Tonight at Sycamore: RADIO ZERO SERIES VOL. 3

This week's RADIO ZERO series concert promises to be an exciting evening with the Mavi Yol Quartet and Nashaz! Two groups playing original music incorporating Arabic music, jazz, and improvisation.

The RADIO ZERO series is happening every Monday at Sycamore (1118 Cortelyou Rd) in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn. The month of June was curated by me.

8:30PM MAVI YOL QUARTET

Senem Diyici - Voice, Percussion
Alain Blesing - Guitars
Bruno Tocanne - Drums
Can Omer Uygan - Trumpet

On tour from France!

Mavi Yol 4tet evolves constantly between jazz, free improvisation and traditional music from Turkey. A musical complicity nurtured by their exceptional qualities of improvisers allows the 4 musicians to explore an infinite number of musical horizons while remaining in the heart of emotion.

9:30PM NASHAZ

Brian Prunka - Oud
Kenny Warren - Trumpet
Apostolos Sideris - Bass
George Mel - Percussion

Nashaz plays original music drawing on the Arabic tradition with a jazz perspective.


Here's a collage of video from last week's concert:

Jesse Stacken's Weekly Composition Project

I was just at pianist/composer Jesse Stacken's website catching up on his weekly composition project. He's writing a new piece every week and posting a recording and score online. This is an inspiring feat, my composing process can be pretty slow. Also, Jesse is exploring specific musical concepts in each piece, like a compositional etude. My favorite so far is "Seeing Iris", a slow brooding piece with mystical-sounding chords constructed from a diminished scale.

Announcing the RADIO ZERO music series at Sycamore!

This Monday, June 4th marks the beginning of the RADIO ZERO music series, hosted by Sycamore in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.

Every Monday we'll be bringing you exciting music from the Brooklyn improvised music world and beyond. Each month will be curated by a different musician, so expect lots of variety and a great hang!

I curated the month of June, and I'm playing a few times, including tomorrow night with Old Time Musketry!

There is no cover charge for these shows, but there is a $10 suggested donation, all of which goes to the musicians. The full calendar for June is below, we hope to see you!

Monday June 4th

8:30PM SPOKE

Dan Loomis - Bass
Justin Wood - Alto Saxophone
Danny Fischer - Drums
Andy Hunter - Trombone

Improvised music in the creative cauldron of New York City.

9:30PM OLD TIME MUSKETRY

JP Schlegelmilch - Accordion, Wurlitzer
Adam Schneit - Saxophone, Clarinet
Max Goldman - Drums
Phil Rowan - Bass

OTM presents a joyous music that draws on the exuberant spirit of early jazz, the poignant melodies and soulful grooves of rock and folk music, the energy and spontaneity of free improvisation, and a willfully experimental attitude towards combining these elements into a unique vision of American music.

Monday June 11

8:30PM CARLO COSTA QUARTET

Carlo Costa - Drums
Jonathan Moritz - Saxophone
Sean Ali - Bass
Owen Stewart-Robertson - Guitar

Textural improvisation, sonic landscapes conjuring strange distant forests teeming with life.....

9:30PM DOWN TO THE VALLEY

jonathan goldberger - guitar
owen stewart-robertson - guitar
aryeh kobrinsky - bass

Ambient Americana

Monday June 18 (an evening of Middle-Eastern-infused improvised music!)

8:30PM MAVI YOL QUARTET

Senem Diyici - Voice, Percussion
Alain Blesing - Guitars
Bruno Tocanne - Drums
Can Omer Uygan - Trumpet

On tour from France!

Mavi Yol 4tet evolves constantly between jazz, free improvisation and traditional music from Turkey. A musical complicity nurtured by their exceptional qualities of improvisers allows the 4 musicians to explore an infinite number of musical horizons while remaining in the heart of emotion.

9:30PM NASHAZ

Brian Prunka - Oud
Kenny Warren - Trumpet
Apostolos Sideris - Bass
George Mel - Percussion

Nashaz plays original music drawing on the Arabic tradition with a jazz perspective.

Monday June 25th

8:30PM DOUGLAS BRADFORD TRIO

Douglas Bradford - Guitar
Nicholas Anderson - Drums
Zach Lober - Bass

Guitarist Douglas Bradford unveils his new trio project!

9:30PM TWO OF ANYTHING

JP Schlegelmilch - Wurlitzer, Synth, Compositions
Jason Nazary - Drums and Electronics
Aryeh Kobrinsky - Bass
Jeremy Viner - Saxophone

Analog sounds? check. Digital? check. Acoustic? double-check.

Solo Projects: Ches Smith and Jason Nazary

In the past week I've seen two solo drum performances that were also CD release parties. First I saw Ches Smith play at Zebulon, celebrating the release of "Psycho Predictions", his third installment of solo percussion music under the name Congs for Brums. I've caught a couple of Ches' solo shows, and the evolution of his music is pretty remarkable. Ches' drum set is situated in a kind of triangle with a vibraphone and Moog synthesizer and other electronics. A lot of the compositions are based around loops played on the synth, and then elaborated or deconstructed on the vibes or drums. The variety of textures was excellent, with the sometimes harsh electronic sounds side by side with the glowing resonance of the vibes. The set concluded with Ches pummeling the drum set, but not in the "drum solo" way that you might expect in a solo drum performance. It was more of a concentrated, groove-based explosion. I felt like Ches' compositional ideas were equally important as his always incredible drumming.

