I was lucky enough to be in the audience when Tyshawn Sorey presented his Master's Thesis concert at Wesleyan University. It was a long and varied program with several nods to Morton Feldman, especially later in the program. Reading about "Monochromatic Light", I am reminded of that performance. It's when I first understood "gestural music". And realized that was part of most "genres" of music, even popular music. Excellent article as always, Nate––I look forward to "Members....."
Wow, that must have been some masters recital! I remember some of the works from that era. Sorey's music has always been worth close attention, and I think that's never been truer than it is right now.
I can't tell you how excited I am to know Tyshawn Sorey's "Members... Don't!" releases in May. Suffice to say that I've become somewhat obsessed with the song "Equipoise" ever since I heard it on the "Musa - Ancestral Streams" album (big thank you for making me aware of this record). When I read the Jason Moran quote, I didn't even both going through my normal process of first checking it out before buying the CD (still a small way of better compensating the artist than streaming everything). "Equipoise" is brilliant in every way. Searching out other versions of it led me to the Max Roach album, with which, I'm embarrassed to say, I was unfamiliar. Unreal. Just unreal.
Fyi, "The Willie Jones III Sextet Plays the Max Roach Songbook" is a wonderful record with a great version of "Equipoise" (Eric Reed's on piano).
And, a final thought. I had a long running joke with Randall Kline where whenever I'd see him in the lobby or something at SFJazz I'd say some form of Thank You followed by, "Now, when are you going to book Kamasi Washington here again?!" With you, Nate, it's going to be, "When are you going to review Jorge Luis Pacheco's "live from HAVANA" album?!"
Thanks for this note, David — I love that "Equipoise" has been such a deep discovery for you, and that I played some small part in bringing it to your ears. It has been a season of obligation and distraction, so I'll confess that the Pacheco album is still sitting on a stack of CDs. But it's in the queue, I swear. All my best!
Thank you for receiving my Pacheco nudge in the spirit it was intended! He's got a studio album called "Joy" releasing in the spring, so maybe the two albums together will merit close listening and a review. His recorded catalog doesn't yet match the likes of Arturo O'Farrill or Chucho Valdéz - two of his mentors; in fact, Chucho Valdéz produced his very first album called "Pacheco's Blues" - but his music already conveys tremendous breadth, depth, and originality. An interesting fact is that he's one of the few artists of his stature to continue to play in Cuba regularly. Please check out his Instagram at @jorgeluispachecojazz and the following link for info on upcoming performances in Havana in one week https://www.instagram.com/p/DV4KHzIDtiV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==. I believe it's that deep and unbroken connection to Cuba combined with his incredible musicianship that has helped build a following everywhere he's played.
By the way, are you aware of what Randall Kline has been up to lately? Check out this most recent article on his artist housing initiative: https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/apartment-market-st-san-francisco-21316858.php. How incredibly fortunate San Francisco and the Bay Area music scene is for this person's tremendous efforts. I'm not exaggerating when I say he's a hero of mine.
Really great piece Nate. I’m huge fan of the artist Julie Mehretu and your mention of her left me very curious about what I assume was her visual contribution to the performance at the Park Avenue Armory. I’d love to hear your thoughts on why this current era seems so ripe for collaborations between jazz musicians and visual artists? Jason Moran and multiple works, Tyshawn Sorey with Julie Mehretu, are just a few. I live in Minneapolis and have been lucky enough to see, in the last few years, Cecile McLorin Salvant’s debut of Orgesse: Envisioned, with animation she conceived and produced with the Belgian animator Lia Bertels, and a an improvised piece of projected found photographs displayed by the photographer Alex Soth with Dave King performing the music. Is there something about this moment that’s making these partnerships seemingly so much more prevalent? Or maybe I’m just noticing them more… In any case, really excited for both of these albums
Thanks, Jeff! You’re right that this is a great era for interdisciplinary art-jazz collabs, tho of course there’s more than a century’s worth of precedent. Part of what we’re seeing is a critical mass, with certain highly attuned artists showing the way. Jason Moran is a clear leader in this regard; at the risk of self-promoting, I’ll refer you to a chapter in my book about him. And since you admire Mehretu, you should definitely know about the album he created in partnership with her. Not streaming, but you can purchase it here: https://jasonmoran.bandcamp.com/album/mass-howl-eon
I was lucky enough to be in the audience when Tyshawn Sorey presented his Master's Thesis concert at Wesleyan University. It was a long and varied program with several nods to Morton Feldman, especially later in the program. Reading about "Monochromatic Light", I am reminded of that performance. It's when I first understood "gestural music". And realized that was part of most "genres" of music, even popular music. Excellent article as always, Nate––I look forward to "Members....."
