"Cage dedicated these compositions to Ajemian. She was an American pianist. Ajemian's career in contemporary music grew from her Armenian heritage. From the liner notes from a later edition recording: Each movement examines a particular emotion, with a palette drawn from the Indian tradition that includes heroism, eroticism, wonder, mirth, sorrow, fear, anger, and tranquility. Another important principle at work in the Sonatas and Interludes is that of micro/macrocosmic structure. In short, this means that local elements of the structure reflect the overall form of the piece. "
"Sō Percussion co-founder Jason Treuting flexes his compositional chops with Nine Numbers — a sprawling work that taps into the mysteries of sudoku, the Japanese puzzle game, as a source for rhythmic exploration. Relying on percussive uses of voice, electronic and acoustic instruments, and various blocks, bells, drums and other surfaces, Treuting folds melody, movement and the plosive mechanics of speech into an ebbing and flowing sound environment that digs deep into the notion of what connects numbers to human nature, and vice-versa."
"Shaw wrote this composition while in residence at Dunbarton Oaks. She'd wander around the gardens and took as inspirations various configurations and formations. This last movement is inspired by her favorite place for sitting…under the Beech Tree, another _in residence_ on the property."
Ullrich Böhme is a German organist who was chosen in 1985 to become organist at St Thomas in Leipzig where Bach served as choirmaster for more than 25 years. He is buried in the center of the church. It may have been Böhme I heard practicing one day as I sat alone in the church on a very cold January day.
"Havens, the eldest of nine children, was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 21, 1941, to a musically talented parents. His Blackfoot Native American father, Richard Havens, played piano by ear. His mother, Milfred, was a singer from the British West Indies. April 22, 2013, he died of a sudden heart attack in his home in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was survived by his wife and four children. On August 18, 2013, Richie Havens' ashes were spread across the Woodstock fields. - blackpast.org
"Joseph Omicil, Jr, known professionally as Jowee BasH! Omicil, is a Haitian-Canadian jazz musician. Randy Kerber (born September 25, 1958 in Encino, California) is an American composer, orchestrator and keyboard player, who has had a prolific career in the world of cinema. He began his first national tour with Bette Midler in 1977 at the age of 19."
"Des Prez lived during a transitional stage in music history and (c1455-1521) and a central figure of the Franco-Flemish School. He's widely considered the first master of the complex Renaissance style of polyphonic which emerged during his lifetime. The text for this is said to be based on the work of French poet/composer/chronicler Jean Molinet (1435 – 23 August 1507) and drawn from standard liturgical text ""Eternal rest give unto them, Oh Lord, and may everlasting light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen."""
"Cecil Taylor is not only a musician of stature, but also a poet whose work is of considerable interest, despite the comparative lack of critical attention it has received. One of the reasons for such neglect may be that Taylor as poet has not had a consistent or comprehensive publishing history. Poetry and writing has appeared as liner notes to albums intermittently since the 60s (most famously on his Blue Note record 'Unit Structures') - YouTube notes Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex improvisation often involving tone clusters and intricate polyrhythms. His technique has been compared to percussion. Referring to the number of keys on a standard piano, Val Wilmer used the phrase _eighty-eight tuned drums_ to describe Taylor's style. - wiki"
"Written by Mayfield, apparently, about a European romance. First released by Thye Impressions (will follow in the set list). He was born June 3, 1942, in Chicago, and as a boy went on to sing gospel and teach himself guitar. His death, on Dec. 26, at 57, was attributed to complications related to diabetes as a result of an accident. Curtis had been a quadriplegic since 1990, when felled by a lighting rig which collapsed on him at an outdoor concert in New York, crushing his spine."
