davidmanson

We just had Sam Rivers Quartet on the EMIT series on March 28 and he sounded great. We sold out the small concert venue (178 seats) and opened the lobby doors so those who could not get a seat inside, could hear him for free. The audience gave the group a standing ovation. Besides the incredible music he makes and his amazing history in jazz, Sam is one of the nicest guys in the music business.

O Fino Do Fino is a very good early Elis Regina recording from 1965. She sounds a bit like Elizeth Cardoso on some cuts. I can also recommend Haroldo Mauro's recent release Bossa na Pressão, for more of a jazz feel: http://cdbaby.com/cd/haroldomaurojr I'm found of my new release (Infinita Bossa) as well, with Andrea Moraes Manson singing: http://cdbaby.com/cd/osomdojazz

It has been a while since I've had time to browse through Organissimo. I miss it! I have new release. "Infinita Bossa" by Florida-based band O Som Do Jazz, is a 16-track collection of Bossa Nova & MPB... all in Portuguese. It is quite a departure from the work that I've done with Sam Rivers and Eugene Chadbourne. Rio de Janeiro vocalist Andrea Moraes Manson is the featured singer. She has a strong voice, not the typical sotto voce "cutesy" voice we hear too often with Bossa Nova. If you like Elis Regina, you will probably enjoy Andrea's singing. Works include Berimbau, Corcovado, Deixa, Noa Noa, É Com Esse Que Eu Vou, Lobo Bobo, Brigas Nunca Mais, Flor de Lis and many others. Other musicians on the CD are Régis Moreira, Ademar Fonseca, Roberto Bertone, Alfredo Rivero, Jeremy Powell, John Ward and me. The recording is available at CD Baby: cdbaby.com/cd/osomdojazz.

Dear Friends, Once again it is time for the NEA Jazz masters nominations. For the past three years, many supporters of innovative jazz have made efforts to bring the lifelong work of Sam Rivers to the attention of the NEA panel. Sam has been considered, but there seems to be a "safe mode of operation" that has lobbied for more mainstream jazz artists since 1991. I think that a hundred or so letters of support could show the NEA panel that jazz has room for innovators. Sam is 80 years old. He has dedicated his life to music and deserves this last remaining program of support for individual artists from the National Endowment of the Arts. Please consider writing a short letter of support for Sam Rivers. Information is listed below. Ten minutes of your time could make all of the difference. sincerely, David Manson EMIT www.emitseries.org Nominations may be made by submitting a one-page letter that details the reasons that the nominee should receive a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship. Describe the nominee's contributions and explain why this individual deserves national recognition. Include with your nomination letter a resume or a short biography that outlines the career of the nominee. An individual may submit only one nomination in each round of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships. No one may nominate him/herself. Deadline for Nominations Nominations must be postmarked no later than January 23, 2004. Grant fellowships will be announced in the fall of 2004. Send your nomination to: Jazz Masters Fellowships National Endowment for the Arts Nancy Hanks Center 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Room 703 Washington, DC 20506-0001

My electro-acoustic trombone CD Beast was just released. It is not a jazz recording per se, but it crosses genres with electronic, free improvisation, interactive, snippets of 'Prez' Prado and more. Guitarist Davey Williams is featured on one track as well as compositions by Javier Alvarez, Eric Lyon, Gustavo Matamoros and myself. If you are "strong of ear" and want to hear something VERY different, you can listen to excerpts here at CD Baby. thanks! David Manson EMIT series

This is exactly what we were discussing in my Zappa repertoire band, Bogus Pomp. We have an acoustic concert on February 10 at the Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida and want to feature jazz and "new classical" works by Zappa. Here are some nice jazz-influenced tunes that we have played in the past: echidna's arf of you don't you ever wash that thing? dupree's paradise blessed relief inca roads peaches en regalia big swifty uncle remus pound for a brown I look forward to a more acoustic approach with this band. There are some mp3 files here: Bogus Pomp

