George Lewis

[DobermanBoston]

I realize I'm late to the dance on this, but I've been listening to quite a bit of George Lewis lately, especially his Black Saint records from the 70s and his more recent Lester Bowie tribute.

[jeffcrom]

Do you know this one?

It's excellent - one side of Ewart compositions and one side of Lewis's.

And how about:

Voyager. I can see some folks not liking this one, but it just fascinates me. Voyager is a musical computer program written by Lewis, designed to interact with an improvising musician. Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell each play four duets with Voyager, and it amazes me how differently the program responds to/interacts with each of them. The Mitchell/Voyager duets in particular are just amazing.

[DobermanBoston]

Do you know this one?

It's excellent - one side of Ewart compositions and one side of Lewis's.

And how about:

Voyager. I can see some folks not liking this one, but it just fascinates me. Voyager is a musical computer program written by Lewis, designed to interact with an improvising musician. Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell each play four duets with Voyager, and it amazes me how differently the program responds to/interacts with each of them. The Mitchell/Voyager duets in particular are just amazing.

Yes, I've been listening to that first one a whole bunch. I was unaware of the Voyager/Mitchell recording but am now looking forward to checking it out. Thanks!

[JSngry]

[jazzbo]

I like the Beverly Cavern stuff.

Oh wait a minute, wrong thread!

[paul secor]

This is a very fine recording - George Lewis, John Lindberg, and Barry Altschul doing some straight ahead blowing.

[mjazzg]

This is a very fine recording - George Lewis, John Lindberg, and Barry Altschul doing some straight ahead blowing.

another vote from me for the Lindberg

Also the recordings with Braxton on Hat Art and their duo on Moers (possibly vinyl only). Increasingly recently I've been thinkng that any appearance by Lewis is a fair indicator of quality. I've not got around to the duo with Leandre on Rogue art and really must

I'm also intrigued by his latest

anyone have any opinions yet?

[Hot Ptah]

I love Lewis' playing on this album:

and on this one:

I saw George Lewis live, in an unaccompanied solo performance, in the fall of 1978 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Eclipse Jazz was the student jazz organization. They had a series called Bright Moments, for avant garde jazz musicians, held in smaller spaces. (They also had a big name jazz musician series in the 2000 seat Hill Auditorium, and an annual multi-day jazz festival with big name jazz artists. It was really quite impressive to think back on).

George Lewis was the first artist in the Bright Moments series for the 1978-79 school year. I remember that he mostly played synthesizers, in a minimalist fashion, laying his hands on them with a solemn look on his face. After a lot of that, he said, "oh my. I find that I feel like......swinging." He picked up his trombone and played an amazing solo trombone piece, which did, in fact, swing.

Other artists who I saw in the Bright Moments series, in small rooms, included Dave Holland (solo bass); Old and New Dreams (Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, Ed Blackwell); James Newton and Anthony Davis; Roscoe Mitchell, solo alto saxophone; Jaki Byard, solo piano.

Edited July 20, 2011 by Hot Ptah

[John L]

Voyager. I can see some folks not liking this one, but it just fascinates me. Voyager is a musical computer program written by Lewis, designed to interact with an improvising musician. Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell each play four duets with Voyager, and it amazes me how differently the program responds to/interacts with each of them. The Mitchell/Voyager duets in particular are just amazing.

Yes, I agree. Mitchell's playing, in particular, is astonishing here.

[DobermanBoston]

I love Lewis' playing on this album:

and on this one:

I saw George Lewis live, in an unaccompanied solo performance, in the fall of 1978 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Eclipse Jazz was the student jazz organization. They had a series called Bright Moments, for avant garde jazz musicians, held in smaller spaces. (They also had a big name jazz musician series in the 2000 seat Hill Auditorium, and an annual multi-day jazz festival with big name jazz artists. It was really quite impressive to think back on).

George Lewis was the first artist in the Bright Moments series for the 1978-79 school year. I remember that he mostly played synthesizers, in a minimalist fashion, laying his hands on them with a solemn look on his face. After a lot of that, he said, "oh my. I find that I feel like......swinging." He picked up his trombone and played an amazing solo trombone piece, which did, in fact, swing.

