Step Tempest

Richard Kamins on Words Project III: Miniatures.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Words and Music That Can Touch the Soul

Words Project III: Miniatures - Sam Sadigursky (New Amsterdam) - In his ongoing project to connect poetry with original music, saxophonist Sadigursky has, in the past, created elaborate works, with melodies that often used a small coterie of instruments in counterpoint with the vocals. The 3rd entry in the series concentrates more on the sound and shape of the words, this time allowing the poetry to dictate the form of the songs. Few of the 18 tracks have more than 3 or 4 instruments playing; there's no real rhythm section and solos are rare. This time out, Sadigursky's focus is on the voice - even the one track that has no words is a chorale written for voices. Working alongside multi-instrumentalist Michael Leonhart (and a number of musicians and vocalists), Sadigursky is not interested in displaying his (or his sideman's) technical facility but in making the listener move easily into this aural landscape. Sometimes it's tough, the words whiz by, the images don't make immediate sense - go back, play the cut again and again and, as you do, the words and music start to come into focus.


If you've not read Carl Sandburg in decades, you may have forgotten how he could create such vivid images in short sentences. There are 4 examples on this disk and each one has a unique soundscape. "Wistful"utilizes Leonhart's multi-tracked brass chorale to frame the lines while "Swirl" moves on the Middle-Eastern percussion of Richie Barshay and droning background vocals. "To Know Silence Perfectly" utilizes several keyboards, sounding not unlike Brian Wilson in his "Smile" days or the simple yet haunting songs of Robert Wyatt. Numerous horns and strings play in unison with Leonhart on "Stars, Songs, Faces" and there's a dreamy quality to this beautiful idea of how to live your life that the poet asks his reader to consider. The shortness of the cut (1:07) only strengthens the message of impermanence.

Other poets include William Carlos Williams (his "Dance Russe" is a mad look at the creative process while "El Hombre"has the feel of Brazilian poem/melody by Caetano Veloso), Sadi Ranson-Politizotti (her "Now" is a song of love that Karlie Bruce sings with an aching tenderness over a chamber music ensemble) and Kenneth Patchen ("Do Me That Love" has the feel of a introspective John Lennon work.) "O Muzyke Tolstykh" uses text by Maxim Gorky that is a scree against modern jazz with a soundscape featuring bass clarinet, piccolo, baritone saxophone, tabla and moaning brass. "Light (Ample Make This Bed") features a handsome guitar melody (played by Andrew McKenna Lee) over which Heather Masse quietly recites a wondrous piece by Emily Dickinson. Sadigursky also wrote music for the words of contemporary poets Michael Lally, Han Dong, and Maureen N. McLane as well as older poets such as David Ignatow (1914 - 1997), Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935), León de Greiff (1895-1976), and Alena Synkova (1926 - ?, the only child-poet to survive the Terezin Concentration camp.


Sam Sadigursky is a busy musician, playing and recording with the likes of Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Folklore Urbano, Tibagui, Julie Hardy and Rob Mosher's Storytime. He's a fine, articulate, player whose sweet tone enlivens the various ensembles he plays with. Yet, the Words Project CDs offers listeners the opportunity to hear Sadigursky the composer, arranger and orchestrator. While there is an "art song" quality about the Projects (a style which often has a distant and impassive feel), the majority of the pieces on "..III" have emotional weight and many speak of longing or love or sadness. The musical backdrops may be spare at times (the use of kalimba on "Rain" is a perfect touch as the hand-held African thumb piano's sound can resemble falling water) but never out of touch with the words. In this time when one can be surrounded by "talk shows" on television and radio as well as the constant jabbering of politicians and fundamentalists, these "Miniatures" pack quite a punch.

The One Constant

I shot this earlier tonight... Danny is currently mixing a new record of material that should be out in May or June. He's been one of my favorite pianists and composers for a long time now.

Danny Fox: piano, composition
Chris VanVorstVanBeest: bass
Max Goldman: drums

live at Cafe Vivaldi

New Rules

New York Times contributor Jon Pareles thoughtfully weighs in on the impact of music downloading and the new music business here.

Let it Snow

some holiday help

For lovers of the accordion everywhere. I love the sitting vocal quartet too.

And the strangely prophetic ending...



Via Eivind Opsvik

Kurt Rosenwinkel interview at All About Jazz

Besides being one of my favorite players and composers on the planet, Kurt Rosenwinkel is one of the most thoughtful and straight-shooting people an interviewer can ask for. This interview at All About Jazz is short, but worth reading. Here are a few of my favorite parts.

