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News from the darkest corners of the
musical universe:
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Friday, July 20, 2007 ◦
The Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen will be performing a unique program on Sunday, July 29 at the Philadelphia Clef Club, 736-738 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA at 3:00 p.m. Admission is $15.
The Arkestra will do its regular otherworldly set to be followed by a set where kids from Philadelphia and Camden will perform with the Sun Ra Arkestra doing compositions by Fletcher Henderson and new ragtime compositions by Fred Adams, trumpeter in the Arkestra.
This event is made possible by a grant from the American Composers Forum in collaboration with the Philadelphia Clef Club. In a summer camp format, kids from Philadelphia and Camden attended lectures from Fred Adams and the summer camp staff on the jazz styles of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s with an emphasis on Fletcher Henderson and ragtime. They then held section rehearsals led by Marshall Allen, Fred Adams, and Fred Simons followed by two days of rehearsal with the full Sun Ra Arkestra in preparation for the July 29 event. The Fletcher Henderson charts to be performed include the Sun Ra transcription arrangements of "Happy As The Day Is Long" and "Big John Special". The ragtime arrangements to be performed are compositions written and arranged by Fred Adams titled "Stomp & Rag" and "Processions & Rag" that are commissioned through a grant from the American Composers Forum.
For additional information on this concert, phone the Philadelphia Clef Club at 215-893-9912 or email info@clefclubofjazz.com
For additional information about the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen, visit www.thesunraarkestra.com
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Wednesday, July 18, 2007 ◦
The music curator of the University of Arizona, Mr. Keith Pawlak, has set up a website for the Lex Baxter collection at the university:
http://web.cfa.arizona.edu/lesbaxter/collection/index.html
The Les Baxter Collection was established in 2006 through the gift of Tom Eaton (Les' grandson) and Leslie Eaton (Les' daughter).
This collection contains Les Baxter's personal library of career-related music and memorabilia. The bulk portion of the library consists of music arrangements written by Les for film and record dates. In addition to the music, there are also various personal and professional items from his career. Materials include photographs, printed matter, recordings and production materials.
In addition to arrangements written by Les Baxter, there are also works by Albert Harris, Hall Daniels, Bill Loose, and Frank Comstock.
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Tuesday, July 17, 2007 ◦
This year's Colour out of Space festival - three days of exploratory sound and vision - runs 7 - 9th September in the newly revamped Sallis Benney theatre, Brighton. A complete performance line up will be available shortly, confirmed so far:
Conrad Schnitzler Tape Concert performed by Wolfgang Seidel (Germany)
Jaap Blonk (Holland)
Masaya Nakahara (Hair Stylistics) (Japan)
Dead machines, (USA)
Kuupuu & Paavi (Finland)
Ceylon mange (UK)
Pod Blotz (USA)
Usurper (UK)
Skaters (USA)
Family Underground (Denmark)
Orphan Fairytale (USA)
Math Balance Volumes (USA)
Jazkamer (Norway)
Phil Minton (UK)
More acts TBA
Film programme for Sat and Sun includes:
My Name is Albert Ayler, Kasper Collins remarkable potrait of the free jazz saxophonist.
Looking for Reynols: An Argentinean documentary on the free form musical phenomenon
Sumatran Folk Cinema: Sublime Frequencies latest experimental ethnographic excursion
Colour/Space experimental film programme: Rarities from Gunvor Nelson / Stan Brakhage / Sharits /Margaret Tait / Anne Mcquire and many more
+ Improvisation as the primal musical gesture: A talk by Wire writer and author David Keenan
+ Feral Choir Workshop led by Phil Minton - The Feral Choir can join Phil on stage Sunday night.
More info at www.colouroutofspace.org
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Sunday, July 15, 2007 ◦
The Java's Bachelor Pad Empire is expanding! First it was the retro-themed website Java's Bachelor Pad. Then came The Bachelor Pad Radio Show. That was followed by the popular on-line pin-up contest, the JBP Cheesecake Contest. Then came events like the Cocktails and Cheesecake Party, Atomic Frolic, and Mondo Lounge Atomic Frolic. Now, Jason "Java" Croft brings his love of atomic-age culture to the printed page with his newest project titled, simply enough, Bachelor Pad Magazine.
