NYS Music 202​0

Author: Joseph Dugan

  • Blue Note Live Announces Fall Lineup and Schedule

    Blue Note New York has announced their fall schedule for Blue Note Live, a completely online concert series featuring 19 performances from jazz legends, including the John Scofield Trio and Joe Lovano. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at bluenotelive.com.

    Blue Note New York

    The performances will be broadcast at 8:00 P.M. EST. They will then be re-streamed at 11:00 P.M EST that day, 8:00 P.M. Japan Local Time (7:00 A.M. EST), and 8:00 P.M. Central European Time (2:00 P.M. EST) the following day.

    The series hopes to continue a relationship between the fans and the artists as well as other fans. To do this, they plan to use several interactive features through the livestream including a chat feature where they can interact in real time.

    Blue Note New York Streaming Live Fall Schedule:

    John Scofield Trio FT. Steve Swallow & Bill Stewart – ​September 11 at 8:00 p.m.
    Michel Camilo – ​September 12 at 8:00 p.m.
    Bill Frisell Trio FT. Thomas Morgan & Rudy Royston – ​September 18 at 8:00 p.m.
    Keyon Harrold – ​September 19 at 8:00 p.m.
    Madeleine Peyroux​ – September 24 at 8:00 p.m.
    Phony Ppl – ​September 25 at 8:00 p.m.
    Marcus Strickland Trio FT. Ben Williams & E.J. Strickland – ​September 26 at 8:00 p.m.
    Will Calhoun’s Changing Times Trio FT. Orrin Evans & Uganna Okegwo – ​September 30 at 8:00 p.m.James Carter Organ Trio – ​October 1 at 8:00 p.m.
    Joey Alexander – ​October 2 at 8:00 p.m.
    James Francies​ ​– ​October 3 at 8:00 p.m.
    Theo Croker​ ​–​ October 9 at 8:00 p.m.
    Mike Stern –​ October 10 at 8:00 p.m.
    Eddie Palmieri Afro Cuban Jazz Sextet –​ October 15 at 8:00 p.m.
    Ben Williams – ​October 16 at 8:00 p.m.
    Kenny Werner & Chris Potter Duo – ​October 17 at 8:00 p.m.
    Joel Ross “Good Vibes” –​ ‘Who Are You’ Album Release Concert – October 23 at 8:00 p.m.
    Joe Lovano’s Joyous Encounter – ​October 24 at 8:00 p.m.
    Trio 3: Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille FT. Vijay Iyer – ​October 30 at 8:00 p.m.

  • Hearing Aid: numün ‘voyage au soleil’

    Bob Holmes, a member of SUSS and Joel Mellin and Christopher Romero of Gamelan Dharma Swara collaborated to create the minimalist group numün. They released their first album, voyage au soleil, French for “voyage to the sun,” on Friday, September 4. With their different backgrounds, numün is able to achieve a unique sound by using both American and traditional Balinese instrumentation, aided by synthesizers and looping.

    numün

    The album first began as a project to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1969 moon landing. As with much ambient music, there is an inspiration from Brian Eno, but numün is able to break away from him using unique instrumentation and a key central element for the listener to follow.

    The album begins with “Tranceport,” a song that invites the listener into the album. Even on this first track, the use of less-common instruments is evident. The song uses a gong that rings periodically. This functions as a start to the album, but also a start to the journey the listener is about to embark on. It transitions into a more guitar-heavy section, eventually fading into the next track, “First Steps.”

    “Tranquility Base” works as a recap of the previous two tracks while also looking ahead to the future. As the longest track in the album at 8:22, numün is able to use this time to glance at the journey in front of them. The group reflects on what happened and looks to what is in store. The final three tracks work to propel the reader towards the finish, the heart of the sun.

    The listener can get lost in the music and drift, but they will never get too far. There is always something that can pull the listener back. Sometimes it is a repetitive melody changing; other times it may be the use of an instrument that is foreign to the listener’s ear. voyage au soleil is a journey through it all: the unknown, the pitfalls, and the triumphs.

    Key Tracks: Tranceport, Tranquility Base, Voyage Au Soleil

  • Woodstock 1999 Documentary Series Announced by Netflix

    Woodstock 1999 four part docuseries focusing on the festival that ended in flames was announced by Netflix in partnership with BBH Entertainment and Raw. Raw recently produced the recent Netflix successes Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer and Fear City: New York vs. The Mafia.

    In an attempt to emulate the 1969 festival for its 30th anniversary, the four day event, Woodstock 1999, saw over 90 bands perform. It drew more than 400,000 people to Rome, NY over the four days. There were high hopes for the festival which was only five years after Woodstock ’94.

    The event started smoothly on July 22, 1999. As the weekend went on, the facilities deteriorated, leading to fires and riots. This gave the festival a sense of lawlessness that peaked during the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ set. The docuseries will explore this lawlessness that took place. It will do this by featuring “unseen archive footage and intimate testimony from people behind the scenes, on the stages and in the crowds, the series aims at telling the untold story of a landmark musical moment that shaped the cultural landscape for a generation” according to Deadline.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0Uhr5r6sUM

    The festival has been covered in the past, most recently in 2019. The sports and culture website, The Ringer, put out an eight-part podcast about the event.

    Recently, Netflix had success with a documentary about the failed Fyre Festival: Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened that was also a festival that didn’t quite go according to plan. Hopefully the docuseries on Woodstock 1999 will be a success as well.