Flotation Device pays homage to Michael Tilson Thomas as a pianist, composer and—above all else—a conductorial advocate for new music, as exemplified in two of our favorite recordings of his that showcase American experimentalism at its craggy and confrontational best. We also mark the 50th anniversary of Xenakis’ Psappha with three very different interpretations of that most iconic of all solo percussion works. Plus we survey new albums by Melvin Gibbs, Brandon Seabrook and Marilyn Crispell, along with an Ornette Coleman Third Stream curiosity that’s just been revived after decades on the shelf. Sofia Gubaidulina’s uniquely somber Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings gets its own 50th birthday nod, and a preview of a Meany Center recital by Melia Watras (with several world premieres on the program) rounds out the offerings.
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Flotation Device 2026-05-03: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART ONE
Intro and SET 1: Embracing the sapphic [0:00]
1. [1:40] Marilyn Crispell, Anders Jormin: Embracing the Otherness, Contemplation in D. From Memento (ECM, 2026) with Marilyn Crispell (piano), Anders Jormin (bass), Stefano Amerio (recording engineer)
2. [10:46] Brandon Seabrook: Autopsied Cloudburst. From Hellbent Daydream (Pyroclastic, 2026) with Brandon Seabrook (guitars), Erica Dicker (violin), Elias Stemeseder (synthesizers), Henry Fraser (bass), Aaron Nevezie (recording engineer, The Bunker Studio)
3. [17:14] Iannis Xenakis: Psappha. From Contemporary (Evidence, 2020) with Adélaïde Ferrière (percussion), Little Tribeca (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1975, premiered May 2, 1976 by Sylvio Gualda at Round House, London
SET 2: Michael Tilson Thomas (1944–2025) [30:45]
1. [34:36] Melia Watras: Cirque à cordes. From The Almond Tree Duos (Planet M, 2025) with Michael Jinsoo Lim (violin), Melia Watras (viola), David Sabee (recording engineer)
2. [39:34] Carl Ruggles: Sun Treader. From Charles Ives: Three Places in New England, Carl Ruggles: Sun-treader (Deutsche Grammophon, 1970) with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor), Joachim Niss (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1926–31
3. [56:04] Outro with Steve Reich: Four Organs (Michael Tilson Thomas, Ralph Grierson, Roger Kellaway, Steve Reich, Tony Raney)
4. [58:50] Iannis Xenakis: Psappha. From Xenakis Edition 7: Percussion works (Mode, 2006) with Steven Schick (percussion), Josef Kucera (recording engineer)
Flotation Device 2026-05-03: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART TWO
SET 3: Dimensions of percussion and bassoon [1:12:47]
1. [1:14:27] Melvin Gibbs: 16 Dimensions of Underwater Light. From Amasia: Anamibia Sessions 2 (Hausu Mountain, 2025) with Alex Harding (bass clarinet), Chris Williams (trumpet), Casey Benjamin (synth), Onaje Allan Gumbs (electric piano), Melvin Gibbs (bass, sound design), Napoleon Maddox (beatboxing), J.T. Lewis (drums), Scotty Hard (recording engineer)
2. [1:20:14] Michael Tilson Thomas: Island Music - Part Three: Ride Outs. From Grace: The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas (Pentatone, 2024) with Nancy Zeltsman, Jack Van Geem (marimbas), San Francisco Symphony percussion section members: Raymond Froehlich, James Lee Wyatt III, David Herbert, Tom Hemphill. NOTE: Composed 2003
3. [1:27:05] Sofia Gubaidulina: Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings - 5. From Works for Bassoon (Chandos, 1999) with Valeri Popov (bassoon), members of the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Pyotr Meshchaninov (conductor), Igor Veprintsev (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1975, premiered May 6, 1976 in Moscow by Valery Popov, soloists from the State Symphony Orchestra of Moscow, Pyotr Meshchaninov
SET 4: More Psappha at 50 [1:31:44]
1. [1:36:09] Ornette Coleman: Forms and Sounds - Movement 1. From There's a Yearnin' (Little (i), 2026) with Wildebeest Wind Quintet: Michel Gentile (flute), Katie Scheele (oboe), Mike McGuiness (clarinet), Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon, improvisational interlude), Nathan Koci (French horn), Dave Snyder (recording engineer, Guilford Sound). NOTE: Composed 1967, arranged by Jeff Lederer
2. [1:41:20] Iannis Xenakis: Psappha. From Pioneers of Percussion, Vol. 1 (Signum, 2021) with Joby Burgess (percussion), Matthew Fairclough (recording engineer)
3. [1:55:09] Outro with Jeff Lederer: Bodies of Water
Photo credits: Melia Watras by Michelle Smith-Lewis, Steve Reich and Michael Tilson Thomas via the artists, Hellbent Daydream (Henry Fraser, Erica Dicker, Brandon Seabrook) via Barbès, Adélaïde Ferrière performs Psappha by France Musique, Melvin Gibbs by Schorle, The Sun Treader (Portrait of Carl Ruggles) by Thomas Hart Benton, Psappha (ending) by Iannis Xenakis, Anders Jormin and Marilyn Crispell by Caterina Di Perri, Sofia Gubaidulina via Wikipedia, Iannis Xenakis and dog from Xenakis révolution, Ornette Coleman with trumpet by Brian McMillen.
Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://linktr.ee/MichaelSchell