(Exploratorium Berlin) Key_Concepts #2: John Stevens – From the Spontaneous Music Ensemble to Search & Reflect (3/9/20)

In the second edition of the new Denkraum series key_concepts, Mathias Maschat talks to synthesizer player Richard Scott about his experience in the legendary workshops of the London drummer and pioneer of free improvisation John Stevens. 

John Stevens (1940–1994) met Paul Rutherford and Trevor Watts in the mid-1960s and together they founded the Spontaneous Music Ensemble in 1965, which was to become one of the nucleuses of British free jazz and European free improvisation. Especially in the late 1960s, the SME, like the evening concerts he organized at the Little Theater Club in the City of Westminster (London), became a point of reference for the young generation of British jazz musicians – from Evan Parker to Derek Bailey, Paul Rutherford, Howard Riley, Maggie Nicols, Julie Tippetts to Barry Guy and Jamie Muir. 

Stevens developed a series of participatory pieces that enabled people with very different musical backgrounds and abilities to engage equally in creative improvisation. The pieces were published under the title Search & Reflect, creating a valuable manual for mediating and teaching improvisation. He tried out and used the pieces in countless workshops, which enabled him to train and significantly influence many musicians. 

One of them is the composer and interpreter of electronic and improvised music Richard Scott, who attended Stevens’ workshops in the 1980s. He has been pursuing the idea of ​​publicly reporting on his time with John Stevens for some time, which will now be the first occasion. Music-historical thoughts are supplemented with general considerations for teaching improvised music 

https://exploratorium-berlin.de

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Musicians, critics and friends celebrated the legacy of drummer John Stevens (1940-1994) reflecting on his teachings and visionary spirit with talks, workshops and performances throughout all day last Saturday 22 November at the EFG London Jazz Festival 2014. Here's an excerpt from the afternoon talk between Alyn Shipton, Victor Schonfeld and Steve Beresford

Remembering Grant Hart

 

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Video I shot of Grant performing 2541 on that first visit to Melbourne back in 2010

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Here's Hüsker Dü at the Camden Palace in London on the same European tour that I caught (ahem) in Amsterdam Tracklist: 

New Day Rising / It's Not Funny Anymore / Everything Falls Apart / The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill / I Apologize / If I Told You / Folklore / Terms of Psychic Warfare / Powerline / Books About UFOs / Chartered Trips / Diane / Celebrated Summer / Every Everything / Makes No Sense At All / Pink Turns to Blue / Ticket to Ride / Reoccurring Dreams / Eight Miles High / Love Is All Around

Psilocybin & LSD: Lessons of the Sixties

Info 

Via

DJ Food - Raiding The 20th Century

Pt. 1 - Time Machine
1 Alfred Newman - 20th Century Fox Theme (Intro)
2 Negativland - Downloading
3 Franz Ferdinand vs. Beastie Boys - Triple Take Mix
4 DJ BC - Surebladi
5 Danger Mouse - Encore
6 Wayne Butane - Elderly
7 Big City Orchestra - Bulldog
8 Jay-Z - Encore (Accapella)
9 Beatles, The - Glass Onion
10 Avril - Avril Plays The Beatles
11 Loo And Placido - Safari Love
12 Jrb - Busta Vs Steptoe & Son
13 Loo And Placido - Kids Will Rock You
14 Braces Tower - Special Child
15 Exactshit - Crazy
16 Cropstar Crazy - Prado
17 Britney Spears - Overprotected (Cliché Remix)
18 Will Smith - Nod Ya Head (Trick Remix)
19 Osymyso - Intro-inspection Pt. 1
20 fLeXuS - It Ain't Nothin'
21 Evolution Control Committee - Spandau Fillet
22 Go Home Productions - Turn Out The Light Slave & Give Me Some Rhythm
23 Go Home Productions - Work It Out With A Foxy Lady
24 Beyoncé - Crazy In Love (Glitch Mix)
25 skkatter - Diddy
26 Wobbly Yo Yo Yo Yoyo, - Hey...
27 Frenchbloke & Son - Sound Of Da S Club
28 Lemon Jelly - Soft / Rock
29 Michael Jackson - Billie Jean (Dancehall Edit)
30 People Like Us - Nobody Does
31 2 Many DJ's - Smells Like Booty
32 fLeXuS - White Love
33 Evil Twin - The Lady & The Lake
34 Justin Timberlake - Like I Love U (Ochre Remix)
35 Osymyso - Intro Expansion Pt. 2
36 Go Home Productions - Ray Of Gob
37 Madonna - WTF?
38 Player - Angel Of Theft
39 Osymyso - Wegoddim
40 LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out (Flashbulb Remix)

