Parrhesia

Parrhesia

Engine Records

Joe Morris/electric guitar

Stephen Haynes/trumpet, cornet & flugelhorn

Warren Smith/drums, percussion, marimba & voice

Last spring, Steve Walcott called to ask if I would consider recording with his singular young record label, Engine Records.  I had met Steve when Taylor Ho Bynum and I recorded our Double Trio in concert at the Festival for New Trumpet Music during the fall of 2006.  I had been following the label since I first heard the recordings that Warren Smith made with tenor saxophonist Andrew Lamb on the label.  Walcott just recently recorded and released Warren Smith's orchestra (Old News, Borrowed Blues).

Steve and I discussed a number of projects that I had been working on, or wanted to spark, settling on Parrhesia.  The trio began in 2005 during my year-long residency at Hartford's Real Art Ways.  The last time we worked together was at La Paloma Sabanera in 2007.  Music needs a place to grow and develop. Here in Hartford Will Wilkins (RAW) and Luis Cotto (La Paloma) welcomed us,  consistently supporting the creative work in a wonderful community-centered manner.  There's no place like home!

In early January of this year, after a week's delay due to snow, Joe and I drove down to Metrosonic Studios in Brooklyn.  The weather was cold and raw in a way that is amplified by the concrete and asphalt of the city.  Ever intrepid, Steve rode his bicycle to work.  Warren arrived with his assistant, and we set up camp in a small room equipped with a bevy of vintage ribbon microphones.  We recorded all the music in single takes.  After listening to an initial playback, we knew that something special was afoot. 

I will leave it to others (and to you, dear listener) to unravel and describe the music that we created.  Buy locally when you purchase the disc.  If you do not have a local record store, I suggest that you to order the disc from Downtown Music Gallery in New York.  DMG is a stalwart supporter of the music, and one of our few remaining record stores (in the classic sense), the type of place that many of us learned (and still do) so much about music and those who create it.

Bill Dixon and the Way Ahead

These images were taken during the fall of 1981.  I was twenty-six years old at the time, working as an Artist in Residence in the Black Music Division at Bennington College. Bill was fifty-five, the age I am now.  By the summer of 1982, I left Vermont for New York.  Bill and I stayed in touch for a while, but I soon found that I needed to burn the Buddha in order to begin the process of finding my own voice/identity. 

All of this, the searching/discipline, was something that Bill had taught, talked about at length and modeled on a daily basis.  When I finally managed to get back to my mentor I had something to share, something that I had found on my own.  At least that is what I have always thought.

What I missed at times, and what the grief and deep reflection of the past few days has solidly brought home, is that I have always been deeply connected with Bill since my student days, and still am.  Japanese Buddhists talk about the path, being a seeker, and how, once you are on the path, you never leave it.  You may wander off the well - worn road into the bushes but you are, in fact,  always moving ahead, whether the way ahead is clear or not. 

Bill got me started on something and I don't believe that I will truly ever be finished.  And that is a good thing.

Thanks, Bill.  I will always love you.

images of Bill Dixon & Stephen Haynes by Steven Albahari

The Pea Pod Trio Redux

 

Cityscapes 2010: Restoring and Preserving Hartford's Urban Forest

Knox Parks Foundation Annual Gala

Hartford, CT

I am always happy when the things that I love in most in music happen close to home.  Last night I spent several hours making music with my community garden-inspired ensemble The Pea Pod Trio. The last time we were together was at the Niles Street Community Garden at the invitation of Charmaine Craig, Knox Parks' tireless Community Network Builder.  Over the years, Charmaine has provided many wonderful opportunities to make music in support of our community garden(er)s.  Last night was more of the same and we had a ball together.

Bill Lowe drove down from Boston with his tuba, drummer Billy Arnold arrived from Springfield and our newest member, guitarist Kevin O'Neil drove up from the shoreline of Connecticut.  As Bill Lowe would likely label this assemblage, we are a 21st century territory band.  Take a moment to reflect on the elegant beauty of that notion and it's deep (re)connection to tradition in the music.  

The Pea Pod Trio is beginning to feel like a band, and likely the next step will be adding one more instrument and seriously workshopping some material.  And, though we had rehearsed some material, we scrapped it and ended up improvising in a deep groove for the entire evening. 

 

Images of Stephen Haynes and The Pea Pod Trio by Andy Hart

Bill Dixon at FIMAV, Day II

 

Festival Internationale de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville

Victoriaville, Québec, Canada

May 22, 2010

Festivals can, when at their best, take on the character of community gatherings.   This season, FIMAV has felt like this at times.  Besides the consistent and clear camaraderie of the ensemble, we have encountered Barre Phillips and his son.  Bill had a long chat with Barre and our bassist, Ken Filiano, stuck to him like glue.  Last night, I heard my name called in the parking lot.  This turned out to be  Bruce Gallanter, the owner of Downtown Music Gallery in Manhattan.  Bruce had driven up with a carload of friends and expressed excitement about the music ahead.

This morning Taylor and I met with Bill in his room.  Bill completely re-blocked the component sections of the music.  "I can't have musicians shuffling through pages of music and not paying attention."  We created a new score for the ensemble and set an order for the sections of the new suite.  Bill was quick to remind us that any rule/order exists to be broken/changed.  He has also chosen to attempt something that he has never done, at least in recent years:  rather than play the trumpet, Bill will focus on conducting the ensemble and, at a point, a pre-recorded solo trumpet piece, Shrike, will be inserted in the middle of the performance.

