The gold inside a residency is the opportunity for deeper human connection.  We discovered a plethora of acquaintances during the week, friends, colleagues and family, met people who had followed our work for years, and received loving testimonials to the joy we have shared.  I will offer just one:  Steve Mohr approached me after the concert with intense feeling in his eyes.  He wanted me to really understand how much it meant to him, a father sharing custody of two small children, to have found a strong connection to his daughter, in Kindergarten at Franklin Elementary, through her experience of our presentation there, earlier in the week.  He assured me earnestly, that she doesn’t normally relate much about her days at school, but that evening, had opened up about the lady who came to school with the big violin!  He knows about ETHEL, knew we were in town, and pieced together that it might be us – “Was it a cello?  Was there a string quartet?  Were they called, ETHEL?”  She apparently opened up more and more excitedly and they shared warm enthusiasm about it, finally declaring that her favorite pieces were “Eleanor Rigby” and “Watermelon Man”…

There is no concrete way of measuring the emotional value of Music, but Steve used great personal energy to communicate his gratitude for the moment we had facilitated between him and his daughter .  No reward matters more.  Thanks, Steve!

By Dorothy Lawson (cello) of ETHEL

The Children’s Village at Hoover Elementary was full of smiling 4 year-olds happy to accompany us in a rousing chorus of Twinkle Twinkle (not the Mississippi Tug Boat variation) and equally revved by our JPP tune “Pelimanni’s Revenge”. Ralph was kind enough to make his viola roar like a bear, Tema caught a mouse in her 1830s French mousetrap, and Dorothy’s cello rolled as the sea. There was, of course, one loquacious boy who couldn’t keep from asking “WHAT’S THAT? WHAT DOES it DO?” whenever the musical texture changed or I used my bluetooth pedal to turn pages. To be fair, the latter also confused the septuagenarian patrons of Vanguard Arts, for whom we played at a lovely cocktail party, at the Genesis heart institute, where we were suspiciously served a delicious platter of very fried foods. In addition to being impressed by Vanguard Arts’ reputation and efficacy, we’ve been amazed to see the strength of the Quad Cities elementary and secondary music programs.

Today we’re staying put at Muscatine, IA’s Central Middle School as students are bussed in to pack out a 1,000-seat hall; when asked how many of them play an instrument, the majority raise their hands. Upon closer questioning, there are quite a few who play strings, winds, or brass. Believe it or not, some of the elementary schoolers can even recognize “Eleanor Rigby”. All this is not to say that playing three concerts of roughly the same material each day doesn’t take a toll; however it’s amazing to see and mirror the excitement of Quad Cities students. From an outsider’s perspective, this region seems like a fine place to be a kid.

By Kip Jones (violin) of ETHEL

We have had an absolutely spectacular time in our first two jam-packed days here in the Quad Cities and are looking forward to the rest of our time here this week–in addition to Friday night’s concert, of course! (7:30 PM at St. Ambrose University’s Rogalski Center)

I must say that I am wiped, but mostly invigorated by this vibrant community.

On our first day, we began bright and early at North Scott High School. Appropriately, there was actually a giant bed on stage next to our setup, as if seducing us after our long travel the previous day. The kids gave us a warm welcome, though, and any grogginess evaporated. After playing an arrangement of Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man” by Kip Jones (my fellow violinst), in addition to pieces by Ralph Farris (violist) and Dorothy Lawson (cellist), we moved onto a little treat, testing the kids on their knowledge of the “classics,” i.e., how many of them could identify the string quartet part from The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby”. Quite a few, as it turned out. I must say this is the liveliest audience I’ve yet to encounter at 8:45 AM, and a delightful start to our week.

From there, we went onto John Deere Middle School, where there was a regal, toga-clad bust of the man himself greeting us. Playing for ~600 kids can often be daunting! (Will they be texting vehemently the whole time? Will they riot against us?) But, I must say that this was a perfectly behaved group of students. They were respectful but enthusiastic, warm and wonderfully receptive.

Kids always love to ask about how we met (I was Ralph’s dogwalker; he and Dorothy go way back from Star Trek conventions; and Kip and I were at one point in the same ultimate frisbee league….. or so I sometimes tease!), where the name ETHEL came from, and how many years we’ve been playing our instruments. Come to our show Friday to ask us these questions, too, if you wish!

While the kids were certainly a highlight, I cannot emphasize how much I enjoyed our evening performance at the Moline Public Library. When we arrived, the seats were already nearly full (punctuality down to a science, it seems!), and we were delighted to play some of our favorite pieces in an intimate setting.

