Episode 047 - feat. Dana Leong Quintet (featuring Baba Israel), Geert de Belder, Kevin Mathie, Murray Gay

Dana Leong Quintet (feat. Baba Israel) - "Beer Goggles"
Geert de Belder - "Mein Kaempfert"
Kevin Mathie (feat. Linda Clark) - "The Long Goodbye"
Murray Gay - "Cruel Freedom (part one)"

Hosted from the Ohio Quarter Horse Congress

http://bowed.org/047/047.mp3

Hello kids,

Had a busy weekend... a little late getting the whole baby out, but hey... it's a good show, it was worth the wait.

I have been trying to get Dana Leong on the show for some time now. His group is totally unique -- nobody else sounds like this. I LOVE it when a cello (or other string instrument" takes on this kind of shuffle rhythm feel -- can't get enough of it. Hip, cool, fun. You'll love it. Oh - and by the way, the guy plays trombone too.

I confess I don't know much about the next artist Geert de Belder beyond that he is based in Antwerp and is for the most part a one-man-band. His MySpace page bills him as "Stillerman" -- but it's a great tune - a re-working from a famous composer from earlier in the 20th century. Hopes you likes!

Kevin Mathie is a pianist and composer out of Salt Lake City - and his piece features the playing of violinist Linda Clark (who will be featured in an upcoming episode with one of her own compositions here in the coming weeks). His work is emotional and evocative.

... and closing up the show is a tune by Australian double bassist Murray Gay. Speaking here as an arco bassist myself, I really appreciate what the man is doing here. Highly textural, well-layered and... to top it all, this is a live improvisation. Most cool.

Thanks everybody! Take care!

Mark Allender, producer-host
web: www.bowed.org
email: string@bowed.org
phone: 330-781-4387
skype: mark.allender

Episode 046 - feat. Jamie Laval & Ashley Broder, Enter the Haggis, Sirous Malek, The Beatles

Jamie Laval & Ashley Broder - "Levantine's 'Spinning' Barrel"
Enter the Haggis - "Congress"
Sirous Malek - "Esfehan 100"
The Beatles - "Eleanor Rigby"

http://bowed.org/046/046.mp3

Hello kids,

Here's who's on tap this week.

Violinist Jamie Laval and multi-instrumentalist Ashley Broder have put together a fun collction of duets called Zephyr at the Confetti Factory. Quirky and off-center with hints of old-time and bluegrass, these guys are like trippimg thru a slightly demented nursery rhyme.

Enter the Haggis is a Scottish themed band from Toronto - in the States, you may have seen their hour-long PBS special. With fiddle and bagpipes and a full rhythm section, they incorporate Scottish idioms into a contemporary rock sound. This is a contemorary take on the classic Congress Reel.

Sirous Malek is a self-taught violinist out of the Persian tradition, though violin is very much his side project. He is a visual artist working in acrylic and pastels - many of his works are available for sale online.

And finally, a version of the Beatles' Eleanor Rigby. You ever actually listen to the strings on this one?

Thanks everybody! Take care!

Mark Allender, producer-host
web: www.bowed.org
email: string@bowed.org
phone: 330-781-4387
skype: mark.allender

Episode 045 - feat. Zach Brock, Sophie Serafino, Jeff Shippy and Matt Gray, Ben Heaney

Zach Brock and the Coffee Achievers - "Now I Know"
Sophie Serafino - "Summertime"
Jeff Shippy and Matt Gray - "Old Joe Clark"
Ben Heaney - excerpt from "Dust Blower"

http://bowed.org/045/045.mp3

Hosted from the New Madrid Bend

Hello kids,

This week finds me in the New Madrid Bend. I found myself with an open weekend - and I have wanted to see this place for some time. So I went out there to shoot some pictures, record the show, and see what exactly goes on there. For the uninitiated, the New Madrid Bend is a small hunk of land at the western end of Kentucky - physically separated from the rest of the state by the Mississippi River and a small finger of Missouri. A very peaceful place.

Zach Brock is a jazz violinist from New York City. He has released a new disc entitled Live At the Jazz Factory with his band The Coffee Achievers - and I have to say I haven't been able to stop playing the thing. This is the opening track from that disc.

Australian violinist Sofie Serafino appeared earlier on Episode 012 of this program. She dips her toes into many different styles including electronica and jazz. She appears on this show with a recording of Gershwin's "Summertime."

Jeff Shippy and Matt Gray are a pair of musicians from Portland Oregon. They have played together in several bands - notably one called Mollybloom. Jeff is the current reigning Oregon state fiddle champion and Matt is the reigning Oregon state banjo champion.

