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Man v. Machine
4 Jun2010
SOUNDWAYS, PART TWO (Edit)
Marion Brown/Elliott Schwartz
Soundways
Century : 1973
MB, alto sax, clarinet, piano, percussion, little instruments; ES, Arp synthesizer, piano, percussion, little instruments.
In this corner! A saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist weighing in at trim 150 pounds, featuring a tone that can slice through tin can lids, and a lyricism that can make grown men weep like willows…wearing the withering stare…Marion Brown!
And in the far corner! A New England professor armed with an old school synthesizer and who knows what else…wearing the hornrims, attenuators, and bolts of tweed…Elliott Schwartz and his ARP!
From this rare album — recorded live at Bowdoin College in 1973, where Schwartz was then teaching — here is the first ten minutes of side two. The whole album is one continuous, near-forty minute performance, later repackaged as part of Duets on Arista/Freedom. Exploratory in tone, it showcases Brown’s ability to maintain his innate melodicism regardless of whatever is thrown at him by Schwartz. Not to mention Brown’s facility on a range of instruments.
Parts of this piece are reminiscent of Human Music, Don Cherry’s 1970 computer-jazz collision with Jon Appleton. Soundways, though, is far less academic (despite the setting) and more exciting than its predecessor. It combines the playful, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink vibe of early Art Ensemble, with the probing sonic experimentalism of Anthony Braxton’s duets with Richard Teitelbaum. A bit of an outlier in the Marion Brown discography, but a fascinating one — and a little Marion Brown is always worth exploring. That Schwartz was just awarded an honorary degree while Brown is seldom celebrated, and large chunks of his oeuvre languish, inaccessible, is a dichotomy we’ll leave for others to examine further.
What are your favorite computer music collisions? Jazz or otherwise.
11 Responses to Man v. Machine
Steve T
June 5th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
Wow. This is a surprise. I took a chamber music class from Elliott back in the early 80s, and had no idea he was working this kind of scene. I generally took him for a tape-looping, synthesizing wonk (though i was aware he was a composer of minor renown). To his credit, however, he introduced me to folks like Steve Reich, John Adams and Terry Riley, and I’ve loved the minimalists ever since. Thanks so much for the download – i liked this much more than the Braxton/Teitelbaum material I’ve heard.
matt w
June 7th, 2010 at 9:48 am
Steve T — to complete the third side of the triangle, have you heard the Don Cherry/Terry Riley collaborations? Great stuff.
Bart from Tampa
June 7th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
I love me some Marion Brown! Again, you guys managed to come up with one I hadn’t heard of. I love Brown’s Porto Novo album with the redoubtable Han Bennink on drums. As for computer music collisions, I’ve got to go with George Lewis’ “Homage to Charlie Parker”, as an old all-time classic. For something modern, “Streaming” (Pi, 2006) with Muhal Richard Abrams and Roscoe Mitchell has lots of Lewis’ computer insanity thrown in. Some of it is angry free jazz, and at other times it is droning, hypnotic night-time music.
Parker
June 7th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
It should be mentioned that Marion was an Assistant Professor at Bowdoin with Schwartz when this was performed.
ledrew
June 7th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
Ah! Thanks much, Parker. Good to know, and more fodder for the divergent reception the two men got later in life…
matt w
June 7th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Bart — yeah, Homage to Charles Parker is the greatest thing ever. I’m not really exaggerating. If anyone’s missed out on it, the MP3s are insanely cheap at Amazon right now. Lewis has a lot of other computer stuff worth listening to — Voyager is really difficult listening but produces some amazing stuff. There’s one track on Evan Parker’s (uneven) Synergetics album where Thebe Lipere plays South African didgeridoo with the computer where it’s amazing that a computer can do that.
Parker’s Electroacoustic ensemble is also a favorite.
Steve T
June 7th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Crap. Knocked down twice in the same round. Once: No … I haven’t heard the Cherry/Riley stuff, nor even knew of its existence until now. Details, please. Twice: No … I had no idea that Marion was a prof at Bowdoin (though before my time). Heck, no one at the college ever brought up Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain while I was there, much less Marion Brown.
Back on my feet … at least I’ve got Porto Novo, Homage to Charles Parker, and Streaming in the collection, among others. Marion has always been a secret pleasure of mine, esp. the ESP Why Not? record.
David Kennedy
June 8th, 2010 at 10:31 am
You asked for fave computer/synth collisions. Can I put in a word for Gandharva by Beaver and Krause? Not strictly jazz but does have some lovely stuff with saxes in Grace Cathedral, SF.
David Grundy
June 8th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Terry Riley + Don Cherry
http://elasticrock.blogspot.com/2007/12/terry-riley-don-cherry.html (1970 recording)
http://lamaraba.blogspot.com/2008/02/descending-moonshine-dervishes-kln.html
(1975 recording)
Bart from Tampa
June 8th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Matt W – I agree, it really is no exagerration on the Homage to Charlie Parker; I would have a hard time removing it from my free jazz desert island discs. I’m glad you mentioned Evan Parker’s Electroacoustic Ensemble, I can’t believe I forgot to give Evan props, that is an obvious jazz/computer collision, and fits perfectly with what gets highlighted on this blog. My personal favorite is “Memory/Vision”, although they’re all great and truly are a testament to the fact that jazz continues to evolve in the present day (contrary to Wynton Marsalis’ bewildering proclamations).
Jason
July 30th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
I’ve had that Duets album for years and years but haven’t listened to it in a long, long time. I took a class in the history of african-american music at UMass in the early 80s, taught by Archie Shepp. One day, Shepp couldn’t make it so he sent Marion Brown as a substitute! I was the only one in the class who knew who he was, and Avery Sharpe’s brother was in that class, too. As lecturers, Shepp and Brown both left a lot to be desired, but what a great opportunity to get up close to such masters.