Tuesday proved no less exciting, as we began our day with a short radio interview for WOC 1420′s Morning Report Radio, and then moved onto Central High School. There, we encountered one of the most beautiful vintage auditoriums I’ve ever seen, which was improved further even by the arrival of 250 high school students, all in band or orchestra. If there’s one thing I can say so far for the Quad Cities, it’s that they’ve certainly found a magical key to get high school students enthused about the arts. I’ve never seen so many raised hands when we inquire about who not only plays an instrument but also improvises and writes music, too!  One day they’ll have to share their secret…

We then moved onto Rivermont Collegiate, which was also a wonderful facility, where we played for kids ranging from pre-K through 8th grade. Looking around the room as we grooved out to “Watermelon Man,” I couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps pre-K might be our ideal demographic. I’ve never seen an audience dance more in their seats, and I must say, it was both adorable and appreciated. If only baby-boomers felt so uninhibited sometimes! As we concluded with our final piece for the set, the Finnish tune, “Pellimani’s Revenge,” Kip asked if anyone knew where Finland was. One little boy confidently raised his hand and asserted that Finland is in Scandinavia, just south of the Arctic Circle. Both sweet and smart!

We concluded another great day at the Vanguard, Genesis Heart Institute, with a delicious reception/silent auction, followed by a 20 minute spotlight performance for subscription series members and board members. Again, we couldn’t have felt more welcomed into this thriving community; looking forward to tomorrow!

–

Tema Watstein is the violinist for the string quartet ETHEL, the current Quad City Arts Visiting Artist.

ETHEL: Have you always had a strong interest in the connection of language to music? What initially inspired this connection?

KJ: I have always been intrigued by the connection between language and music. In fact, I think at it’s heart and origin, all music extends from the voice and language. I think also, the virtuosity that we have as speakers of our own first languages is what we aspire to as musicians. After all, we’ve practiced the art of speaking almost from the womb, almost continually for the entirety of our lives. The depth of meaning that even a small child is able to convey with the slightest of inflections often goes beyond our greatest musical abilities The rhythmic complexity of the spoken word is daunting. But our instruments magnify those inflections and order those rhythms in a powerful way.

One of my first experiences in which I was struck by the pure musical beauty of spoken language was, in fact the long ago inspiration for the Vanishing Languages Project. As a teenager on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I was channel surfing when I I stumbled onto a PBS documentary featuring the Australian Aboriginal land rights trials of the early 70’s. The scene was a stately courtroom complete with stern men in wigs and robes intently staring at two aboriginal men seated at a table before them – a proud, if not somewhat wild looking elderly man, shirtless and wearing what seemed to be traditional garb, and a younger man, in a shabby mix of western clothes.

The younger man introduced himself and explained that the elderly man was the last of his people, that there were no others left who spoke his language. He explained that he could communicate with the man in a rudimentary fashion using a secondary language if necessary, but that it was this man’s desire to testify in his own language, in the language that would die forever with him. The stern men attempted to explain that the old man’s testimony would be more effective if they were able to understand what he was saying, that they would be very patient in allowing his statements to be translated. But the old man wouldn’t hear of it. When the commission members finally relented, the old man began to sing his statement. Literally to sing. He wasn’t being dramatic. His delivery was casual, humble even, and perhaps a bit creaky – but the language that would die with him was, in fact, a “sung language”, reliant on pitch an pacing for it’s meaning.

I was transfixed as was everyone in that courtroom. The commission members who wished to have his words translated were wrong. It was far more effective to hear this man’s story in his own language, even though the content couldn’t be deciphered.

ETHEL: An aspiring poet myself, I see that you’ve collaborated with a number of great poets. In what capacity did you come up with a way to collaborate? I’m always looking for ways to connect words and music!

KJ: Ah, I do love poets and their musings. Some, like A Van Jordan, I met at an artist colony, and we just “clicked”. Others like Maurice Manning I met through a specific commission with conditions attached (“a song cycle using the work of poets with such and such affiliation”. Still others, such as Charles Simic, I honestly just gave a call out of the blue and struck up a conversation. When writing traditional songs, I like to work exclusively with living poets, so I occasionally put out the word for submissions and recommendations, which is great fun. But working with contemporary poets means having permission to set their words to music. Which often means trimming, editing, re-ordering, combining disparate works, or works from separate poets. And that requires a very friendly and trusting relationship between composer and writers.