AAJ: Did you have a breakthrough moment when you committed to a career in jazz, or did it more evolve naturally over time?

KR: I committed to playing music for my life when I was nine! Since then, it's never been a question. So, I never committed to a career in jazz. It's all just music to me. Whether it's this or that, I like it all—mostly. I became a jazz musician because so much of the music I love is called that, and it inspired me to learn and grow in that direction.


AAJ: You mentioned, in a previous interview, that you moved to Europe because of a healthier lifestyle—better healthcare, etc. That was over six years ago, and while certainly the American lifestyle hasn't gone through a wholesale evolution, a lot has changed. It is arguably a different time in America now. Do you envision returning to the States at some point?

KR: For now I am cool where I am. I don't think it has gotten any better in the States in terms of the cost of raising a family. If anything, it's gotten worse. It costs next to nothing to send a child to school here, all the way through 'til [a] Master's degree. Health care is affordable. I am not bombarded with advertising everywhere I go, and people are generally pretty cool. That said, it is not my culture, and I do feel the sense that I "belong" more to the States than to "Europe."

But then again, I don't wanna belong. I don't want to be a part of that larger cultural conversation in the United States. I don't share the same experience or assumptions about life that most people do here or there, so it ain't really that simple.

Mostly it really just boils down to that my kids are in Berlin, so I will stay in Berlin.

AAJ: You chose to work with Eric Revis and Eric Harland. What about their playing fit this project?

KR: Eric Revis and Eric Harland are the musicians I wanted to play with because they are both open minded and spontaneous, listening musicians. And also, as Ethan Iverson puts it in the liner notes, they are "committed to the straight-ahead mission," which means that we aren't trying to reinvent the wheel here, but rather play in the more traditional jazz conception that we love and know.

That said, there is no dogma involved and that is a critical point. I cannot play with anyone who is playing music from a dogmatic approach. But I also am not about throwing the baby out with the bathwater either. I love the jazz tradition, that is to say the music of jazz. And I know that we share this attitude, and I have had great experiences playing with Eric and Eric in lots of situations.

2009

I just completed this questionnaire for the Interboro Rock Tribune, which got me reviewing my year. Here's my submission:

1. What was your favorite album of 2007 and why? Least
favorite album?
The Bad Plus - For All I Care - It's a masterpiece by one of the few real working BANDS that are out there in the jazz world. Proves that great music can be fun to listen to and the production is amazing.
2. What are your other four favorite albums of 2009?
Fred Hersch - Plays Jobim
Laurent Coq - Eight Fragments of Summer
Emilio Teubal - Un Monton de Notas
Matt Kanelos - Silent Show

3. What song did you love this year and hated yourself for it and why?
Porque Te Vas scene from the film Cria Cuervos - the song is from the 70's and is absolutely perfect kitsch

4. What was the coolest thing you downloaded off the
Internet this year?
eMusic - It can sometimes be so overwhelming to keep up with buying music. It really helps me stay with it and keep my ears fresh.
5. What annoyed you most about 2009 and why?
television news and the increasing impact that it has on our culture

6. What freaked you out most about 2009 and why?
see #5 - specifically the pathetic shape the discussion of health care reform took
7. What was the best thing you saw on television in
2009 and why?
MADMEN - Actually, it was the only thing I saw on television this year.
8. What was your favorite film of 2009 and why?
Man on Wire. I know it was made in 2008, but it made a lasting impression. Goodbye Solo was a quiet film that I really liked. The Mike Tyson doc was great too.

9. What was the best concert you saw in 2009 and why?
Pat Metheny, Larry Grenadier, Jack DeJohnette at the Bear Theater in Woodstock NY. I had never seen Metheny before and it was totally awe inspiring to see him in such a small place with such an incredible group. I felt like I was 15 again listening to these guys play.
10. What does your gut tell you about 2010?
Not much different from 2009
11. Of all the retail stores that went belly up in 2009, which one will you miss the most and why?
Falafel Fusion on Church Ave. in Brooklyn.

12. What are your thoughts on Obama now vs. back in November of 2008?
Not to say that I'm not troubled by a number of policy decisions, but for the most part he's fighting a noble fight and up against some harsh political and social realities. It's a lot easier to be critical of him now that he's not being compared to people like McCain and Palin.