For September 24, 2004, pianist David Arner arranged that pianist Dave Burrell play in two venues, Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY and Pauline Oliveros’s Deep Listening Space in the Hudson Valley. This day was an opportunity to expose myself to a Burrell marathon event, which became an adventure not to be duplicated. To my mind, Dave Burrell’s playing cannot simply be appreciated. Such descriptive, qualitative vocabulary implies that when you listen to him play, you are in a s

The day before Easter it was, that for the first time I saw Billy Bang play live with his Trio. A friend of mine once said it is good to refrain from corrupting an experience with words. The following words are intended to elucidate on a past experience not an anticipatory one. If there is anything I did not anticipate, it was being totally in awe of Bang’s commitment to his instrument and to his music. That some one can be this astute within his discipline, as are many other musicians I have wr

On Friday night, at Sweeney Concert Hall, at Smith College, the Trio of Peter Brötzmann on reeds and saxophones, William Parker on bass, stringed instruments and flutes, and Hamid Drake on trap set and frame drum, cut through the architectural formality of the hall and broadcast acoustically alive sets of highly focused improvisation. Music is an abstraction until it is heard. The derivation of music can stem from many sources, particular to the individual musician, particular to the way in w

Bela Fleck, of the popular Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and Edgar Meyer, member of the Lincoln Center Chamber Ensemble, both Grammy winners, and very close friends, performed together at MassMoca on last Saturday night. The house was full as was the atmosphere with musical energy. The key to understanding this duo is the stark contrast between their instruments. It is not often that you have to think about the banjo as a stringed instrument, but in this case under Fleck’s fingers, the ba

The silver lining of music only knows one place. When musicians who are dedicated and love their art combine in a mix that is unusual and totally about making new sound, then you have the lining. The lining exists between structure and freedom. The structure is found in the make-up of the band; the freedom lies in each musician’s instinct to feel exactly the direction that the music is going or can be led. At the ICA in Boston, A Band With No Name became the moniker during the show for a perf