ETHEL: Just wondering… do you rap at all?

KJ: hahahahaha. I’m pretty sure my children just laughed out loud without realizing why. Um, so no. But I do have a deep appreciation for those who really make it art.

ETHEL: What other languages do you speak?

I speak Italian well, Spanish and French a bit less well, and I continue to struggle to improve my skills with Japanese (which stubbornly remain quite dreadful).

KJ: You’ve got quite a range stylistically. As your bio states, your compositions span from jazz and improvisational works to audience participation and multi-media to traditional forms and modal harmonies. How do you decide what style you want to inhabit when you begin a new project? Is the one mode in which you feel the most at home?

You know, I haven’t really thought about that much. I think I try to follow the path that honors the idea/concept/poetry best. I don’t know if that’s a real answer, but perhaps answering the second part of the question will illuminate it – George Crumb (a personal hero) once described his writing process as being like entering a large room through a door and seeing that there’s a light switch at the other end of the room. However as soon as the door is closed behind you the lights go out and you’re plunged into darkness. You’re certain that you remember exactly how everything was arranged in the room and can easily traverse to the other side. However as soon as you take your first step you bash your knee on something you hadn’t realized was there. Within moments of trying to get to the other side, you find yourself on your knees crawling aimlessly, looking for the wall to follow, feeling in the dark for the furniture you see in your minds eye. By the time you make it to the other side of the room and turn on the lights, you’re bloody and battered and exhausted. And when you turn to look at the room, it’s nothing like you remembered. But sometimes, it’s more beautiful and original than you could have hoped at the outset.

Yes. This is my experience pretty much regardless of the stylistic approach I end up adapting for any given project.

ETHEL: The scores for Ainu and Counting in Quileute are both very spatial. How did you decide on this method of notation for this particular project?

KJ: Holy cow. Remember my answer to that last question? You’re right. I wanted to bring an awareness of historic arc to each of these pieces, and that demanded space. But I found in my early experiments that musicians tended to approach the music athletically, with vigor and fortitude. Which is a good thing most of the time. However these pieces require an approach that is more meditation, breath, and timelessness, than role playing or overcoming obstacles (not that there aren’t serious obstacles). I wanted the sheet music itself to portray that sensibility visually.

ETHEL: When you were out in the Pacific Northwest, Australia, and Japan, did you engage with the people in conversation or more as an observer? In instances when you did not speak a common language, how did you compensate to communicate?

KJ: Both really. In terms of the work of field recording I took a journalistic approach rather than a directive approach. For me, it’s more interesting to give the people the opportunity to express what’s most important to them, rather than to go for some specific result.

In each instance I got to know the people in the communities relatively well and in Australia especially, I spent quite a bit of time with the speakers of the language themselves. In Australia I had a guide/linguist (Sebastien Harris) who made my introductions and worked with me to assure that what we were recording remained in the language we meant to be recording and so on. However everyone there spoke English reasonably. The only place where I wasn’t able to communicate well was in Japan and there I was able to hire translators to help with the Japanese. However, for the Ainu piece, for integrity’s sake, I had to rely solely on archival recordings. Although there are a few people who seem to have a conversational skill in the language, and a few others who have memorized songs or stories, there are no fluent native speakers left.

Tema here, back from ETHEL’s Spring break, which I spent in Tanzania blissfully cellphone-less. Just before I left, though, I had the great pleasure of serving with ETHEL as House Band & Music Curators for 2013′s TEDxManhattan: Changing the Way We Eat.

Who hasn’t been inspired, uplifted, or jolted into deep thought by a TED talk? I have spent many an evening in bed binging on lectures on Netflix, as well as many subway and plane rides enraptured by the TED app on my phone.
Created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” the TEDx program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. These TEDx events literally pepper the globe every day, the topics and speakers and conference sizes all varying with a tremendous range. I have to say, this conference is certainly one of the most meticulously organized and produced – The conference organizer, Diane Hatz (Co-Founder and Director of The Glynwood Institute for Sustainable Food and Farming) is a brilliant force, and she has an awesome team working with her. Everything ran like clockwork, and more importantly, everything was delicious! ETHEL punctuated the day’s events, and were free to roam, listen, and nosh for the rest of the time.

More and more, we all care (or should care!) about how and what we eat, and where our food is coming from. I love not only that every speaker was so incredibly well informed and eloquent (of course), but mainly that I got to hear such a gamut of perspectives. From butchers to vegans, there were local farmers with big and small enterprises, chefs responsible for feeding few and many, and people who care about not only health and sustainability, but also about the way our food tastes!

