ALIVE AND COMPOSING

FANTASTIC MERLINS

innova@composersforum.org — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:55:13 -0500

Nathan Hanson and Brian Roessler of the forward-looking, St. Paul-based jazz combo Fanastic Merlins chat with Philip Blackburn. Their CD Look Around (innova 670) is a big hit.

SEAN NOONAN

innova@composersforum.org — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:27:01 -0500

Sean Noonan is not afraid to tackle major hurdles; from leading his multi-cultural band from behind the drum kit to learning to walk again after an accident. His latest innova release (after The Hub and cHiPS) is a potent brew, mixing storytelling traditions from Mali and Ireland.

GERALD BUSBY

innova@composersforum.org — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:23:47 -0500

Gerald is one of the pillars of the Chelsea Hotel and all the artistic mythology associated with that infamous building. His other claim to fame is the score he wrote for Robert Altman's Three Women. In addition to all that, he is a cheerful composer, chef, and raconteur.

HENRY BRANT

innova@composersforum.org — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:07:17 -0500

Henry Brant (1913-2008) took an idea and ran with it; having heard Charles Ives' "Unanswered Question" for spatially-distributed ensembles, Henry went out and did over 200 such works. In the pantheon of of rugged American individualists he holds his own among Cage, Partch, Ruggles, Harrison and the rest.

Recorded over speaker phone the year before he died, Henry talks about his life and the ongoing innova series dedicated to his work.

ANN MILLIKAN

innova@composersforum.org — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:07:23 -0500

Ann has migrated from California to Minnesota and now straddles the yin and yang of that fact in her music and life. Her music is neither earthquake-prone nor frozen but it has tension, drama and color. Throw in a little Brazil and the hot performances of the California EAR Unit and you have a recipe for music that will make you dance through the snowy woods in your shorts.

NIRMALA RAJASEKAR

innova@composersforum.org — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:59:34 -0600

Modest though she is, Nirmala is arguably the best Veena player in Minnesota. By dint of hard labor she has scaled the heights of this ancient instrument and made a musical life for herself that is the envy of gurus everywhere. She is also recognised in her native South India as a megastar. Life in the prairie has allowed her to explore colaborations and the composing side of her nature.

Here she talks about getting a crack team of virtuoso musicians together for her "Song of the Veena" release, here in the land of frozen lakes and mild curries.

DAVID STOCK

innova@composersforum.org — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:54:55 -0600

David Stock is synonymous with new music in Pittsburgh and no slouch when it comes to writing some of the best string quartets you've heard.

DAVID DZUBAY

innova@composersforum.org — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:52:24 -0600

David is a master of the orchestra, and can really make it romp and sing. He has a couple of colorful albums on innova and shares his musical know-how in today's chat.

TODD HAMMES

innova@composersforum.org — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 13:32:30 -0600

Todd's music traverses the rhythmic worlds of India, Africa from the vantage points of Arizona and Madison. His Tool and Drum Ensemble is a colective of like-minded marimberos, kalimbists, and strikers of all things mellifluous and colorful. Check out his Music for Percussion (Mostly) [innova 682] and listen to the man behind the drum.

BARRY SCHRADER

innova@composersforum.org — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:03:10 -0600

Barry is a legend in the analog world (and beyond). He has been at the pioneering edge of developments in electroacoustic music for decades (he even started a Society for it: SEAMUS), and has taught at CalArts. Whether composing with a Buchla, Moog or a pig he brings an intelligently refined musical ear to his sounds.

SUSAN FACHER

innova@composersforum.org — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:30:41 -0600

Susan Fancher plays the saxophone really well. Her innova CD Ponder Nothing proves that. Now hear the woman behind the reed talk about her dedicated life in new music.

CRISTIAN AMIGO

innova@composersforum.org — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 16:32:39 -0600

Cristian Amigo and his new music jam band, Kingdom of Jones is a lovable collection of Big World riffs, loops, tunes and sounds. Originally from Chile he has traveled a lot and makes music with guitar, laptop and friends along the way. Here's Cristian telling the story of this anti-secessionist enclave.

Check out Kingdom of Jones at www.innova.mu

HENRY BRANT

innova@composersforum.org — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 10:55:48 -0500

Alive and Composing is back in the saddle after a year focusing on the Measure for Measure: New Music, New Thoughts podcast series.

