Flotation Device bids farewell to Sonny Rollins (1930–2026) and Gunter Hampel (1937–2026), two tremendous improvisors whose discographies include collaborations with Max Roach, Jeanne Lee, Don Cherry, Anthony Braxton and even Hans Werner Henze—all heard in a selected survey of their most exploratory work. We also preview upcoming Northwest performances by the Wayne Horvitz Ensemble and Jason Kao Hwang’s Human Rites Trio, while our 50 years ago in the avant-garde feature revisits what might be Louis Andriessen’s finest composition. Patricia Kopatchinskaja offers premiere recordings of works by Márton Illés, while Sean Shibe does the same for Adès and Birtwistle. Joseph Branciforte and Jozef Dumoulin reclaim the Fender Rhodes as an experimental instrument, while our first dive into new retrospectives by Anders Hillborg, Denis Dufour and René Wohlhauser rounds out the proceedings. Creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Mike Schell from 91.3 KBCS.
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Flotation Device 2026-05-31: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART ONE
Intro and SET 1: Gunter Hampel (1937–2026) [0:00]
1. [2:26] Jason Kao Hwang: Conscious Concave Concrete, Words Asleep Spoken Awake (excerpts). From Human Rites Trio (True Sound, 2020) with Jason Kao Hwang (viola), Ken Filiano (string bass), Andrew Drury (drum set), Jim Clouse (recording engineer, Park West Studios)
2. [8:19] Denis Dufour: Fanfare. From Complete Acousmatic Works, Vol. 2 (Kairos, 2026) Denis Dufour (sound recordings), Marc Pecqueur (trumpet), Freidrich Anne, Laurent Gallot, Jean Mahtab, Frédéric Mas, Gérard Taver, Alfred Vilayleck (voices). NOTE: Realized 1997
3. [14:58] Hans Werner Henze: Metapenthes. From The Tedious Way To Natasha Ungeheuer's Apartment Show (Deutsche Grammophon, 1971) with William Pearson (baritone), Gunter Hampel Free Jazz Ensemble: Gunter Hampel (flute, bass clarinet, ocarina, vibraphone), Willem Breuker (clarinet, saxophone), Willem Van Manen (trombone), Arjen Gorter (double bass), Philip Jones Brass Quintet, Fires of London (piano quintet), Stomu Yamash'ta (percussion), Hans Werner Henze (Hans Werner Henze), Heinz Wildhagen (engineer)
4. [19:09] Gunter Hampel: We Move. From The 8th of July 1969 (Birth, 1969) with Jeanne Lee (voice), Gunter Hampel (piano), Anthony Braxton, Willem Breuker (alto saxophones), Arjen Gorter (bass guitar), Steve McCall (drums), André van de Water (recording engineer)
5. [27:30] Voice break with Gunter Hampel: Morning Song
SET 2: Sonny Rollins (1930–2026) [30:27]
1. [31:54] Anders Hillborg: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Movement 1. From Vaporised Tivoli (Orchestral and Concertante Works 1) (BIS, 2026) with Tamara Stefanovich (piano), Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Christian Karlsen (conductor), Fabian Frank (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2001/2005, premiere recording
2. [38:20] Márton Illés: Three skEtchs for violin and live electronics (excerpts). From Bowed Spaces (Alpha, 2026) with Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin), SWR Experimentalstudio: Michael Acker, Daniel Miska (sound direction), Manuel Braun (recording engineer)
3. [43:02] Sonny Rollins: You Are My Lucky Star. From Our Man in Jazz (RCA Victor, 1962) with Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone), Don Cherry (cornet), Henry Grimes (bass), Billy Higgins (drums), Paul Goodman (recording engineer). NOTE: Composition by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed
4. [46:31] Sonny Rollins: East Broadway Run Down (excerpt). From East Broadway Run Down (Impulse!, 1967) with Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Elvin Jones (drums), Rudy Van Gelder (recording engineer)
5. [54:22] Outro with Sonny Rollins: Blue 7
Flotation Device 2026-05-31: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART TWO
6. [58:24] Wayne Horvitz: Music for 10 Musicians - Movement 4 Solo and Trio. From Music for 10 Musicians (Other Room, 2025) with Solo and Trio: Abbey Blackwell (contrabass), Greg Sinibaldi (bass clarinet), Rose Martin (vibraphone), ensemble: James Falzone (clarinet), Ray Larsen (trumpet), Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon), Neil Welch (baritone saxophone), Maria Scherer Wilson (cello), Wayne Horvitz (piano, electronics, Mike Gebhart (percussion), Eric Eagle (recording engineer)
7. [1:02:33 Voice break with Royal Room Collective Music Ensemble
SET 3: In Meandering Rapture
1. [1:04:59] René Wohlhauser: In mäandrierendem Rausch. From In mäandrierendem Rausch (NEOS, 2025) with Ensemble Polysono: Christine Simolka (soprano), René Wohlhauser (baritone), Clara Giner Franco (flute), Cássio Braga da Costa (clarinet), Ruth Ten (violin), Kiril Fasla Prolat (cello), Christian Seiffert (recording engineer)
2. [1:15:50] Joseph Branciforte, Jozef Dumoulin: ⊏. From Iterae (Greyfade, 2026) with Joseph Branciforte (Fender Rhodes, electronics, live editing), Jozef Dumoulin (Fender Rhodes, electronics)
3. [1:20:28] Harrison Birtwistle: Sad Song. From Vesper (Pentatone, 2026) with Sean Shibe (guitar), Oscar Torres (recording engineer). NOTE: Premiere recording, arranged for guitar by Forbes Henderson
4. [1:22:54] Thomas Adès: Forgotten Dances - 3. Courante: Here was a swift (for Max Ernst), 4. Barcarolle: The Maiden Voyage. From Vesper (credits as above). NOTE: Composed 2023, premiere recording
SET 4: Hoketus at 50 [1:27:07]
1. [1:31:11] Amy Knoles on recording Hoketus
2. [1:32:29] Louis Andriessen: Hoketus. From Industry (Sony Classical, 1995, reissued 2002 by Cantaloupe on Gigantic Dancing Human Machine) with Evan Ziporyn, Richard Craig (alto saxophones), James Poke, Katherine Pendry (panpipes), Cees Van Zeeland, Gerard Bouwhuis (pianos), Damian LeGassick, Lisa Moore (Fender Rhodes), Mark Stewart, Robert Black (electric basses), Amy Knoles, Steven Schick (congas), Richard King (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1976. Premiered May 31, 1976 at Royal Conservatory, The Hague. Recorded 1994 in London
3. [1:56:23] Outro with Morton Feldman: Oboe and Orchestra (Han de Vries, Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt, Lucas Vis)
Photo credits: Sonny Rollins by John Abbott, Gunter Hampel and Jeanne Jee, Powai 1968 (Jehangir Dalal, Sonny Rollins, Niranjan Jhaveri), Natascha Ungeheuer and Hans Werner Henze, Human Rites Trio (Ken Filiano, Jason Kao Hwang, Andrew Drury) by R.I. Sutherland-Cohen, Wayne Horvitz by Daniel Sheehan, Christian Karlsen and Anders Hillborg by Karl Gabor, Márton Illés and Patricia Kopatchinskaja by Marco Borggreve, Denis Dufour by Hamish Hossain, Ensemble Polysono (Kiril Fasla Prolat, Ruth Ten, René Wohlhauser, Christine Simolka, Cássio Braga da Costa, Clara Giner Franco) by Martin Spiess, Louis Andriessen by Jeffrey Herman.
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