Wednesday, December 29, 2010

The Eighth (and Perhaps Ninth) of Many Installments of Me

Lavelle / Mateen / Zappa Clarinets at WKCR 2009, track 1

Lavalle Mateen Zappa Clarinets at WKCR track 4

Did everyone have a beautiful Christmas? Truly the most wonderful time of the year. Everyone getting ready to have a fun filled New Year's? Gonna watch Dick Clark's Balls drop with Ryan Seacrest? Rocking, balls dropping, Times Square...isn't winter grand?

Speaking of the city of piss, these little numbers were recorded therein, again at the wonderful and totally unpisslike WKCR.

All you need to know about this session can be found at Brilliant Corners (a Boston Jazz Blog) in this post about Matt Lavelle--who was one third of the enclosed clarinet trio.

When conceptualising this trio, I had hoped for 3 alto clarinets. That didn't happen and I was very pleased in the end with the various configurations of Bb soprano, Eb alto and Bb bass clarinet as played by Matt, the fantastic Sabir Mateen and your host, me.

I played a segment from this session at Soundlines, (sort of written about here.) The promises of follow-up future group hugs from that event have desiccated, sloughed off and gotten lost in the easy to clean synthetic low pile industrial carpeting with the sensible pattern, leaving only vague and empty memories of hope for a meaningful and equitable relationship between the academy and improvisers. While it was happening, the attached pieces of music did get the attention and kudos of one Ron Coulter, who himself gave a very compelling presentation at said event.

(Ron, these are for you!)

Unfortunately, meaningful documentation of the presentations (and the presenters) has vanished from the ICASP website; yet another virtual disappointment in a long line of cyber sadnesses emanating from our beloved interwebs with regards to the documentation of that red-headed stepchild of a music, Crazy Experimental Freedom.

Regardless, the session was a joyous one. Time spent at WKCR playing Crazy Experimental Freedom Music with musicians of such high calibre is time well spent. Enjoy.

More thinly veiled swipes and semi exasperated expressions of disappointment coming your way in the next installment of the many installment of me!


copyright © 2010 Stanley Jason Zappa