November 8, 1985 NMA LA day 9
Joseph Celli ● Carla Bley with Steve Swallow, Jack Bruce and Don Preston ● Paul Dresher and Rinde Eckert ● Philip Glass and Kelsey Grammer
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November 8, 1985
New Music Alliance Meetings
Joseph Celli Velvet Squares and Pershing Kings
Carla Bley with Jack Bruce, Don Preston and Steve Swallow For Under the Volcano
Paul Dresher with Rinde Eckert From Tropic of Entropy: Slow Fire
Philip Glass featuring Kelsey Grammer: A Madrigal Opera
Various Artists When New Wave Was New
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New Music Alliance Meetings
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Joseph Celli Velvet Squares and Pershing Kings
I don’t have any information on this performance, but I’m in contact with Joseph often enough and will ask him to check his archives to complete this spot!
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Today was the day of the Mini-Operas at the Mark Taper Forum. I’ve kept some clippings from that day…
Preview from the Los Angeles Weekly
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Carla Bley with Jack Bruce, Don Preston and Steve Swallow
For Under the Volcano
I was sitting with Don Wherry that night and he took a few photographs that though blurry, I’ll bet they can be straightened out by those AI bot thingys! In the meantime, though, they do provide memory sparks for me, especially the visual of Carla Bley behind the moving bar which was hiding her piano.
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Paul Dresher with Rinde Eckert From Tropic of Entropy: Slow Fire
From Don Wherry’s camera:
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On the 20th anniversary of his critically acclaimed electric opera Slow Fire, composer Paul Dresher writes on his Web site, “We are continually pleased to be approached by people … who considered it a seminal event, and still hope for yet another chance to see it, this time with their partner and/or children. There was something about Bob and Dad that resonated with most of our audiences, who could see in these figures a part of themselves, their fathers, or someone close from their past.”
But the piece also has political ramifications, having been created during the Reagan presidency, soon after Vietnam, during American adventures in Central America. In today’s post-9/11 climate, Dresher hopes it will offer audiences a renewed opportunity to reflect on connections between individual choice and action vs. the choices our nation makes.
Slow Fire, the first part of the American Trilogy, provides a glimpse into the thoughts of one middle-class American in isolation whose language veers between cliché and soliloquy. Writer-performer Rinde Eckert plays Bob, a man caught between the American dream of success and alienation of contemporary living.
- San Francisco Examiner, “Paul Dresher-Rinde Eckert's 'Slow Fire' Returns”, may 10 2007, updated May 18, 2022
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Philip Glass: A Madrigal Opera
featuring Kelsey Grammer (yes, Frasier):
The y2b note on this one says “off the radio and at the Mark Taper Forum” which would make this an actual performance recording probably off KPFA…
Reviews: Mark Swed, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner
Martin Bernheimer of the Los Angeles Times did not have a good time but maybe made up for it with his vitriol. Gotta get something in before the deadline.
(presenting this critique in the proper order doesn’t really improve on it)
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Various Artists at Al’s Bar
When New Wave Was New
I’ll present the details on the video series in a post scheduled to be posted on November 22, though this implies that there may be performances or even a panel discussion linked with the video presentations…