I like your approach of telephoning people directly and encouraging them to attend your concerts as well as getting most of the funding in advance. Naturally - being a nonprofit organization with a track record helps with collecting the money up front. The telephone call is a great idea. We'll try that next time. One thing that works well for us is giving away a fair amount of tickets to shop owners (for letting us place posters and flyers) and radio station announcers (for on air "giveaways"). I was resistent to this initially, but found only an increase in revenue after giving away tickets. I think that it helps to get a "buzz" happening about the event. We have good luck with most of the media, but we make an effort to promote the concert as "unique". Instead of sending "stock" press to them, we put a unique spin on the event. We also send them great black & white photos. A photo in the local paper will add at least 50% to the audience count. I send advance press out about 6 weeks before the event and then follow up with more detailed information, recordings and press pack. Here is an example of how we are initially promoting our next concert: PSA The 9th season of EMIT is starting with a concert on Tuesday, September 30 at the wonderful Palladium Theater. It starts at 8 PM. This concert is the annual EMIT Avant-A-Thon, a benefit for the series. This is concert # 70. The theme for the concert is "ambient luminescence". Here are the artists on the Avant-A-Thon: Tuba visionary Tom Heasley: http://kalvos.org/heasley.html Tom creates beautiful layers of sound using his tuba, voice and looping equipment. Do you remember the sound of the obelisk in 2001 A Space Odyssey? That was music by contemporary composer Gyorgy Ligeti. Tom Heasley's music is similar... rich, layered, soothing and permeating. Moving Current Dance Collective dancer/choreographer Erin Cardinal (http://www.info-lution.com/webs/movingcurrent/directors2.htm) will be performing. Local trance/drone band PoOg led by Rick Olson, keyboardist for Zappa group Bogus Pomp. Instrument builder/composer Vonn New (from Loud Zoo) will be sharing her home-made musical instruments. VJ Lumena Atherton will project computer-generated imagery to add a visual dimension to the music. Tickets are $10 general and $8 for students and seniors available at the Palladium. The Palladium Theater is located at 253 Fifth Avenue North near downtown St. Petersburg. Call (727) 822-3590 for further information. I never send press to just one writer. I always send a duplicate to the arts editor. For the community radio station, I like to burn a :45 or :60 PSA to CD with an announcement of the event with music excerpts. Of course we send e-mails out to our list. There is more, but this is a good start. David Manson

Thanks for the positive comment about creating your own events. I am in a rush right now, but I'd like to jot down a few remarks. I really believe that this is the only way to preserve jazz, new music or whatever you are into. Funding You can consider looking for grant funding. I have an article about that here: http://www.spjc.edu/spg/music/grants.htm A quicker approach is to get four or more like-minded people together in a meeting and present the idea of a jazz event. You might even create a club. Ask them to consider risking $200 per member toward the costs of a music event. If you have a successful event, they will recover the investment. Think about the event. Include local musicians in addition to touring musicians. Your local musicians will greatly enhance and promote the event, and bringing in only "outside" artists won't create a long-lasting cultural improvement to your community. By the way - never talk with high profile artists' booking agents. You can't afford to work that way. Find out who is touring and try to reach a band member by e-mail directly. Find a friendly and inviting venue. Never pay for venue rental. If you look you will find a space for free or you can convince the owner that they will make money on drinks or that increased foot traffic will result from the concert. You have to think with a "herd" mentality when considering audiences. I have presented over 100 concerts during the past 10 years and there seem to be some common elements when considering venues (at least in my area). Here they are: Avoid universities - for some strange reason general audiences don't like stepping foot on campuses. Of course there are exceptions, but my biggest losses have happened when I have given concerts there, even when the music hall was wonderful. ALCOHOL must be available. This is strange since jazz crowds don't drink much anymore (this is what club owners tell me). I noticed this when doing concerts at a museum. Whe we set up for wine and beer sales (by recommended donation) our audiences doubled. Once again - there has to be a social aspect associated with concerts now. Apparently music is just not enough (this really saddens me, but that's the way it is). Avoid off-the-track warehouse and risky venues. Stick to the main strip where people dine and go to bars OR museums and art galleries. This is the "herd" mentality at work. If people aren't comfortable going to a venue, large numbers will avoid your music event just for that reason. Having said that - if there is already some foot traffic to a remote venue (maybe frequented by the "arts"crowd), then you may have success there. Promotion can take a large amount of work, but it is everything in presenting music. I have to go now, but I'll return with some ideas about that on Tuesday. Thanks for reading my disorganized thoughts. David

