Big Ears Festival 2023

Big Ears Festival
Knoxville, Tennesse
March 30-April 2, 2023

The second full edition after the pandemic found the Big Ears Festival still growing in attendance. Organizers responded by increasing the number of venues, including new ones like the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and ones that had not been used for some time, like The Point. The city supported the festival by offering a dedicated free trolley line that stopped at most venues, giving festival attendees more options to reduce the need to walk. But comfortable shoes were still recommended!

March 30, 2023

Bill Frisell Trio & the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra

The big opening concert by the Bill Frisell Trio and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra took place at new venue the Knoxville Civic Auditorium. The hall has a 2,500-seat capacity (versus the 1,631 seats at the Tennessee Theater, previously the festival's largest venue). This was the U.S. premiere of veteran English composer and bandleader Michael Gibbs' orchestrations of a collection of favorite pieces from Frisell's vast repertoire. He created a similar project for Germany's NDR Big Band in 2013, with Frisell as the featured soloist. These orchestrations premiered in September of 2022 with the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra. Frisell was again joined by double bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston for this performance. The music leaned heavily into the Americana aspect of Frisell's composing and performing: the closing arrangement of the standard "Beautiful Dreamer" gave a good indication of the style. The set also included the Duke Ellington standard "Lush Life," as well as several Frisell compositions. One might have asked for more sharp edges—the distorted sounds and dissonance that are also hallmarks of his sound were completely absent—but the orchestrations were rich and creative. Tunes might be started by the trio, or by the orchestra, and the focus shifted between them. One piece featured a duet between guitar and cello, which was joined by the entire cello section; another found an upbeat riff introduced by the trio and later echoed by the violin section.

Vijay Iyer Trio

Pianist/composer Vijay Iyer made a long introduction to the concert, promising that after that he would let the music do the talking. He was joined by double bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey (playing a minimalist kit with only a bass drum, snare drum, hi-hat, and ride cymbal) for a set mainly drawn from the trio's debut Uneasy (ECM, 2021). Surprising that so much time had elapsed since the album release, but that has been the way things have gone recently. The group certainly sounded like they had been playing this music together for years, with piano and bass both taking significant solo space. Sorey used his small kit to great effect for solos as well, although he mainly devoted himself to accompaniment. The set included a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed," a stirring arrangement that had not been on the album.

March 31, 2023

Mary Halvorson—Amaryllis & Belladonna

Guitarist Mary Halvorson's sextet Amaryllis (with trumpeter Adam O'Farrill, trombonist Jacob Garchik, vibraphonist Patricia Brennan, bassist Nick Dunston and drummer Tomas Fujiwara) is the largest ensemble she has led. Her compositions—from their debut album Amaryllis (Nonesuch Records, 2022) as well as new material—are perhaps the richest she has written. They frequently sounded through-composed, from which both solos and sectional work emerged. At various times the trumpet and trombone were both paired with vibes, as well as providing detailed horn parts together. It was a strong band, but Brennan deserves special mention for her sparkling accompaniment as well as her solos. Halvorson's solos were striking as always, with notable restraint in her use of the nearly ubiquitous Whammy pitch-shifting pedal that has been a defining part of her sound.

The concert of string quartet and guitar music from Belladonna (Nonesuch Records, 2022) featuring the Mivos Quartet followed after a short break. It began with a flurry of pizzicato playing which moved into arco for the leader's guitar solo. The second piece was a slow largo tempo, followed by a faster andante piece. A beautiful sound, but at this point, your reviewer had to dash to the next concert.

Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily: Love in Exile Trio

This unlikely trio first performed in 2018 and was so moved by the experience that they vowed to keep the project going. Pakistani vocalist Arooj Aftab inadvertently named the group during a stage announcement, but she credits pianist/composer Vijay Iyer with remembering it. She appeared at Big Ears in 2022 (with bassist/synthesist Shahzad Ismaily in her band) performing music mainly from her album Vulture Prince (Self Produced, 2021): a single from the album won the Grammy award for Best Global Music Performance. Her Urdu vocals—often grounded in traditional music and lyrics—largely define the group's sound. But it is largely Iyer's piano, Rhodes piano and electronics that carry the improvisational weight, and he responded with playing of stunning beauty that is different from all of his other projects, varied as they are. The sound was markedly similar to their album Love in Exile (Verve, 2023): so much so that the improvisational aspect seemed minimal at best. Yet there was no denying the sinuous mystery of the trio's sound.