Wow, that must have been some masters recital! I remember some of the works from that era. Sorey's music has always been worth close attention, and I think that's never been truer than it is right now.
I can't tell you how excited I am to know Tyshawn Sorey's "Members... Don't!" releases in May. Suffice to say that I've become somewhat obsessed with the song "Equipoise" ever since I heard it on the "Musa - Ancestral Streams" album (big thank you for making me aware of this record). When I read the Jason Moran quote, I didn't even both going through my normal process of first checking it out before buying the CD (still a small way of better compensating the artist than streaming everything). "Equipoise" is brilliant in every way. Searching out other versions of it led me to the Max Roach album, with which, I'm embarrassed to say, I was unfamiliar. Unreal. Just unreal.
Fyi, "The Willie Jones III Sextet Plays the Max Roach Songbook" is a wonderful record with a great version of "Equipoise" (Eric Reed's on piano).
And, a final thought. I had a long running joke with Randall Kline where whenever I'd see him in the lobby or something at SFJazz I'd say some form of Thank You followed by, "Now, when are you going to book Kamasi Washington here again?!" With you, Nate, it's going to be, "When are you going to review Jorge Luis Pacheco's "live from HAVANA" album?!"
Thanks for this note, David — I love that "Equipoise" has been such a deep discovery for you, and that I played some small part in bringing it to your ears. It has been a season of obligation and distraction, so I'll confess that the Pacheco album is still sitting on a stack of CDs. But it's in the queue, I swear. All my best!
Thank you for receiving my Pacheco nudge in the spirit it was intended! He's got a studio album called "Joy" releasing in the spring, so maybe the two albums together will merit close listening and a review. His recorded catalog doesn't yet match the likes of Arturo O'Farrill or Chucho Valdéz - two of his mentors; in fact, Chucho Valdéz produced his very first album called "Pacheco's Blues" - but his music already conveys tremendous breadth, depth, and originality. An interesting fact is that he's one of the few artists of his stature to continue to play in Cuba regularly. Please check out his Instagram at @jorgeluispachecojazz and the following link for info on upcoming performances in Havana in one week https://www.instagram.com/p/DV4KHzIDtiV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==. I believe it's that deep and unbroken connection to Cuba combined with his incredible musicianship that has helped build a following everywhere he's played.
By the way, are you aware of what Randall Kline has been up to lately? Check out this most recent article on his artist housing initiative: https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/apartment-market-st-san-francisco-21316858.php. How incredibly fortunate San Francisco and the Bay Area music scene is for this person's tremendous efforts. I'm not exaggerating when I say he's a hero of mine.
This article is EXACTLY why I subscribe. Nate Chinen is expert in bringing the music to the fore. Thank you Nate!
Really great piece Nate. I’m huge fan of the artist Julie Mehretu and your mention of her left me very curious about what I assume was her visual contribution to the performance at the Park Avenue Armory. I’d love to hear your thoughts on why this current era seems so ripe for collaborations between jazz musicians and visual artists? Jason Moran and multiple works, Tyshawn Sorey with Julie Mehretu, are just a few. I live in Minneapolis and have been lucky enough to see, in the last few years, Cecile McLorin Salvant’s debut of Orgesse: Envisioned, with animation she conceived and produced with the Belgian animator Lia Bertels, and a an improvised piece of projected found photographs displayed by the photographer Alex Soth with Dave King performing the music. Is there something about this moment that’s making these partnerships seemingly so much more prevalent? Or maybe I’m just noticing them more… In any case, really excited for both of these albums
Thanks, Jeff! You’re right that this is a great era for interdisciplinary art-jazz collabs, tho of course there’s more than a century’s worth of precedent. Part of what we’re seeing is a critical mass, with certain highly attuned artists showing the way. Jason Moran is a clear leader in this regard; at the risk of self-promoting, I’ll refer you to a chapter in my book about him. And since you admire Mehretu, you should definitely know about the album he created in partnership with her. Not streaming, but you can purchase it here: https://jasonmoran.bandcamp.com/album/mass-howl-eon