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Dennis Palmer of The Shaking Ray Levis, RIP


jeffcrom

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Dennis Palmer, half of the improvising duo The Shaking Ray Levis, died unexpectedly last night. He sent me a Facebook message at 6:00 PM and all was well; Bob Stagner, the other half of the Shaking Rays, sent me a message at 3:15 AM that Dennis had died. That's all I know right now, but Dennis had had heart problems in the past.

The Shaking Ray Levis had the distinction of being the first American artists to record for the Incus label. They collaborated with many American and European improvisers and have a wonderful CD with Derek Bailey, Live at Lamar's. I was bringing them to Atlanta to share a bill with my Edgewood Saxophone Trio in two weeks. Looks like it will now be a memorial concert.

Dennis played synthesizer, but that doesn't begin to cover his contributions. His unpredictable playing largely shaped the group's performances, and at any time he might pull a microphone close and start singing some sort of outer-space hillbilly breakdown, or launch into a surreal sermon. It was clear that some of the European improvisers the SRLs collaborated with had never run into anything quite like Dennis; it was fun to see/hear their reactions.

Dennis (along with Bob) was a minor hero of mine. Through the band and through the non-profit Shaking Ray Levi society, they've made Chattanooga a cultural center far beyond what you would expect from a city that size - in many ways, Chattanooga is hipper than Atlanta, and that's largely due to Bob and Dennis.

Dennis was also a painter, and his Facebook profile picture never lasted more than a week; he was constantly putting up his latest painting. RIP to a very creative spirit.

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Sorry to hear about this.

So, what's the deal with Chattanooga now? When/where/how/etc.?

Poke around here and you'll get some idea. For example, I heard John Butcher, Thomas Lehn, and Gino Robair play with the Shaking Rays at the Barking Legs Theater a few months ago. They sure didn't play Atlanta.

For those who don't know the Shaking Ray Levis' music, here are a couple of clips from the SRL website which represent them better than the Derek Bailey video. They represent the yin and yang of the SRLs - "Mind on Heaven" is almost random and kaleidoscope until near the end, when the late Georgia folk artist and preacher Rev. Howard Finster speaks. "Big For My Size" is from the out-of-print Incus album False Prophets or Dang Good Guessers. It represents what happens when the SRLs would occasionally give in to their impulses, which were always skirting around the edges of their music, to break into a bizarre hoedown or other-worldly funk. I don't know about "Mind on Heaven," but "Big For My Size" was recorded with no overdubs - part of Dennis' rig was a digital delay, which he called "The Hidden Hillbilly," the unpredictable third member of the group.

Mind on Heaven

Big For My Size

This music will not be to everyone's taste, and it's not jazz, by any stretch of the imagination. To me, it's strangely joyous, or joyously strange. I'll miss it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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I just got back from the concert that was meant to be my Edgewood Saxophone Trio opening for the Shaking Ray Levis. It ended up being a wonderful Dennis Palmer tribute concert. Bob Stagner, the other half of the Shaking Rays, came down and played half of the Edgewood Trio set with us, then played a set with the amazing Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel. Bob and his old friend Roger Ruzow (Gold Sparkle Band, 4th Ward Afro Klezmer Orchestra) played a duet, and all seven musicians ended with a collective blowout based on a sketch I wrote called "Holy Ghost Rumble, or Dennis Palmer Storms the Gates of Heaven." I think it did Bob, and Ernie Paik, president of the non-profit Shaking Ray Levi Society, a lot of good. And I think Dennis would have loved it.

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  • 4 weeks later...

This past Friday and Saturday nights, the Shaking Ray Levi Society staged "The Ever-Loving Astral Etheric Weekend for Dennis Palmer" in Chattanooga. Musicians from all over the southeast and beyond played together in memory of Dennis. I played on Saturday with the 4th Ward Afro Klezmer Orchestra and took a bunch of pictures. Here are a few:

Bruce Kaplan, Jack Wright and Bob Stagner:

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Bob Stagner solo:

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All the musicians (except me):

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This candle burned on stage for the entire festival:

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