Pino Palladino & Blake Mills with Sam Gendel & Abe Rounds

Electric bassist Pino Palladino has been ubiquitous as a session player. His fretless playing is part of the collective consciousness with Paul Young and D'Angelo. But he had never released an album under his own name until Notes With Attachments (New Deal Records, 2021), which he co-led with guitarist Blake Mills. That brief album was expanded into an hour of instrumental music with experimental Los Angeles multi-instrumentalist Sam Gendel (who played saxophone with electronics and harmonica) and session drummer Abe Rounds. The music could be described as fusion, in the broad sense. It touched on rock, funk, reggae, swing, bebop, African music... almost anything. Mills played a Telecaster, a fretless guitar, and a custom synthesizer guitar, providing a wide range of textures. Gendel used his electronics for both solos and accompaniment: so he could function like a keyboardist, or play harmonized lines reminiscent of trumpeter Jon Hassell's ethnic explorations. Palladino played some solos but generally kept to providing a solid groove, as he has for most of his life as a professional musician.

April 1, 2023

John Zorn: Nove Cantici per Francesco d'Assisi

Composer John Zorn began his series of ten 70th birthday celebration concerts at the Tennessee Theater (he took over the theater all day on both Saturday and Sunday). Nove Cantici per Francesco d'Assisi is a set of acoustic guitar trios with the star-studded grouping of Bill Frisell, Julian Lage and Gyan Riley. Zorn came onstage to introduce the players, then left them to it. The opening piece had the air of a folk ballad but included a round of stunning solos. The beauty and tonality of the piece would come as a shock to any listeners who only know Zorn for his noisier, more dissonant music. This selection might even recall the California Guitar Trio; the flamenco-flavored second tune brought the legendary Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia trio to mind. Riley's playing of the head looked and sounded like there was substantial composed content, an impression further reinforced by the contrapuntal writing in a later piece. All three players were clearly focused on the score pages, but there was plenty of opportunity for soloing as well, alternately fiery and lyrical. This concert was a gorgeous start to the day, as well as the whole concert series.

32 Sounds

32 Sounds is an immersive film by Sam Greenfield. He provided narration while JD Samson performed the score in real-time; audience members all wore headphones to get the full sonic experience. Green is known for emphasizing sound and music in his films: this one explores the science of sound and its emotional impact on the listener, using the framework of 32 sounds. It was a loose organizing principle, but it began with sound in the womb and ended with musings on death (featuring voicemail recordings from late family and friends). In between there were many other sounds, including the touching mating call of the last male in a now-extinct bird species; composer Annea Lockwood's river recordings; a Foley artist demonstrating the application of sound effects in film-making; several demonstrations of binaural recording (which retains the full 360-degree aspect of natural sounds); and a leg-stretching break in which the audience was invited to experience the full power of subsonic bass while dancing to the disco hit "I Feel Love." The entire presentation was a remarkable experience, all the more so for being unexpected. Big Ears at its best!

The Bad Plus

Throughout most of its life, The Bad Plus has consisted of double bassist Reid Anderson, drummer Dave King and a pianist, pioneering a rock band approach to the jazz piano trio. Anderson and King decided to shake things up with the current version, forming a quartet with reedist Chris Speed and guitarist Ben Monder. The Bad Plus (Edition Records, 2022) is the only album with this grouping, so it was not surprising that they played the whole thing, starting with Anderson's "Motivations II" (which also opened the album). From the beginning, it was clear that the band's energy and intensity were intact if not even greater. King's "Anthem for the Earnest" goes all the way back to Suspicious Activity? (Columbia Records, 2005), its insistent rhythmic riff now played by saxophone and guitar instead of original pianist Ethan Iverson. Anderson's "Salvages" came from Never Stop II (Legbreaker Records, 2018) with pianist Orrin Evans. The set closed with "The Dandy," as the quartet album had. Speed switched to clarinet for its elegant theme, and Monder's looped guitar brought the concert to a close.