Did I mention that the day was delicious? Musicians always love their snacks, and often settle for pizza or burnt coffee, but this event is one that I imagine can never be topped. From the goat cheese scones, deviled eggs, and honey assortment that opened the day, to the remarkable communal table lunch, to the overwhelming, explosive spread that closed the evening (complete with local beers and whiskey), I certainly went home sustained. And don’t even let me get started on the coffee bar, which I frequented between our sets.

Another major highlight of the entire event is that we were joined by two extraordinary friends and musicians with whom we have upcoming collaborations.

For Kip’s pieces, “Ascent” and his arrangement of Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man,” we were joined by the illustrious Ulysses Owens Jr. It’s a pleasure playing with a great drummer – It feels like riding a great machine. Not only can Ulysses play drums, however, he also wrote us pieces for Documerica AND our Homebaked Project–details coming soon!

For our other two spots, we played with the scintillating Kaki King on two tracks that Ralph arranged for her most recent album, Glow. I could not be more excited about our upcoming tour with Kaki next Spring!

If any of this piques your interest and you’d like to check out any of these fantastic speakers OR catch any of our performances relive the whole day!

Photo credit thanks to the wonderful Ken Goodman.

We appear as often as we can — so long as we’re in town! — every Friday and Saturday evening from 5 – 8. Here’s a little journal action from a typical evening at the Met so that you can know what it’s like from our end:

4:28 PM - Get off the M79 and hustle towards the back entrance of the Met. Admire the grand staircase out front. Security guards try to stop me as I make my way towards the elevator, but one who remembers me from the previous week (and the week before that, and the week before that…) assures them that I don’t plan on knocking over any statues with my violin case and is nice enough to hold the door for me.

4:33 – Get off the elevator and rush through the Egyptian wing on my way to the Balcony Bar. Pause for a moment to look at a sarcophagus or two, then remember that I am on my way to work. Funny enough, my mother used to work in the basement of the Met Museum restoring paintings– things do have a way of going full circle.
What a nice commute through the galleries! When I don’t have time to check out an exhibit before our performances, I can at least always find a different route towards the balcony. Approach the Balcony Bar, bustling with museum-goers. Enjoy the din of conversation as families and friends discuss the overwhelming variety of art they’ve absorbed throughout the day — it’s always best to digest art with a little musical respite and a drink or two.

4:40 - Set up stands and stand lights. A few museum-goers still edge towards the glass case in front of which we set up, snapping pictures of the ancient artifacts featured. The tables around us begin to fill up. People order drinks and taper conversation a bit anticipating the start of the music.

5:01 – And so it begins! We open our first set with Marcelo Zarvos‘ “Arrival,” to welcome in the weekend. Highlights this set include selections from our program, “Present Beauty,” featuring Philip Glass’ score from The Hours. Several patrons approach and ask us the names of the composers whose works we’re playing. Drawn upstairs by the music wafting down through the grand lobby, visitors and locals who never even knew the museum had music on the weekends gravitate towards the balcony, sometimes even gathering on the other side to listen across the great space. Resonance resounds!

6:00 - Break #1. Noticing we’ve stopped playing, a few more spectators greet us, ask us a little bit about ETHEL, and most importantly, if we’re going to resume playing– which indeed, we are!

6:10 - We decide to switch things up a little bit for Set # 2 with some early Haydn and Beethoven. A woman approaches us and tells us she absolutely loves Vivaldi, wondering if we “take requests.” Fortunately, we’re able to accommodate her with Vivaldi’s double violin concerto. Throughout the set, visitors walk by, smile, wave, and maybe even ask how we’re doing. Fortunately, the ever-effervescent Dorothy is a tremendous multi-tasker and manages to engage in conversation without missing a beat. Small children seem to have started a dance party to our tunes, flailing and skittering around gleefully, always fascinated by Dorothy’s mysterious black carbon fiber cello. As the set continues, a few familiar faces surface: partners, out-of-town friends, parents, and a handful of unexpected acquaintances who just happened to be at the museum arrive and sit to have a drink and listen.

Sometimes we even have special musical guests stop by! Here’s a picture of me playing “Bartok Duos” with celebrated British violinist Daniel Hope, who made a cameo a few weeks ago:

7:00 - Break #2. Say hello to the friends and family that have accumulated. One nice perk of having such a fun, if not glamorous workplace is that it’s not tough to get loved ones to come visit. Who could complain about spending a Friday or Saturday evening in Manhattan with a martini at the Met Balcony Bar? Not a bad way to punctuate your weekend!

