Tagged with: New Orleans Contemporary Music
Recently I had a new piece performed for String quintet and electric guitar. Here is a live performance of that. Sixto Franco organized the concert that it was a part of that was a salute to third stream music and crossover improvisational systems. Sixto played Viola, it also features my old friend, Tim Robertson on guitar. Look for information about him in the interviews section of the website.
Here is the piece:
Do you love ROCKSTEADY music?
007 does too.
Jeffrey Clemens is back around so we have a show Friday the 18th at DBA, 10pm. We will also play two nights at the Paradise Inn, Pensacola, Fla. Oct 19-20.
For those of you who missed the sensation of 007 in the heyday it comprised of:
Jeffrey Clemens (G-Love & the Special Sauce)- drums/vocals
Alex Mcmurray (Alex Mcmurray)-guitar/vocals
Joe Cabral (The Iguanas etc.)- bass/ vocals
Jonathan Freilich (see website)- Guitar
And was greater than the sum of the parts (which was confusing for people so oriented toward the diminutive.)
-is the full title. This will be performed for the Bloomsday celebration in New Orleans. Bloomsday is the annual celebration of James Joyce’s groundbreaking masterpiece, Ulysses. The festival is now being handled by the collaborator in two of my previous operas (‘Bang the Law’, ee me and pollock thee’) , Chris Lane.
I have had the idea for a long time and finally the opportunity came up to stage the piece. Libretto and music by yours truly. All the text however is by Mr. James Joyce. The lyric is totally unexpurgated. Immoral restoration theater type directness for our tightening times…except of course- of and for the common people.
The opera is also to remember the great victory over victorian censorship of the book.
The piece will be at the church at the Hotel Peter and Paul in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans. There will be two performance on the 14th and two on the 16th of June.
Great artists have been assembled to work on it.
Zara Zemmels- Mezzo-Soprano
Nelson Gonzalez- Joyce
Tim Robertson- Guitar
Janna Saslaw- Flutes
David Gamble- projections and design
Joan Long- Lighting/ stage design/ performance consultant
Jonathan Freilich- composer/librettist
Chris Lane- producer and set builder.
Extremely important here is our gofundme campaign to raise the money for the production. We hope that if you support arts in New Orleans, or are a theater fan, or a literature fan, or an independent/ experimental/contemporary opera buff, or prefer that your ribald times aren’t impinged upon, or support diversity in music, or the livelihood and development of the arts in general, that you will contribute. Any amount helps greatly.
The link is here…
Zara Zemmels
Tim Robertson
David Gamble
janna saslaw
For about 18 months I have been involved in a fascinating film/music collaboration with artist, David Gamble. It is neither a soundtrack to a film, nor a music video…finally!
Anyway it is an exciting work. Here is a taster. I composed all the music.
David Gamble is a great artist and portrait photographer. For more info on him go here…
33 Likes, 7 Comments - David Gamble (@davidgambleartist) on Instagram: "New Film Taster "ESPLANADE" By David Gamble and Jonathan Freilich. #neworleans orleans #film..."
Back to Opera composing. It’s been a few years since the last one.
I will be collaborating with Bernard Pearce and many others on his original idea. The Music box Village is a fascinating outdoor performance venue with a very special set of large installation instruments.
The piece will go up in Spring 2019.
To follow the information-
bernard pearce
The Naked Orchestra
The complete outfit live at Saturn Bar. Outrageous lineup of new orleans music scene luminaries.
James P. Walsh- conductor
Janna Saslaw-flute
Chris Kohl- clarinet
Persis Randolph-oboe/bassoon
Steve Bertram- bassoon
Martin Krusche-Sop. Sax
Aurora Nealand-Alto sax
Ray Moore-Tenor Sax
Brent Rose- Tenor sax
Joe Cabral- Bari sax
Mike Fulton-tpt
Cyrus Nabipoor-tpt
Jeff Albert-tbone
Rick Trolsen-tbone
John Gros-tuba
jonathan Freilich-guitar
Helen Gillet-cello
Stephanie Nilles-piano
Nobu Ozaki-bass
Doug Garrison- drums
Jazzfest and surrounding period schedule.
It's that time of year again. A little more going on and there is a number of interesting performances afoot from this direction. Check these out!