The amount of gigs for musicians have been lower in my area (Tampa Bay) for the past three years. I think that there are two main reasons. The economy... (although I see plenty of folks driving new $40-60,000 luxury cars and SUVs)/ The inevitable victory of "Pop" culture and generational politics... It is sad that young people think of local music performance in terms of DJs, not musicians. Baby Boomer audiences seem willing to pay hefty tickets for pathetic "oldies" concerts, but will not support local musicians. The audiences that grew up listening to jazz... are too old to go out anymore or they are dead. To continue to make music here, I have had to become involved as a presenter and promoter of musical events. It's a ton of work. Gone are the days when I could expect to get calls for casuals, Broadway shows or private parties. If I don't make it happen, I don't make music. No matter what genre, I find that audiences want events, not concerts. If you play in a string quartet, you had better plan a pre-concert talk or wine tasting. With new music or jazz, you need to book at last two bands or have some social activity embedded in the concert. That's the way it is now. I would like to encourage everyone who has a passion for music to consider organizing one musical event per year. Meet with friends and figure out how to plan, promote and execute a concert or festival. I am convinced that this is the only solution to the continuing marginalization of jazz. It's easy to gripe and condemn commercial culture. Take that energy and make a concert happen in your community. David Manson EMIT

I play trombone and arrange for the horn section of a Zappa repertoire band called Bogus Pomp based in Florida. We have been together now for 8 years and have performed with the Florida Ochestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic in addition to our yearly Zappaween (Halloween) concerts and assorted other performances. We often perform with Napolean Murphy Brock who is a great musician and a great guy to work with. Cal Schenkel generously gave us our group logo. Anyway - our next concert is with a 14-piece chamber orchestra on August 21 at the Tampa Theatre in Tampa, Florida. Tom Trapp has arranged the chamber music. If you are traveling through Florida - check it out. For further info about the band, check this web site: Bogus Pomp. David

The Buffalo Philharmonic has some innovative programming. Most orchestras are afraid to take chances. I play trombone/arrange in a Frank Zappa repertoire band (Bogus Pomp) and we gave a concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic three years ago. The opening half was the orchestra playing some of Zappa's works (Dupree's Paradise, BeBop Tango, Naval Aviation in Art, Strictly Genteel, G-Spot Tornado). Tom Wilkins conducted. The second half was Bogus Pomp (a ten-piece band) with vocalist Napoleon Murphy Brock. The selections were: 1. son of orange county 2. zoot allures 3. village of the sun 4. echidna's arf of you 5. don't you ever wash that thing? 6. oh no 7. black page 8. dupree's paradise 9. andy 10. black napkins 11. florentine pogen 12. idiot bastard son 13. cheepnis 14. inca roads 15. watermelon in easter hay 16. peaches en regalia 17. uncle remus We were treated very well in Buffalo and it was a pleasure to perform there. I wish that we could give similar concerts with other American orchestras. David Bogus Pomp

I am working on the season now. Easter is unknown at this point. I thnk it is likely that Tom Healey, ROVA (or some smaller group with a ROVA member), Day & Taxi and others will work into the calendar. If any adventurous groups plan to tour toward Florida between October and June, feel free to contact me at the EMIT web site. There is some info about booking there. thanks, David EMIT

I produced the CD and it is being sold through EMIT, a nonprofit presenter organization. Sales benefit the EMIT series. David EMIT

Visions - an EMIT compilation I'm going to post this one again since it was ... ahem ... cut off at the knees when it was first posted and only had 3 hits. I am no longer a "newbie" - so I'd like to try again since these CDs are filling up our guest room and my wife is giving me hell about it. The EMIT series in St. Petersburg, Florida has released a compilation CD of live performances entitled Visions. The disk has a wide variety of styles. A 7-minute duet with Evan Parker and Sam Rivers opens the CD. San Fran vocalist Pamela Z does real time processing via clothing controller device on track 2. Swiss avant-jazz group Day & Taxi wail on track 3. Mills College prof Chris Brown and shakuhachi improvisor Philip Gelb do some ambient interactive performance on track 4. Spling-master Derek Bailey & drummer Jim Stewart improvise on track 5. Ten minutes of the wonderful (and sadly missed) bassist Peter Kowald is on track 9. OK - I'm tiring out with these descriptions. Davey Williams, Saturnalia with Daniel Carter, Amy Denio and Eugene Chadbourne are all featured on this recording. Most of the performances were recorded at the Salvador Dali Museum. You can hear samples at CD Baby. Verge, NorthCountry and CDBaby are doing distribution. thanks, David EMIT

