Flotation Device celebrates Stuart Dempster for his 90th birthday with a look at his career highlights as a trombonist, composer and didgeridoo player credited with co-founding Deep Listening Band, playing in the premiere and first recording of Terry Riley’s In C, and debuting the two most iconic solo trombone works in the modern repertory: Berio’s Sequenza V and Robert Erickson’s General Speech. Stuart is on hand to offer his own reflections and memories. And we also celebrate the centenary of composer Kenneth Gaburo, and the 50th anniversaries of John Cage’s bicentennial salute to America and Sun Ra’s momentous Montreux appearance that features some of the earliest Arkestra appearances by Ahmed Abdullah, Craig Harris and Vincent Chancey. Plus, Giya Kancheli’s final composition gets its premiere recording, and new albums by Chen Yi, Miles Okazaki, WRENS, Myra Melford and Satoko Fujii round out the playlist. Creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world.
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Flotation Device 2026-07-05: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART ONE
Intro and SET 1: New and notable [0:00]
1. [2:08] WRENS: Intro, Interlude 1. From Live @ Nublu (Out of Your Head, 2026) with Ryan Easter (trumpet, voice), Lester St. Louis (cello, electronics), Elias Stemeseder (synths), Jason Nazary (drums, synths), Onur Gül (recording engineer, Nublu). NOTE: Recorded live December 19, 2025 at Nublu, New York
2. [7:39] Myra Melford, Satoko Fujii: From Sometime. From Katahari (RogueArt, 2026) with Myra Melford, Satoko Fujii (pianos), Norbert Stadlhofer (recording engineer). NOTE: Satoko Fujii composition. Recorded live September 27th 2024 at Jazzfestival Leibnitz, Leibnitz, AT
3. [17:26] Stuart Dempster on General Speech. NOTE: Source interview from Radio Eclectus, 2019 is at https://tinyurl.com/StuartDempster
4. [18:01] Robert Erickson: General Speech. From New Music for Virtuosos 2 (New World, 1978) with Stuart Dempster (trombone). NOTE: Premiered April 9, 1970
SET 2: Stuart Dempster at 90 [23:05]
1. [27:38] Miles Okazaki: Magic Hour. From Boomtown (Pi, 2026) with Miles Okazaki (guitars), Caroline Davis (alto saxophone), Anna Webber (tenor saxophone, flute), Jon Irabagon (tenor and soprano saxophones), Jacob Garchik (trombone), Kalia Vandever (trombone), Matt Mitchell (piano), Chris Tordini, Hannah Marks (basses), Dan Weiss (drums)
2. [29:45] Miles Okazaki: Bighorn. From Boomtown (credits as above)
3. [35:37] Chen Yi: Suite for Viola and Chamber Winds - 4. Flower Drums in Dance. From Bamboo Grove (PentaTone, 2026) with Patrick Yim (viola), Catherine Ramirez (flute), Jennet Ingle (oboe), John Diodati (clarinet), Anna Marsh (bassoon), Matthew Oliphant (horn), Charles Roberts (trumpet), Riley Leitch (trombone), Paul Vaillancourt (percussion), Paul Hostetter (conductor), Dan Nichols (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2012, premiere recording
4. [42:10] Stuart Dempster on SWAMI and Deep Listening
5. [45:12] Deep Listening Band: Lear (excerpts). From Deep Listening (New Albion, 1989, reissued 2019 by Important Records) with Pauline Oliveros (accordion, voice), Stuart Dempster (trombone, didgeridoo), Panaiotis (voice). NOTE: Recorded October 7, 1988 in the cistern at Fort Worden, WA
6. [54:42] Outro with Stuart Dempster: Underground Overlays from the Cistern Chapel (from Music for Merce)
7. [58:58] Kenneth Gaburo: Fat Millie's Lament. From Kenneth Gaburo Conducts New Music Choral Ensemble (Neuma, 2020). NOTE: Realized 1965
