7/4 Posted August 19, 2013 Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 I don't think I ever posted about this here... This is the music of gradual change. A piano piece that runs for nearly six hours. Pensive. Music that sweeps the listener along into an elegiac exploration of gentle tonal and rhythmic shifts. This is November by Dennis Johnson, a piece he notated partially in 1959, and recorded informally in 1962. Very few people ever heard the piece, but Johnson's friend La Monte Young was one who did, and November influenced Young's composition The Well-Tuned Piano, and set the stage for Minimalism, one of the most pervasive and persuasive of today's musical styles. Several years ago La Monte Young gave composer and writer Kyle Gann a wobbly cassette transfer of Johnson's 1962 performance of a portion of November. Gann realized that the history of Minimalism needed to be rewritten to acknowledge November as one of its starting points. Gann joins David Garland to tell how his fascination for and curiosity about November led him to transcribe the old cassette, get in touch with Johnson, and create a full realization of the piece, which has now been recorded by pianist R. Andrew Lee. We hear about the piece, and hear excerpts from this multi-hour quiet explosion of ideas. more on Spinning on Air, Dennis Johnson's "November". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Train Posted August 19, 2013 Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 Incredible recording. http://thewire.co.uk/in-writing/interviews/dennis-johnson_ http://recordings.irritablehedgehog.com/album/dennis-johnson-november-2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted August 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 I met Dennis Johnson about fifteen years ago, had a nice little chat. He didn't have too much to say about music, he was staying at La Monte Young's Dream House, visiting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Train Posted August 19, 2013 Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 (edited) Let's not forget Kyle Gann. Without him no one would even know about Dennis Johnson, or his composition...and it wouldn't have been recorded. Edited August 19, 2013 by Blue Train Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted August 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 Kyle was blogging about this piece for years before his version finally got performed and recorded. I've always had a lot of respect for Kyle, I loved his articles in the Voice. Those were the days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted December 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2013 November topped Steve Smith's Best Classical music of 2013 list. Kyle Gann's reaction on his blog. I had it on my list too, posted a few days ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted January 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2014 hey…me too, me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted February 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 CPR interview: Colorado pianist champions minimalist classical music one chord at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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