7:15 - The last set of the night. We take a different kind of request this set, playing Ralph’s arrangement of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” at the behest of an enthusiastic museum-goer. He and his wife hold up their iphones at the end, waving little pictures of flames (vis-a-vis holding up a lighter at a rock show). Very cute. Play some other ETHEL favorites, along with “Chai,” a tune by Dorothy, and Wrecked, by our very own Ralph. We close the set with the always-uplifting “Ascent,” by Kip, which receives some very enthusiastic applause from the audience.

8:05 – We pack up our instruments and disperse to sit with friends as they finish their drinks. Guests ask if we’ll be back, and we assure them that we will– and often! ETHEL may be a downtown quartet, but it’s pretty great to be the house band at this regal uptown venue.

To see what and when ETHEL is playing at the MET, Click Here! You can catch us or our friends every Friday and Saturday from 5 – 8 PM! Come say hi!

COMPOSER CONVERSATION w/ ROB VAN RISWIK + JEROEN STRIJBOS
By ETHEL’s Ralph Farris

ETHEL is now in the Netherlands, where we are premiering “Cross Avenue,” by composers Rob Van Riswik and Jeroen Strijbos. This is our first project with this brilliant collaborative-composing duo, and I am thrilled that they made the time to do a little Q&A. To learn more, watch this excerpt video here.

**These guys are pretty awesome to have done this interview in English! I did a wee bit of clean-up here and there.**

- Ralpf

R: What was the inspiration for “Cross Avenue,” and how did the choice of a collaboration with ETHEL come about?
JS: We played a gig together with ETHEL in one of the weirdest places ever, in Holland: a big round water purifying installation. I remembered thinking, these guys rock as a string quartet, that’s cool. Rob and I also rock, in a music scene that usually is a little bit serious. We don’t fit in this scene 100% and I felt a connection with you guys. After 15 years of composing in the contemporary music scene, we didn’t lose our rock roots.

Then we met with Dorothy at our exhibition at the City of New York electronic music festival of SoundSpots. We had a very interesting long talk about spaciallity within contemporary music and composition combined with installation work. Then we met again a few years later during your tour in the Netherlands. With the last conversation in mind we then all decided that the time had come to actually do something together.

We like to work with musicians that have the craftsmanship of classical trained musicians but have the capability and freedom of a jazz musician without being stuck to a limited musical idiom. ETHEL has all of that for us. The inspiration of Cross Avenue is about transitions. It’s not from where you come or where you go to, but the way and how you do that.

R: What were some of the obstacles you had to overcome in developing this piece?
JS: Obstacles were that for us the standard way of notation isn’t the easiest way to represent what we want to accomplish. Luckily for us ETHEL was very flexible and open in exploring how we could accomplish the things we had in our heads and having faith in our gut feelings; it paid off. The time-frame we had to work together was, at least for us, very small for such a piece. For us that was a risk because we are always are keen on obtaining the highest quality possible. Needless to say we’re perfectionists to the bone, but it worked out very well thanks to the hard work of everyone.

R: What did you take away from workshopping with ETHEL in New York City?
JS: Working in a very small time-frame with limited resources can still bring beautiful things to life. The music scene in New York is known to be very fast and is sometimes from the outside perceived as superficial. ETHEL proved that perception wrong, and showed us that New York has love for music in the most diverse ways and houses people that are working with all their hearts to make music that counts.

R: The idea of collaborative composition is daunting to many. What is your method of developing work?
RVR: First of all: you have to ‘click’ together! …otherwise it won’t work )
then .. work hard … bring up a lot of ideas … have discussions … one idea always leads to another … choose the best ideas together … organize and focus each other’s thoughts … Important: be able to give each other room for artistic research and to work out artistic ideas. Your personal musical notes are not the most important, the whole musical project you work on together is the most important. And at the end: all artistic decisions are made on intuition and faith in each other’s artistic point of view!!!

R: Do you always totally agree on your creative direction?
RVR: Most of the time we do! Of course we have different ideas as well, but thinking differently keeps us sharp, lets you think about what the best direction is to choose, so that’s even better! It’s all about being open for other ideas and incorporating them with your own.

R: What have you learned from your partnership?
RVR: We keep each other sharp and focused by giving each other feedback and comments on our artistic ideas .. When one of us has a writer’s block, the other can have lots of ideas, so no one gets stuck for a long time ..
Bringing in different ideas by two composers within a project like ‘music for choreography’ or a concert makes it much more richer! Travelling for work, for instance to New York, is much more fun together …(nice experiences and happiness doesn’t mean anything when you can not share it!)