Sun Ra Arkestra

Founder Sun Ra left the mortal plane in 1993, but longtime band member Marshall Allen (still going strong at age 98) soon took over leadership, and the Sun Ra Arkestra has been an institution ever since. The band is a unique collective, combining big band swing, free jazz and psychedelia with colorful costumes and a bold stage show. Along with Allen—providing spacey synthesizer sounds with the EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument), as well as still-powerful alto saxophone—the band has a magnetic front person in vocalist Tara Middleton. The set opened with the line "The sun is in the heavens," setting the common celestial theme of the music. But that did not stop them from playing a blues with an almost burlesque shimmy a bit later, not to mention Allen's arrangement of big band legend Fletcher Henderson's "Hocus Pocus." The line "space is the place" appeared in their final tune (although it was not that signature chant). Encores seem to have been actively discouraged by the festival this year. But Allen acknowledged the thunderous applause with a brief EWI solo that took everyone back to outer space one last time.

John Zorn: Bagatelles Part 1

Zorn's Bagatelles is a large book of compositions that have been interpreted by a wide variety of ensembles. This concert was postponed from the afternoon, so it followed Part 2. The first half was performed by the Nova (John Medeski, piano; Kenny Wollesen, vibes; Trevor Dunn, double bass; and Ches Smith, drums). They looked like a bebop band, and the frenetic opening confirmed it. There was tremendous energy in the solos, which was relaxed in the ballad that followed. The third piece was fast modal jazz. Wollesen concluded his solo by attacking his vibraphone, just hauling off and hitting it with his mallets. Medeski did the same thing to the piano when he started his solo. Very funny, and you have to wonder if it was actually called for in the score. The final tune ended with a brutal repeated riff by the whole band. Asmodeus (Marc Ribot, guitar; Trevor Dunn, electric bass; and Ches Smith, drums) was next, and after introducing them Zorn surprised the audience by sitting down on stage with them to direct. Interesting to watch him direct such a small group, as it was easier to see and hear the immediate results of his prompting. They started out loud, like a heavy metal avant-garde trio, and Zorn frequently instructed them to get even louder and wilder. Ribot tended to drive the riffs, frequently changing them when directed, and got to play a melodic theme on the third piece. Dunn made some of the rudest noises this writer has ever heard, sometimes using a small metal bar to slide and scrape on his bass strings. And Smith went absolutely nuts when directed. It was an awesome blast of energy, making full use of the electric instruments.

April 2, 2023

SUSS

The ambient country band SUSS played several shows during the festival, all of them at the very intimate Scottish pub Boyd's Jig and Reel. After the death of founding member synthesist Gary Leib the band is often described as a trio: Bob Holmes (mandolin, baritone guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica, violin, keyboards), Pat Irwin (electric guitars, National guitar, eBow, harmonium, keyboards, melodica, loops), and Jonathan Gregg (pedal steel, dobro). For this performance, there was also an additional keyboardist. The set opened with the sound of the pedal steel guitar, the most definable "country" sound in the mix. The second tune added strummed chords on an autoharp, an instrument associated with folk music and traditional country: but there was also a synthesizer drone and electric guitar with effects, making a rich ambience. After a slightly less ambient piece with drum machine and three guitars (one with heavy fuzz tone) the band paused for announcements. Most of the music came from their recent double album SUSS (Northern Spy, 2022), which is the first recording they made without Leib. The next tune added harmonica to the mix, again leaning into the country part of their sound. When they finally used a piano the music strongly recalled ambient music pioneer Brian Eno, whose Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks (E.G. Records, 1983) with Daniel Lanois on pedal steel was surely an inspiration.

John Zorn: Bagatelles Part 3

The final Bagatelles concert began with the Brian Marsella Trio (Brian Marsella, piano; Trevor Dunn, double bass; and Kenny Wollesen, drums). This was the acoustic part of the program, as had been the pattern. After a tune that concluded with what sounded like cartoon music, they launched into a ballad that featured a lyrical bass solo. The set ended with a classic bebop start-and-stop theme: overall the most sedate of the Bagatelle sets. Time for the loud and hard part of the program, which was provided by the John Medeski Trio (John Medeski, organ; David Fiuczynski, guitar; and G. Calvin Weston, drums). The sound was immediately frenetic and electric, although it ended with the band trading fours in the bebop style. But it was a rock sound all the way for the rest of the set, getting into downright heavy metal for the last tune. An exciting end to the Bagatelles series.