Thursday April 14th- Tonight- with Blake Amos quartet at Yuki Izakaya (Frenchmen st) 8-11pm. Blake plays many originals and classics, all heavily Brazilian inflected and it's no joke, he's heavily steeped in that- but also drenched in what was here too. Simon Lott on drums. Come by, you might win the Simon Lottery!
Saturday April 16th- with guitarist Carl Leblanc at Casa Borrega 7-10:30pm(Oretha Castle Haley Blvd). Carl is one of the city's great musicians. Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Sun Ra Arkestra, but then his own thing and signature guitar sound and approach- with intelligence subtlety and rhythm. All severely lacking much of the time these days.
Thursday April 21st- At Allways lounge 9pm with James Singleton, Scott Amendola, Rob Cambre. Always a pleasure to do new things with new people. Rob Cambre runs a great new series at Allways and seems to be really going an interesting direction by getting groups whose internal mechanics are frequently vastly different from each other- and yet there is a great deal to feel less isolated about here. Rob plays guitar. James Singleton, the iconic New Orleans bassist. Scott Amendola- plays with the heavies out west. These days I often hear things described as musical. I nod my head as if I know what they are talking about. You'll probably hear that description slung around a lot over hear. That's because the players care about how they sound and the audience seems to like that. It's an old story that renews every time. Uninterrupted we like the way music feels...
Friday April 22nd- with James Singleton at Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center -9pm (Oretha Castle Haley Blvd). Playing James's music again. Always a great lineup, and it gets more and more interesting and sensitive. If you missed the show here last year you get another shot now. It is a great room. The important sounds linger in the air a little longer.
Sunday April 24th- with The New Orleans Klezmer All Stars at The Old Arabi Bar. 10pm. Here is one to catch if, like me, you are interested in more alternative scenarios. Get down to further out old New Orleans neighborhood, closer than you think and see some far out music in an area far squarer than you know. But, you can still smoke in that bar, and the egregious interruptions of neighborhoods-coming-up isn't distorting the vision. The New Orleans Klezmer All Stars with the full lineup including Ben Ellman of Galactic, and Glenn Hartman on accordion, Joe Cabral of the Iguanas on bass. The way we have had it for years now.
Tuesday April 26th- with The Diesel Combustion Orchestra at Open Ears Music Series 10pm- Blue Nile Upstairs (Frenchmen St.) Dan Oestreicher, the Baritone sax player from Trombone Shorty's band has this smart outfit. We will fix your normality good and proper, isolate it, and transport straight into an ice castle at the bottom of the Mississippi river. You will flip. There's electronics, heavy exotica and exploration that will cause the catharsis to get you into that life that you wish you could slip away into effortlessly.
Friday April 29th- with The New Orleans Klezmer All Stars at Casa Borrega 7-10:30pm(Oretha Castle Haley Blvd). See above. This is dangerously close to where we really started to catch hold of the city in 1992. The food is great and the Tequila flows like wine. This one is going to kill!
Saturday April 30th-with The New Orleans Klezmer All Stars at The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Join us. Our set is before Stevie Wonder so don't panic. ANd- the secret is, we are not far away from the main stage. You will experience the newest thing- THE MEYERS. Standby for the album you have been waiting for.
Casa Borrega on all Saturdays in May too! Come on out! Lineups TBA.
There has been a long gap since the last interview went up. Apologies to those who have been requesting more.
We'll kick off the next set with a really great one. The other parts will follow very soon.
The Morning 40 Federation are a band that has great resonance with a certain swath of New Orleans locals who see in them the embodiment of a certain set of life experiences that very definitely were in fast effect at one time in New Orleans and in a long gone era of a certain way that Bywater used to look. The reflections from that are still reverberating strongly and the mighty 40s continue on once in a while. As we find out here, they are still writing.
Ryan Scully is a fascinating music writer that I've been trying to catch up with for an interview since the 90s. Currently he is also fronting another interesting band, Scully and the Rough 7.
Josh Cohen is a saxophone player and writer for the 40s as well as being crafty in some other areas and, really quite philosophical.
These folks have amazing insight into the old problem of the correspondence between life and music and, of the folks I have interviewed, they have some of the most unexpectedly profound things to say on the subject.
Alex Mcmurray is often involved in what sometimes becomes a quite multi-layered discussion.
It all happens on the interviews page...
As always, it's also available as a podcast on itunes.
This is a success story already. We all learned how you say Black in Basque.
Over the summer I produced an album for the legendarysinger and activist, Fermin Muguruza. It's out and available on Itunes. It's a collection of his classics done with a gaggle of New Orleans great musicians, playing at their finest.
On itunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/nola-irun-meets-new-orleans/id1059688754
Arrangements by yours truly and I think it is the first New Orleans/ Basque connection (with maybe Zatarain's being the exception.)
Check out the video to get a feel for the killer energy of the project:
NOLA? (NOLA: New Orleans-Luisiana hiriburuaren laburbildura. Euskaraz eta galderazko ikurrarekin: nola?) IRUN MEETS NEW ORLEANS 10 urte Katrina eta gero, FERMIN MUGURUZA joan da NEW ORLEANSera eta bertako musikariekin bere ibilbideko 10 kantu grabatzen ditu eta dokumental bat zuzentzen du ere, non egitasmoaren protagonistek hurbiltzen gaituzten beraien errealitatera, hondamendia kontatzeko, nola komunitateak berreraiki egin zuen hiria, egun dituzten erronka berriak, eta musikaren ezinbesteko paperaz aritzeko, nortasun ikurra bezala, baita bizitza eta heriotza ospatzeko ere.
Stay tuned for the documentary made concurrently with the project.
A couple of months went by very fast in preparation for the Fermin Muguruza recording in New Orleans which I was asked to produce. Fermin is a great and fascinating Basque singer, documentarian, writer with about a 30 year story in music under his belt. I think we may have gotten to the first New Orleans/Basque recording ever. And what an interesting development that is!
In passing we learned a lot about Basque things. Including Zatarain's...
It's worth clicking on the link above and finding out more about Fermin. His work has a lot of social import and he put together a fascinating album here, with a great lineup of heavy musicians from all across the New Orleans music world. Look for that in December.
At any rate, all of this producing and arranging slowed down things like posting more interviews and even posting concert schedules on the website. back to that, and with more Naked Orchestra things to come and the Joyce Opera ( "what's that? never heard of it. are we starting rumors?")
Busy time here.
Tomorrow night, 11pm, I will be playing guitar for Los Angeles songwriter, RJ Comer, at House of blues, New Orleans.
RJ Comer
Saturday night, I will be with my own band at Irvin Mayfield's Playhouse in the Royal Sonesta hotel. Amazing band. One of the greatest rhythm section in New Orleans musical history-
Rex Gregory-reeds
James Singleton-bass
Johnny Vidacovich-drums
Jonathan Freilich-guitar
Johnny Vidacovich
Original music there of course- and some other items from across the last 150 years of mostly local music.
Sunday I will be at Yuki Izakaya for a little Latin dance party. We are getting back to the old days of Mas Mamones etc.classic Cuban rhythmic music-
Hector Gallardo- Percussion
Andy Wolf-bass
Jonathan Freilich-guitar
Sometimes know as Johnny "Guitar Mambo" and His Hot Latin Combo. Back where things started to get rolling in the Latin scene here. Right inside the door that Hector always used to play on the street in front of. And in the Cafe Brasil building. Hector is also one of the greats. Authentic Cuban, vegetarian, and impeccable Swiss timing.
Andrew Wolf/ Hector Gallardo
Don't miss! The best thing for your Tuesday night. Very interesting grouping here in the mellowest mid week listening room in town. The music will be raucous and refined.
Stephanie Nilles-keys
James Singleton-bass
Playing tonight a Open Ears. Power quartet! The show is above the blue Nile on Frenchmen st. Starts around 10:15pm.
james singleton-bass
doug garrison-drums
ray Moore- Woodwinds
jonathan Freilich- guitar.
premier of a new piece tonight too!
You can catch the orchestra 4 times this month.
3 shows at The Old U.S. Mint on Friday 10th, 17th, and 24th of July from 2-3pm.
1 Show at Snug Harbor on Sunday 12th of July.
It's going to be fascinating and entertaining no matter what.
New Naked Orchestra website coming soon!
This is one to see and hear.
Jonathan Freilich-guitar
James Singleton-bass
Doug Belote- drums
Just had a great recording session with James too. Looking forward to seeing how that comes out.
Have two interesting hits this week:
Tonight with a Trio at Yuki on Frenchmen St at 8pm.
Joe Cabral-bass/vocals
Jonathan Freilich- guitar
Doug Garrison- drums
Expect a Jackal-ish guest and then expect the unexpected...
Friday will be at the Maple Leaf Bar on Oak St in Uptown New Orleans. Show starts @10pm.