Fluid Motion with Sam Rivers will be performing Tuesday, July 1 at the Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida. The band is Sam Rivers (saxes), Doug Mathews (bass), Anthony Cole (drums), Jonathan Powell (trpt) and David Manson (trbn). For more info, see EMIT

I really like Gettin' It Together. I have the original release on lp. Collectables has reissued it on CD. I haven't seen that. Nice tunes and Curtis plays wonderfully on If I Were A Bell and But Beautiful especially. 1. CHANTIZED 2. FLUTIE 3. IF I WERE A BELL 4. BUT BEAUTIFUL 5. DO I LOVE YOU 6. THE COURT 7. MR.L CURTIS FULLER (tbn) FREDDIE HUBBARD (tpt) YUSEF LATEEF (ts & flute) WALTER BISHOP (piano) BUDDY CATLETT (drums) STU MARTIN (bass)

I apologize if this message does not quite fit into this discussion forum, but this is as close I can figure. Through funding by WMNF-FM in Tampa, EMIT produced four radio programs featuring interviews and excerpts of music from innovative musicians and sound artists. It is in a 12-minute format. The concept was to make this program available to community radio stations. At this point SoundVerge programs include: David Liebman & Abbey Rader, 9/22/01 - (two masters still seeking) Vinny Golia, Scott Fields & Toshi Makihara, 11/6/02 - (outsiders/insiders & more) Holland Hopson, 3/25/02 - (sax & MAX or how I learned to love the laptop) Gustavo Matamoros, 2/3/03 - (sound installations, the influence of Cage and the real Miami sound machine) I am working on the Sam Rivers interview this summer. I certainly can't claim to be a wonderful interviewer, but there are some nice moments in each program. It is great to hear what the artists think about their music. If you know someone involved with adventurous music at a radio station that might air some of these programs, please let me know via private mail and I'll mail you a complimentary copy. thanks, David

P.S. - the thesis excerpt (thesis ) is very interesting. I will take some time to read through it.

No problem - I really don't claim to be a writer although I have a tremendous amount of respect for those folks who listen and write well about music. As a Organissimo reader gracefully (privately) pointed out, I even mispelled Han Bennink's name in this posting. Cecil never mentioned Steve Lacy and Buell Neidlinger in any conversations that I had with him. He had some sharp comments about Wynton (pronounced with a Germanic V). This was back in the summer of 2000. Cecil certainly doesn't leave much space for other musicians in performance. Anyone working with him has to accept that and "jump (in) or die" to paraphrase from another modern master.

It is difficult to know. It is certainly possible that Sunny Murray's version is more accurate. Cecil did say that he first heard Albert Ayler while washing dishes in Harlem. Perhaps it was poetic license on his part. He can be dramatic that way. He also talked about one of his first gigs in Harlem playing a piano with missing keys perched inches from the edge of a stage. He spoke of his mother quite a bit as well. He is an interesting person, but he can drift into a sort of stage persona when you talk with him. Perhaps its a defense mechanism. So many people have been hostile toward him over the decades. When he does that, it is certainly interesting and entertaining, but I enjoyed his conversations more when he was just being "real". Anyway - I am not a professional writer. I just wanted to give my impressions on Cecil's music at that point in time. So many jazz dilettantes truly HATE this guy. He really works hard. He practices for hours. He has a very personal approach to his music that is unique and genuine. That's my take at least.

The reissue #'s are: hatArt CD 6050 Cecil Taylor: GARDEN I hatArt CD 6051 Cecil Taylor: GARDEN II I am not sure of their availability.

Effortless Mastery - It's a very cool book and comes with a CD. Just his reminder about the evils of television is worth the price. I think that many players (myself included) need to break out of ruts that work into practice and musical concepts. This book explains those traps well. Free Play by Stephen Nachmanovitch is recommended as well. It's a bit more cerebral. Non-musicians will probably like both as well.

