"AT SOMEWHERE THERE"

It's a great pleasure to announce the release of WILLIAM PARKER AT SOMEWHERE THERE, his first solo recording in more than a decade, on Barnyard Records. Jean Martin has done a typically loving job with this one, which features an extraordinary 48-minute bowed bass tour de force, "Cathedral Wisdom Light," and two short musical sorbets to round out the disc: "For Don Cherry" on dousn'gouni and "For Ella Parker" on double flute. The artwork is by the musicWitness, Jeff Schlanger, which is appropriate since the live concert from which the recording and painting were taken (July 2008) served to launch the ongoing exhibition of Jeff's work in the Somewhere There foyer.

Both William and Jeff will be coming to Toronto for an extra-special celebration for three wonderful new releases on Barnyard. The text of the media release follows:

BARNYARD RECORDS TRIPLE CD LAUNCH 2010:

Date:
Tuesday, 2 March, 8pm

Christ Church Deer Park
1570 Yonge Street, Toronto
(just north of St. Clair subway)

Admission: $10 advance (available at Soundscapes, 572 College St., Toronto)
and $15 at the door; special price for new CDs, $10/each, at the event

Program:
Andrew Downing, Jim Lewis & Jean Martin

William Parker - solo bass

Christine Duncan conducts The Element Choir, a 60-voice improvising choir with William Parker (bass), Andrew Downing (bass) Jim Lewis (trumpet), Jean Martin (drums) , and Eric Robertson (pipe organ)

This very special event will feature legendary New York double-bassist, William Parker, launching his first solo CD in over a decade, William Parker At Somewhere There , recorded live in Toronto in July 2008 by Jean Martin. “[Parker’s] signature synaesthetic philosophy invites colour-drenched metaphors for the swirling forms sprouting from his bow and bass: Prismic refraction, gardens blooming, a harvest feast being prepared. It’s playful, as seriously playful as your life.”

It will also feature Christine Duncan’s extraordinary 60-voice improvising ensemble, The Element Choir, in collaboration with William Parker, bass; Andrew Downing, bass; Jim Lewis, trumpet; Jean Martin, percussion; and Eric Robertson, playing the church’s beautiful Karl Wilhelm pipe organ, to launch The Element Choir At Rosedale United. “They possess the musicality, playfulness, and restraint to allow these unique and, in the most sublime moments, overwhelming sound resources (not only instruments and voices, but also the space itself) to be harnessed and channeled into a tangible feeling of wonder. This is very literally a wonderful record.”

Furthermore, the exquisite improvising trio of Andrew Downing, double-bass; Jim Lewis, trumpet; and Jean Martin, drums and percussion, will launch On a Short Path from Memory to Forgotten. This passionate and lyrical sequence of group improvisations introduces one of Toronto’s extraordinary creative music ensembles.

In addition, the legendary New York-based “MusicWitness,” Jeff Schlanger, whose artwork graces the cover of William Parker At Somewhere There, will be there to paint all of the musicians while they perform. The Barnyard Records Triple CD Launch 2010 is much more than just a music concert. It is a massive gathering of sound and spirit, a celebration of the energy and talent that makes Toronto an international capital of creative music.

Quite simply, it will be an utterly unique musical and artistic event, the outcome of years of painstaking and original work by Barnyard Records and its artists.

William Parker & musicWitness on Air

It's a great week at ST. After celebrating one year and two hundred show in style last night, I got word from Andrew O'Connor that his feature on William Parker and the musicWitness exhibition in the ST gallery space will be aired this week. He has no control of when, exactly, but predicts that it will be on Metro Morning (Radio One 99.1 6am-8:30am) or Here & Now (Radio One 99.1 4pm-6pm) either tomorrow or Wednesday (16 or 17 September, 2008).

Thanks again to Jean Martin for recording William's solo sets, slices of which will be included in the feature.

Galleries and the Music in 'em

It's amazing to think that it's already been three weeks since MUSIC(in)GALLERIES 2008, and since the launch of the musicWitness art exhibition in the new ST foyer art gallery with two massive solo sets by William Parker, Saturday 26 July. It was a joyful (if stressful) day for me and, as always, I didn't get to hear as many groups as I'd like to have during M(i)G. Particularly special of what I did hear were the banjo/bass duets of Tim Posgate and Victor Bateman in the wide-open Camera bar, the solo harpsichord recital of -- I'm guessing -- Wm. Byrd music by John Farah, and, especially, the drums and trumpet duet of Jean Martin and Jim Lewis. The photo and drawing included here are by the musicWitness, Jeff Schlanger, himself a spirited trumpeter to boot. He agreed with me that something very special was afoot when Jean and Jim filled XPACE with lovely, measured, and deeply sympathetic playing.

The (obligatory?) midafternoon showers made way for a brilliant late-afternoon and early evening, and it was under those conditions that folks headed from the Gladstone -- which Christine Duncan's Element Choir had animated joyfully to round out M(i)G -- or wherever, over to ST for the William Parker solo sets. The material of the two formidable, seventy-plus-minute sets remains a bit of a blur after my crazy expenditure of energy during the afternoon and, like many in attendance, I was further saddled by the increasingly overwhelming warmth of the space -- we turned off the air conditioners to keep noise levels down while Jean Martin did double-duty and recorded the proceedings for possible release.

What I do remember is dominated, however, by an overwhelming feeling of William's presence in the room as he played. Whether or not you 'enjoy' the sounds he was making, the massiveness of the generosity and spirit that he was pouring into the room was undeniable and, for me, undeniably powerful. This experience was amplified and focused by the small room and the quiet acoustic; I could feel the walls throbbing with growing intensity as he dug deeper and deeper into his bass. During each set, William played a version of "Cathedral of Light," an application of his synaesthetic theory of arco bass-playing and, at discrete points during each one, I could hear voices (laughter, especially) from some unlocatable, mystical source. When I reported this to Jeff Schlanger, a veteran colleague of William's, he nodded sagely, assuring me wordlessly that this is neither uncommon nor something to fear. Bright moments.

Jeff was in town with his wife, the wonderful artist, Anne Humanfeld, for nearly a week, framing and installing the work that is now on display indefinitely in the new ST foyer art gallery space. What a treat it was to spend some real time with these two! Both quickly picked up on what I'm trying to do at ST, and were supportive and quite impressed by MUSIC(in)GALLERIES. Naturally, Jeff installed himself to paint William as he played, and the result is a profound diptych (see above) that he took back with him to New York to document and preserve. He left ten original paintings (most of which are of Toronto musicians as they played with William at his 2007 Interface Series) plus four giclée prints, and eleven of these pieces now grace and energize not only the foyer but also, by extension, the entire ST space. Please come to see them! The space looks and feels amazing!

Thank you Jeff and thank you William for such brilliant gifts of soul and spirit.