EdgeFest (Continued) Must Wait, Charlie Rose, Mac-Attack & Baseball

I know I'm tardy with my wrap-up of the delightful Kerrytown, Ann Arbor 2011 EdgeFest. In addition to being in the holds of Art Blakey, Lee Morgan and Jackie McLean, I've been in the hold of my new wireless printer and Mac's recent operating (non-co-operating) system OS 10.7 "Lion". This last hold among holds has been excruciating - IT talk, unhelpful AppleCare chats, etc. I'll cash-out my EdgeFest review promise after game seven of the baseball's World Series tonight - Go Cardinals!

    I was very surprised to see Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! and Chris Hedges of TruthDig on the Charlie Rose TV program this week. I also listened carefully (last evening's Rose broadcast) to the author Amos Oz's sane and insightful thoughts concerning the 'Israel-Palestine' situation - I realize this way of putting it begs the question concerning Palestinian statehood, but isn't this is the only solution? Oz emphasized the lack of courage by politicians on both sides of this terrible situation.

http://www.democracynow.org/
http://www.truthdig.com/

Sunday After The EdgeFest

I'll have more to say about the EdgeFest upon my return to Columbus, Ohio. I can say that this year's festival was very successful from both an artistic standpoint and from the audiences' very positive reception and engagement with the music. Strings were a major thing and there was some very fine violin and cello playing. There were also very impressive piano and wind instrument performances. 

     Mean while Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers have gotten hold of me.

EdgeFest 2011 - Kerrytown Concert House, Ann Arbor, Mi.

Thursday, October 19 was the first concert of the 15th annual EdgeFest in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The music is presented primarily in the Kerrytown Concert House that seats approximately 80 new and advanced music enthusiasts. 

    This year’s festival, which runs though Saturday, got off to a tremendously good start with the piano-violin wife and husband duo of Sylvie Courvoisier and Mark Feldman. They performed the each other’s compositions and a couple of pieces by John Zorn. I had heard Courvoisier a few years ago at the much missed National Bohemian Home in Detroit. Feldman appeared a the Guelph Festival two years ago in the context of a large ensemble. The music I heard last evening was very exciting. Courvoisier smacks the piano, both the keys and strings, in compelling musical ways - her articulation of melodic-rhythmic events leaves space for the listener to take the music in; she doesn’t rush her audience. Feldman’s playing was equally precise and beautiful - his intonation and his playing were quite beautiful - it was fast and clear.

    The final music event of the evening involved Tony Malaby (tenor & soprano saxophones), William Parker (bass), and Tom Rainey (drums). We all know about Parker’s rock-steady, rhythmic, and melodic playing - he tightens up most of the groups in which he plays. The drummer, Tom Rainey, I had not heard before (nor had I heard of him). His playing was a real treat - he played the drums and didn’t play around with the drums. The leader, Tony Malaby, was new to me also. This group presented its audience with an hour and ten minute music event. During this music event, I kept thinking of Sonny Rollins’ Sonny Moon for Two. In this case the audience was presented with very fine playing and interesting melodic and rhythmic ideas and articulation of Parker and Rainey. Malaby’s playing was less interesting to me. It flowed (a good thing) but it didn’t grab or amaze me. His ideas were less than expansive. I found was soprano saxophone tone irritating. One can certainly discern in Malaby’s playing his musicianship and saxophone mastery.  

J. S. Bach and Lee Morgan - It's Sunday After All

I've been listening to the music of J. S. Bach and Lee Morgan this past week. Bach's recorded music was provided by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt - Cantatas; Viktoria Mullova and Ottavio Dantone - Sonatas for violin and harpsichord; Philippe Herreweghe - Mass in B minor; Taverner Consort & Players • Andrew Parrott - Magnificat & Easter Oratorio; Jacques Loussier Trio - Goldberg Variations & Various Bach & Schumann • Kinderszenen; Gabriela Montero - Bach and Beyond; Andrew Manze and Rachel Podger - Solo & Double Violin Concertos, and Glenn Gould - Goldberg Variations (of course).

   In conjunction with the above I've been reading Nicholas Kenyon's recently published The Faber Pocket Guide to Bach - his guide to Mozart is also fine work for those of us 'down here on the ground' (= non-academics).

     My Lee Morgan listening resided in his The Procrastinator - with Bennie Maupin on tenor, Caramba,  and Infinity - the last with Jackie McLean on alto.
     Admittedly the above list encodes a lot of music, many hours of listening. But what other means does a person have available to administer to one's soul after one's favorite teams - the Michigan Wolverines and Detroit Tigers - have been defeated in the same weekend? I'm sad about these loses, but I"m so glad about the wonderful music that I got next to. Sweet music ....

P.S.   WKCR-FM     

Minimalism - Football, Baseball, and One Other Thing

Living in Columbus, Ohio and having to see The Ohio State University's colors (Scarlet and Grey) everywhere I travel has caused me to be an even more ardent University of Michigan enthusiast than I would have been otherwise. This year the Maize and Blue's football fortunes are on the rise while the Buckeye's football stock has plummeted. U of M in addition to being a great, world-class university has these good-making desiderata going for it, in all of football (at least): the best fight song ("The Victors") and the best uniforms. So I've been attending to Michigan football. 

The Detroit Lions professional football team is also undefeated. While profession football bores me, I'll have to watch the Lions play the Chicago Bears on TV tonight.

I love baseball this time of year - playoff baseball. There have been some terrific games already. It was very moving to see my Detroit Tigers defeat the highest-payroll in baseball,  New York Yankees in their series. I also had to giggle when the second highest-payroll team, the Boston Red Sox, were bounced by the lowly Baltimore Orioles - the Red Sox didn't make it to the post season, suffering one of the biggest September collapses in baseball history. 

Bill Harris Kresge Arts in Detroit Eminent Artist of 2011 - Party

September ended with a fabulous - not minimalist in any sense - Kresge Foundation party honoring the music-poet, dramatist, educator, fountain pen collector, and friend of over 50 years Bill Harris. The party was held at the Virgil H. Carr Cultural Arts Center located in Harmony Park in downtown Detroit. Bill Harris' wife, Carole played a large part in the interior design of the Carr Cultural Arts Center when it was revamped. Carole Harris took care of many (most?) of the necessary party details. Bill and the wonderful actor, Council Cargle performed dramatic readings from Bill's plays. The excerpts from the plays, the poetry thereof, were rendered with exception feeling and dramatic skill. The readings were for me the high point of the party. The food and drinks were fine too.

It was wonderful to see people I hadn't seen for too many years - the graphic artists, Elizabeth Youngblood and A. G. Smith, and the writer and Metro Times editor, W. Kim Heron. Kim Heron hosted the fine Sunday jazz radio program on WDET-FM, Destination Out. The program like so many worthwhile and vital projects in America was supplanted by a mindless and meaningless 'news' and talk radio format - part of the prolonged American Cultural Blackout, I guess.

Those present at the Bill Harris Kresge Foundation Party were given an impressive 80 page, full color book with marvelous photographs, excerpts from Bill's writings, essays, and much more besides. 

http://kresge.collegeforcreativestudies.edu/eminent-artist-award.html