Here is an article that I wrote on grant writing for musicians a while ago. Hey - you probably pay thousands every year in taxes. Why not get a small percentage of that back for the arts? I do not enjoy writing grants, but several years ago I found that my musical projects (and those of friends) were doomed without funding. I wrote my first grant in 1986 and received $400 for a jazz festival at my first teaching position. Since then I have written over $90,000 in grants for music organizations and even a few for myself. It seems to me that visual artists tend to fare much better when it comes to writing and receiving grants than musicians. Art schools do a much better job of educating artists in this area and visual artists tend to naturally think along the lines of creating a visually convincing project in their work which is often what a grant requires. However, musicians are capable of writing convincing grants as well. Before writing a public arts grant, one has to understand how and for whom grants are made available. While it is possible to receive individual artist grants, these are few and far between. It is more likely to find funding for a collaborative or organizational project. At this point, a grant writer has to think of the "big picture." If your goal is to receive funding so that you can present solo concerts in your community, you may have to think about working with a larger "umbrella" organization. Approach them with a proposal to find funding for a specific project or series that satisfies your desire, for example, presenting solo concerts. Your project will most likely have to compliment the mission of the organization and you may have to broaden your goal to include other soloists to help the proposal look more attractive. Of course, you will have to convince the organization's executive director that what you propose will benefit their organization, that you will do the "grunt" work, and that they would have a certain amount of control of the project. If no organization exists for you to work with, you may consider creating an non-profit corporation with a mission that agrees with your goals. This will take some time to establish and will require that you establish a board, have elections and incorporate with the state that you reside in. Most funding organizations require that the organization be in existence at least one year before the grant application deadline. Some require two years of history. Where are the grants? Funding for musicians may come from the state, county or even cities. Funding from the federal government is becoming rare due to the downsizing of the NEA. You are more likely to find funding on the state or local level through a state, county or city arts council. These agencies usually have yearly grants with deadlines often in the winter. You can search the internet or grant source books for foundation or corporation funding, but you are then competing nationally with serious grant writers and large organizations. Look for grants at the local level and you are more likely to receive consideration due to visibility. Be aware that some grant agencies make a distinction between a performer and an artist. In the music field, this means that a composer may be regarded as a creative artist while the performer is considered to be a practitioner. If you are a performer and the grant only funds composers, find a composer to work with or become a composer! Also be aware that many arts funders are limiting the amount of grant funding that an organization can request. 10% of the gross budget for general programming and 20% for specific projects seem to be a common figure used lately. If your organization has a small budget, this may limit the amount that you can request. The entire grant process has become more "corporate" during the past decade and the saying "big dogs eat first" seems more true today in grant writing. If at all possible, try to work with an established art organization with a budget of at least $20,000. What is considered important in the conception of the grant application? There are several factors that are weighed in the evaluation of a grant. Some relate to artistic considerations while others consider the effect upon the community and the management of the project. The secret to a successful grant application lies in the balance of artistic, community and accountability issues. Since public grant funds come from the tax base, the grant writer needs to carefully consider what contributions are being made to the community in the proposed grant project. Ask yourself, "How does my proposal help the community?" as you prepare the grant proposal. Common criteria for grant evaluations follow: Artistic Excellence proposal summary - Is it convincing? prior programming - Does the history of your organization indicate high artistic standards? project mission and organization mission - Are these compatible? strength of program planning and evaluation - Does your organization program well and has it conducted self-evaluation of its projects and general programming? resumes of artistic personnel - Are these the right people for this project? benefit to local and regional artists - Are you more than a presenter? How will this project impact local artists? Outreach and Public Impact evidence of cooperative relationships with other organizations - Rather than re-inventing the wheel, try to "piggyback" your project on another arts organization. For example, rather than renting a space for concerts, join with an art museum as part of their music series and use their space. Use their mailing list to market your project. impact of program on constituents funding the grant - How will this benefit the people who pay taxes? impact on underserved audiences - How are you going to reach a broad spectrum of people? marketing and audience development efforts - What if they gave a concert and nobody came? Can you show that serious effort will be made to bring an audience to your event? Diversity of board, staff and volunteer participation - Is your organization multicultural? Management Use of public funding demands a high level of financial responsibility. Arts agencies want to be reassured that the application's organization is: financially stable - Are you here today and here tomorrow? has a broad base of financial support (does not depend solely on grant funding) - Do other people think that you are worth funding? accuracy and feasibility of grant proposal budget - Can you deliver if given this funding? accuracy, clarity and feasibility of budget detail - Have you done your homework in terms of cost analysis? Some Final Tips Most grant applications are extremely competitive and application forms can be very intimidating. Carefully read the application from top to bottom. Make a copy of the application form and work with pencil on the rough form. Be absolutely sure that your budget figures balance. These figures will probably require some adjustments. Finish the application by typewriter or by cutting and pasting text from a word processor and photocopying the final edit. Use a business-like font like New York or Times at 12 points. Include neatly organized and labeled support materials if requested. If tapes are requested, use a very high quality tape and cue it to the correct passage. Send a CD if allowed. Letters of recommendation regarding your proposed project by key individuals are very important to include. Have at least two people proofread your grant before submitting it. Save your mission statement, organizational history, artistic and administrative resumes and other data on your computer. With a little tweaking, you can use the same information for future applications. Although the process of writing grants is not the most pleasant activity, there is no doubt that all great musical projects require financial support. After writing public grant proposals, private donors or business proposals may seem quite a bit easier. Good luck with your grant proposal!

