Paul
Austerlitz, composer and bass clarinetist
www.innova.mu
This CD brings together the talents poet Michael Harper and
composer / bass-clarinetist Paul Austerlitz in a unique blend of word and
music. These artists, who
both teach at Brown University, have developed an innovative collaborative mode
highlighting the musicality of Harper’s poetry, which has been acclaimed
world-wide, and Austerlitz’s improvisatory compositions, which comment on
the spoken word. These
brilliant poems are dedicated to jazz artists such as John Coltrane, Charlie
Parker, and Elvin Jones, the prophet-seers of our age. Harper’s words commune with
Austerlitz’s original bass-clarinet playing: word and music fuse together,
in dialogue. This CD
is a “Double Take” in the sense that it presents two live
performances of the same material whose variegated cadences illustrate the
improvisatory and collaborational
nature of jazz-poetry conversation.
Michael
Harper is University Professor at Brown University. His poetry specializes in jazz -related themes; he has
written Dear John, Dear Coltrane and Debridement, among other books of poetry, and edited The Vintage
Book of African American Poetry. Harper is the first State Poet of
Rhode Island, a New York Library Literary Lion, a Phi Beta Kappa scholar and an
American Academy of Arts and
Sciences fellow. He is recipient of many distinctions, including the Robert
Hayden Poetry Award from the United Negro College Fund, the Melville-Cane Award
and the Black Academy of Arts and Letters Award.
Bass-clarinetist,
composer, and ethnomusicologist Paul Austerlitz is Assistant Professor of Music
at Brown University, where he teaches and conducts research on jazz. He has performed with Doc Cheatham,
David Murray, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, among others, and leads his own group
which has recorded two CDs: A
Bass Clarinet in Santo Domingo and Detroit (X-Dot
25), and Dominican Dreams / American Dreams (Engine 030). Austerlitz has also authored two books
bearing the fruit of his ethnomusicological research: Merengue: Dominican
Music and Dominican Identity, and Essays
in Jazz Consciousness.
Tracks and information
1. Brother John
2. We Assume: On the Death of Our Son, Reuben Masai Harper
3. Here where Coltrane Is
4. “Bird Lives:” Charles Parker in St. Louis
5. High Modes: Vision as Ritual: Confirmation
6. Elvin’s Blues
7. Last Affair: Bessie’s Blues Song
8. Audio for Julius Hempill
9. If You Don’t Force It, inspired by Ray Brown
10. Copenhagen, dedicated to Dexter Gordon
11. 4-29-99 for E.K.E
12. The Latin American Poem for Anane Dzidienyo
13. Release: Kind of Blue
14. Interlude
15. Brother John
16. We Assume: On the Death of Our Son, Reuben Masai Harper
17. Here where Coltrane Is
18. “Bird Lives:” Charles Parker in St. Louis
19. High Modes: Vision as Ritual: Confirmation
20. Elvin’s Blues
21. Last Affair: Bessie’s Blues Song
22. Audio for Julius Hempill
23. If You Don’t Force It, inspired by Ray Brown
24. Copenhagen, dedicated to Dexter Gordon
25. 4-29-99 for E.K.E
26. The Latin American Poem for Anane Dzidienyo
27. Release: Kind of Blue
All music composed by Paul Austerlitz (BMI), except tracks 11 and 25 (Ellington, Parish, Mills ASCAP).
Tracks 1-13 were recorded on May 25, 2003 in Rites and Reason Theater, Brown University, by ATM Treehouse, mastered by Viscount Studios and innova.
-
Track 14 was recorded on October 31, 2003 in Steinert Recording Studio, Brown University, by Eileen Koven and Paul Austerlitz, mastered by innova.
-
Tracks 15- 27 were recorded live, April 1, 2003 in Grant
Recital Hall, Brown University, by Stephen Schwartz, mastered by innova.
Thanks to Steve & Anani.