Archive for January, 2009

Third Stream

Monday, January 19th, 2009

As a flutist, having studied some of the extended techniques in Robert Dick’s groundbreaking reference book, “The Other Flute”, I have a very special appreciation for his personal accomplishments on the instrument. He has cultivated the language of these techniques way beyond their notion as “effects”, into his own vernacular that flows from his horn just as if you or I were playing the simplest melody in C Major.

That fluency allows him the freedom to exploit, spontaneously, all the creative opportunities which will be likely to emerge in such a collaborative context as you will enjoy on Saturday night, 1/31, here in St. Louis at the Kranzberg Arts Ctr. Both dancer, Ashley Tate and highly innovative, multi-percussionist, Rich O’Donnell will be sure to bring to the table their own resourceful battery of inventions to make this event one of the most electrifying of the season. – See below for more info. on the concert, and if you’re not from this area, I hope you will still visit the artists’ websites and explore some of their recordings.

NEW MUSIC Circle 50th Anniversary SEASON

CAMA Event!
Rich O’Donnell / Robert Dick/ Ashley Tate
Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009 – 7:30 p.m.
Kranzberg Arts Center (Big Brothers, Big Sisters Building)
501 N. Grand Ave.
Admission: $15, $7 students
Former SLSO Principal Percussionist Rich O’Donnell’s creativity forever evokes wonder and awe in the minds of audiences.  In his latest invention, O’Donnell collaborates with New York-based composer/flutist Robert Dick, and local dancer Ashley Tate.  A faculty member at NYU, Dick is known worldwide as the flute’s visionary, and the leading voice in the instrument’s new music.  The concert will showcase a “sonic symbiosis” which explores the fuzzy line between human/non-human activity and the aesthetic potential within that spectrum.  The virtuosic soundscape features O’Donnell and Dick performing on acoustic instruments (many of their own making) altered and expanded by electronic manipulation.  For the finale, sensors will be positioned on the hands and feet of Tate, whose movements will control a synthesizer.  For more info visit http://www.newmusiccircle.org http://www.richodonnell.com, or http://www.robertdick.net.

New Music Circle
2008-2009 50th Anniversary Season

Third Stream

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

I hope you’ve been enjoying my music on Amie St. and all the free downloads. It’s a great way to get to know and support new artists.

For example…… I realize that Cindy Blackman and Cecil McBee have been around for a while, but their new albums on Amie St. sound young and fresh! Cindy has a fired up drumming style that exudes creativity in every measure, and almost all the compositions on Music for the New Millennium are by her  –  advanced, yet very free-flowing.

Talk about a small world, Cecil McBee’s son went to pre-school with my daughter years ago in NY, so of course we remember his wife, Lucia, quite well. He named a piece on his CD, “Unspoken” after her, and it happens to be one of my favorites. All the other pieces are strong, too, with lots of variety and imagination in the horn playing.

Here’s the link to the jazz genre at Amie St. Then you can search in their names. ENJOY!     http://amiestreet.com/browse/jazz-blues/