Episode 065 - feat. Paul Mercer, John Ettinger, Bennetzen Kirkegaard & Blais, Rattle the Boards

Paul Mercer - "Music Box"
John Ettinger - "Kissinger In Space"
Bennetzen, Kirkegaard, & Blais - "Impressions"
Rattle the Boards - "Whistling Rufus"

http://bowed.org/065/065.mp3

Hello everyone,

Paul Mercer made his first appearance on this program on Episode 039. This violin anthropologist of sorts, in his recent project Ghosts, builds recorded pieces based on the sound, tone, and history of specific instruments.

John Ettinger makes his second appearance on this program with a piece that is positively trippy. His playing is raw and wild, totally abandoning the "sweetness" of tone that marks the playing of many others in the jazz violin idiom. On this tune (and on others on the disc) he phrases in and out with tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby -- and often it is difficult to tell them apart.

The next group consists of a live performance by three talented Danish artists - double bassist Andreas Bennetzen, pianist and composer Greggers Kirkegaard, and violinist Helianne Blais. Their collaboration is featured in a full-length disc entitled Impressions: Music For Glassworks.

Traditional Irish group Rattle the Boards finishes off this show. They are based out of Tipperary and on their latest disc The Parish Platform explore many popular traditions in the Irish folk canon. Trumpeter Decky O'Dwyer gives this piece a bit iof a New Orleans flavor. Great stuff!

Thanks everyone!

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

Episode 039 - feat. Maxi Geil! and Playcolt, Paul Mercer, Maya Beiser, and Bellevue Rendezvous

Maya Beiser - Far Off Country, (Ten)
Bellevue Rendezvous - "Tolka Polka set"
Paul Mercer - "Trains"
Maxi Geil! & Playcolt - "Cold Genius"

http://bowed.org/039/039.mp3

Hello everyone,

Maya Beiser is one of the premiere American cellists, frequently performing the works of today's contemporary composers. I first heard Maya on her 2000 disc Kinship - a collaboration with various Arab and Indian composers. She recently was the featured performer in Steve Reich's Cello Conterpoint - the latest in his ongoing "Counterpoint" series. Her latest disc Almost Human features the sprawling Eve Beglarian piece Far Off Country. Her piece starts the episode without introduction.

Scottish group Bellevue Rendezvous is a world fusion group of sorts, with influences that spread well into northern and eastern Europe. Music is performed on the violin, the bazouki, and the nyckelharpa -- a traditional fiddle of Swedish origin that stops the strngs with keys (much like a hurdy gurdy). This selection, called simply "Tolka Polka Set" is a medley of tunes: Donal Lunny's "Tolka Polka," "Breton Hanter An Dro," "Welsh Fairy Dance," and "French Mediaeval Tune."

Paul Mercer's recent Ghosts project features works composed or improvised based on the unique acoustic and physical qualities of the various instruments. The featured track on this program was performed on an 1820 Hungarian viola made of Carpathian spruce - an instrument that Paul describes has having a "special affinity with rain" and incredible pizzicato tones. This piece emerged spontaneously in the studio after seeing a light reflected in the studio glass that resembled a distant train lamp.

Maxi Geil! and Playcolt is a Brooklyn-based rock band whose latest disc Strange Sensation features a cello-and-voice interpretation of the "Cold Genius Rises" passage of Henry Purcell's opera King Arthur. Their perforance is faithful to the original score. Features Okkyung Lee on cello

Thanks for listening!

Mark Allender, producer-host
www.bowed.org