"British funk group that was originally active in the early 1970s. The band name derives from a calypso word for ""dove"", which symbolises peace and love; ""Dove"" is also the title of one of their best-known songs. With a membership deriving from several Caribbean nations, Cymande were noted for an eclectic mix of funk, soul, reggae, rock, African music, calypso, and jazz that they called ""nyah-rock"". The band formed in 1971 and released three albums before disbanding in 1974. - wiki"
"I had a high school crush on Maynard Ferguson, the band leader trumpet player known for his stratopheric notes. When I was in high school, my best friend Anne and I went to hear him one night at a small club in Skaneatles NY. At intermission, we went back to his tour bus parked in the lot out back to see if we could meet him. The door opened, and there he was, quite drunk. I asked if I could kiss him and he said yes. Later on, after the show, we were talking with Peter Erkine (the drummer) and I asked if I could have his shirt. It was black, had the words Maynard Ferguson Big Band on the front, and was drenched in his sweat, he took it off and gave it to me, along wtih one of his broken drum sticks. I ketp them both forever, but don't know what happened to them b/c I don't have them anymore. The guy played 2nd alto -- I can't remember his name -- tried really hard to get me to come back the next day for a _private lesson_ (I played reeds in a couple of different jass ensembles at the time). I recently learned an interesting stoy....after leaving his long-time recording contract and the end of his main club gig, Ferguson moved his family to the Hitchcock Estate in Millbrook, New York in November 1963 to live with Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, and their community from Harvard University. He and his wife Flo used LSD, psilocybin and other psychedelic drugs. They lived at Millbrook for about three years, playing clubs and recording several albums.[1][8][9] Ferguson was mentioned in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, which detailed the psychedelic scene. - wiki"
"Driessen is a boundry-pushing fiddler originally from Minnesota. He graduated from Berklee College of Music, where he studied with Matt Glaser, and has toured extensively with Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn. Here, he's taking a break from the Teluride Bluegrass Festival to go on a ride with a crew filming him playing from the top to the bottom of the lift-ride"
"This segment is taken from a six-part, three-hour series made for TV, presented and co-written by Stewart Brand, based on his book of the same name. It was directed by James Muncie. The music was by Brian Eno."
"W-14 aka Lee Carroll & Dave Williams. Rare recording, and hard to find information, but Lee Carroll shows up later playing with the group Exile, and then later, there's a Lee Carroll that show up playing with a Kentucky band called Tin Can Buddha, though I'm not sure it's the same one."
"Described as a fluid, live performance...DePlume aka Gus Fairbairb is a multi-instrumentalist and composer originally from Manchester UK. In a article published by The Guardian with the release of his latest release -- recorded in a cafe over the course of two weeks during the initial phase of the pandemic -- he's quoted as saying, _There’s lots of fear in our society – we are encouraged to be afraid of each other and afraid of ourselves_ He continues, _But you can’t make courage without fear. Next time you get some fear, you will have nearly everything you need. I want to create using those qualities._ His thoughts on the pandemic? _There is an invitation for me to respond to this pandemic with frustration, but it has allowed me the time to not spend all summer playing festivals and actually focus on my own creativity. It’s all gold. Go forth in the courage of your love as there is great magic there and I have no doubt that whatever we are faced with, people will continue to create. That is all we need._"
"While pursuingpost-graduate studies at New York University (NYU), Sanchez worked closely with Louise Bogan. During her time at NYU, she formed a writers' workshop in Greenwich Village, where the ""Broadside Quartet"" was born. The ""Broadside Quartet"" included other prominent Black Arts Movement artists such as Haki Madhubuti, Nikki Giovanni and Etheridge Knight. These young poets were introduced and promoted by Dudley Randall, an established poet and publisher. - wiki"
"Sō Percussion co-founder Jason Treuting flexes his compositional chops with Nine Numbers — a sprawling work that taps into the mysteries of sudoku, the Japanese puzzle game, as a source for rhythmic exploration. Relying on percussive uses of voice, electronic and acoustic instruments, and various blocks, bells, drums and other surfaces, Treuting folds melody, movement and the plosive mechanics of speech into an ebbing and flowing sound environment that digs deep into the notion of what connects numbers to human nature, and vice-versa."
"Marshall Allen now leads the Sun Ra Arkestra, this this their first studio album in over twenty years...called it Swirling. Sun Ra, the originator & inspiration, would be 108 years old this year and Marshall still lives in Sun Ra's house (mostly on the third floor) on a back street of Philadelphia, where the most of the band lived during Sun Ra's time there. He'd gather them in the basement at all hours of day or night to pick up on an inspiration he'd had. Standing on the stoop, you can hear the ringing of a nearby church bell."
"Jeanne Lee (1939-2000) was an African-American vocalist, poet, composer, improvisor, activist and educator. In her 40 year career she performed with Archie Shep, Marion Brown, Gunter Hampel, Frank Lowe, William Parker, Andrew Cyrille, Anthony Braxton, Ran Blake, Billy Bang, Cecil Taylor, John Cage, Rashsaan Roland Kirk, Pauline Oliveros, Reggie Workman, and many others. Mark Whitecage – Alto Clarinet / Jack Gregg – Bass / Allan Praskin – Clarinet / Perry Robinson – Clarinet / Steve McCall – Drums / Gunter Hampel – Flute, Piano, Vibraphone, Alto Clarinet, Bass Clarinet / Sam Rivers – Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Flute / Marty Cook – Trombone"