We kick off with our favorite spatial composer on innova, Mr. Henry Brant, now 94, who tells us everything you need to know if you are going to write for spatially distributed ensembles (a al The Unanswered Question). We are up to Volume 9 now of the Henry Brant Collection on innova, so you can see him put his music where his mouth is.

Measure for Measure podcast

innova@composersforum.org — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 10:51:43 -0500

Alive and Composing is taking a short breather while Philip Blackburn contin ues his weekly series of chats with movers and shakers in the new music field. Please tune into that series for more useful ideas about where new music is headed, how to fineagle a career these days, and some interesting models you might not have thought about yet.

We'll be back with more innova artists in the near future. In the meantime please search the iTunes podcasts for:
Measure for Measure: New Music, New Thoughts.

Bill Banfield

innova@composersforum.org — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 11:40:34 -0600

Bill plays guitar and piano, he composes (no way to pin him down to one style though; classical, smooth, big band or straightahead, it's all good), he writes (check out his book on African American composers), and teaches (currently at Berklee).

Today he talks about his labors, his innova CDs, and laments the state of music in the age of the iPod (sorry, those of you out there in Podland).

His CDs at www.innova.mu include:
Striking Balance
JazzChamberWorks
and
Extensions of the Tradition

Gao Hong

innova@composersforum.org — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:14:45 -0500

China's foremost music publication, People's Music, wrote of Gao Hong that "like the famous Luoyang peony, she has gradually emerged as the best of all beautiful flowers...her performance has extremely strong artistic appeal and belongs under the category of 'fine wine'...the more you listen, the more beautiful it gets..."

Hong is truly a master of the pipa, the pear-shaped lute. And not just the delicate lady-like aspects. She can dig as deep into the instrument as the next heavy metal guitarist. She also has the ears of a genius. How else could someone so steeped in one tradition make such synchronistic improvisations with sitarists and shakuhachi players alike?

Her innova CD, Flying Dragon, showcases her astonishing playing and composing talents:
http://innova.mu/artist1.asp?skuID=23

Mark Applebaum

innova@composersforum.org — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 14:38:40 -0500

What to say about Mark Applebaum? He's the longest-haired professor at Stanford (but he ain't Professor Longhair). He plays jazz piano duos with his dad instead of shooting hoops. He has found another use for a mousetrap (rather than a different mousetrap for the same use). And his scores are as wacky as Ferneyhough's are complex.

Oh, and he's productive: he has 9 CDs on innova at the last count.

David Crumb

innova@composersforum.org — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 16:10:53 -0500

Not R. Not George. But David. These gorgeous sonorities come all the way from the Pacific Northwest and harmonize the world.
http://innova.mu/artist1.asp?skuID=203

Carei Thomas

innova@composersforum.org — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 16:10:53 -0500

Carei Thomas is no ordinary jazz guy; creative musician, galactic thinker, and mentor-poet-word man. If the AACM hadn't existed he would have had to invent it. Hear Pinnacles at: http://innova.mu/artist1.asp?skuID=223

Neva Pilgrim

innova@composersforum.org — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 11:21:48 -0500

If anyone deserves the title "Champion of New Music" it is Neva Pilgrim. More than just a soprano who has commissioned and premiered hundreds of new works, she is a pillar of the Syracuse-based Society for New Music, a valued teacher, and host of the Fresh Ink series on WCNY-FM. She is the force behind two innova releases: the giant 5-CD set of 30 years of SNM commissions (American Masters for the 21st Century, innova 616), and the tall tales of Pinocchio/Beauty and the Beast (innova 636). All that and, like Judy Garland, she's originally from a little place called Minnesota.

Robert Moran

innova@composersforum.org — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 12:44:33 -0500

Robert Moran is not just a "disgracefully pretty" Philly-based post-minimalist but an ex-Bay Area Fluxusist and Wildean raconteur. It helps that is music is infectiously attractive. Hear more of it at http://innova.mu/artist1.asp?skuID=214 under the thrillingly titled Open Veins.