This is part of an article that I wrote for a local publication after rehearsing and performing with Cecil Taylor for three weeks at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. It's a bit "academic" in style, but you might enjoy parts of it. - The free jazz of the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s is now being reconsidered, re-examined, and re-thought for inspiration and direction in the works of composer/performers such as John Zorn, Ken Vandermark, Dave Douglas, Matthew Shipp among others. During these free and experimental periods, process and exploration merged into an outpouring of work. Categories such as “jazz” and “new classical” did not comfortably apply to much of this music. During this era of exploration, strong voices emerged. Some have remained faithful to creative music through the years and are finding younger audiences who truly appreciate their life’s work. Cecil Taylor was one of the first to pull jazz into the “free thing” zone (Jazz Advance – Transitions, 1955) and luckily he continues to share his innovative vision of sound and music with us today. Cecil’s music can be thick and complex, clustered, angular, percussive, and at times almost overwhelming to listeners. For the initiated, his music flows from a source deep within the soul. His contribution to music includes performances and recordings with Steve Lacy, John Coltrane, Dennis Charles, Sunny Murray, Jimmy Lyons, Andrew Cyrille, Archie Shepp, Roswell Rudd, Mary Lou Williams, Eric Dolphy, Bill Dixon, Tristan Honsinger, Tony Oxley, Han Bennick, Derek Bailey and many others. His Unit Structures (Blue Note, 1966) is considered a landmark recording in modern music for its compositional strength and improvisational beauty. He has survived the wrath of critics over the years and has emerged victorious as a unique voice of our times. It was my great pleasure to work this past summer with Cecil at a three week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, an arts colony in New Symrna Beach, Florida. On the first day of the residency, rather than an obligatory self-introduction, Cecil asked us to simply “improvise an introduction to the group” on our instruments. Later he asked us to move about the room, dance and spontaneously create poetry in addition to performing on our instruments, helping break down the ingrained practitioner concept of music that permeates Western thought. At 71, Cecil has more energy than people half of his age and seems to swing between the Dionysion and Apollonian poles. One day he is reserved and concerned with health and exercise, the next he is smoking, drinking, and talkative. When he is not performing, he entertains all with observations about central jazz figures (including scathing anecdotes about Wynton Marsalis) as well as high society in New York. He is a bit of a rascal on one hand, yet also quite sincere and down-to-earth at the same time. In the proximity of Cecil, you definitely feel the presence of a strong creative force. Practically every day I played across the piano from Cecil while working on his new compositions written for the residency stay. His music was difficult to comprehend at first since the ensemble was attempting to translate it into traditional notation. Cecil actually works from a shorthand notation system of his own as many composers do. After one of the group’s members deciphered the system, he acted as translator and we collectively met and discussed the shaping and evolution of Cecil’s music for the upcoming performance. Cecil could have specifically directed us through this process, but he patiently allowed us to discover his music ourselves. Cecil’s music is often described by critics as European-influenced and lacking tonal organization, but nothing is further from the truth. Cecil’s music is kinetic and deeply personal. Its rhythmic drive and pulse is derived from his physical approach to playing the piano. It may be difficult for one to hear a distinct pulse, but that is only a matter of perspective. We feel pulse, (in a rudimentary way), as an alteration of steps – left, right, left, right - as in marching. As bipeds who move from place to place, we are programmed daily to feel this binary pulse. It is inevitable that we feel tempo this way, but how might we interpret pulse if we were centipedes with a hundred feet? Cecil’s rhythms are based on the physical activity of playing the piano. With his fingers, he creates patterned pulses that underlie his performance. Cecil’s current music is quite tonal, not atonal. While playing he often hums a central pitch as his sweeps through complex patterns in his left and right hands. These patterns are based on set distances between notes called intervals. For example, on a central or axis pitch of “F” he might create a sweeping