Issue #1, slated from September 2007, will feature:
Pin-ups from Kay O'Hara and Bernie Dexter.
Lifestyle advice from Cherry Capri.
Movie reviews from Will "The Thrill" Viharo.
Entertaining tips from Penny Star Jr.
A tell-all tale from burlesque producer Lili VonSchtupp.
Pin-up modeling tips from Heidi Van Horne.
Drink recipes from mixologist Dr. Bamboo.
Comics from the guys behind Untamed Highway.
Plus other surprises from Java and his gang of swingers!
More info here.
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Saturday, July 14, 2007 ◦
Composer-Producer Fred Ho and Writer-librettist Quincy Troupe unveil excerpts of the book to their new opera, MR. MYSTERY: THE RETURN OF SUN RA TO SAVE PLANET EARTH! A dramatic reading of the cast (without singing or music) will be featured Friday, July 27, 2007 6pm sharp at the Whitney Museum lower level, 75th Street and Madison Avenue, Manhattan (NYC). Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis (so get there early!), reservations are NOT accepted, and admittance is free with Museum admission, which is a pay-what-you-wish for Fridays 6pm to 9pm. Directed by Walter Dallas and featuring Kamala Sanakarm, Del Fionn Sykes, Haleh Abghari, Jennifer Kidwell, Richard Harper, Michael Douglas Jones and Roland Burks (as the legendary extra-terrestrial Sun Ra).
For more information: www.whitney.org/live.
Please reserve February 24 and 25, 2008 7:30pm at the Guggenheim Museum (88th Street and Fifth Avenue), Peter B. Lewis theater for the concert performance to this new opera featuring the cast of 7 singers and a wildly eclectic 9-piece orchestra, costumes by Anka Lupes.
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Thursday, July 05, 2007 ◦
Will H. Schaefer, a Kenosha-born composer who wrote background music for "I Dream of Jeannie" and "The Flintstones," died of cancer, a family friend said. He was 78.
Schaefer died Saturday in a nursing home in the Palm Springs, Calif., suburb of Cathedral City, Danny Flahive said Wednesday.
"We lost a biggie," Flahive said, referring to the music industry. "He was brilliant. Even toward the end of his life, he was writing for a 100-piece orchestra of the Budapest symphony."
Schaefer, of Rancho Mirage, Calif., may not have been a household name but his work touched countless fans of television and Disney.
He wrote scores - background music but not the theme songs - for such TV shows as "The Flying Nun," "Hogan's Heroes," "The Jetsons" and "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson."
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Wednesday, July 04, 2007 ◦
The Cryptic Corporation and Mute are pleased to announce a new album by The Residents: The Voice of Midnight
The Residents have a long history of story-based music projects, starting with 1974's Not Available, continuing with God in 3 Persons in 1988, and more recently The River of Crime in 2006. With The Voice of Midnight, The Residents have now taken a bold step, crossing a line into the world of music theater.
For The Voice of Midnight, The Residents have adapted a short story, Der Sandmann, by Prussian writer E.T.A. Hoffman. The story was first published 190 years ago.
On the surface, Der Sandmann is a simple story of madness. However, it has been recognized as addressing the conflict between the age of reason and the romantic era by scholars who have studied the tale. It has been adapted, in parts, by Jacques Offenbach for his opera The Tales of Hoffman, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky for The Nutcracker Suite, and for the ballet Coppelia. Freud extensively interpreted Der Sandmann in his famous essay Das Unheimliche in 1919. Freud was fascinated by Hoffman's obsession with eyeballs.
The protagonist of the story is Nathaniel (Nate) who carries a deeply-seated fear that the childhood fable character, the sandman, is stalking him. The character of Nate is superbly performed by Corey Rosen who first worked with The Residents on River of Crime in 2006. Nate's fiance, Clair, a steadfast realist, is performed by Gerri Lawler who also worked on River of Crime as well as Tweedles. Long time Residents collaborator Carla Fabrizio performs the role of the other "woman," Olympia.
The Residents embody the other characters, and perform the music, assisted by soloist Nolan Cook, whose guitar work for the Residents over the last eight years is legendary.
The Voice of Midnight is planned for an October release by Mute.
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