Ken Field

innova@composersforum.org — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 12:44:33 -0500

"It's all here - music for the head, the heart, and the feet" --- Scott Billington, Two-time Grammy-winning New Orleans music producer

Ken Field is a composer, saxophonist, flautist, and percussionist. His solo work, and his work with groups such as Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, Willie Loco Alexander's Persistence of Memory Orchestra, and the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, have received international public and critical acclaim. Field has composed a number of pieces for the children's television program Sesame Street.

The Revolutionary Snake Ensemble's debut CD Year of the Snake was included on best-of-year lists by the New Orleans Gambit Weekly, New York City NPR affiliate WNYC, and Radio Popolare in Milan, Italy. Listen to Ken talk with Philip Blackburn of innova, then procure your very own Ken Field CDs from:
http://innova.mu/artist1.asp?skuID=101

http://innova.mu/artist1.asp?skuID=251

Phillip Schroeder

innova@composersforum.org — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:03:40 -0500

"Ethereal music . . . wonderfully opulent and rich in subtle detail." New Classics, UK. Arkansas is the new California if Schroeder's music is anything to go by. Meet him and his music in this episode as he talks about his innova CD, "Move in the Changing Light.

Skip Heller

innova@composersforum.org — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 08:52:34 -0500

Philly steak. Philly cheese. Now Philly organ jazz. Skip Heller is an aficionado of the latter and grew up listening to it. Now hear his tribute to that world and the various eclectic musical journeys he has taken since in his life as LA-guitarist supreme. Gustav Mahler and a Grammy winner or two also make cameo appearances.

His CD Homegoing is on innova: http://innova.mu/artist1.asp?skuID=89

John Morton

innova@composersforum.org — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 08:52:34 -0500

Remember your first music box? You will when you hear John Morton's music. Now hear what grown-ups do when they play with your old toys.

Outlier is on innova: http://innova.mu/artist1.asp?skuID=17

Gary Verkade

innova@composersforum.org — Thu, 18 May 2006 10:36:34 -0500

The history of the pipe organ is extended into the 21st Century and beyond when Gary Verkade sits at the console. Though perfectly adept at the Wedding March, his repertoire goes far beyond what you might trip gaily down the aisle to. In fact he's a godsend for experimental composers who would like to turn a hand to the monster found in the corner of most churches, but were too afraid to try. Kenneth Gaburo, Warren Burt, even Philip Blackburn have composed unorthodix works for Gary's unique skills. Find out why. Then check out: http://innova.mu/artist1.asp?skuID=195

Matthew Smith

innova@composersforum.org — Tue, 09 May 2006 11:27:09 -0500

Minneapolis painter Smith put down his brush a few years ago and took up Pro Tools. Listeners can be glad he did. Our gain is the artlover's loss. These are fleeting sonic glimpses of haunting beauty; like a Tarkovsky film that was never made, or a strung-out string ensemble. They shimmer, build intesity, and decay in a spiritual space of here and now. An aurora borealis of the mind.

Jeremy Beck

innova@composersforum.org — Mon, 01 May 2006 12:31:09 -0500

Louisville composer Jeremy Beck is celebrating his second innova release, namely "pause, and feel, and hark" His first, an orchestral CD, "Wave" was a big hit and this new CD focuses on his chamber-sized works. And it is hard to go wrong with the inspiration of poets such as Pablo Neruda, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Vikram Seth, and Joyce Carol Oates. The latter's novel forms the basis of Black Water, a monodrama bringing to life a slightly veiled fictional account of the events of Chappaquidick in 1969

Belinda Reynolds

innova@composersforum.org — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 17:03:49 -0500

Belinda talks to innova from her Twin Peaks home about the shock of the old, the Common Sense Composers' Collective, and new music for young students.

Neil Rolnick

innova@composersforum.org — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 14:50:05 -0600

Neil drives his car and talks with a hands-free headset in this far-ranging interview. He's the ultimate laptop artist, lefty rabble rouser, and his music kicks like a mule.

Andrew Violette

innova@composersforum.org — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 06:45:19 -0600

Andrew and his piano have a special relationship; they spend hours together having intense mystical experiences.

Barry Schrader

Sat, 11 Feb 2006 06:00:00 -0600

This week we talk with California electroacoustic composer-superstar Schrader and ask him about his pig

Matt Steckler

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 06:00:00 -0600

Brooklyn jazzman Steckler leads the incomparable Dead Cat Bounce and has a new CD out named Persiflage