The long hiatus brought on by health issues in my family is over, and everything has improved dramatically. Thank you all for your good thoughts and wishes. They worked!

And so, new music to play and new paths to explore.

Watch for a new disc on MODE Records in early 2010. It's an, as yet, untitled collaboration between maestro Andrea Centazzo and me. And a beautiful recording from Lisbon coming on Clean Feed ( AFTERFALL w/ Luis Lopes, Sei Miguel, Benjamin Duboc, Harvey Sorgen and me).

If your in NYC on November 21, please come to the MODE Records gala benefit at the Abron Art Center. Andrea and I will perform, as will John Zorn, Philip Glass, Robert Ashley, Margaret Leng Tan, the Jack Quartet, Joe McPhee, the Respect Sextet and more.

Play on!

I've cancelled all music activities for a while. Our family has been hit with a serious health issue and we are starting down a path of treatment and recovery. Thanks for all your good wishes and good thoughts. Keep them coming, and play on! Music is the healing force of the universe. 

Joe

Clifford Allen's interview with Joe at http://www.paristransatlantic.com

I just posted this track today. It's from a 2007 session for 15 players, and I'm just getting around to mixing a bit of it. This piece is special.

Three percussionists ( Harvey Sorgen, John Heward, Brian Melick) were in isolation rooms. The other 12 of us were in the big room. Two of those players were electronic musicians on laptop and sampler ( David Gamper, Al Margolis).

None of the 12 players in the big room could hear the percussionists. That's the way I planned it. Also, the electronic players were going directly into the board and the other 10 of us in the big room couldn't hear them (also planned).

What you hear on NFRTT-E is a mix of David and Al, sampling the 10 others players, and the percussionists. The acoustic music, other than percussion, is not heard here.

The source music was made by Kevin Frennette, Andy McWain, Gordon Allen, Sarah Weaver, Gwen Laster, Larry Packer, Michael Snow, Martha Colby, Lori Freedman and me.