Pt. 2 - The Time Before Time
41 Alvin Lucier - I Am Sitting In A Room
42 Pierre Schaeffer - Étude Aux Chemins De Fer
43 Pierre Henry - Souffle 1
44 Edgard Varèse - Déserts
45 John Cage - Imaginary Landscape No.1
46 William S. Burroughs - Origin & Theory Of The Tape Cut-Ups
47 Coldcut - Let Us Play! LP Outro
48 James Tenney - Collage No.1 (Blue Suede)
49 Marshall McLuhan - The Medium Is The Massage
50 Steve Reich - It's Gonna Rain
51 Monkees, The - Opening Ceremony
52 Frank Zappa - Lumpy Gravy
53 John Rydgren - Christmas Montage
54 Holger Czukay & Rolf Dammers - Boat - Woman - Song
55 BBC Radiophonic Workshop - Major Bloodnock's Stomach
56 Beatles, The - Revolution No. 9
57 BBC Radiophonic Workshop - Talk Out
58 Kenny Everett - Musical Works

Pt. 3 - Say Kids, What Time Is It?
59 Grand Wizard Theodore & Kevie Kev - Rockwell Military Cut (Scratch Mix)
60 Grand Wizard Theodore Grand Wizard - Theodore Speaks
61 Grandmaster Flash Fab 5 - Freddy's Kitchen (Wildstyle DVD Rip)
62 Grandmaster Flash - WFMU Interview With Monica Lynch
63 Big Apple Productions - Genius At Work (Original)
64 Art Of Noise, The - Close (To The Edit)
65 Grandmaster Flash - The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel
66 Cold Crush Brothers vs. Fantastic Five - The Cold Crush Brothers Vs. The Fantastic 5 MC's
67 Malcolm McLaren - Buffalo Gals
68 Double Dee & Steinski - Lesson 2: The James Brown Mix
69 Double Dee & Steinski - Lesson 1: The Payoff Mix
70 Big Apple Productions - Genius At Work (Vol. 2)
71 Mr. K - Rock The House
72 Double Dee & Steinski - Lesson 3: The History Of Hip Hop
73 Buchanan & Goodman - Flying Saucer (Part One)
74 Bomb The Bass - Beat Dis
75 Steinski & Mass Media - The Motorcade Sped On
76 Steinski - Some Assembly Required Interview With Jon Nelson
77 Coldcut Say Kids - What Time Is It?
78 Coldcut Beats & Pieces
79 Eric B & Rakim - Paid In Full (Coldcut Seven Minutes Of Madness Mix)
80 MARRS - Pump Up The Volume
81 Eric B. & Rakim - Michael Jackson Got Soul
82 Think Tank - Hack One (The Internet Worm Mix)
83 Big Apple Productions - Genius At Work (Vol. 2)
84 3-D - Tommy Boy Megamix
85 Latin Rascals - Axel F
86 Arthur Baker - Breaker's Revenge
87 Kurtis Blow - America (Dub Mix)
88 Cindy Mizelle - This Could Be The Night
89 Rochelle - My Magic Man (Machine Gun Dub)
90 Word Of Mouth - King Kut (Bonus Beats)
91 T La Rock - This Beat Kicks
92 Tricky Tee - Leave It To The Drums (Dub)
93 Mantronix - Bassline (Stretched)
94 Mantronix - The Album Mega-Mix
95 Mantronix - Scream (Primal Scream Dub)
96 Mantronix - Music Madness Mega-Mix
97 T La Rock - Bass Machine (Club Version)
98 T La Rock - Breakin' Bells (Omar Santana Edit)
99 Luke Skyywalker - Bass Waves Mega Mix I
100 Matt Black & The Coldcut Crew - The Music Maker
101 James Brown - The Payback Mix (Coldcut Meets The Godfather)
102 Mantronix - King Of The Beats
103 Pete Smith - Beat Bytes Mix
104 Doctor Funnkenstein & DJ Cash Money - Scratchin' To The Funk Pt. 1
105 Herbie Hancock - American Mega-Mix
106 James Brown - Payback (The Final Mixdown)
107 DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper
108 DJ Shadow - Lesson 4
109 Hiroshi Fujiwara & KUDO - Return Of The Original Artform
110 Derek & Clive - Records (DK Re-edit)
111 De La Soul - Cool Breeze On The Rocks
112 Zeb.Roc.Ski & Stieber Twins - The Revenge (B Boys Revenge 97)
113 Bronx Dogs - Tribute To Jazzy Jay (Death Mix)
114 DJ Format - English Lesson
115 Dynamix II - Just Give The DJ A Break
116 Beat Junkies - Scratch Monopoly Pt 2
117 Mr. Dibbs - B Boys Revenge
118 DJ Craze - 1st ITF Chamionship Set
119 Invisibl Skratch - Piklz Invisbl Skratch Piklz Vs. Da Klamz Uv Deth
120 Herbaliser -Wall Crawling Giant Insect Breaks
121 Cut Chemist - Lesson 6: The Lecture

