12/28/06
12/25/06
James Brown 1933-2007
11/15/06
Houston, TX (November 2006)
Altar created by Doris Murdock October 2006 for Richard and Nevajo Foster
...and the devil is my gasoline.
9/01/06
Below is copy that will appear in the packaging of my forthcoming Saints & Devils CD. It sort of sums up (but not entirely of course) my feelings now as I watch Mayor Nagin on 60 minutes, read articles in the NY Times, and talk on the phone/via email with my friends in New Orleans or now displaced from that city:
"As a composer and producer, I know that the music I compose will take on additional and unexpected meaning and affect listeners in ways I could not have imagined at the time of its creation. This ten-track suite entitled Saints & Devils - mastered just two weeks before hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. gulf coast - is a good example of this. It is my hope that Saints & Devils - as a listening experience - honors the victims of this contemporary disaster and resonates in our collective consciousness to bring about a better future."
7/13/06
I wonder sometimes if the etymology of "rock" is known among contemporary musicians - both rock and non-rock. Rock had both a sacred and decidedly secular definition when it began to be used throughout the American South. To "rock" in a juke joint in song lyrics and conversation meant to have sex. In the church, one could "rock" the church or say the church was "rockin" when the spirit was being felt by its congregation (often heard in shouts and screams that of course we hear in blues and rock and roll). The first DJs to play "rock and roll" slyly pretended not to know the connotations of these wonderful American words.
There's a wonderful essay called "Hear That Long Snake Moan" from a book called Shadow Dancing In The USA (I think it's out of print) by Michael Ventura that breaks it all down in rawer language than what I would use here on a public blog.
I would add that "rock" also defines a technique of performance that is as specific and yet hard to quantify as "swing" or "dub" or "jazz." I'm not saying it can't be learned or taught...but as a musical technique it's sometimes hard to break down.
You all keep rockin...
Saints & Devils - August 2006...
06/11/06
Tables were full. I think we drew a good crowd June 8th (Galapagos, NYC). We performed with Rachel Cohen and Racoco Productions in a non-stop 90 minute set playing music that ranged from completely improvised to tightly cued and arranged. In some ways, this gig was a summation of music I've been writing and performing since January - much of it being very collaborative in terms of how it's ultimately realized although the compositional gesture is coming from me. I can never thank the musicians I work with enough. Without them, I'd be lost. Or just boring.
I'm now looking forward to wrapping up Saints & Devils for a July 2006 release and to hearing my friends play out this month and the next (Sofia Koutsovitis, Gachupin, White Monkey, The VisionFest here in NYC, Etc.). Come late July I imagine I'll begin rehearsing new material and old with a reconfigured group based around the laptop and it's capabilities. The Galapagos gig presented some new challenges for me in this regard, and offered some exciting possibilities that I'll pursue as the summer continues. That's what artists do, right? Explore, present, figure out what works, then begin again...
Wiped out. Hello and love to whoever reads this stuff...
Right off of Camp street on your way downtown to the French Quarter. The empty lot used to be the location of an old movie theater that burned down right after Katrina hit.
A home in Gentilly. This neighborhood suffered an incredible amount of damage from the flooding after Katrina.
Chris Becker at WWNO being interviewed by Jacqueline Bishop.
05/20/2006
See above. Some photos from my trip this May to New Orleans.
05/14/2006
The photo above is from a performance I did with Rachel Cohen at Harvard University as part of their Arts First Festival. Silke Hase (thanks Silke!) took this photo.
03/26/2006
"When we are young, we should look at and reflect on old people. This is karma, isn't it? I tried to explain this to Westerners, that if you discard people, you will also be discared. When we are old, we should think about young people. When we see old people, we should think about young people. They are connected, like links of a chain." - Ajahn Chah
03/04/2006
I am the proud owner of a beautiful orchid. It's sitting in the sunlight (but not direct) next to the radio. We'll see how it reacts to classical, Bird Flight, and misc 80's rock...
03/01/2006
NPR aired a nice story yesterday about New Orleans artists who have returned to the city and what they're doing now creatively. My friend Jacqueline Bishop is part of the profile (actor Ricky Graham and trumpeter Kermit Ruffins are also a part of the piece). In 1999 I created an extended piece of music for CD called 200 Birds to accompany her mixed media installation Terra which showed in several galleries and museums here in the U.S. Click here to hear the story - the page also has links to images and information about Jacqueline's work including Terra.
Happy Mardi Gras. Happy Ash Wednesday.
02/21/06
Nothing can make up for the absence
of someone we love.
