IRIDIUM 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 SET ONE (click to play, right/ctrl-click to download) Phobos Solos: Jon Wikan, cajon; Mark Small, tenor saxophone Zeno Solo: Alan Ferber, trombone Blow-Out Prevention Solo: Mike Fahie, trombone Redeye Solo: Sebastian Noelle, guitar Ferromagnetic Solo: Nadje Noordhuis, trumpet DOWNLOAD ALL (.zip archive) [...]
Information about Secret Society's autumnal activities (including hits in London and Milan ) can be found here . Also, 2011 might seem like a ways off yet but I am extremely excited about our contribution to the Ecstatic Music Festival -- this will be my first time writing for Newspeak and Secret Society's first time playing newly-comissioned music composed by people other than myself -- namely, Vijay Iyer , Nicole Lizee , and David T. Little. More on all of this soon...
Secret Society live at Iridium Jazz Club Wednesday, Sept. 22 Sets at 8:30 PM & 10:30 PM
People often do not believe me when I tell them that the real reason I started a bigband after moving to New York was peer pressure. But I am not kidding when I say that putting together an 18-piece ensemble to play my own music started to seem a lot more reasonable in light of the fact that basically everyone I knew was also doing it. New York is blessed (or cursed, I guess, take your pick) with a staggering number of composer-led, progressive-minded bigbands, and now, thanks to my Pulse colleague JC Sanford, those bands have a [...]
(Photo: Lindsay Beyerstein ) Comrades -- we played the Newport Jazz Festival last weekend. Audio (courtesy of NPR) can be downloaded here . Photos (courtesy of Lindsay Beyerstein) can be viewed here . I've known this hit was coming for almost eleven months now. Obviously there is enormous pressure to live up to the festival's 56-year legacy -- the words "At Newport" are thick with history. Contemplating the significance of our own appearance on that stage is totally daunting -- that way madness lies -- [...]
I am deeply saddened to announce that Bob Brookmeyer isn't feeling well and won't be able to join us at the Newport Jazz Fest on Saturday. We will still be playing the new piece I wrote for Brookmeyer, as a "Get well Bob" tribute.
Here is a photo essay that really captures the essence of today's pre-Newport rehearsal:
So, um, hey, here's a page from DownBeat's August issue: More at the Improvised Communications blog .
Deepest sympathies to my host nation and their excellent musicians, and biergartens. Soccer glory may have eluded them tonight, but bigband glory awaits on Friday and Saturday.
Tomorrow, I fly to Europe and begin rehearsing with the Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra for a pair of back-to-back shows. On Friday, July 9, we perform at Stadtgarten in Cologne, Germany. On Saturday, July 10, we perform at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Yesterday, the Dutch team stunned the soccer world by upsetting World Cup favorites Brazil, 2-1. This morning, the Germans dealt Argentina a crushing 4-0 defeat. Both teams have advanced to World Cup semis, and might well face each other in the July 11 finals. I [...]
Is there anything you didn't properly explain in our last conversation? Well, lots. p Most of it I'd say. Can you keep it to just one thing? Hmmm, I'd have to say it's that the methodology the band's following is one I observed Steve using. And that would be? A [...]
As announced in this month's Secret Society News-Letter (maybe you'd like to subscribe ?), scores and parts for selections from the Secret Society Songbook are now available from this site -- click the new " Scores & Parts " button above, or just click here . This is obviously something we've been planning for a very long time and it's a huge relief to finally have some properly presentable sheet music to offer. Here's the deal: Scores [...]
Bill Dixon died in his sleep last night, at his home in Vermont. The news has spread fast, partly a testament to the strength of Bill's legacy, and partly an example of the hyper-media age we live in, a strange contrast to the timelessness and infinite patience of his music. I wanted to offer a short remembrance, along with posting a few recent articles I've written on Bill's work: the liner notes to the recent Tapestries for Small Orchestra recording, and an appreciation upon the 25 th [...]
The US Supreme Court today rejected the appeal brought by Maher Arar , a victim of the US's policy of extraordinary rendition -- which, in Arar's case, involved kidnapping a Canadian citizen and shipping him off to Syria to be imprisoned in a 3'x6'7' underground dirt cell and brutally tortured every day for over 10 months. Arar has been repeatedly and thoroughly exonerated of any wrongdoing -- he was an innocent man to whom unspeakable things were done, and done in all of our names. But the people who are responsible for these awful crimes have never been held [...]
The US Supreme Court today rejected the appeal brought by Maher Arar , a victim of the US's policy of extraordinary rendition -- which, in Arar's case, involved kidnapping a Canadian citizen and shipping him off to Syria to be imprisoned in a 3'x6'7' underground dirt cell and brutally tortured every day for over 10 months. Arar has been repeatedly and thoroughly exonerated of any wrongdoing -- he was an innocent man to whom unspeakable things were done, and done in all of our names. But the people who are responsible for these awful crimes have never been held [...]
The Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards sure are nice little obelisks, and at 5.5 inches tall, they are suitable for even the most cramped NYC apartments. I was fortunate enough to walk away with these two awards in my back pocket (literally) -- Large Ensemble of the Year and Up & Coming Artist of the Year. Of course, the former really belongs to my eighteen Secret Society co-conspirators, who have invested so much sweat and toil over the years bringing my music to life. These awards are a testament to their unbelievable musicianship and dedication. It's especially meaningful [...]
STOP! If you're sick 'n tired of reading more words about Steve Lacy, I have a recommendation for a healthy alternative. This Sunday, June the 13 th of 2010, Ideal Bread will present a musical rendition of these same ideas. You'll be able to find us at 6:40 P.M. performing at Kenny's Castaways in the West Village of New York City as part of the Undead Jazz Festival . But if you find yourself wanting yet another pamphlet about Mr. Lacy, read on. [...]
GUEST POST BY JON WIKAN We're in one of the poorest, most congested countries on earth. What a trip! The people are so nice you can't believe it. There is virtually no tourism. I took our bandleader Charlie out for a trip since I had been scoping the scene for a few days. I started by taking him on a little boat ride to the slum across the lake. I had been told not to go in there so what do I [...]
We're in one of the poorest most congested countries on earth. What a trip! The people are so nice you can't believe it. There is virtually no tourism. I took our bandleader Charlie out for a trip since I had been scoping the scene for a few days. I started by taking him on a little boat ride to the slum across the lake. I had been told not to go in there so what do I do? I went in full camera video and wallet and an entourage of young swimmers from the massively polluted lake. I mean we [...]
May 21 st 2010 New Deli Our flight to New Deli was quite smooth despite a few mess ups by Delta airlines who could not seem to handle the task of processing 10 bags that the band has to schlep halfway across the world. All together our flights ended up being around 16 hours thanks to sitting on the runway for several hours at the congested JFK international. Door to door [...]
Darcy James Argue's Secret Society
Monday Music – 28 May 2012
Bison - Quill