Pt. 4 - Pressed For Time
122 Cassetteboy - Fly Me To New York
123 Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers - Swing The Mood
124 Stars On 45 - Stars On 45
125 JAMs - All You Need Is Love
126 Age Of Chance - Kisspower (Unreleased Mix)
127 Negativland - The Perfect Cut (Good As Gold)
128 Christian Marclay - Pandora's Box
129 John Oswald - Way (Asher Ogre Groin)
130 Evolution Control Committee - Rebel Without A Pause (Whipped Cream Mix)
131 John Oswald - Brown (News Orb Jam)
132 Tape-Beatles - Concern About
133 John Oswald - Dab (Alien Chasm Rock)
134 Tape-Beatles - Short History Of The Tape-Beatles
135 KLF - Rock Radio Into The Nineties And Beyond
136 People Like Us - Sound Escape Pt. 1
137 Negativland - The Letter U And The Numeral 2 (Acapella Mix)
138 Emergency Broadcast - Network Behavior Modification / We Will Rock You
139 Black Helicopters - Hammered Gods
140 People Like Us - Sound Escape Pt. 2
141 Tape-Beatles - Thus
142 Forest J. Ackerman - Music For Robots

Pt 5 - Time's Up
143 Osymyso - Intro-Inspection Pt. 2
144 Freelance Hellraiser - A Stroke Of Genius
145 Girls On Top - We Don't Give A Damn About Our Friends
146 Kurtis Rush - George Gets His Freak On
147 Copywrong - Too Much Freakin'
148 Girls On Top - Being Scrubbed
149 2 Many DJ's - Dreadlock Woman
150 Osymyso - Pat N' Peg
151 Freelance Hellraiser - Got My Lovely Money
152 Freelance Hellraiser - Step On Man
153 Osymyso - Intro-Inspection Pt. 2 (Reprise)
154 Osymyso - John's Not Mad
155 Picasio - Do You Really Like It?
156 Freelance Hairdresser - Marshall's Got Snookered
157 Mky - I've Created A Monster
158 B.R.K. - JackoNim
159 Mr. On vs. Jungle Brothers - Breathe Don't Stop
160 Freelance Hellraiser - Can You Lick Shots?
161 skkatter - Madonna Is A Filthy Slut
162 MCSleazy - Don't Call Me Song 2
163 Wayne Butane - Elderly
164 Girls On Top - I Wanna Dance With Numbers
165 Kylie - Can't Get You Out Of My Head (Soulwax Electrosoul Mix)
166 Kylie Minogue - Can't Get Blue Monday Out Of My Head
167 Alfred Newman - 20th Century Fox Theme (Outro) 

 

I was looking at a great blog that I used to contribute to and saw this was slated for posting. Not sure if I posted it here at Exile but anyway I gave it a listen and well I still like it so...

The Peanuts Gang Meet ZZ Top

(William) Blake / An Illustrated Quarterly: June 1967 to the present

Published by the Department of English at the University of California in Berkeley CA. Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal devoted to William Blake (1757-1827), the British poet, artist, and engraver, and his circle. They publish articles, notes, and book reviews, as well as two annual features: a review of sales of original works by Blake and his followers, and a checklist of publications and discoveries. 

