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Creative Music Newsletter Article About October Recording Sessions.
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########################################## Issue Number 22
- October 2002 Dedicated to keeping you informed of the worldwide network of musicians who made the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York, the twentieth century's premier study center for creative music. Motivated by the spirit of music as a unifying force among all people. =============================================
1. CMS Tape Archives
Go Home ===================================================== I took a road trip to Woodstock on October 8, to return the hundreds of reels of tape that comprise the CMS audio archives, from my home in Ann Arbor to their new home in Rhinebeck, actually. They are now housed at a recording studio called Clubhouse (http://www.clubhouseinc.com), run by the inimitable, the charismatic, and the highly hospitable Paul Antonell. Paul has agreed to house and protect the tapes and to assist in converting them to a format that will endure. And they couldn't have found a better home. Clubhouse is a beautiful facility, with all of the digital and analog technology and know-how you could hope for. Engineer Sean Price is nothing short of a ProTools wizard. Try to imagine what it sounded like at CMS when Olatunji came to town. Or Steve Lacy, or Anthony Braxton, or Leo Smith, or Trilok Gurtu, or The Mandingo Griot Society, or Frederic Rzewski, or Sam Rivers, or Roscoe Mitchell, or. . . . You get the idea. This is valuable stuff. These tapes contain the essence of the CMS story. But it could be lost if this preservation project is not supported. If you can help with some funding or any kind of creative input, please let Karl Berger know by contacting him at karlberger@aol.com. ===================================================== When I told vibist and composer Larry Chernicoff that I was coming out, he extended a most gracious invitation to attend his recording session at Clubhouse. The timing was providential. This was more than a recording session, though. It was a CMS reunion, which brought together folks who have been CMS stalwarts since the very beginning, some folks who are just now being wrapped into the CMS fold, and others with CMS ties from various points in the history. Over three days the group enjoyed the spirit and creative force that defines the character of the Creative Music Studio. This was due in large measure to Karl's direction of Larry's music as it was performed in the studio. Karl is a magician. He is a master at seeing (hearing?) the big picture and pulling together various elements of a composition and various players' idiosyncrasies in a way that seems to be simply an organic emanation of who he is. He practically dances a composition into being. Another aspect of the CMS spirit was the family feeling that the hanging out and meals together engendered. But what about the music? It is beautiful and complex. Larry Chernicoff is a composer who will start to draw attention with this recording. It is a unique conception, which, although it has much in common with classical chamber music, has too many elements of improvisation and world rhythms and tonal colors to allow it to be classed with whatever else you might be listening to these days. And that's good. I don't want to say too much about the music, mostly because I only heard sections as they were being laid down, and the final product is still a long way from being assembled. Let's hear about the players on the session, though: Larry Chernicoff (composer, vibraphone) began his association with Karl Berger as the original CMS student, when he took a class in improvisation that Karl was teaching at what was then the New School for Social Research in New York City. This was right around 1970 or so. Larry will correct me on the date (again). Karl Berger (piano). You know him. You better. If not, go to http://www.creativemusicstudio.org and read up. But this should be just the start of your homework. Tom Schmidt (percussion) has also been with Karl since the early days of CMS. Tom came to CMS as a bassist and has broadened into a multifaceted musician, who is also director of Karma Thegsum Choyang Music at the Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Monastery in Woodstock. (See http://www.karmakagyu.org/tom.htm) Tony Vacca (percussion) has collaborated with Larry for years. He has fused his early background as a jazz drummer with knowledge gained through numerous trips to Africa and has created a unique career as a performer, educator, and expert in world rhythms. (See http://www.tonyvacca.com/) Janet Grice (bassoon) came to CMS for an intensive New Year's session with the Art Ensemble of Chicago in 1977-1978 and has performed with Karl in various incarnations of the Woodstock Workshop/Music Universe Orchestras ever since. Janet's travels to Brazil have influenced a considerable body of her work, including a couple recordings "produced by Janet, featuring the bassoon and recorder in jazz compositions by herself, band members and Brazilian composers including Villa-Lobos, Cesar Camargo Mariano, and Milton Nascimento." (See http://www.gricemusic.com/) Charles Pillow (oboe, English horn, clarinets, saxophones) is one of those behind-the-scenes kind of guys whose virtuosity will always keep him in demand. As far as I know, this session was his first involvement with the CMS community, although he has worked a good deal with drummer Bob Moses, a legendary CMS rainmaker. (See http://ntjazz.com/Jazz_Festival/2002/clinicians/pillow.htm and whatever other sites you can turn up via a web search.) Tom Varner (French horn) was also at that Art Ensemble Intensive that Janet Grice attended (as was I). What more can I say about Tom than what Joachim Berendt said in The Jazz Book: "THE French horn in contemporary jazz is Tom Varner." (See http://www.tomvarnermusic.com/) Tim Moran (saxophones, clarinet) has for a long time been a part of the ever-evolving Larry Chernicoff Quintet. Tim also works with Tony Vacca and appears on the albums "Rhythm Mission" and "Rhythm Griots" with Tony. (See http://www.tonyvacca.com/tim.htm) Esther Noh (violin) was adopted into the CMS community when Karl took her under his wing during a 2001 workshop that he gave at the University of Michigan, where Esther was a student at the time. Esther is a classically trained, award winning violinist who is now an inveterate improviser. There's no turning back! You'll be hearing from Esther. She's now living in New York City and making her mark. Such a beautiful sound. Tomas Ulrich (cello) could be called ubiquitous, which is ironic, simply because the nature of the instrument seems to make cellists invisible. Yet, if you run off on a Google search on the web, you'll get worn out trying to follow all the tracks Tomas has left. As far as I can tell, though, Tomas has no website of his own. This was his first time that he worked with Karl or Larry. Carol Emanuel (harp) has worked with John Zorn, Marty Ehrlich, and many others. She, like many of the players on this session, comes from a classical background, but also has serious credentials as an improviser. Carol has a very wonderful album of her own, full of compositions written for her (and for harp) by people like Bill Frisell, John Zorn, many others. John Lindberg (bass) is the man, the anchor, the survivor, the warrior. He came to CMS as a teenager and from there charged forward into the future, establishing himself as one of the most respected bassists in creative music. (See http://wwww.johnlindberg.com). With a lineup like this, you can see that the album will be something different and well worth the wait. Look for Larry's CD sometime in the middle of 2003. ===================================================== Arborville Publishing
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