The ensemble gathered for a short meeting.  We distributed the new score, discussed the order and ran through some of the material.  I also conducted a playing 'situation' to make some points regarding what we should all be prepared to do later in the day.  We then scattered for the afternoon.  Some of us had lunch together, went for walks, visited other musicians.  I heard at least one hotel room filled with the sound of ardent practice of the new material.

We opted to move the time for soundcheck up to allow us all to make only one trip to the performance venue.  We met with Bill on stage, setting sound levels, running aspects of the materials.  Bill then launched into his signature story telling mode.  For those of us who study the art of leadership, this is something worth attending to.  Through these rambling, humorous stories, Bill sets tone, simultaneously knitting all the players together and pulling them into deeply-focused listening as a group.  Laughter becomes chorus and we are all in tune with the composer's intent, essence and purpose.  And, not for nothing, we are all a bit more relaxed.

As we wait to work, Michel Levasseur, Artistic Director of the festival, stops by to wish us well.  It is at this point that we learn of a possible power outage.  "If the lights go out, you can just begin again."  Yikes!  We assure Michel that there will be no 'beginning again' and that, if the power fails, the recording of the concert will be lost. 

An hour later we mount the stage.  The house is full, and we feel cradled by deep listening from the first notes of the music.  Bill cues a duet between Taylor Ho Bynum and Warren Smith on tympani. Spirits enter the room and the music slowly unfolds over the course of an hour.  All of us have entered transformed time, and feel as if we have only been busy for twenty minutes when Bill finally draws the music down to silence.  The audience breathes for a moment, then rises to their feet in affirmation.

Michel (and, for that matter, all of us!) is excited by the music and vows to bring the recording to market before Christmas.

Images of Bill Dixon & the ensemble by Isabelle Moisan

Bill Dixon at FIMAV, Day I

Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville

Victoriaville, Québec, Canada

May 21, 2010

We spent yesterday driving to Victoriaville.  This was not as simple as it sounds.  In reconvening the ensemble that recorded Tapestries for Small Orchestra, we gathered musicians from New England, Quebec and Chicago.  And, as is often the case in travel, unexpected events occurred that delayed the arrival of some folks.  I drove Bill and Rob up and arrived at the festival hotel by 6:00 PM.  We were able to settle in and check on the arrangements for our in-house rehearsal space.  We ate a light supper followed by an hour of rehearsal with Bill, Rob and myself.

Bill wrote all new music for this performance, drawing only one piece of thematic material from the Firehouse 12 recording.  "I've been writing for months, and I keep feeling that there is something missing.  What that is I have not been able to determine, " Bill told us.  After the rehearsal, I spent time copying parts and organizing material for distribution to the ensemble.  All in all, we had about ten pages of material to master.  I love copying Bill's music.  His calligraphy is always beautiful to behold and I learn so much from his way of organizing the music. Working with Bill Dixon provides a master class in orchestration and arrangement for those who have eyes for the knowledge.

We began rehearsal late this morning, as the majority of the players arrived after midnight last night.  Bill's focus, initially and throughout, was on (re-) orientation, pulling everyone into the room, the moment and the music, deeply fine-tuning the ensemble focus and identity.  Embracing this and internalizing the music will be a lot to accomplish in a short span of time!  We spent three hours going through the material and absorbing Bill's concept for the music and met again during the evening to continue the work without Bill, rehearsing as a full group and in sectionals.  All of this activity was archivally recorded by Ben Young from WKCR at Columbia University.

I would be remiss if I did not note that an essential element in the success of the music is relational.  Each of has known Bill Dixon for years (37 years for me).  All of us are also connected through years of work in other ensembles and projects over time.  All of that as well as the time spent traveling to the venue, sharing meals and long conversations together blend to create a primary warp and weft for Bill to weave his sonic sensibility through.

Images of Bill Dixon, Stephen Haynes & the ensemble by Isabelle Moisan

Images of Taylor Ho Bynum, Graham Haynes & Rob Mazurek by Stephen Haynes

New Language Collaborative

Outpost 186

Cambridge, MA

A week ago, I had the pleasure of returning to Boston for an evening of music with The New Language Collaborative.  I have known the members of this trio for some time.  Glynis Loman and Syd Smart I met during the mid-seventies at Bennington College.  Eric Zinman was a later Bennington-related connection, as he arrived there after I departed for Manhattan.  All four of us connect with the creative and pedagogical orbit of Bill Dixon.

The notion for this collaboration sprang from a large ensemble event that Eric put together with Jason Zappa.  Citizens Orchestra was offered as a tip of the hat to Bill Dixon and took place at Outpost 186.  I ended up contributing some music for the chamber orchestra and conducting.  While you would not imagine that one could fit a small chamber orchestra in Outpost 186 we did, and the intimacy of the space along with the mix of local/regional players made for a memorable evening.

As is often the case, we wondered aloud how to continue the work in a manner that made sense.  While Eric has subsequently re-convened the orchestra and aims to make it a going concern, I suggested a return in a smaller context, focused on pure improvisation.

What a delight to be enfolded by the energy of this ensemble!  Reconnecting with Syd and Glynis was wonderful (some things really do improve with time!) and Eric made me want to reconsider my stance regarding working with the piano.

images by Emile S Tobenfeld, PhD