Audaciously extending her conceptual chops, avant-jazz reedist and composer Anna Webber creates a suite, of sorts, with Refraction, bookending the program with a prelude and postlude sonically coordinated but not copied, all seven tracks on the album subtly reflecting motifs that swirl throughout. A British Columbian turned Brooklynite, Webber, who plays tenor saxophone and fluteContinue reading “Anna Webber’s Percussive Mechanics. Refraction.”
Genre Archives
Fresh Moves in Music Therapy
One hundred and twenty kids, seated on benches and gym mats, are beaming as they beat out a pulsating rhythm on small percussion instruments. Their ecstatic expressions match that of drummer and occupational therapist Leaf Miller [ABOVE PHOTO, LEFT, working with student at Abilities First School, Poughkeepsie, NY] who is leading this massive jam sessionContinue reading “Fresh Moves in Music Therapy”
Di Mainstone Fashions a New Sonic Future
Di Mainstone, inventor of the Human Harp, describes herself as a “bridge botherer.” But to be accurate, her bridge-bothering activities are fairly recent. Before bridges (the Human Harp has, to date, played bridges in Brooklyn, Omaha, and Bristol) came mood-sensitive kinetic outfits and prosthetic sound devices. In Mainstone’s tiny studio, perched atop a disused VictorianContinue reading “Di Mainstone Fashions a New Sonic Future”
The Friendly Exchanges of Germaine Liu
When percussionist Germaine Liu performs, there’s more to her approach than simply striking a snare drum with a wooden stick. Liu seeks a deeper intimacy with her instruments, exploring all the sounds they might produce by closely examining each part. This is the key to the Toronto composer’s music, and an approach she developed whileContinue reading “The Friendly Exchanges of Germaine Liu”
Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville
In 2014, FIMAV celebrated its thirtieth edition—a testimony to founder and artistic director Michel Levasseur’s vision and pragmatism. He has built a loyal audience, secured firm community, government, and industry support, and developed a team that year after year delivers musicians from around the world to this hamlet midway between Montreal and Quebec City. HavingContinue reading “Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville”
Friendly Exchanges: Musicworks Fall 2015
The title of this post is borrowed from Toronto percussionist Germaine Liu. You’ll have to read Mary Dickie’s lovely story in the Fall 2015 issue to see how Germaine uses the words. You’ll find an entirely different spin on the notion of friendly exchanges in Greg J. Smith’s Visions of Sound centrespread piece on Montreal’sContinue reading “Friendly Exchanges: Musicworks Fall 2015”
Anne-F Jacques. Sable ou Sel.
Anne-F Jacques is a Montreal sound artist who plays acoustic noise-music on invented instruments. Mechanical loops are created when various objects are attached to spinning motors amplified by contact mikes, assemblies that Jacques categorizes as her “rotating devices.” Unlike the digital world of perfect repetition, her improvisations are brought to life by erratic variations arisingContinue reading “Anne-F Jacques. Sable ou Sel.”
Beautiful Contraptions
On a breezy afternoon in early May, I met composer Allison Cameron and photographer Claire Harvie in the cheery little garden oasis behind Trinity St. Paul’s United Church in downtown Toronto. Allison’s compact studio is in the building, so she fetched her banjo, as well as an assortment of tiny, cool-looking amplifiers and transistor radios,Continue reading “Beautiful Contraptions”
c_RL. Friends.
Temporarily putting aside her notated work, multi-instrumentalist Allison Cameron teams up with fellow improvisers trumpeter Nicole Rampersaud and percussionist Germaine Liu for a program of eleven instant compositions that play to each trio member’s strengths, cementing a group identity. Sophisticated in her use of rhythm displacement, the drummer still keeps a thumping continuum going, whileContinue reading “c_RL. Friends.”
Musicworks’ Summer 2015 issue (#122)
Settle into your porch swing, deck chair, or beach blanket, then dig in to our Summer 2015 issue. Read, listen, and don’t forget to look! Eye-catching images (including original photography, score excerpts, and weird gear images) will enliven your initial flipping, while the companion CD will enhance your concentrated reading with a stellar playlist showcasing allContinue reading “Musicworks’ Summer 2015 issue (#122)”