R: Do you see your work as connected to any particular tradition(s)?
RVR: There are connections to musique concrète, electro-acoustic music, minimal music, spectralism, rock music, field recordings, sound art ..

R: What are the plans for “Cross Avenue?”
RVR: “Cross Avenue” will be part of our whole oeuvre and we’ll keep on playing it for the rest of our lives ). First, after our tour in the Netherlands this year, we’ll start planning a new tour with ETHEL for Europe at the end of 2013 or beginning of 2014. We also hope to do concerts in the USA.

R: You also recently completed another project in New York City. Please tell us about that.
RVR: It’s all written down here, so please read this ).

R: What is next for you?
RVR: having a holiday and then .. making an audiovisual Opera for a city in the Netherlands and writing new musical routes for Walk With Me and doing a lot of new projects all over the world (we have plans for Montreal, Paris, Berlin, Zürich and LA)!

Kaki King has been blowing up lately, which is why you should all go out and buy her new album, “Glow.” Not to mention- it is SO GOOD. You should turn the volume up and take it for a long drive, or relax with it in the tub. You’ll be sure to find your jam either way.
Oh, and by the way, ETHEL is playing on two tracks– the opening tune, “Great Round Burn,” as well as “Fire Eater.” What a blast to work with Kaki, and I can’t wait to perform these tunes live!

Here’s a great video about her process, and some questions I got to ask her in the midst of all the madness:

1) Your last album, Junior, was all about leading a double life. What’s the mission statement behind Glow and are you still leading that double life?

Junior needed to be written and recorded and toured by the same band, which I was able to pull off but not without some sacrifices. With Glow I feel much more free and open to change.

2) You’re such an impressively self-sufficient musical entity. How did you decide to include some collaborators on this album and was that fun for you?

Collaborating is always fun. It takes pressure off of me, charts a different creative course. ETHEL was amazing, of course, especially being a string quartet that writes and plays more like a band.

3) Two tracks feature ETHEL: Great Round Burn and Fire Eater– thanks for giving us all that heat! To me it really feels like the whole album kind of has an ember at its core. Was there a bit of a fire theme going on?

Interesting! I hadn’t thought of that, but there certainly is an energy to both of those tracks that implies an out of control inferno.

4) What was it like to record with ETHEL and what are your hopes for our upcoming tour together? Have you ever worked with a string quartet before?

It’s incredibly intimidating to work around such competent musicians. With ETHEL is especially so because you all are so well trained and yet so good at working outside of the box and improvising. It’s not something you find often in the classical world. I’ve worked with quartets before but it was usually in the context of just getting some string sounds on the record, and less of a process whereby songs are written with strings in mind from the beginning.

5) Some of the tracks on the album have some great ambient electronics. Was this part or your vision before you recorded or were you a little bit inspired in the studio after the fact?

Definitely inspired by the studio, the producer, and by my not having an agenda going into making this ‘solo’ record.

6) You’ve been known to play around with all sorts of “weird tunings.” Why do you dig that sound and can we hear it anywhere on Glow?

All of the tunings on Glow are “weird” or, more specifically, “open” tunings. That means that within each song I can make a lot of use of the unfretted strings when I play. It allows me to play around a lot with the decay length of each open string.

7) When it comes to writing a song, what’s your process like? Do you find yourself overwhelmed with a melody or an emotion or a rhythm? Do have to run off and write it down in the middle of lunch or do you have to block off time and really make yourself write?

This age old question continues to elude me. I must go into a trance or something, because I really don’t know how it happens. All I know is that if I keep a guitar close by me I’ll pick it up, and if I pick it up I’ll eventually be playing something new, and something new will turn into a song. So, I always keep a guitar close by.

8) When we recorded together, you didn’t have any titles yet. How did you come up with these great names?

Titles are always hard when it comes to instrumental music. ‘Great Round Burn’ is a reference to the sun, because I titled that song during a heat wave in summer, and the piercing cruel midday sun was similar to how bright and aggressive and almost panicked that song sounds.

9) I’m new to ETHEL and haven’t ever really been on a tour before (exciting!!). What words of wisdom do you have for a newbie like me in terms of surviving “on the road”?

Sleep whenever you can, don’t ever say no to a bathroom break, and don’t give yourself a hard time for not doing everything there is to do in a new city.

