In a Quiet Way

Eivind Nordset Lønning/Espen Reinertsen + R2D3 + Sabbaticus Rex @ The Compound Gallery, Oakland, CA
Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Eivind Nordset Lønning: trumpet
Espen Reinertsen: alto saxophone, flute

R2D3:
Ron Heglin: trombone, voice
Tom Nunn: electro-acoustic percussion
Doug Carroll: cello

Sabbaticus Rex:
Cornelius Boots: shakuhachi, throat singing
Karen Stackpole: gongs, percussion

"We play pretty quiet, the best spot is probably right in front," Norway's Eivind Nordset Lønning cautioned the small audience gathered within the alternative space at Oakland's Compound Gallery. The trumpet and alto saxophone pair then proceeded to send a near continuous stream of air through their instruments for more than half an hour. Working within a soundscape of breath, air, sub-harmonics and wide swatches of shifting timbral materials within a fragile, almost transparent existence Lønning and Reinertsen blured their sound into a singular brush stroke. Late in the set the two locked into eerie rhythmic unison with a series of short, ghostly tones. The percussive world of flute pads and unscrewed trumpet valves opening up an incredible study of micro-sound within the musical sensibilities of these improvisers.

R2D3 followed this set with a decidedly more amplified expression of amplified combs (used to play invented percussion instruments), cello and trombone. The ear-driven improvisations added volume to the middle set before giving way to the dreamy, droning bowed gong with shakuhachi music of Sabbaticus Rex. Giving the evening itself a large contour of stillness giving way to noise and returning to a meditative solace.

Scale of the Day: E Flat Aeolian diminished 4 1% wide

The intervallic content of the E Flat Aeolian diminished 4 1% wide Scale.

HurdAudio Rotation: Bach, Beethoven, Ayler

J.S. Bach: Bach Edition: Complete Works[disc II-1]. 1996, 1999. Brilliant Classics: 93102/24.

Leon Berben: harpsichord/Cembalo

The Well Tempered Clavier, book I

Preludium, Fuga, and Preludium again, and Fuga again. One has to appreciate the task - perfectly executed here - of systematically composing a prelude and fugue in every major and minor key found upon the well tempered instrument. Book 1 takes the journey from C major, to C minor, then chromatically up to F minor. Key centers do take on extraordinary focus in this music - as it often does with Baroque works. So much has grown from the tonality and the compositional answers posed by these pieces that one can't help also hearing one's memory reverberating with so many pieces that have drawn upon these creations.

Ludwig van Beethoven: The Complete Quartets [disc 6]. Recorded in 1994. Delos: DE 3036.

The Orford String Quartet:
Andrew Dawes: violin
Kenneth Perkins: violin
Terence Helmer: viola
Denis Brott: cello

String Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3
String Quartet in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131

The Opus 18 is nice. Structured and well developed. The Opus 131 is a marvel. Moments of startling arranging prowess dart by unexpectedly. The level of detail in this late piece is amazing. Again, the level of fetish these string quartets invite should - but oddly doesn't - rival that of the symphonies. I need to visit these pieces with scores in hand at some point.

Albert Ayler: Holy Ghost (box set) [disc 5]. 2004. Revenant Records: 213.

Albert Ayler Quintet @ Berlin Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany - November 3, 1966
Albert Ayler Quintet @ De Doelen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands - November 8, 1966

Albert Ayler: tenor saxophone
Don Ayler: trumpet
Michel Samson: violin
Bill Folwell: bass
Beaver Harris: drums

It is surprisingly easy to hear past the roughness of the recording and get right at the simmering substance of this music. Michel Samson! There has to be more documentation of this incredible violinist. Each spin adds to the curiosity and thirst to hear more of his improvising. This was a quintet sympathetic to the new sound Albert Ayler forged through uncompromising honesty and spiritual instinct. And it's performed before European audiences that "got it." These sets crackle with a barely contained, raw energy and prayer-like fervor that carries a clear conviction through the haze of decades past.

Scale of the Day: G Sharp Pythagorean Aeolian 1% wide

The G Sharp Pythagorean Aeolian 1% wide Scale. The equal tempered Aeolian de-tuned just slightly to fit the 1212-cent "octave."

Scale of the Day: G Sharp Aeolian mapped to the Cube-root-of-2

The G Sharp Aeolian mapped to the Cube-root-of-2 Scale. The "natural" minor compressed into the span of an equal tempered major third.

Scale of the Day: E Flat Aeolian mapped to the 3/2

The intervallic content of the E Flat Aeolian mapped to the 3/2 Scale.

The Exquisite Improvisation of Dream States

O Sleep - an improvised opera and work in progress directed by Theresa Wong @ The Headlands Center for the Arts, Marin Headlands, Sausalito, CA
Sunday, May 24, 2009

Performaners: Theresa Wong, Ellen Fullman, Kanoko Nishi, Dohee Lee, Luciano Chessa, Michael Carter, Shayna Dunkleman, Heike Liss
Alice Wu: costumes

Structured along the stages of sleep, O Sleep features a range of dream-state inspired improvisations, movement and creative staging. At times, one could be tempted to close the eyes and drift along with the percussive textures.

O Sleep has its visual highlights as well. The projected video of a curtain by an open window onto a sheer curtain suspended in the middle of the room by a wire was striking. Theresa Wong stood behind this projected image with another performer standing behind her as their vocals twisted within one another's critical band. One of many moments that left an indelible visual and aural impression.

At one particular sleep stage, the room itself became an instrument as performers worked within the low light, exploring the sounds of frictions along the walls, floor and windows of the old gymnasium at the Marin Headlands. The dance-like kinetic motion of the performers, the vibrations that nearly engulf the observer and the spatial dynamic of this moment captured the essence and mystery of sleep in a uniquely familiar and unsettling manner.

Occupying the core of the stage and sound of O Sleep was the droning and harmonically dynamic sounds of Ellen Fullman's Long String Instrument. Stretched along the entire length of the gymnasium with wires tuned to just intervals, Fullman walked forward and backward with fists full of strings like a human bow. Coaxing a room-sized, tamboura-esque sound. The addition of percussion, drums, voice, koto and electronics filled out the dreams of this work.

O Sleep incorporates the instruments and performers into a cohesive whole. Musicians move with the grace of dancers. The staging realizes the corporeality of performance and drama as part of a cohesive whole. Improvisation allows the collective ears to focus upon the realization of sleep states. The result is fantastic. As a work "in progress," O Sleep holds enormous potential.