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Poet Kenneth May and I performed 4 poems from his upcoming book last night at Arise Artspace. My role was to perform a kind of background score for them with segues between. I did this using Ableton Live with mostly samples I'd prepared ahead of time. They combined sound effects, atmospheric pads, orchestral instruments playing in counterpoint, and an improvised ambient piano part on the keyboard. The queuing, mixing and performance of all the parts was done on the fly by me as Kenneth read his beautiful words. The trick was to provide a sound environment that supported and drew focus to the words, as a film score might the story and its characters. It was a wonderful experience of learning and practice, stepping one beyond my wheelhouse. We had a full rehearsal 2 days prior to the performance, which cemented our resolve and boosted our confidence enough to perform like we knew what we were doing, which I barely did.. K is no stranger to live recitation. He often ornaments and plays with rhythms and feelings during his readings, which is more like a jazz musician, and I love this about his style. The prepared music had to be built to ebb and flow with his free technique, and it ended up being a true collaboration.
2 weeks ago, I got to collaborate with the marvelous artist Kathleen Hurley Liao with me on trumpet. She was in attendance last night as well, which means a lot to me.
I looked around the room and found several people that I've worked with on something or another and still more I hope to in the future.
How lucky I am to work with such talented, warmhearted and brilliant artists. With this extraordinary company, I can't help but stay on this path.
Yay tenugui! Yay poetry!
ReplyDeleteColin, I use my beloved tenegui every day and LOVE it. It dries surprisingly fast. And the nail clippers are a wonder of design and construction.. 2 of the best bday gifts in ages!
DeleteI'm glad you like it! I use mine al the time too. :)
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