Closing up the show is another repeat guest, Ben Heaney - an experimental violinist from the UK and the first electric violinist in the UK to be invited to advertise in the British & International Music Year Book and in Classical Music Magazine. His work plays predominantly with tone and texture over melody. Challenging and breathtaking.

Check out my photo gallery The New Madrid Bend.

Thanks everybody! Take care!

Mark Allender, producer-host
web: www.bowed.org
email: string@bowed.org
phone: 330-781-4387
skype: mark.allender

Episode 044 - feat. Cellolitis, Jesus Florido, David Wilson, Peter Hawkes

Cellolitis - "Horrorfrieden"
Jesus Florido - "Con Todo"
David Wilson - "Night Watch"
Peter Hawkes - "The Warlock's Dream"

http://bowed.org/044/044.mp3

Greetings!

Sort of a Halloween theme this time around - starting with "Horrorfrieden" (literally "horror-peace") and finishing up with "The Warlock's Dream." I swear this was unintentional! The tunes just fell into my lap.

Cellolitis is the stage name for Nikolaus Herdieckerhoff, a cellist and performance artist living in Berlin. His latest disc Himmelblau ("Blue Sky") is akin to his performance act - dramatic, comic, quirky, and diverse. As a street performer, he utilizes a looping sampler to build a bed of sound over which he plays, sings, and otherwise waxes dramatic. Each tune on his disc is wildly different from one another - quite a trip!

Jesus Florido is Venezuelan by birth, currently lives in Los Angeles. His broad mix of styles include Techno, World, Trance, Salsa, Rock, Funk - along with generous nods to his own classical traning. His most recent disc Heading North spans from gentle latino-jazz arrangements to killer kick out the funk jams. This track is from the latter category. Hopes you likes!

David Wilson is another repeat guest on the show -- his last apperanace was on epiosde 021 with a tune from his disc Elegencia. This time thru, he features a track from his forthcoming disc Consordino - rich with flamenco and other Spanish music stylings.

Finishing off the show is Australian guitarist Pete Hawkes. For his 2006 disc Witchcraft, he utilized a string trio that pretty much dominates the sound. Gentle, yet ominous -- for fans of strings, this disc is a real treasure.

Thanks everybody! Take care!

Mark Allender, producer-host
web: www.bowed.org
email: string@bowed.org
phone: 330-781-4387
skype: mark.allender

Episode 043 - feat. Mark Allender & Matt Coffman, Copal, Ashia, Local Lingo

Mark Allender & Matt Coffman - "Jack Szechuan"
Copal - "Ice Crystal"
Ashia - "Fossil"
Local Lingo - "Third Sight"

http://bowed.org/043/043.mp3

Hi everybody! This comes to you from my new place of employment - Mars Horsecare US, Inc. I am outside of the main plant as I recorded this - fighting the wind - so please don't mind the odd gusts that blow into my microphone! It adds character, right?

First up on the show is a collaboration between me and my longtime friend Matt Coffman. He and I have been friends since high school. In the wake of the events of the past year, I have asked a lot of my friends to contribute artwork as I rebuild my new life (an incredibly healing thing to do by the way if you find yourself in a similar situation and have a lot of creative friends). So in the spirit of this, I asked Matt if he would help me put together a recording of one of the old tunes we used to do in a we were in together called North River Company. So over the past couple weeks we got together and laid down some tracks -- with me on violin. I'm far from being a competent violinist, but I can put out a fire with it ... so I hope you enjoy it!

Copal is a group out of Boston featuring violinist Hannah Thiem and cellist Joe Ball. Together with electronica artist Ammon Ep, they create a wonderful mix electronica and Arabic idioms. Fascinating work. This group has recently released a full-length disc entitled eso-terra.

Ashia - a cellist with Cirque de Soleil in Las Vegas, makes her second appearance on this show. Her passionate, vaguely sinister delivery brings a unique quality to what she calls her "songs about nostalgia, desire, transcendence, and love." Wild, seductive, yet understated.

Local Lingo is the collaboration of violinist Jason Kao-Hwang and Sang Won Park, who plays traditional Korean instruments such as kayagum and ajaeng. Both are veterans of the celebrated Far East Side Band, but in this incarnation, they bring an intimacy to their intercultural improvisations.

Thanks everybody! Take care!

Mark Allender, producer-host
web: www.bowed.org
email: string@bowed.org
phone: 330-781-4387
skype: mark.allender