Béla Fleck & Bassekou Kouyaté

This duet was a Secret Show, a longstanding Big Ears tradition of popup shows only revealed shortly before showtime. Banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck had already appeared at the festival with his "My Bluegrass Heart" show, and Malian ngoni virtuoso Bassekou Kouyate had appeared with his band Ngoni Ba. The ngoni is considered an African precursor to the banjo, and Kouyaté appeared in Fleck's 2008 documentary film Throw Down Your Heart which followed him as he traveled through Africa seeking the banjo's origins. So the players were old friends. They began by trading phrases before launching into a song, with Fleck accompanying Kouyaté's hypnotic solo. On the third tune Fleck accompanied with single note bass lines played on the cello banjo. Stopping for announcements, Fleck said the concert was proof that they should never rehearse. He also said that they had played everything that was prepared, and jokingly asked Kouyaté "Do you know Stairway?" He dedicated Earl Scruggs' "The Nashville Blues" to the victims of the school shooting tragedy. Describing the ngoni as an ancestor to the banjo, he called Kouyaté the greatest living player. Inviting him to begin the next tune, he said "I'll do my best to keep up." The final selection was a banjo tune, with Kouyaté switching to a larger ngoni. Regardless of how well they knew the piece, they ended together on an ascending line to thunderous applause.

John Zorn with Trevor Dunn and Dave Lombardo

This was originally planned as a Painkiller show with bassist Bill Laswell. When Laswell had to cancel for health reasons his substitute was going to be Christian McBride, who was at the festival but then had health problems himself. So Trevor Dunn stepped in: he was definitely the MVP of the Zorn concert series. Drummer Dave Lombardo is best known as a founding member of the thrash metal band Slayer. It was a chance to finally hear Zorn play the saxophone at the very least. The show began with thundering bass and big double bass drums: a hardcore groove. Zorn entered with a calm melody line at first, moving into frenetic squonk. The second tune was a rubato ballad with drone bass, before moving back into noise. Then there was some Middle Eastern flavor, fast funk, and a tune that was song-like. The set concluded with a final blowout, with all three players just blowing their brains out.

John Zorn: Cobra

The concluding festival concert was also the last concert in the John Zorn series. Cobra is a game piece that Zorn completed in 1984. It stands as one of the first attempts to give structure to free jazz improvisation: a format to dictate how a group of improvisers should interact. The prompter (Zorn in this case) tells the players when to play and with whom, but not what to play. So the piece can sound radically different from performance to performance. Watching the process, one can see various colored cue cards being employed, but the audible results are often not obvious. The individual cues are clearer. Players raise their hands to volunteer for musical actions, and they can also cue each other. Somehow a bossa nova groove emerged at one point. There were many sub-groupings available: guitars, strings, keyboards, and percussion (interesting that there were no horn players in the ensemble, which would certainly have presented many other possibilities). After several brief segments, the performance concluded with a big drum climax (the twelve-person ensemble included four drummers). However severe the music sometimes sounded, it was definitely entertaining to watch, and a memorable spectacle.

A terrific ending to a great festival. It was promoted as "10 Years of Big Ears," which requires a bit of explanation. The festival was inaugurated in 2009 but took a break from 2011 to 2013. After resuming in 2014 and going strong until 2019 the pandemic called a halt (the 2020 edition was canceled just weeks before its start date). It returned last year in 2022, so the 2023 festival was the tenth. Throughout its life, the event has grown in audience size as well as programming diversity. The organizers deserve credit for scaling up the larger venues to accommodate, but this year there were serious issues with the smaller venues: they simply tended to fill up almost immediately. Fortunately, there was also the usual embarrassment of programming riches; if an event reached capacity there were usually others to choose from. For many attendees, some of their most interesting festival experiences have come out of unexpected choices like this. Here's to next year, and the surprises it will surely bring.

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