Other artists who I saw in the Bright Moments series, in small rooms, included Dave Holland (solo bass); Old and New Dreams (Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, Ed Blackwell); James Newton and Anthony Davis; Roscoe Mitchell, solo alto saxophone; Jaki Byard, solo piano.

That must have been an intense year. I had always pictured Old and New Dreams as a band that played large venues, between their ECM status and their former boss' own draw. They were like the "edgy" answer to VSOP!

Apparently Brandeis here in Massachusetts had a lot of those folks up at around the same time. An acquaintance recorded a 1979 Holland solo performance from their radio station WBRS and it was fantastic.

And thanks for the recommendations everyone. I need to pick up the latest Lewis release and that older Altschul one....

Edited July 21, 2011 by DobermanBoston

[Ted O'Reilly]

I saw George Lewis live, in an unaccompanied solo performance, in the fall of 1978 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

There was a pretty good connection in the late '70s between Ann Arbor and Toronto, especially Bill Smith (of Coda and Sackville Records) and the folks at A Space here.

George Lewis made his first solo concert there, and recorded a Smith-produced Sackville release, The George Lewis Solo Trombone Record (Sackville 3012, LP and eventual CD) on Nov. 21, 1976. This was just after he appeared with Braxton's big band, and toured with the reedman in Europe. http://www.discogs.com/George-Lewis-The-Solo-Trombone-Record/release/2720590

Though it's a 'solo trombone' record, there's a 20 minute "Piece For Three Trombones Simultaneously" with three overdubbed Lewis parts.

I believe it's the first release under Lewis' name.

[mjzee]

Does anyone know why Lewis titled the track "Homage to Charles Parker"? The music doesn't sound at all like Bird. Perhaps he knows someone else named Charles Parker, but then there's the album cover:

[jazzbo]

Reviewers seem to believe that the music serves as an homage to the adventurous spirit of Bird and his music, which I can see. I haven't seen anything from Lewis himself with an explanation, but it may be out there.

[JSngry]

If all Bird inspired was people to play more or less just like him, that wouldn't have been so much of an epic human event as it would been just a musical sperm bank.

And Bird was definitely an epic human event.

[colinmce]

Think Braxton's "post-Parker continuum" ...

[mjzee]

Right, but he could have dedicated a piece to Bird. Instead, it's a "homage," but I'm not hearing any direct connection.

[JSngry]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homage

Homage (/ˈhɒmɨdʒ/ or /ˈɒmɨdʒ/) is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic.

It was originally a declaration of fealty in the feudal system (see Homage (medieval))—swearing that one was the man (French: homme) of the feudal lord.^[1] The concept then became used figuratively for an acknowledgement of quality or superiority. For example, a man might give homage to a lady, so honouring her beauty and other graces. In German scholarship, followers of a great scholar developed the custom of honouring their mentor by producing papers for a festschrift dedicated to him.^[2]

The concept now often appears in the arts where one author shows respect to a topic by calling it an homage, such as Homage to Catalonia. Alternatively, creative artists may show respect to a veteran of the field or to an admired practitioner by alluding to their work.^[3] In rock music this can take the form of a tribute album or of a sample.^[4] As of 2010, the digital techniques used to generate many forms of media make it easy to borrow from other works and this remediation may be used in homage to them.^[5]

I didn't invent the language, and lord knows I only sometimes practice it as those who did intended, but this all lines up for me.

Again, I think you have to look beyond the literal to understand what it is that is inspiring the homage. There was a lot more to Bird's music/being to get inspired by than just the notes themselves.

[ATR]

Brilliant guy and a great musician. Compositions for Creative Orchestra on the Spool label with The NOW Orchestra showcases his trombone playing and straightforward musical composition. Streaming on the Pi label with Muhal Richard Abrams and Roscoe Mitchell is more abstract and features both trombone and computer generated synth sounds. I think it's the strongest statement he's made on record creating those kinds of sounds. Also check out the work he's done with the European free improvisers and his book about the history of the AACM.