Flotation Device 2026-07-05: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART TWO
SET 3: Sun Ra Live at Montreux at 50 [1:03:34]
1. [1:06:24] Sun Ra: Prelude. From Live at Montreux (Saturn, 1977) with Sun Ra (piano). NOTE: Recorded live July 9, 1976 at Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland
2. [1:09:16] Sun Ra and his Arkestra: The House of Eternal Being, Gods of the Thunder Realm, On Sound Infinity Spheres, Lights on a Satellite. From Live at Montreux (as above) with Sun Ra (piano, organ, Moog synthesizer), Danny Davis, Marshall Allen (flute, alto sax), Reggie Hudgins (soprano sax), John Gilmore (tenor sax), Pat Patrick, Danny Thompson (flute, baritone sax), Eloe Omoe (bass clarinet), James "Ham" Jackson (bassoon, Egyptian drum), Ahmed Abdullah, Chris Capers, Al Evans (trumpets), Vincent Chancey (French horn), Craig Harris (trombone), Hayes Burnett (double bass), Tony Bunn (electric bass), Larry Bright, Clifford Jarvis (drums), Stanley Morgan (congas)
3. [1:24:31] Sun Ra and his Arkestra: We Travel the Spaceways (recessional). From Live at Montreux (as above) with June Tyson, Sun Ra (vocals), June Tyson (vocals), Danny Davis, Marshall Allen (flute, alto sax), Reggie Hudgins (soprano sax), John Gilmore (tenor sax), Pat Patrick, Danny Thompson (flute, baritone sax), Eloe Omoe (bass clarinet), James "Ham" Jackson (bassoon, Egyptian drum), Ahmed Abdullah, Chris Capers, Al Evans (trumpets), Vincent Chancey (French horn), Craig Harris (trombone), Hayes Burnett (double bass), Tony Bunn (electric bass), Larry Bright, Clifford Jarvis (drums), Stanley Morgan (congas)
SET 4: America at 250 [1:26:15]
1. [1:31:07] John Cage: 44 Harmonies from Apartment House 1776 - Harmony 6: Psalm 17 (Lyon), Harmony 33: Newborn (Billings). From Cage Edition 33: The Works for Violin 6, THe String Quartets 4 (Mode, 2005) with Arditti Quartet: Irvine Arditti, Graeme Jennings (violins), Dov Scheindlin (viola), Rohan de Saram (cello), Rüdiger Orth (recording engineer). NOTE: Arranged for string quartet by Irvine Arditti
2. [1:32:27] John Cage: 44 Harmonies from Apartment House 1776 - Harmony 42: Rapture (Belcher). From Melodies & Harmonies (Col Legno, 2010) with Annelie Gahl (violin), Klaus Lang (Fender Rhodes), Christoph Amann (recording engineer)
3. [1:33:52] John Cage: Apartment House 1776 (excerpts). From Cage Edition 11: Orchestral Works 1 (Mode, 1994) with Walter Buckingham (Protestant voice), Darrell Dunn (Native American voice), Semenya McCord (African-American voice), Chiam Parchi (Sephardi voice), New England Conservatory Philharmonia, Stephen Drury (conductor), David Avidor (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1776
4. [1:39:14] Giya Kancheli: Tsutisopeli. From Ex contrario (Naxos, 2026) with Davit Gvelesiani (vocals), Svetlana Makarova, Pavel Vernikov (violins), Rustavi Ensemble, Olivier Songy (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2019, version for two violins and men's choir
5. [1:51:35] Outro with Giya Kancheli: Ex contrario (version for two violins, string orchestra a
Photo credits: Stuart Dempster performing General Speech, Sun Ra and Ahmed Abdullah in Montreux by Leon Collins, Pauline Oliveros and Stuart Dempster via Andy Clausen, Kenneth Gaburo in Michael Schell: Just Words, Chen Yi by Jiang Xiao Ming, Giya Kancheli via Wise Music Classical, John Cage in Nam June Paik: Good Morning Mr. Orwell, Satoko Fujii and Myra Melford by Michele Giotto, WRENS (Elias Stemeseder, Ryan Easter, Lester St. Louis, Jason Nazary) by Guarionex Rodriguez, Jr., Miles Okazaki by John Rogers.
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