The mission statement from isue 1 reads:

The idea of having a Blake Newsletter seems to have sprung like Leutha from the head of Satan; I don’t know who can claim paternity. The need seemed suddenly obvious. Much help was given in the early stages by David Erdman, who called a meeting of Blake scholars at the last MLA convention and who also sent out a preliminary announcement. Gerald E. Bentley, Jr. contributed valuable suggestions and prodding. Fred Whitehead[e] sent a list of ongoing Blake projects. There were encouraging letters and contributions from Blake scholars in seven different countries. This modest first issue is the result, and it is now up to you whether the project deserves to be continued. As far as editorial policy is concerned, I think the Newsletter should be just that — not an incipient journal. (Enough are born, even too many, without these arts). It will include announcements, queries, controversy, and notes of special interest to Blake scholars — all of an informal nature (a “family wall-newspaper,” as David Erdman puts it). Regarding work-in-progress, my own inclination is to report on ongoing editorial and bibliographical projects, but not on critical or scholarly studies before they are completed. In that way, I hope to avoid the suggestion of “reserving” subjects. However, I’d like to have readers’ views on this, as well as on other subjects. I’ll undertake to publish issues of the Newsletter on October 15, January 15, and April 15. The subscription price will be two dollars, which will cover the first four issues, including this one. New readers will receive back issues as part of their subscription — any other arrangement would involve book-keeping complications that I’m not able to undertake. The second issue of the Newsletter will be dedicated to S. Foster Damon. Former students and associates of Professor Damon are especially invited to contribute.

There is a five year paywall but all copies previous to that can be read/ downloaded HERE 

The Blake blog 'Hell's Printing Press' is HERE 

A related site 'The William Blake Archive' is wonderful too and contains Blake's paintings, manuscripts, drawings and prints etc. HERE

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BONUS: 

Here's The Orckestra (the combined forces of Mike Westbrook's Brass Band & Henry Cow) performing 'Let The Slave' in Modena Italy in September 1977

Roundtable: Afro/Black and Indigenous Futurisms (10/4/21)

A roundtable discussion with Rasheedah Phillips (A/K/A Moor Mother) of Black Quantum Futurism, Johnnie Jae of A Tribe Called Geek, and DJ Shub, the godfather of PowWowStep, about how artistic work based in Afro/Black and Indigenous Futurisms can envision, mobilize, and grow otherwise worlds. Alisha B. Wormsley, artist and creator of the “There are Black People in the Future” project, moderates the discussion. 

This roundtable is part of the Resound/Revision Festival hosted by the Center for Arts in Society and the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University

More information: https://tinyurl.com/4xsf9r9z​ #resoundpgh​

Alisha B. Wormsley: https://alishabwormsley.com

Johnnie Jae: https://johnniejae.com

​ Black Quantum Future: https://www.blackquantumfuturism.com

​ DJ Shub: https://www.djshub.ca

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Sonny Simmons R.I.P.

its with heavy hearts to share the news that Mr. Sonny Simmons has departed Planet Earth...
thank you for all the music Mr. Simmons!
Sonny Simmons
Rest in Power
August 4, 1933 - April 6, 2021
ESP-DISK is sharing his music, as a free download in memorium.https://t.co/nf8kPMsQd3

— ESP-DISK' (@espdisk) April 9, 2021

Typical that there is more respect still from say France to the old avant 'guard' of jazzers. Sonny Simmons played with Coltrane's rhythm section Elvin Jones & Jimmy Garrison, Clifford Jordan, Don Cherry and Eric Dolphy amongst many others in the sixties 

Van der Graaf Generator - Godbluff Live (Palais des Expositions de Charleroi, Belgium 27/9/75)

'I’m a person who feels most herself when fully immersed in the world and in order to understand myself I look at things that don’t have anything to do with me' 

 - Rachel Kushner

Found: Page 25 of the CIA’s Gateway Report on Astral Projection

Widowspeak - Money

The Tao of Shane MacGowan

"I'm suspicious of this instant enlightenment crap, because it's not meant to be instant. You're not meant to put on a tape and become enlightened. If you played one of those instant enlightenment tapes to a Shaolin monk, he'd just piss himself laughing."#TheTaoOfShaneMacGowan pic.twitter.com/jwMoNBFOaZ

— Shane MacGowan (@ShaneMacGowan) April 11, 2021

The FBI win the internet today. No contest

Cheers Norry!

Cave’s cautionary tales