And it would be wrong
to try and find a substitute.
We must simply hold out
and see it through.
That sounds very hard at first.
But at the same time
it is a great consolation.
For the gap - as long as
it remains unfilled
preserves the bond
between us.
It is nonsense to say that
God fills the gap.
God does not fill it.
But on the contrary
keeps it empty
and so helps us to keep alive
our former communion
with each other
even at the cost of pain.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
01/22/06
I've been watching episode after episode of the 70's TV series Kung Fu (all three seasons are now available on DVD). It was and still is an incredible show - one of the many reasons being the composer Jim Helms who wrote all of the music for the show including it's beautiful opening theme. What happened to this guy? I can't find ANY information about him on the Internet...I discovered there is a recording that came out while the show was on the air that features his music for Kung Fu along with bits of dialogue (I have to find that!). But I'm unable at the moment to find out what he did after Kung Fu...which is a shame because the music for that show is incredible.
Helms' orchestrations are always carefully balanced and sonically surprising (as someone who mixes music I'm very impressed with the clarity of the show's sound mixes). Instruments used in the score include harpsichord, wooden flutes, horn, and strings along with plenty of Asian, Native American, and African percussion. Recurring themes evoke traditional indigenous musics alongside elements of the European avant-garde. His melodies are timeless. Like the best of TV scores in the 70's the music is always supporting (in a meticulous but never superfulous way) the on screen action, underlying emotions - there are motifs that trigger shifts in time (i.e. flashbacks or the slow motion sequences). And the show's creators knew when to leave things silent. A lot of the fights have NO accompanying sound save for birds or other outdoor ambient sounds...anyway, I wish I could link everyone to the Jim Helms Fan Website but I haven't found one. Yet...
Chris Becker with the Mississippi river behind him. December 2005, New Orleans.
01/07/06
Here's a page of a handful of photos Lainie and I took while in New Orleans. Enjoy...
12/22/05
Our recent visit to New Orleans was inspiring. I will post a few photos for public viewing on this site soon. Easily 1000 people were at the performance of Handel's Messiah by the Symphony Chorus of New Orleans (my wife appeared as the Mezzo-Soprano soloist in this concert). Many members of the Louisiana Philharmonic performed that day with the chorus.
I was inspired by the people living and rebuilding that city right now. I saw completely devastated neighborhoods, rebuilt businesses and homes, and everything in between. There is bitterness in many artists and musicians who had to leave New Orleans and/or lost so much they worked for in that city...some are in no position to return and many just don't want to go back. Everyone's story is different - and I can't pass judgement on anyone who had lost something as a result of Katrina and the flooding. But I will say again that the people I did reconnect with in New Orleans as well as strangers I met while out and about the city inspired me with their strength, good will, and humor. And I now understand why my friend artist Jacqueline Bishop says that right now is a wonderful time to be in New Orleans.
Mo later - photos to come...
12/10/05
Looking forward to what should be an emotional return to New Orleans.
Nonesuch records has put together a great collection of newly recorded performances of music by a broad spectrum of New Orleans Musicians. It's called Our New Orleans. Charlie Miller (who plays on my forthcoming Saints & Devils CD) is the featured performer on a track called "Prayer for New Orleans." I look forward to buying a copy - the Nonesuch website says net proceeds from the sale of Our New Orleans will be donated to Habitat for Humanity International to aid those affected by the recent hurricanes along the gulf coast. A portion of those funds will be earmarked to help provide housing for musicians who lost their homes.
12/09/05
Man, it snowed today here in New York City. A nice blanket over the Manhattan, most of LIC - probably much of the rest of the state...I think the noise level drops about 10db when a snow like this falls...you can really hear the drop in sound - and you feel this sense of calm too. Has anyone actually studied the noise levels Manhattan produces and how the weather affects those levels?
Listening to the Friday morning Early Music show on WKCR only adds to peaceful atmosphere.
11/23/05
On December 18 in New Orleans, Louisiana, my wife Lainie Diamond will be appear as the mezzo soloist in a performance of Handel's Messiah with the Symphony Chorus of New Orleans. More information about this wonderful event can be found at the SCNO website. Lainie and I will be traveling together to New Orleans. I may put together a page of photos on my website after the trip.
11/2/05
My friend drummer Louis Romanos (Louis plays drums on the track Shimmy Shimmy Ya Ya from my forthcoming Saints & Devils CD) and I lived together for awhile in New Orleans. In fact, I think he might have been the first person I met the day I arrived via Greyhound bus to that city… He and my friend guitarist Dan Sumner have been making music for awhile now in New Orleans as a duo called Permagrin. As a result of hurricane Katrina, both Louis and Dan have relocated for the foreseeable future. While in New Orleans, both Louis and Dan actively participated in the city's vibrant musical culture both in traditional settings and via their own experimental ventures.
