October, 2018

October, 2018 Newsletter
ICA
Ran Blake & Marcelo Perez
Sat. November 17th
2pm and 3:30pm
Savoy, Slugs’ Saloon, and the Three Deuces Club by Jason Moran
 
Ran Blake will perform with drummer Marcelo Perez as a part of the ICA (The Institute of Contemporary Art) exhibition of Jason Moran’s new works on Saturday, November 17th at 2pm and 3:30pm.
About the exhibition:
Interdisciplinary artist Jason Moran (b. 1975, Houston) grounds his practice in musical composition and bridges the visual and performing arts through stagecraft. Moran draws from his personal experience to create dynamic compositions that challenge conventional forms. His experimental works embrace the intersection of objects and sound, pushing beyond the traditional staged concert or sculpture to amplify ways that both are inherently theatrical. This exhibition, the artist’s first museum show, features the full range of Moran’s work, from performance and collaborations with visual artists to his own sculptural works.
In all aspects of his work, Moran’s creative process is informed by one of the essential tenets of jazz: the “set,” in which musicians come together to engage in a collaborative process of improvisation, riffing off of one another to create the musical experience. The exhibition will highlight his mixed-media set installations based on storied jazz venues from past eras, including STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1 and STAGED: Three Deuces (both 2015), sculptural vignettes that were his acclaimed contributions to the 2015 Venice Biennale. Slugs’ Saloon (2018).
Christine Correa & Ran Blake
Streaming (RedPiano)
New Duo Album Out Now!
“A devotee of noirish aspects, his playing retains an air of intimacy and stillness. Not that he can’t also stun you with a single note, for Blake often emits a right rumpus amid the tenderness. Likewise, brute force is sometimes employed by Christine Correa as a singer, but all within the realm of erotic shadows. So the two artists are a dream pairing, that no music streaming service could recommend better.

Which leads us neatly onto the album title. As an eminent teacher, Blake refers to “streaming” as a route to finding one’s artistic path. Prospective students are grilled on their aims and ideals before being taken on. We also note the importance of the Third Stream concept for Blake, wherein different genres combine to offer infinite new sounds.”

 
Excerpt from an All About Jazz Review by GARETH THOMPSON
September 29, 2018
Read the full article HERE! 
 
Buy the Album HERE $14
Realization of a Dream:
a Concert of
Ran Blake’s Music by
The Spectrum Project conducted by Larry Isaacson
Sun. Oct. 21st @ 3pm
Berklee College of Music
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Daryl Lowery
In 2017 I initiated a project to expand my orchestration of You Stepped Out of A Dream – after the work by Nacio Herb Brown written in collaboration with Ran Blake – into Realization of a Dream, for tenor saxophone, piano and orchestra. The initial work written in 1979 was incorporated in The Portfolio of Dr. Mabuse, released on Owl Records in 1982.

The piano solo featured in the first section of Realization of a Dream is based on a Ran Blake interpretation of You Stepped Out of A Dream. It is followed by an elaborate harmonic variation that serves as a foundation for the through-composed improvisational flavored tenor saxophone solo titled Mabuse.

In 1961, Gunther Schuller defined “Third Stream” as “a new genre of music located about halfway between jazz and classical music”. Using this as a working definition it is my hope that my work may prove to be a worthy contribution to this genre and serve as a tribute to this great artist with whom I had a brief but very influential association with from 1975-77.