pattern of the following intervals: Perfect 4th, Major 2nd, tritone, and minor 2nd. These patterns may be mirror images of each other moving upward and downward on the piano from the axis pitch. With this approach tonality gradually bends and moves in a gentle manner as intervallic patterns shift and adjust. The tonal result may be likened to the “stained glass” effect of modern classical composer Oliver Messian combined with the “sheets of sound” of John Coltrane, but that would be incomplete. His rhythmic approach might also be compared to that of a master tabla performer, but that also falls short of explaining his work. If you hear Cecil’s music as being static, (as some people have complained), then focus on these ideas and you will hear more direction in his playing. There is a certain “working out” or development in Cecil’s playing – not unlike the German Romantic composers of the 19th century works. Like a spider building a web, a sort of connectivity occurs in the music. Cecil reacts to motifs like a spider feeling the vibration of a fly in the web. He weaves thick patterns of sound that often leave little room for any other performer. This is a major challenge when working with Cecil and only a few successfully meet it. Jimmy Lyons, Tristan Honsinger, Denis Charles, Tony Oxley, William Parker, and Han Bennick come to mind as musical partners strong enough to meet this challenge. Cecil’s amazing technique as a pianist allows him to react to spaces and create form in performance as was evident in a performance at Rollins College this past summer. After an inspiring performance by the Sam Rivers Trio, Cecil began a solo performance. His first work was familiar to me as I had heard it during his practice time at the ACA (yet another reminder that Cecil’s work is not totally free improvisation). When the piece ended, Cecil launched into poetry and movement. Something gave way in Cecil during that exercise and became free. This was immediately evident as he began his second work. As he played, several people in the audience slowly turned around and began looking up at the ceiling and corners of the concert hall while he played. Somehow Cecil was creating pedal points that seemed to hang in specific areas of the room. Cecil’s third work also had this same spatial element not unlike the late Renaissance polychoral church music of the Gabrielis from 16th century Venice. You will not hear this aspect of Cecil’s music in recordings. Perhaps the limitations of microphone placement and the stereo field simply can not capture it. On the last day of the residency, I stopped by his cabin at the arts colony and caught him cleaning and mopping the wooden floors. The son of a restaurateur, this childhood chore still brings him order in the midst of a frenzied schedule. Cecil and I had lunch and chatted for about five hours. He talked of playing club music in Harlem with broken keys on the piano and being perched six feet high with the piano bench an inch from the edge of the stage. He mentioned his first piano lesson at age five and how his mother instructed him that he “was to be a lawyer, doctor or dentist” and how the piano was to be “only an avocation”. He described the experience of hearing the “wonderful sound of Albert Ayler” for the first time as he washed dishes in a Harlem restaurant. For a very short time, Cecil even had a band with members that included Albert Ayler, Eric Dolphy and John Coltrane! Cecil still laments the passing of Jimmy Lyons, a brilliant saxophonist who practically dedicated his career to Cecil’s music. Cecil is an iconoclast who has spent a lifetime hearing a sound within, pursuing it and bring it forth. He doesn’t need to validate its existence or expend energy defending it. Critics and fans alike agree that what he does is spirited, unique, and genuine. His live performances are to be cherished. A short list of recommended recordings of Cecil Taylor Jazz Advance (1955, Blue Note CD reissue 84462 2): Steve Lacy, Buell Neidlinger, Dennis Charles Coltrane Time (1958, Blue Note CD reissue 84461): John Coltrane, Kenny Dorham and Louis Hayes Unit Structures (1966, Blue Note CD 84237): Unit Conquistador (1966, Blue Note CDP 784260-2): Unit Silent Tongues (1974, Freedom CD 41005): solo recording at the 1974 Montreux Jazz Festival. Garden (1981, Hat Art 1993/94): solo recital For Olim (1986, Soul Note 1150): solo recital The Hearth (1988, FMP CD11): Tristan Honsinger, cello; Evan Parker In Fluorescence (1989, A&M CD 5286): William Parker and Gregg Bendian David Manson is a composer, trombonist, leader of avant-jazz groups Fluid Motion and SHIM. He is also director of the EMIT series of experimental music in Florida (www.emitseries.org).

Yeah - and every copy of Visions comes with a lifelong supply of Viagra... Now that's spam!