Flotation Device takes one last look at Earshot Jazz's 2024 tribute to Sun Ra and Butch Morris, with Wayne Horvitz and Myra Melford offer their thoughts on the two masters. We then let our "50 years ago in the avant-garde feature" highlight the remarkable musical events of October 1974, when the prestigious Donaueschingen festival presented radical new works by Berio and Stockhausen while Braxton bridged divides, Henze looked back to Wagner, Grisey looked ahead to spectralism, The Residents channeled Zappa and Ives, and the latter’s centenary drew a brash commission from Elliott Carter. We hear from Ives directly in the form of a bitter election reflection and an impressive new recording of his violin sonatas by Stefan Jackiw and Jeremy Denk. And we find time to celebrate bassist Barre Phillips for his 90th birthday. Creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, from KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma.
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Flotation Device 2024-10-27: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell
Intro and SET 1: The Residents at 50, Barre Phillips at 90, Ives at 150 [0:00]
1. [1:10] Sophia Jani: Six Pieces for Solo Violin - Prelude. From Six Pieces for Solo Violin (Squama, 2024) with Teresa Allgaier (violin), Noël Riedel (recording engineer)
2. [3:47] Charles Ives: Violin Sonata No. 2 - 1. Autumn. From Ives Denk (Nonesuch, 2024) with Stefan Jackiw (violin), Jeremy Denk (piano)
3. [9:16] Barre Phillips, György Kurtág Jr.: Chosen Spindle. From Face à Face (ECM, 2022) with Barre Phillips (double bass), György Kurtág jr. (live electronics), Gérard de Haro, Manfred Eicher (recording engineers)
4. [13:29] The Residents: March de la Winni. From Fingerprince (Ralph, 1977, reissued 2018 by Cherry Red in Fingerprince pREServed Edition) with The Residents (guitars, horns, synthesizers, keyboards, percussion). NOTE: Recorded October 1974
5. [14:29] The Residents: Swastikas On Parade (excerpts). From The Third Reich 'N Roll (Ralph, 1975, reissued 2018 by Cherry Red in The Third Reich 'N Roll pREServed Edition) with The Residents, Peggy Honeydew, Pamela Zeibak (additional vocals). NOTE: Recorded October 1974
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SET 2: Earshot Jazz 2024 [24:21]
1. [27:39] Myra Melford on Anthony Braxton and Leroy Jenkins. NOTE: Video of the source interview is at https://tinyurl.com/MyraMelford
2. [28:22] Anthony Braxton: Opus 23A. From New York, Fall 1974 (Arista, 1974, reissued 2008 by Mosaic in The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton) with Anthony Braxton (contrabass clarinet), Kenny Wheeler (trumpet), Leroy Jenkins (violin), Dave Holland (bass), Jerome Cooper (drums), Tony May (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded October 16, 1974 at at Generation Sound Studios, New York
3. [33:53] Myra Melford on Butch Morris
4. [35:08] Butch Morris: Food Chain Dialogue. From Dust To Dust (New World, 1991) with John Purcell (oboe), Marty Ehrlich (clarinet), Janet Grice (bassoon), Vicki Bodner (English horn), J.A. Deane (trombone, electronics), Jason Hwang (violin), Jean-Paul Bourelly (guitar), Myra Melford (piano), Wayne Horvitz (keyboards, electronics), Zeena Parkins (harp), Bryan Carrott (vibraphone), Andrew Cyrille (drums), Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris (conductor), James Farber (recording engineer, Skyline Studios)
5. [42:42] Wayne Horvitz on Sun Ra and Butch Morris. NOTE: Video of the source interview is at https://tinyurl.com/WayneHorvitz
6. [45:20] Sun Ra: Space Is the Place. From Space Is the Place (Black Thumb, 1973, reissued 1998 by Impulse! and 2014 by Enterplanetary Koncepts) with Sun Ra and His Astro Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra: Sun Ra (Farfisa organ), Akh Tal Ebah, John Gilmore (vocals), Danny Thompson (baritone saxophone), Eloe Omoe (bass clarinet), Pat Patrick (bass guitar), June Tyson, Ruth Wright, Cheryl Banks, Judith Holton (space ethnic voices), Baker Bigsby (recording engineer)
7. [54:31] Outro with Sun Ra: Velvet (from Jazz in Silhouette)
8. [58:55] Jessica Ackerley: Forward motion is never a straight line. From All of the colours are singing (AKP, 2024) with Jessica Ackerley (electric guitar), Concetta Abatte (violin), Walter Stinson (upright bass), Aaron Edgcomb (drums), Alan F. Jones (mastering)
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SET 3: 50 years ago in the avant-garde I [1:04:59]
1. [1:07:01] Charles Ives: An Election. From The Complete Songs of Charles Ives, Vol. III (Albany, 1992) with Paul Sperry (tenor), Irma Vallecillo (piano), Judith Sherman (recording engineer)
2. [1:10:38] Elliott Carter: Brass Quintet (excerpt). From Classic American Brass (Summit, 2000) with American Brass Quintet: Raymond Mase, Kevin Cobb (trumpets), David Wakefield (horn), Michael Powell, John D. Rojak (trombones), Andrew Bove (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1974, premiered October 20, 1974 by American Brass Quintet, BBC, London
3. [1:20:34] Hans Werner Henze: Tristan - Epilogue. From Tristan (Deutsche Grammophon, 1977) with Homero Francesch (piano), Peter Zinovieff (tapes), Kölner Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester, Hans Werner Henze (conductor), Hermann Rantz (recording engineer). NOTE: "Preludes for piano, tapes and orchestra", composed and realized 1973 by Henze and Zinovieff, premiered October 20, 1974 by Homero Francesch, London Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis at Royal Festival Hall, London
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SET 4: 50 years ago in the avant-garde II [1:27:19]
1. [1:31:22] Luciano Berio: Points on the curve to find…. From Corale et al (Sony, 1990) with Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano), Ensemble InterContemporain, Pierre Boulez (conductor), Didier Arditi (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1974 for piano and 22 instrumentalists, premiered October 20, 1974 at Donaueschingen, West Germany
2. [1:42:53] Karlheinz Stockhausen: Inori (excerpts). From Inori/Formel (Deutsche Grammophon, 1979, reissued 1992 by Stockhausen-Verlag as Stockhausen Edition 22: Inori) with Suzanne Stephens (rin), Maria Bergmann (piano), SWR Orchestra Baden-Baden, Karlheinz Stockhausen (conductor), Peter Eötvös (musical assistance), Gernot Westhäuser, Karl-August Naegler (recording engineers). NOTE: Composed 1973–74, premiered October 18, 1974 at Donaueschingen, West Germany
3. [1:53:48] Outro with Gérard Grisey: Dérives
Photo credits: Paul Sperry via the artist, Butch Morris by Chad Batka/The New York Times, Charles Ives via the Charles Ives Society, Fire and Water Quintet (Lesley Mok, Tomeka Reid, Myra Melford, Ingrid Laubrock, Mary Halvorson) by Don Dixon, Concord Sonata by Charles Ives, Cristina Valdes by Monica Frisell, Rites Quartet (Pheeroan akLaff, Erik Friedlander, James Zollar, Marty Ehrlich) via Clean Feed Records, Myra Melford via Roulette, Julius Hemphill by Brian McMillen.