Flotation Device celebrates the 100th birthday of the indefatigable Franco-American composer Betsy Jolas, and the 50th anniversaries of Anthony Braxton’s Duets 1976, Wadada Leo Smith’s Song of Humanity and The Residents’ Six Things to a Cycle—three recordings whose echoes we’ll discern in new offerings by Mat Maneri, Sylvie Courvoisier, Patricia Brennan and Metal Preyers. We’ll take our first look at Jin Hi Kim’s new nine-CD career retrospective and our second look at BIS Records’ new Anders Hillborg anthology, while Philip Glass’s latest album makes an interesting contrast to his landmark opera Einstein on the Beach whose golden anniversary we celebrated last week. Cassandra Miller gets her own 50th birthday shoutout, while Stuart McLeod and Steven Eric Scribner demonstrate two facets of the Pacific Northwest’s formidable electroacoustic scene. Creative and improvised music with host Michael Schell, from 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma.
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Flotation Device 2026-08-02: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART ONE
1. [0:00] Intro and SET 1: Vaporized Braxton
2. [1:30] Anthony Braxton, Muhal Richard Abrams: Miss Ann. From Duets 1976 (Arista, 1976, reissued 2008 by Mosaic on The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton) with Anthony Braxton (alto saxophone), Muhal Richard Abrams (piano), Thomas Mark (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded August 1–2, 1976 at Bearsville Studios, Woodstock, NY. Composition by Eric Dolphy
3. [5:42] Anders Hillborg: Vaporised Tivoli. From Vaporised Tivoli (Orchestral and Concertante Works 1) (BIS, 2026) with Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Christian Karlsen (conductor), Fabian Frank (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2010, premiere recording
4. [15:00] Steven Eric Scribner: Glass Music. From Another This World: Piano, Field Recordings (Bandcamp, 2026) with Steven Eric Scribner (piano, field recordings), Seattle Phonographers Union (field recordings)
5. [17:59] Stuart McLeod: The Mind's Eye. From The Mind's Eye (Bandcamp, 2026) with Stuart McLeod (neuro-synth, brain waves, programming)
SET 2: Jolas at 100 [23:01]
1. [27:33] Jin Hi Kim, Susie Ibarra: Circle of Time. From The Jin Hi Kim Collection (Neuma, 2026) with Jin Hi Kim (electric komungo, janggo), Susie Ibarra (kulintang, percussion). NOTE: Recorded live October 13, 2024 at University of Chicago
2. [34:40] Lucian Ban, John Surman, Mat Maneri: Violin Song I (excerpt). From The Athenaeum Concert: The Béla Bartók Field Recordings (Sunnyside, 2025) with John Surman (soprano saxophone), Mat Maneri (viola), Lucian Ban (piano), Catalin Putingher (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded live June 25, 2024 at Romanian Athenaeum, Bucharest
3. [38:49] Mat Maneri: Mist (excerpt). From Mist (Sunnyside, 2026) with Mat Maneri Quartet: Mat Maneri (viola), Lucian Ban (piano), John Hébert (bass), Randy Peterson (drums)
4. [42:08] Ludovic Morlot on Betsy Jolas (from 2026 interview with Michael Schell available at https://tinyurl.com/MorlotCarmen)
5. [43:00] Betsy Jolas: Latest. From Orchestral Works (L'Auditori, 2026) with Orquestra Simfònica De Barcelona i Nacional De Catalunya, Ludovic Morlot (conductor), Mike George, Stephen Rinker (recording engineers). NOTE: Composed 2021, premiere recording
6. [54:19] Outro with Betsy Jolas: Leçons du Petit Jour from Works for Organ (Neos, 2025) with Angela Metzter
7. [59:32] Philip Glass: Newspaper. From Tao of Glass (Orange Mountain, 2026) with Jack McNeill (clarinet), Laura Lutzke (violin), Katherine Tinker (piano), Daniel Bradley (percussion), Chris Vatalaro (percussion, music director)
Flotation Device 2026-08-02: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART TWO
SET 3: 50 years ago in the avant-garde I [1:04:36]
1. [1:06:24] Patricia Brennan, Sylvie Courvoisier: Disparate Chase. From Talamanti (Antlia, 2026) with Patricia Brennan (vibraphone, marimba), Sylvie Courvoisier (piano), Ryan Streber (recording engineer, Oktaven Audio). NOTE: Composition by Patricia Brennan
2. [1:11:16] Wadada Leo Smith: Of Blues and Dreams, Tempio (excerpts). From Song of Humanity (Kabell, 1977, reissued 2004 by Tzadik on Kabell Years: 1971–1979) with New Dalta Ahkri: Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet, flugelhorn, sealhorn, atenteben, percussion), Oliver Lake (flute, soprano sax, alto sax, marimba, percussion), Anthony Davis (piano, electric piano, organ), Wes Brown (bass, atenteben, odurogyabe), Pheeroan AkLaff AKA Paul Maddox (drums, percussion), Doug Clark, Peter Solak (recording engineers). NOTE: Recorded live August 4, 1976 at The Gallery, New Haven. Of Blues and Dreams composed by Davis, Tempio composed by Smith
3. [1:20:40] Betsy Jolas: Lamentations. From Femmes du Moyen Âge (Ligia, 2016) with Cum Jubilo, Catherine Ravenne (director). NOTE: Composed 2009
SET 4: 50 years ago in the avant-garde II [1:24:54]
1. [1:28:33] Metal Preyers: Dr Knob Jock. From Retox Man (Nyege Nyege, 2025) with Jesse Hackett, Mariano Chavez
2. [1:33:25] Cassandra Miller: Perfect Offering (excerpt). From Perfect Offering (HCR/NMC, 2023) with Explore Ensemble: Taylor MacLennan (flute), Alex Roberts (clarinets), Siwan Rhys (piano), David López Ibáñez, Oscar Perks (violins), Morag Robertson (viola), Deni Teo (cello), Nicholas Moroz (artistic director, recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2020, revised 2021
3. [1:38:55] The Residents: Six Things to a Cycle. From Fingerprince (1977, Ralph, reissued 2018 in Fingerprince pREServed Edition) with Pamela Zeibak (vocals), Adrian Dekbar (violin), Don Jackovich, Tony Logan (percussion), The Residents (vocals, guitars, horns, synthesizers, keyboards, percussion). NOTE: Recorded May–August 1976
4. [1:56:45] Outro with Amadeo Roldán: Ritmica No. 5: Tiempo de Son (Manhattan Percussion Ensemble, 1961)
Photo credits: Anthony Braxton via Arista Records, Philip Glass and Phelim McDermott via Orange Mountain Music, Sylvie Courvoisier and Patricia Brennan by Véronique Hoegger, Stuart McLeod via the artist, Jin Hi Kim via the artist, The Residents via the artists, Betsy Jolas by Jean-Christophe Marmara, Mat Maneri by Antonio Porcar Cano, Cassandra Miller by Linda Nylind, Jesse Hackett and Mariano Chavez via Metal Preyers, Anders Hillborg by Mats Lundqvist, Wadada Leo Smith by Jimmy Katz.
Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with hosts Michael Schell and John Seman, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://linktr.ee/MichaelSchell