For J Dilla [February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006]
Duke Ellington – Three Black Kings, MLK
WCFSO – February 2010
A visual-orchestral tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King on the eighty-second anniversary of his birth, from one of the most memorable performances I’ve ever been a part of.
[Many thanks to the Duke Ellington estate for permitting the use of his music in this project and to artist Gary Kelley for his inspiration and partnership in this and other commissions.]
‘What we could not say openly, we expressed in music … forged from the very white heat of our sorrows.’
A timely follow-up to my last post about the WCFSO celebration of Black History Month earlier this year.
All that jazz
Back in February I led the WCFSO in one of the most unforgettable evenings of art and music I’ve ever been a part of. Tonight that jazz- and blues-inspired concert, featuring music by William Grant Still, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and J Dilla, will stream in its entirety on Iowa Public Radio [8pm EST, link is an mp3 stream]. In addition to featuring some unique programming, our performance continued a ground-breaking partnership with illustrator Gary Kelley [whose work for the show is pictured below and at my Flickr].
More photos, info about Dilla’s symphonic debut, and a download of our performance of the 1920s theater-orchestra version of Rhapsody in Blue are here.
Get Timeless
Last month I participated in a unique presentation of Suite for Ma Dukes, Miguel-Agtwood Ferguson’s amazing orchestral reinventions of music by J Dilla. Today the piece’s original 2009 performance is released on DVD along with two other concerts featuring Brazilian legend Arthur Verocai and Ethiopian jazz great Mulatu Astatke. The Timeless shows were organized and filmed by LA-based Mochilla, with the goal of building bridges between influential composer/arrangers and the contemporary musicians who employ and build on their work.
Timeless posters by Teebs
The crew at Mochilla recently sent along a set of Timeless promos and I’ve been totally immersed in them since. A few initial responses, particularly to Miguel’s peerless arrangements of J Dilla:
- Very few orchestral arrangements are as good as these, and I perform lots of orchestral arrangements.
- I really appreciate the way these super-skilled orchestral musicians are so engaged with [and visibly into] what they’re playing.
- Suite for Ma Dukes is further proof of the importance of Dilla’s contribution to hip hop and contemporary music in general.
Have a listen to Jealousy as performed by the Ma Dukes orchestra with Karriem Riggins on set: [mp3]
So that you can get a better sense for Miguel’s achievement in the transformation of musical material, here is Dilla’s original from Fantastic Vol. 2: [mp3]
To see some of the video check out Mochilla’s collection of previews from Timeless. And do not sleep on picking up this unique and outstanding box set – the current release is limited to just 4000 numbered copies.
Submitted by Anonymous: Has the Waterloo Cedar Falls Symphony played Holst's The Planets recently?
Funny you should ask, since our most recent event was the second in a series of amazing collaborations that began with our presentation of the Planets two seasons ago. These concerts have been insanely well-received and, based on the feedback, we are looking into the possibility of bringing back the Planets production for an encore live performance with an accompanying video release.
So, the programmer in me wants to know – would you come to a concert like this?