Also be sure to check out her website: www.kakiking.com

More from the road, soon; in the meantime, glow on!

Tema here, one of the two new ETHELs, just back from my first big ETHEL trip out West for the Grand Canyon Music Festival and the Native American Composer Apprenticeship Program. What a whirlwind it’s been, but I couldn’t have asked for a more appropriate or heartfelt induction into this new world.

A spectacular long exposure night shot in Bluff, Utah, curtesy of Kip Jones

Dorothy and Ralph both emphasize how formative their now 8 year (!!) residency at the Grand Canyon has been for the ensemble, and I can certainly see why. We began the week with two shows at the canyon’s intimate Shrine of the Ages. A quick jaunt to West Virginia for Present Beauty aside, these were actually the first shows (other) newcomer Kip Jones and I have played since joining ETHEL. We learned a big barrel of old favorites, and also each played a little solo set each night. It was a great way to introduce ourselves to the audience and to one another!

The real essence of the week happens all over Navajo Nation, where we go on a weeklong tour, workshopping the compositions of a handful of high school students in each town. Every year, some of the students are brand new to the compositional process and the program, and some are seasoned pros, on their third or fourth serious quartet. Leading up to our arrival, each student works with composition professor Raven Chacon, developing a piece that we workshop and then perform in a *marathon* concert back at the canyon at the end of the week. I have to say- these are some of the most open and unabashedly expressive voices I’ve ever had the privilege of working with.

We began the week at Chinle High, where Kip and I met a few students that are old friends to Ralph and Dorothy.
One of the most inspirational students of the week was Brian Bainbridge, who has been in the program for several years.
He wrote an absolutely remarkable piece called “Breaking the Silence,” which we were lucky enough to perform several times all over the reservation throughout the week. The morning we arrived at his school, he actually began to cry when he saw Dorothy. He later told us — and the audience– that it was because he finally knew the moment he had been anticipating for so long was real. So many of the pieces these students write are about surmounting obstacles and coming into their own– the symbolism seems to carry over in countless ways. The mutual support and camaraderie was especially apparent at the school assemblies, where each piece was received with thunderous applause from the entire school.

From Chinle, we went to Tuba City for a brief visit with our dear friend James Bilagodi, where his wife Dell cooked an absolutely delicious meal. Rejuvenated, we enjoyed a day of rehearsal with the Catalyst Quartet in preparation for an octet extravaganza back at the canyon the following weekend.

Then we were off to Bluff, Utah, where we spent two full days at Whitehorse High School.
One of the week’s highlights, and certainly a NACAP first, was a piece by Nizhoni Spencer, written for string quartet *AND FULL CONCERT BAND*. To take on such an endeavor is truly inspired — if not inspiring! Nizjoni attended all the rehearsals and tweaked the quartet and band as her piece came together. It closed with a magnificent drum solo, blasted with precision and pride.

The concert really brought the whole school and community together in a joyful way. Ms. Spencer also had a few particularly prestigious audience members from Washington D.C. witnessing her premier! Vicki Kennedy was in attendance and gave an introduction to the concert celebrating NACAP’s President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. Cheers to Clare Hoffman for this magnificent program. Congratulations are certainly in order– she is heading a wonderful thing.

Finally, we had a day at Northwest High School in Shiprock, New Mexico (quite a site, if you’ve never been!) with four brand new students. The school has no music program or professors, but coached by Raven Chacon, each student wrote a lovely duet for violin and cello. Hopefully the enthusiastic responses to the duets at the all-school assembly encouraged a few more students to join for next year! Music program or no music program, these kids have beautiful musical ideas, and the school is certainly a welcome addition to the NACAP program.

After the tour, ETHEL returned to the canyon, where we met up with the Catalyst Quartet. They were in the throes of preparations for the Bergamo Competition in Switzerland– in which they actually just won 2nd place! A big hand for the Catalyst Quartet, everyone!
We were honored to guest on one of their performances, on which we joined forces two super-groovin’ octets: Marcelo Zarvos’ “Rounds” (which all of y’all should check out on Heavy) and Richard Einhorn’s “The Silence,” which is bound to be twenty of the most intense minutes of your life, especially when you combine the forces of ETHEL and The Catalyst Quartet. What fun! We were also honored to have Richard Einhorn in attendance. He went nearly completely deaf a few years ago, but you’d never know it talking or working with him. He couldn’t have been more gracious or present, and even regaled us with a plethora of stories after the performance. He is certainly someone I hope ETHEL will see much more…

The true high point of the week was the following day, when ETHEL and Catalyst had final rehearsals and then one big-family-marathon-concert of ALL the NACAP pieces. The students all caravan to the canyon and camp out after their big celebration. Hearing each composer proudly introduce his or her piece was maybe the most rewarding aspect of all. Again, Brian Bainbridge created an absolutely remarkable moment, during which he dedicated his piece to 5 other NACAP composers- and then to Richard Einhorn– he couldn’t have put it more eloquently: “Last night I heard Mr. Einhorn’s ‘The Silence,’ and I’d like to follow that up with my own piece, ‘Breaking the Silence.’”

