Premiere recordings take the spotlight in this podcast, with John Zorn’s latest (and maybe last) string quartet, Michael Gordon's tribute to Hollywood Westerns, and Noriko Baba's blend of Bach and bonbori. We’ve got free improv from New York and electronic music from Poland, plus a historical recording by Meredith Monk that turned 50 this month. Stewart Goodyear mixes Mendelssohn with Sub-Saharan rhythms, Arthur Levering writes for an unorthodox trio, and an old sea shanty gets a clattering new accompaniment. A salute to guitarist Ralph Towner for his 85th birthday rounds out the proceedings. Creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, originally broadcast March 2, 2025.
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Flotation Device 2025-03-02: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell
Intro and SET 1: Old and new [0:00]
1. [1:23] Jon Irabagon: Colocation (excerpts). From Server Farm (Irabbagast, 2025) with Jon Irabagon (tenor and sopranino saxophone, effects), Peter Evans (trumpet, flugelhorn), Mazz Swift (violin, voice), Miles Okazaki, Wendy Eisenberg (guitars), Matt Mitchell (piano, Fender Rhodes, Prophet), Michael Formanek (acoustic bass), Chris Lightcap (electric bass), Dan Weiss (drums), Levy Lorenzo (kulintang, laptop, electronics, vibraphone), Chris Benham (recording engineer, Big Orange Sheep)
2. [9:15] Meredith Monk: Porch. From Beginnings (Tzadik, 2009) with Meredith Monk (vocals), David Behrman (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded March, 1975 at Merce Cunningham Studio, New York
3. [12:39] Kim Cass: Trench. From Levs (Pi, 2024) with Kim Cass (bass, sampling), Laura Cocks (flutes), Adam Dotson (euphonium), Matt Mitchell (piano, Prophet-6), Tyshawn Sorey (drums), Ryan Streber (recording engineer, Oktaven Audio)
4. [18:47] Ed Pettersen, Henry Kaiser: The Sweet Kumadee. From Riddles Wisely Expounded (Bandcamp, 2024) with Ed Pettersen (voice, instruments), Henry Kaiser (instruments)
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SET 2: Ralph Towner at 85 [26:12]
1. [29:28] Arthur Levering: Giocattolo. From OceanRiverLake (New Focus, 2024) with Sarah Brady (piccolo), Maarten Stragier (guitar), Donald Berman (celesta), Jesse Lewis (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2012, premiere recording
2. [38:31] Stewart Goodyear: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. From Mendelssohn, Goodyear, Schumann (Orchid Classics, 2025) with Stewart Goodyear (piano)
3. [45:25] Oregon: Lantern. From Lantern (CAM Jazz, 2017) with Oregon: Paul McCandless (oboe, English horn, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, flute), Ralph Towner (classical guitar, piano, synthesizer), Paolino Dalla Porta (double bass), Mark Walker (drums, hand percussion, drum synthesizer), Johannes Wohlleben (recording engineer)
4. [53:25] Outro with Oregon: Waterwheel
5. [1:00:17] Simon Nabatov Trio: Grumpy. From Assemblage (Fundacja Słuchaj, 2025) with Simon Nabatov (piano, live electronics), Mark Helias (bass), Tom Rainey (drums), David Stoller (recording engineer, Samurai Hotel Studio)
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SET 3: The Old Minimal West [1:02:17]
1. [1:03:43] Michael Gordon: A Western (excerpts). From A Western/How to fold the wind (Cantaloupe, 2025) with Theatre of Voices: Else Torp, Kate Macoboy (sopranos), Laura Lamph (alto), Paul Bentley-Angell, Jakob Skjoldborg (tenors), Jakob Bloch Jespersen (bass), Paul Hillier (conductor), Preben Iwan (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2019, premiere recording
2. [1:20:42] Noriko Baba: Non-Canonic Variations. From Bonbori (Kairos, 2025) with Ensemble Cairn: Cédric Jullion (flute), Ayumi Mori (clarinet), Cécile Brossard (viola), Alexa Ciciretti (cello), Julien Aléonard (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2011, premiere recording
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SET 4: Zorn seen [1:28:43]
1. [1:31:28] Marcel Chyrzyński: Mahāmudrā. From PSeME Collection Odyssey two (Requiem/Opus Series, 2024). NOTE: Realized 2006
2. [1:41:26] John Zorn: The Unseen. From The Complete String Quartets (Tzadik, 2025) with JACK String Quartet: Christopher Otto, Austin Wulliman (violins), John Pickford Richards (violas), Jay Campbell (cello), Ryan Streber (recording engineer, Oktaven Audio). NOTE: Composed 2017, premiere recording
3. [1:54:47] Outro with John Zorn: Cat O'Nine Tails
Photo credits: Collin Walcott and Meredith Monk by Martha Van Burek, Server Farm (Michael Formanek, Levy Lorenzo, Chris Lightcap, Mazz Swift, Peter Evans, Jon Irabagon, Dan Weiss, Matt Mitchell, Miles Okazaki, Wendy Eisenberg) by Chris Benham, Michael Gordon by Peter Serling, Ralph Towner via the artist, Arthur Levering by Janice Crotty, Marcel Chyrzyński via Polska Biblioteka Muzyczna, Noriko Baba by Kyoko Nagashima, Stewart Goodyear by Anita Zvonar, Meredith Monk in Education of the Girlchild via The House Foundation for the Arts, John Zorn in MindFlux 2010 via the artist.