Ascension and Electric Ascension tonight

[Lazaro Vega]

For years now the idea of programming John Coltrane's "Ascension" alongside Rova:OrkestRova's "Electric Ascension" during Holy Week has come up but never out. With the arrival of a new film of OrkestRova's concert recording of "Electric Ascension" being shown in Chicago May 3rd, now's the time. So, tonight during Jazz From Blue Lake, we're featuring the recordings of Billie Holiday at 10 p.m. along with Cyrille Aimée and Flip Phillips, among others, in the first hour of the program. Then, at 11:30 we'll bring you "The Passion" from this recording:http://www.multikulti.com/undivided-waclaw-zimpel-bobby-few-mark-tokar-klaus-kugel.html (scroll down to mid-page for the English version). Late, around 12:30 a.m. we'll hear the large ensemble collective improvisations of John Coltrane and OrkestRova taking us to 3 a.m. Creative improvised music on your radio tonight. Hope you'll join us:www.bluelake.org/radio.html

Hi folks,

"Channeling Coltrane" is coming to a Chicago screen on May 3 at 5 PM. It consists of both a 45 minute documentary on the making of "Electric Ascension" - the whys and hows of Rova's adaptation of John Coltrane's Ascension for a 12 or 13 piece ensemble - plus the 67 minute performance of EA from Guelph Jazz Festival 2012, the product of a 5-camera video shoot, and hopefully with excellent 5.1 Surround Sound provided by the venue. (The mixing job for the 5.1 Surround is a thing of beauty, made from a 24 channel recording.) Concert performance includes Chicago musicians Hamid Drake, Rob Mazurek, and Nels Cline (in the sense that he's Wilco's lead guitarist) and Chris Brown (born there, though he's a CA native at this point), as well as other great ones: Fred Frith, Carla Kihlstedt, Jenny Scheinman, Ikue Mori and Rova SQ. Pithy comments in the documentary from: Andrew Cyrille, Nels Cline, Eyvind Kang, Jenny Scheinman, Elliott Sharpe, Jason Kao Hwong, among others. Both films directed by John Rogers of Ideas in Motion. More info at: http://bayimproviser.com/ea.html

It will be part of the CIMM Fest in Chicago, our film screening on May 3 at 5 PM. Showing at The Society for the Arts 1112 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60642. http://cimmfest.org/rova-channeling-coltrane/

I'll be in for this showing too. Hope to see you at the movies. (By the way, CIMM Fest looks loaded with cool films this year. Check out the CIMM Fest website for schedule.) And sure, I'd love to bring Rova in there and play this live sometime, but this really sounds great and it traverses many musical plains; it's a beautiful ride. Give props to director John Rogers for this one.

I have attached an interesting article by critic Stuart Broomer, written in the six or nine months after he saw the Electric Ascension show in Guelph, Ontario that is now recorded on this concert film. If you're interested in Coltrane's Ascension, and that era, there's a lot to think about in this article. First published in "Point of Departure," an online jazz and improvised music magazine last fall..

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performances in Chicago:

I Have a couple of shows lined up in the days before the screening too:

Playing with DAVE REMPIS, TIM DAISY and JASON ADASIEWICZ @ Elastic Arts on FRIDAY, May 2 = part of the Chicago Intl Music + Movies festival schedule rather than part of the Elastic regular series on Thursdays. Show at 9 PM. A double bill. We will start around 10 PM. (Elastic Arts 2830 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60618)

Before that, on Wednesday, April 30 at approximately 8 PM, I will hook up with the great MARS WILLIAMS and three special players coming on tour to Chicago from France: Julien Desprez (elg), Mathieu Sourisseau (acoustic bass guitar), Samuel Silvant (dm). This show taking place, for a change, on the South Side: Rebuild Foundation / Dorchester Projects – Archive House / 6916 South Dorchester Avenue 60637 rebuild-foundation.org

And if you want off this list, just let me know by putting "take me off this list" in the subject when you reply.

stay tuned,
Larry Ochs

www.ochs.cc
www.rova.org