Mike Dillon is a fascinating multi instrumentalism who has some unbelievably exciting approaches to things like vibraphones and Marimbas. There's a punk thing, a surf thing, a Jazz thang, a Metal thing, a Funk thang, a surf thing. Lot's of things and thangs. A good deal of tings, dings, damns and dangs.
We played a slamming show at Zeitgeist last Friday and this will be a repeat. If you've had enough of the same old same old you need to make this. It's a fascinating art space also. Last week the drummer was different- the great, (that's what I'll call him now that i've played with him) Bruce Golden. This time the lineup is:
Rex Gregory- woodwinds
Brad Walker- saxes
Jonathan Freilich-guitar
James Singleton- Bass
Justin Peake- drums
Mark Southerland- odd tubing somehow related to the old instruments in a scary way.
James tunes are something else and here he has them approached in quite a different way.
Don't be a square, get over there. There's too much zombie conformity around the fest these days. Come out. We have the fucking antidote!
And this is... now-NOW- TODAY!!!
What is SONO? If you are interested in music you need to know.
After a great weekend of playing interesting music at an interesting musical time of year, it is time for me to announce the most important musical event of the week for you to support...
The Naked Orchestra and some others including Brian Coogan(Pretty Lights) and Zoe Boekbinder will be at 3405 Royal St for the Naked in Wonderland event. Glenn Hartman of The New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars will do a solo Accordion Set from atop the trees.
The Orchestra will play at 7:30 but there is much fine entertainment and crawfish with the price of admission before that. Click that SONO link above for more information and ticketing.
The best bartenders in NOLA will be serving.
We all demand your fun and free, embodied, spirits in attendance.
Jimbo Walsh- conductor
Old winds
Janna Saslaw-flute, piccolo
Chris Kohl
Steve Bertram-bassoon
Saxes
Martin Krusche-(magnetic ear)
Ray Moore
Rex Gregory
Skerik
Joe Cabral
Dan Oestreicher
Brad Walker
Brass
Jeff Albert-trombone
Steve Bernstein-trumpet
Devon Taylor-tuba
Strings
Jonathan Freilich-guitar/bandleader
Carl Leblanc-guitar
Robin Sherman-bass
Drums
Dave Capello
Doug Garrison
It has been hard over the couple decades or more, since arriving in New Orleans, to find much if any dialogue about what is new and most up to date in contemporary music thinking, let alone having that dialogue opened up to the freshest minds around town. It was invigorating this weekend to catch up on what Yotam Haber and Henry Griffin and others had been putting together for student composers at UNO.
Professor Yotam Haber is a very interesting composer who gets novel and beautiful compositions played all over the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcX1lfASmKc. It is a great thing that UNO has a fellow of this capacity in its music program- which, especially on the jazz side has been excellent- but Yotam Haber offers things for a whole other musical direction to be available to a city that has not often seen the possibility of training or even exposure to things in these directions. His enthusiasm and vitality for the subject is palpable, and clearly inspiring for the students whom he champions in a great way.
On Friday we played the film scores composed by Yotam Haber's students, live, along with silent movies selected by Henry Griffin and Laura Medina. Griffin is massively knowledgeable about film and had selected some of very wonderful key films from the silent era for the students to score. A great deal of effort went in to getting these pieces played with a good degree of finesse, and that is a great opportunity for young composers- and essential if they are to keep developing or gain confidence to keep writing. It was clear that they had been given exposure to a plethora of interesting techniques and had made their own choices about what to use and, some of the results were quite interesting.
Saturday evening there was a concert of pieces by the students and also by Yotam Haber and another faculty member from Tulane.
I was called in to play guitar with the Contemporaneous ensemble that Professor Haber had brought in from New York. I have little experience or comfort in playing in such ensembles so it was humbling to be treated so well despite my own short comings, and I must add that the young players in contemporaneous, including their conductor, David Bloom, were also extremely generous in giving me pointers to help the event go off smoothly. Not to mention larger picture issues from my old friend, bassist Doug Therrion. It was all very interesting especially because I am usually in the composer's seat having a piece played, not usually doing the playing. My strengths as a player are often in other directions, but it was nice to be given an opportunity try to find some way to contribute, given my limitations. Fresh challenges in music are a good thing.
It seems that with all this going on we might see a healthy crop of fine composers develop out of New Orleans which is something that has been in short supply here, and something that could make a fascinating musical town, even more so.