Free and Open to the Public
Sunday, October 21st, 2018 at 3pm
Berklee College of Music
Room 106
132 Ipswich Street, Floor 1 Boston, MA
 Book Review:
Nate Chinen’s
Playing Changes
This is a remarkable, beautifully written treat, blending scholarship with the devotion of a true fan.  Nate Chinen , a former New York Times critic and frequent NPR contributor, is thoroughly knowledgeable about the jazz of the past, and thoroughly tuned into what today’s young musicians are up to. He hears the still innovative, unpredictable moments in the earlier era of Armstrong, Monk, Ellington, and finds the contemporary scene, in the work of Jason Moran, Danilo Pérez and others less familiar but beloved by many current students, just as adventurous and indispensable. There is so much in these pages to ponder and cherish.
 Ran has Private Lesson Openings!
Ran has a couple of openings in his schedule for additional private students. Subjects include, but are not limited to, melodic and harmonic ear training, film noir, development of personal style, improvisation, technique, storyboarding, soundscapes, listening sessions, etc.
If you are interested, please contact Aaron Hartley at aaron@ranblake.com for more details.
 CI Department Concert
You Done Me Wrong:
The Music of George Jones and Billie Holiday
Mon. Nov. 12th @ 7:30pm
NEC’s Jordan Hall
Contemporary Improvisation students, faculty, and special guests explore the music of Billie Holiday and George Jones, two of America’s most iconic voices, through covers, recompositions, reinterpretations, and original works in many different genres. Produced by co-chair of the CI department, Eden MacAdam-Somer.
Monday, November 12th, 2018 at 7:30pm
Free and Open to the Public
New England Conservatory
290 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA
(617) 585-1100

NEC’s Concert Listing: CLICK HERE
 Old New Stock!!
Sonic Temples (2001)
trio w/ Ed & George Schuller
We’ve unearthed a sealed supply of Sonic Temples trio w/Ed & George Schuller (GM Records, 2001- double disc). $25

You can purchase them HERE!

Old New Stock!!
Painted Rhythms, Vol 1 (1987)
The long box packaging on Painted Rhythms, Vol 1 (GM Records, 1987- solo Ran) really takes us back… $15
 Gunther Schuller Legacy Concert: Ragtime Revival
Mon. Nov. 19th @ 7:30pm
Tribute to former NEC President Gunther Schuller features the revival of the Grammy-winning New England Conservatory Ragtime Ensemble.
For this annual tribute concert, the New England Conservatory Ragtime Ensemble re-forms to perform rags originally presented and arranged by Gunther Schuller, who founded the Grammy-winning ensemble during his tenure as NEC President. For this performance, the NEC Ragtime Ensemble will be conducted by Bruce Creditor, assistant conductor of the group under Schuller.
In addition, NEC faculty Eden Macadam-Somer leads the Contemporary Improvisation Ragtime Ensemble as they present turn-of-the-century rags reimagined for unconventional instrumentation. Doctoral student Ziang Xu ’21 DMA will play an original rag composed by current faculty member Ethan Iverson. Other highlights include original rags composed and performed by current NEC students and a grand finale that fills the stage with alumni of the NEC Ragtime Ensemble spanning 25 years.
In addition to his monumental contributions to classical, jazz, and Third Stream music, Gunther Schuller’s musical legacy includes igniting a latter-day ragtime revival. Schuller founded the New England Conservatory Ragtime Ensemble and recorded Scott Joplin: The Red Back Book, which won the 1974 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance and spurred tours across America, Russia, and to the White House.
Monday, November 19th, 2018 at 7:30pm
Free and Open to the Public
New England Conservatory
290 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA
(617) 585-1100
NEC’s Concert Listing: CLICK HERE
1.REGISTER TO VOTE
b.DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17, 2018
2. VOTE
a. YOU CAN VOTE ABSENTEE IF YOU WILL NOT BE IN TOWN – GO TO YOUR TOWN HALL TO APPLY AND GET AN ABSENTEE BALLOT
b.VOTE ON TUESDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2018
3. VOTE FOR THESE CANDIDATES:
a. Senator Elizabeth Warren
b.Gov and Lt. Gov Gonxalez and Palfrey
c. Attorney General Maura Healey
d. Sec. of State William Galvin
e. Treasurer Deborah Goldberg
f. Auditor Suzanne Bump
g. Representative Joseph Kennedy, III
h.Vote for the democrats in your district!
4.VOTE YES ON QUESTION 3!! – to KEEP existing protections all our family and friends who are part of the transgender community
 NEC Jazz Orchestra directed by
Ken Schaphorst
Vanguard:
The Music of Ran Blake
Thurs. Dec. 6th @ 7:30pm
NEC faculty member Ran Blake will join the NEC Jazz Orchestra in the performance of his compositions “Horace is Blue,” “Memphis,” and “The Short Life of Barbara Monk.”
Thursday, December 6th, 2018 at 7:30pm
Free and Open to the Public
New England Conservatory
290 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA
(617) 585-1100
NEC’s Concert Listing: CLICK HERE