11 - Jesse Stacken

This week I sit down with pianist and composer Jesse Stacken. He's in the middle of a yearlong weekly composition project focusing on the music elements laid out by Oliver Messiaen in his book -Techniques of my Music Language.

We get into all sorts of other stuff: the context surrounding free improvisation in Brooklyn, his childhood in Minnesota, and Willie Nelson. We talk about Willie Nelson so many times. Also, we talk about his amazing apartment in Brooklyn where he and his wife put on the Beverley Concert Series.

You hear music from his two most recent recordings: Bagatelles for Trio and Like a Tree.