Brooklyn Babylon premieres this Wednesday, Nov. 9 and runs through Saturday, Nov. 12. Tickets are selling briskly, so if you don't have yours yet, I'd counsel haste. Some nice previews: New York Times (Ben Ratliff): Animation Joins Jazz At the Next Wave Festival Salon (Martin Johnson): Could jazz provide the Occupy Wall Street Soundtrack? Time Out New York (Steve Smith): Composer Darcy James [...]
(Photo: Lindsay Beyerstein) Audio courtesy of the good folks at Search and Restore -- video coming soon. Meanwhile, additional photos , for your persusal. LITTLEFIELD 26 MAY 2011 click to listen; right-click or ctrl-click to download Phobos Solos: Jon Wikan, cajon; Jon Irabagon, tenor sax Dymaxion Solo: Josh Sinton, baritone sax Flux in a Box Solos: Rob Wilkerson, alto [...]

And now we continue with our Composition Vivisection of "Zeno," from Infernal Machines . You should probably start with Part 1 if you haven't already read it. Zeno click to play CONDENSED SCORE FULL SCORE NERD ALERT -- you have been warned. Click below to continue. Okay, last time we talked [...]
Introducing a new feature here on the Secret Society inter-web pamphlet: the Composition Vivisection. From time to time, I will take a piece from the Secret Society repertoire and slice it open to show you what's inside. The analysis will take place in multiple installments, over multiple posts. Our first victim is "Zeno," from Infernal Machines . [What follows here and in subsequent installments is a somewhat more succinct version of the talk I gave at New England Conservatory last week.] WARNING: [...]

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society live @ LE POISSON ROUGE - 15 JULY 2009 1) MP3: Zeno Solo: Ryan Keberle, trombone 2) MP3 : Flux in a Box Solos: Ben Kono, alto sax; Mike Holober, piano 3) MP3 : Hard Up on the Down Low Solo: Ingrid Jensen, trumpet & electronics 4) MP3 : Jacobin Club [...]

Long overdue post, busy summer! Back in the middle of July I had the opportunity to record Darcy James Argue's Secret Society at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC for air on WFMU. DJA's Secret Society is an 18-piece big band that pairs a healthy adoration of the history of big band jazz with a playful modern sensibility, infusing meticulous arrangements with noise and free passages, Afro-funk beats or minimalism. I was taken with their debut record, Infernal Machines , almost immediately because it represents a freeform approach to a music that has thrown genres into the toobox [...]

(Photo: Lindsay Beyerstein ) SECRET SOCIETY LE POISSON ROUGE 15 JULY 2009 SETLIST (click to listen; right-click/ctrl-click to download) 1) MP3: Zeno Solo: Ryan [...]

(Photo: Nicken05) SECRET SOCIETY MOERS FESTVIAL 31 MAY 2009 SETLIST (click to listen; right-click/ctrl-click to download) 1) MP3 : Phobos Solos: Jon Wikan, cajon; Mark Small, tenor sax 2) MP3 : Zeno Solo: Ryan Keberle, trombone 3) MP3 : Redeye Solo: Sebastian Noelle, guitar [...]

(Photo: Lindsay Beyerstein ) SECRET SOCIETY INFERNAL MACHINES RECORD LAUNCH UNDISCOVERED ISLANDS GALAPAGOS ARTS SPACE BROOKLYN NY 08 MAY 2009 SETLIST (click to listen; right-click/ctrl-click to download) 1) MP3 : Phobos (partial) Solos: Jon Wikan, cajon; Mark Small, tenor sax 2) MP3: Zeno Solo: Ryan [...]

So with all the recording -related program activities, I did not quite get around to posting the audio from our December Jazz Gallery hit before we played there again this weekend as part of the Search And Restore website launch -- check it out, it's alive . So, then. I'm-a just dump all this audio on the internets all at once like it's some kind of big truck. (Shut your mouth -- Ted Stevens references are timeless .) Here are the recordings from Dec. 12-13 and Feb. 6. [...]

As you may already be aware , Secret Society have signed with New Amsterdam Records . So for those of you who have been asking me, repeatedly, for the better part of three years, "Dude -- when are you guys going to record? " here is your answer: we record in December (at Bennett Studios ), and the album will be out in May 2009. You'll be able to order physical copies directly from the New Amsterdam website (they ship worldwide). We are unabashedly old-school in our preference for physical objects and hope you will opt for [...]
Remember how, due to catastrophic technological failiure, there was one set missing set from the MP3's I posted of our two-night, four-set stand at the Jazz Gallery last month ? Well, thanks to Rio and Russell at the Gallery , it's not missing anymore. So here it is: everything I've ever written for Secret Society , performed over two nights (including a much livelier version of Zeno -- it's a tough chart, but we are getting there). Now I gotta write me some new shit.

SECRET SOCIETY THE JAZZ GALLERY NEW YORK, NY 18-19 APRIL 2008 18 APRIL - SET 1 (click to listen, right-click/control-click to download) 1) MP3: Flux in a Box Solos: Ben Kono - alto sax; Mike Holober - piano 2) MP3: Phobos Solos: Jon Wikan - cajon; John Ellis - tenor sax 3) MP3: Ferromagnetic [...]

Thursday, 5 April 2007 - The Jazz Gallery SETLIST - SET 2 (click to listen/download) 1) MP3: Transit (excerpt) Solo: Ingrid Jensen, fluegelhorn 2) MP3: Desolation Sound Solo: Sam Sadigursky, soprano sax 3) MP3: Induction Effect Solo: André Canniere, trumpet 4) MP3: Chrysalis [...]

Wednesday, 7 March 2007 - Makor SETLIST (click to listen/download) 1) Transit Solo: Ingrid Jensen, fluegelhorn 2) Desolation Sound Solo: Sam Sadigurksy, soprano sax 3) Chrysalis Solo: Erica vonKleist, alto flute/soprano sax 4) Induction Effect Solo: André [...]

Sunday, 14 January 2007 - Bowery Poetry Club with the Industrial Jazz Group SETLIST (click to listen/download) 1) Lizard Brain Solo: Josh Sinton, baritone sax 2) Induction Effect Solo: André Canniere, trumpet 3) Drift Solo: Mark Small, tenor sax 4) Transit Solo: Shane Endsley, trumpet [...]

Gig Postmortem Thursday, 30 November 2006 - Bowery Poetry Club SETLIST (click to listen/download) 1) Ritual Solos: Ryan Keberle, trombone; Sebastian Noelle, guitar 2) Phobos Solo: Mark Small, tenor sax 3) Flux in a Box Solos: Rob Wilkerson, alto sax; Mike Holober, piano 4) Induction Effect Solo: André Canniere, fluegelhorn [...]

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Bay Bridge Silhouette , originally uploaded by Thomas Hawk .
In an effort to resuscitate the long-dormant Pulse blog , I've been doing a bit of linkblogging over there today. The other Pulseketeers have been busy getting married, having children, and working long-distance commutes, not necessarily in that order. When I get a minute, it will also be updated with fresh audio and pictures from our June (yes, yes, I know, I know) gigs. But if you missed our Eloquent Light 2 program this summer, we are reprising it on December 17 at the Bowery Poetry Club. Details will be forthcoming on the soon-to-be-regularly-updated Pulse blog.