’s the work of a genius or a crank.
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Flotation Device 2024-02-18: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell
Intro and SET 1: 50 years ago in the avant-garde I [0:00]
1. [2:11] Henry Cow: Upon Entering The Hotel Adlon. From Unrest (Virgin, 1974) with Henry Cow: Tim Hodgkinson (organ, piano, alto saxophone, clarinet), Lindsay Cooper (bassoon, oboe, recorder, voice), Fred Frith (stereo guitar, violin, xylophone, piano), John Greaves (bass guitar, piano, voice), Chris Cutler (drums), Phil Becque, Andy Morris (recording engineers). NOTE: Recorded February 14–28, 1974 at The Manor, Oxfordshire, UK
2. [5:12] Henry Cow: Introduction. From 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set (ReR Megacorp, 2008) with Henry Cow: Tim Hodgkinson (organ, alto saxophone), Lindsay Cooper (oboe, bassoon), Fred Frith (guitar, viola, piano), John Greaves (bass guitar), Chris Cutler (drums). NOTE: Recorded April 25, 1974 on the John Peel Show, BBC, London
3. [7:02] Steve Lacy: Ladies. From Scraps (Saravah, 1974, reissued 1997 in Scratching the Seventies/Dreams) with Steve Lacy (soprano saxophone, bells), Steve Potts (alto, tenor, soprano saxophone), Michael Smith (piano), Irène Aebi (voice, cello), Kent Carter (bass, cello), Kenny Tyler (percussion), Christian Gence (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded February 18–21, 1974 in Paris
4. [16:05] Anthony Davis: Wayang II (Shadowdance). From Epistēmē (Gramavision, 1981) with Dwight Andrews (flute, piccolo, bass clarinet), George Lewis (trombone), Shem Guibbory (violin), Abdul Wadud (cello), Anthony Davis (piano), Rick Rozie (bass), Pheeroan Aklaff (drums, gongs, cymbals), Warren Smith (marimba, xylophone, timpani, bass drum, Chinese gongs, cymbals), Jay Hoggard (vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel), Mark Helias (conductor), John Kilgore (recording engineer)
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SET 2: X [23:44]
1. [28:54] Anthony Davis: Act I excerpts. From X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (BMOP/sound, 2022) with Malcolm X: Davóne Tines (bass-baritone), Street/Elijah Muhammad: Victor Robertson (tenor), Odyssey Opera chorus, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Gil Rose (conductor), Joel Gordon (recording engineer). NOTE: Premiere recording of the revised version
2. [41:14] Anthony Davis on Malcolm X's speech rhythms
3. [42:07] Anthony Davis: Mecca scene. From X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (as above)
4. [48:04] Anthony Davis on the conception of the opera
5. [48:31] Anthony Davis: Act III excerpts. From X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (as above)
6. [56:12] Outro with Benjamin Britten: Billy Budd and Anthony Davis: X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
7. [1:00:08] Jethro Tull: Quartet. From War Child (EMI, 2002) with Jethro Tull: Ian Anderson (vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, saxophones), Martin Barre (electric guitar, Spanish guitar), John Evan (piano, organ, synthesizers, accordion), Jeffrey Hammond (lead vocals, bass guitar, string bass), Barriemore Barlow (drums, percussion, glockenspiel, marimba), Dee Palmer (orchestral arrangements), Robin Black (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded December 1973–February 1974 at Morgan Studios, London. Not included in the original 1974 release of War Child
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SET 3: 50 years ago in the avant-garde, part II [1:02:50]
1. [1:04:24] Steve Lacy: Name. From Scraps (Saravah, 1974, reissued 1997 in Scratching the Seventies/Dreams) with Michael Smith (piano), Kent Carter (bass), Kenny Tyler (percussion), Christian Gence (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded February 18–21, 1974 in Paris
2. [1:09:09] Jeanne Lee: Conspiracy. From Conspiracy (Seeds, 1975, reissued 2021 by Moved-By-Sound) with Jeanne Lee (vocal), Gunter Hampel (flute, piano, vibraphone, alto clarinet, bass clarinet), Sam Rivers (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute), Alan Praskin, Perry Robinson (clarinets), Mark Whitecage (alto clarinet), Marty Cook (trombone), Jack Gregg (bass), Steve McCall (drums), George Klabin (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded February 1974, New York
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SET 4: A piano piece [1:19:26]
1. [1:24:07] Kaikhosru Sorabji: Opus clavicembalisticum (excerpts). From Opus clavicembalisticum (Passacaille, 2024) with Daan Vandewalle (piano). NOTE: Composed 1929–30
2. [1:56:13] Outro with Kaikhosru Sorabji: Djâmi (Jonathan Powell)
Photo credits: Steve Lacy by Lionel Decoster, Will Liverman and Victor Ryan Robertson in X via Metropolitan Opera, Kaikhosru Sorabji by Joan Muspratt, Jethro Tull (Barriemore Barlow, Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Evan, Jeffrey Hammond) by Gijsbert Hanekroot, Jeanne Lee by Irene Kubota, Anthony Davis by Michele Zousmer, Sorabji: Opus Clavicembalisticum, Fred Frith by Heike Liss