* * *

After this lo(ooo)ng but rewarding week, ETHEL headed to Denver for a short showcase with the beloved Robert Mirabal at the Western Arts Alliance Conference.
To conclude the trip, ETHEL + Robert continued joining forces for Music of the Sun @ New Mexico State University’s Atkinson Hall. For a little choral selection, we were joined by the Mayfield High School Madrigal Singers– a truly talented group. Robert taught them a chant that we all sang and played together in the show. I don’t think the trip could have concluded on a higher spiritual note.

What’s next for ETHEL? We begin workshopping for our next big program, Documerica (details + Kickstarter coming soon!), prep for November’s program in Holland- and oh, we go on the road with Todd Rungren in October– check out the schedule and come to one of the shows!
Here are a few more pictures from our trip out West if you haven’t seen enough!

(Full disclosure: ETHEL performs on the album as well, and you can pick it up HERE…)

RF: You have spoken of being “a quick worker in the studio.”  Were you able to hold to that ideal in the making of this album?

JJ: Yes. I’m always super-prepared. I believe the recording studio is for recording – not for rehearsing or working out arrangements.

RF: Were you stopped at any time in your creative process, and if so, how did you break through? Were there any obstacles that you could not get around?

JJ: I experimented with arrangements of several Ellington tunes which did not make it on to the album. It’s an intuitive process, just like actually composing – you get an idea that taking a certain road might lead somewhere interesting, so you follow it. Sometimes it doesn’t go anywhere and you have to turn around and come back. Sometimes it leads somewhere interesting. But what I’m really looking for, is when it leads to somewhere really exciting and fun. There really is no system or method – I think you can only be guided by your own intuition and personal taste.

RF: Did you actually start with a ground rule of no horns on the album? What other parameters bind the album together?

JJ: Yes, ‘no horns’ was a solid rule right from the start. As soon as you start using horns you’re going to sound kind of like Ellington but not as good. I wanted to take these compositions in an entirely new direction. And also, limiting yourself in some way, actually stimulates your imagination. I think total freedom is an illusion, you can only have freedom if you also have some kind of structure. Having structure and limitations, and knowing what NOT to do, sets you free. The other rule I had was not to do anything with a traditional ‘swing’ feel. I wanted to keep the melodies and mostly keep the original chord changes (with some variations here and there) but have very different sounds and different grooves. ‘It Don’t Mean A Thing’ is the closest to ‘swing’ but even that is a kind of modern, twisted version!

RF: What came as the greatest musical surprise to you as you built this project? Of what innovation are you most proud?

JJ: I’m quite pleased with the way I was able to work 2 or 3 Ellington tunes into one piece. And also, bringing in some counterpoint – on ‘I Got It Bad’ there’s both a fugue and a canon.

RF: What musical tradition do you see yourself furthering with this album?

JJ: I’ve never felt part of any specific tradition, but I think I’m following Ellington’s example. He was eclectic and had no respect for musical categories and boundaries, but was focussed on a personal vision, and looking at the big picture. Ellington said there are only two kinds of music, good and bad – I like to think I’m just following the ‘good’ tradition.

RF: Are you happy with the album? Would you follow the same process, or do things differently if you were beginning the project again?

JJ: Any time anyone asks me how I feel about my latest project, I say “it’s fucking brilliant!” Because everything has to start with me feeling that way, otherwise how can I expect anyone else to feel it?

RF: The earthquake of 2011 struck in the middle of ETHEL’s session for this album. This was certainly a novel experience; have you any studio tales to top it?

JJ: The first day I went into the studio to make my second album, ‘I’m The Man’, the studio was down a flight of stairs, and I hit my head on the top of the door and fell down the stairs. I lay there literally seeing stars (which I thought only happened in cartoons). I couldn’t concentrate on anything and had to go home. Not a great way to start an album. But at least it could only get better.