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Roscoe Mitchell with Ostravska Banda: Distant Radio Transmission
The centerpiece of this diverse recording is the 20-minute "Distant Radio Transmission," taken from an improvisation recorded in trio with Kikanju Baku and Craig Taborn on Conversations 1 (Wide Hive Records, 2013). The trio improvisation was transcribed by Stephen P. Harvey, then orchestrated by Mitchell for the 33-piece Ostravska Banda. With Mitchell on sopranino saxophone and the wordless vocals of Thomas Buckner, the music, which begins spontaneously, becomes a designed mountainous pilgrimage of sounds and a cinematic motion. "Nonaah Trio" draws from a brief saxophone solo from 1974 which was later repurposed by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and here is interpreted by a piano/flute/oboe trio. This chamber adaptation works through a thoroughly noted score, daring you to dig for the music's provenance. "Cutouts for Woodwind Quintet" is a commissioned composition with notations for extended technique and "8.8.88" is a three movement suite performed on a programmed Yamaha Disklavier. The dizzying speed and complexity which Mitchell's score is performed boggles and overwhelms the mind.
Track Listing
Distant Radio Transmission; Nonaah Trio; Cutouts for Woodwind Quintet; 8.8.88 Pt 1; 8.8.88 Pt 2; 8.8.88 Pt 3.
Personnel
Roscoe Mitchell
saxophone
Petr Kotik
composer / conductor
Thomas Buckner
vocals
James Fei
saxophone
John C. Savage
flute
Catherine Lee
oboe
Dana Reason
pianoRoberta Michel
fluteChrista Robinson
oboeCarlos Corddeio
clarinet
Sara Schoenbeck
bassoonJohn Gattis
french hornSeth Horvitz
programmingAdditional Instrumentation
Daniel Havel: flute; Malgorzata Hlawsa: flute; Kamila Motková: oboe; Denisa Bílá: oboe; Lukáš Danhel: clarinet; Carlos Cordeiro: clarinet; Stefanie Liedtke: bassoon; Jan Soukup: bassoon; Monika Cerovská: horn; Jan Garláthy: horn; Andy Kozar: trumpet; William Lang: trombone; Gergely Lukács: tuba; Adam Maros: percussion; Miklos Holló: percussion; Chris Nappi: percussion; Keiko Shichijo: piano; Ivana Dohnalová: harp; Conrad Harris: violin; Pauline Kim Harris: violin; Eszter Krulik: violin; Marco Cano: violin; David Danel: violin; Nikolaus Schlierf: viola; Juraj Madari: viola; Liuh Wen Ting: viola; Andrej Gál: violoncello; Matthias Lorenz: violoncello; Juho Laitinen: violoncello; František Výrostko: contrabass; Juraj Bajús: contrabass.
Album information
Title: Distant Radio Transmission | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Wide Hive Records
About Roscoe Mitchell
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