40th Anniversary Concert of the Globe Unity Orchestra

Editor’s Note: The following essays from 2011 string together the complete review of the Globe Unity Orchestra’s 40th Anniversary Concert at the Berlin Jazz Festival. The first essay was jointly published with Signal to Noise magazine. The second essay provides a brief hisotry of the Globe Unity Orchestra. The third traces the hisotry . . . → Read More: 40th Anniversary Concert of the Globe Unity Orchestra

Globe Unity And The Little Red Hen

by: George E. Lewis

If you want to see a telling face of the Globe Unity Orchestra, watch the opening moments of Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s 2006 film, Das Leben der Anderen, about the dislocations of community under the Stasi-surveilled Deutsche Demokratische Republik (GDR). Notice the portrayal of . . . → Read More: Globe Unity And The Little Red Hen

Dave Brubeck Quartet at Carnegie Hall

The Dave Brubeck Quartet was among the most popular, tightest-sounding, long-lasting, and lucrative combos in jazz history. Brubeck, academically trained under Darius Milhaud, was outspoken about the use of improvisation, polytonality, and polyrhythm in jazz. Brubeck and Paul Desmond frequently composed in 5/4, 9/8, 11/4, not your average time signatures in the 1950’s . . . → Read More: Dave Brubeck Quartet at Carnegie Hall

Paul Rutherford, Fare Thee Well

© Laurence Svirchev

Paul Rutherford, the British improvising trombonist, died on August 6, 2007. He was kind and gentle, fond of sitting in a pub and sipping beer for long hours, discussing music, politics, human frailty, anything that affected the well-being of humanity, especially that of its artists. He held an abiding . . . → Read More: Paul Rutherford, Fare Thee Well

Paul Rutherford: An Homage

Paul Rutherford (1940-2007) was one of the founders of free music. A pure soul, he played many of his last gigs with bassist Torsten Müller touring in Canada and the USA. Misterioso invited Torsten, a compatriot and close friend of Paul’s, to compose this Homage.

Text © Torsten Müller, August 2007

It was . . . → Read More: Paul Rutherford: An Homage

Not About Nothing: A Conversation with Misha Mengelberg

©Laurence Svirchev

During the June 2007 TD Canada Trust Vancouver International Jazz Festival, I had a fascinating conversation with the Dutch composer-pianist, Misha Mengelberg. The call and response discussion, with Mengelberg of course calling the dominant chords, ranged through his personal history, how and why he formed the ICP (Instant Composers . . . → Read More: Not About Nothing: A Conversation with Misha Mengelberg

John Carter: The Unbelievable Possibilities of Music

©Laurence Svirchev

John Carter (1929-1991) was the musician who restored the clarinet to the lexicon of contemporary American creative music. He was also the composer who went deeper than any other in tracing the origins of American jazz from its ancestral roots. Carter’s advanced musicality was known to the forward-thinking musicians . . . → Read More: John Carter: The Unbelievable Possibilities of Music

Profile of Ray Anderson

Profile of Ray Anderson

©Laurence Svirchev Some people seem to float above everyday life, as if riding a big puffy cloud. Trombonist Ray Anderson gives that impression when he hits the stage decked out with suspendered pleated pants, a multi-patterned shirt, and a hip lid. He is a tall, lean, man, obviously in charge . . . → Read More: Profile of Ray Anderson