Then last night I saw Jason Nazary's CD release performance for his solo project, So Ghost. Jason mics his drums and runs the signal through his computer where he can control effects and loops. The music has an improvisational feel, but at the same time I was aware of a planned progression through different sound worlds. At times there was an incredibly dense layering of sounds, with the loops transfigured by effects or played at different speeds the music began to resemble some kind of alien tribal drum ensemble.
One similarity to Ches' show was that there was a long buildup to any kind of traditional drum set playing. But when Jason finally played the whole kit at the end of the set, the effect was revelatory. Like at Ches' show, it was also a groove-based explosion rather than a "drum solo", with a wall of sound blaring from the electronics. Totally gripping.
Another cool feature of Jason's set was a projection of a kind of sine wave graphic that responded to the sounds. The image was projected on Jason's white shirt, which was pretty cool to watch in a dark room. I tried to capture a little bit on my camera.

John Hollenbeck's "The Drum Major Instinct"

I am eagerly anticipating seeing John Hollenbeck perform his composition "The Drum Major Instinct" this Friday at I Beam. The piece is based on a sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I heard "The Drum Major Instinct" at Symphony Space many years ago and it was an incredibly moving experience. You can listen to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech here.

Here are some notes on the piece by Steve Smith:

"Hollenbeck makes use of a recorded sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in "The Drum Major Instinct." The piece is scored for two tenor trombones, bass trombone, drumset, and the taped voice of King. According to Hollenbeck, he chose trombones "because statistically they’re the most humble in a big band setting – they are the team players." He had not yet encountered the sanctified trombone choirs of Harlem, but had been impressed with trombonist Gary Valente’s "preaching" in the band of Carla Bley, leading him to feel that the instrument had the right "spiritual characteristics" for the piece. Nor had he heard drummer Max Roach’s LP Chatahoochie Red, which also makes use of a King speech. Hollenbeck sets King’s words in an entirely different way from his legendary forebear, yet both find an artistic affinity in the orator’s martial cadences.

"The Drum Major Instinct" is performed in total darkness, so that the presence of the musicians would be as invisible as that of the orator himself – necessitating memorization of the written materials. The piece begins and ends with a simple four-chord cell, and follows the rhythms of King’s heroic oratory – drawing upon its emotional power while simultaneously creating a dramatic setting for it. At times, the players follow the cadences of the speech, while elsewhere they comment freely upon it, like a congregation echoing the words of the minister. The piece builds in intensity along with the sermon, resolving into a chorale as King’s message reaches its climax. At the end, the instrumentalists follow King down the aisle of the church and shut the door behind them as they exit."

This performance is part of the Undead Music Festival, which is putting on concerts from May 9th-12th. Lots of great stuff!

Two of Anything live tracks

Here are some live tracks from the recent Two of Anything gig at Sycamore in Brooklyn.

The band:

JP Schlegelmilch - Wurlitzer and Synth
Eivind Opsvik - Bass
Jeremy Viner - Saxophone and Clarinet
Jason Nazary - Drums and Electronics

Musicians Solidarity Council against Nonpayment in NYC Clubs

The Musicians Solidarity Council describes themselves on their website as "an autonomous group in affinity with Occupy Wall Street and the labor movement at large. We are musicians: instrumentalists, singers, DJs, audio engineers, producers, composers, performers and teachers. We are the 99%. Like many other workers, we are integral to city life, but often live in precarious conditions."

Today, May 1st, the group is planning actions against clubs in NYC that don't pay performers. The following is from the press release for the actions.

"On May 1st, a historic day for Occupy Wall Street, labor and immigrant rights movements, OWS activists from the Musicians Solidarity Council (MSC) will hold actions in several nightclubs in Manhattan's Lower East Side, highlighting the venues' practice of not paying musicians – in effect, asking performers to volunteer their talent and services to a for-profit business."

......

"New York City is known for its rich cultural heritage, and many popular clubs derive their success from live music. However, they rarely pay the musicians that bring draw in their customers. Instead, the bands typically "pass the hat," asking the crowd for donations; talented performers often end the night with $5-10 a person. Musicians may also be required to spend their own resources on promotion, and guarantee a minimum number of paying customers.

"Musicians are not covered by New York State regulations that protect other nightclub workers like bartenders and waiters. In fact, they are explicitly excluded."

.......

"As rents reached record heights in the 1990s and 2000s, clubs that did compensate musicians fairly (such as Tonic in the Lower East Side) were squeezed out. A growing number of venues adopted these exploitative practices – including Rockwood Music Hall, the Living Room, Pianos, 169 Bar, and Zebulon Cafe Concert – and nonpayment of performers has since become conventional wisdom in the NYC music scene."

Ah, Tonic how I miss thee! I remember going to protests when they were being evicted to make way for the luxury condo building Blue. Goliath won that day.

I play regularly at the venues mentioned by the MSC. In the past 6 years living and performing in NYC I've come to accept that venues in this town don't pay, that nearly all gigs are "pass the hat".

I don't like it but I'm not sure what the solution is. So many musicians and performers of all kinds flock to NYC desperate to play for people, and they'll play anywhere for free. I can understand that the venue owners may have trouble seeing the point of compensating the performers when talented people are beating down their door to play at their dive bar. I don't know any of these venue owners personally, but I'm sure that the exploding NYC rents haven't made things easier for their bottom line. I wonder how well they're really doing, are they really getting rich of our "volunteered labor"?


Wouldn't it be great if all the musicians in the city joined together and decided not to perform anywhere that didn't pay us at least $50 for a gig? Hmmm, probably impossible. Hey, isn't there a musicians union? What do they do anyway? I don't know any musicians who are members.