Louis has posted a short video he shot during a return trip to New Orleans to check out his home, studio and the city in general. Click on the word "here" in the paragraph on the homepage and you can watch the video (you'll need a broadband connection to do so). Louis scored the video with some of his own music originally composed for a choreographer.
11/1/05
Wow. I've only just started becoming aware of biodiesel fuel. Did you know the first diesel engine ran on peanut oil? Neil Young talks about biodiesel fuel in the latest issue of No Depression magazine.
10/29/05
Some wonderful musicians have passed on recently. Below are links to websites where you can learn more about them if they aren't familiar to you already.
If you haven't seen Genghis Blues which documents Paul Pena's journey to Tuva, I highly recommend it.
Paul Pena 1950-2005
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown 1924-2005
Vassar Clements 1928-2005
"If you believe in yourself, you can go a long way. But if you have doubts about yourself, you're going noplace. And if you're running from yourself, you can't hide from yourself…I don't live for tomorrow. I don't live for yesterday. I live for today." - Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown.
New Orleans continues to weigh heavily on my mind. The plan (which never changed) is to release my CD Saints & Devils (which features performances by three New Orleans musicians recorded in New Orleans) in January 2006. Somewhere in the liner notes I'll make it clear that the CD was finished almost one month exactly before Katrina hit. I want to make that clear for a few reasons... Jon Graubarth will be creating the CD's artwork - he along with a few other friends of mine have been in and out of the city and I get some sense of how things are from our phone and email conversations. Saints & Devils now sounds different to me since the Gulf Coast got hit...but all I want to do is put the CD out there, get it to all the DJs here in the U.S. and overseas who supported the EP, get it to musicians who have supported my work in the past, and let it be what it will be - hopefully a strong work with a long shelf life.
10/6/05
I'm working on a live arrangement of my track Recidivistas (composed for a performance with choreographer Rachel Cohen and her dancers this past July). The live version of this track of course will be very different than what I created in the studio. The challenge and musical possibilities (especially with the musicians I work with) are really exciting - I'd like to somehow approximate replicating the special stuttering and "jump-cut" effects that were achieved through digital editing. But I also want room in the arrangement for each player to improvise and interact even while certain cues are being hit and strange sudden twists and turns are taken. I am working with Daniel Kelly, Chris Michael, and Lynn Wright to realize this new arrangement - the idea being that eventually we will perform as a trio plus myself accompanying Rachel and her dancers in a brand new work.
More links are up on my New Orleans page as we move into the Fall and Winter.
9/17/05
This has been a tough month. I salute my friends now displaced from New Orleans. And I salute my friends here in NYC who have expressed genuine concern for the people of that city and the rest of the gulf coast. People are really reaching out to each other. Artists are like that; we are all struggling and we need to stick by each other when times are hard.
I'll continue adding links and info to my New Orleans page as we move into the Fall and Winter.
Message to the station mangaer of WWOZ: Yo. How you gonna dis Houston and Atlanta when the people of these two cities are welcoming the people of New Orleans with open arms? There is a long history of cultural exchange between these two cities and your city. Don't make generalizations about another person's home. It's not cool. It's ignorant.
Working on some grant proposals...feeling good about past work and the work yet to be done.
Saw a great dance performance last night created by Elke Rindfleisch called Overhead. I met Elke and her husband composer Chris Woltman while working on If The Shoe Fits back in February. Overhead just knocked me out. It was disorienting and exhilarating. And it was great meeting some new people afterwards.
8/31/05
I am overwhelmed by the news that continues to come out of New Orleans as well as the gulf coasts of Mississippi and Alabama in the wake of hurricane Katrina. My heart goes out to its people and to my New Orleans friends who I have yet to hear from since the storm hit.
There's so much rich indigenous culture in New Orleans. I lived there for nearly five years, and I can tell you there is a wellspring of music and art in New Orleans that you will not find anywhere else in our country. In the aftermath of Katrina, it is important to remember this - especially as the city is being rebuilt. This city wasn't just a mecca for conventioneers, trust me.
To help: Red Cross
8/27/2005
A prayer from the East...hoping that Katrina doesn't cause too much damage to New Orleans or to the rest of the coast for that matter. Bad weather in New Orleans is scary - I've experienced it. My thoughts are with my friends in the Big Easy. Hang in there guys.
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