The Man With The Movie Camera - New Score

Last Sunday, April 27th, the Dudley House Big Band performed a brand new score to The Man With The Movie Camera. The first short feature was The Great Train Robbery, with a new score performed by the Dudley House Improvisation Workshop.

The concert took place in Paine Hall, Harvard Music Department. Nicolas Sidoroff - trumpeter, composer, and educator, was invited by Dudley House for this exciting project.

Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery (1903)

In 1993, I played clarinet in Nicolas's first version of this score (for 5 horns.) Last Sunday, we played a great updated version, with:

• Clarinet: Jean-François Charles
• Trumpet: Nicolas Sidoroff
• Tenor Sax: Michael Heller
• Baritone Sax: Alan Lenarcic
• Piano: Nathan Fosse
• Upright Bass: Nathan Haselby
• Drums: Ben Stanton

It was a real treat to play with such awesome musicians!

Dziga Vertov's The Man With The Movie Camera (1929)

Dziga Vertov's 1929 masterpiece pulses with a boundless energy, and the virtuoso performance of camera and editing techniques was only matched by the involvement of the musicians.

Musicians

• Voice: Mariam Nazarian
• Alto Sax: Kimberly August
• Alto Sax: Jillian DeMair
• Clarinet and Alto Sax: Lisa Rosenfeld
• Tenor Sax: Eric Diebold
• Flute, Clarinet and Tenor Sax: Marlene Cohen
• Baritone Sax: Aaron Silberstein
• Trumpet: Stephen Furqueron
• Trumpet: Gary smiley
• Trumpet: Evan Biela
• Trombone: Ethan Fenn
• Trombone: Rob Cautillo
• Sousaphone: Alan Lenarcic
• Guitar: Jonathan Buonocore
• Piano: Nathan Fosse
• Bass: Eric Leibensperger
• Drums: Sven Seuken

Tunes

The complete score consists in:

• The Eye-Opener (JF Charles / N Sidoroff)
• 29' Printemps '29 (N Sidoroff)
• Wake' N' Wash (N Sidoroff)
• The City Is Not Mine (JF Charles)
• Weddingorce (Kimberly August / Alan Lenarcic / JF Charles / N Sidoroff)
• Dark Lips (JF Charles)
• Dark Eyes (Traditional / JF Charles)
• Workegy (N Sidoroff)
• 1st KinoPlaiz (N Sidoroff)
• 2nd KinoPlaiz (N Sidoroff)
• re1st KinoPlaiz (N Sidoroff)
• re2nd KinoPlaiz (N Sidoroff)
• Bublitchki (Traditional / JF Charles)
• Take The "V" Train (JF Charles)

Thanks to Jim Hogle, Doreen M. Hogle, Susan Zawalich, Chad Conlan, the team of the Dudley Fellows, and Ean White, for their support. Above, Nicolas Sidoroff and half the screen during the set-up, Sunday morning around 11 a.m.

Spring Swing - In The Tradition

Saturday, April 12, 2008
Dance Lesson 8:30-9:30pm - Dance 9:30-12:30
Dudley House Dining Hall - Harvard Yard

The Dudley House Big Band will play for you to dance: Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Dizzy Gillespie, and more!
Tickets are $10 in advance at the House Office, or $12 at the door. Dance open to Dudley House members and their guests.

Make sure you have a look at the awesome pictures that Jonathan took during our February concert.

10/60 - Mind Your Graphical Trouble

I am excited to introduce several friends of mine to you today. Mind Your Graphical Trouble is the 10th minute of the 60/60 project, dedicated to Éric and Christelle Simon. Éric plays trombone with the New Orleans Jazz band Jazz Tico. He is also an amazing school teacher and director: he and his primary school pupils won a price for their scientific experiments with a stratospheric balloon.

The performer you will hear is Danny Mekonnen, here on alto sax. I took the picture on the left in the Huseac studios, after our recording session on February 9th. More than a saxophonist, Danny is a complete musician, leader of the Debo band, educator, and more. He is also a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology at Harvard University. Read the Boston Herald's article about Danny and his band Debo and make sure you check out the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and their brand new CD!

The graphical score

This score uses graphic notation, we could say "in a traditional way." Click on the play button to listen to Danny Mekonnen's interpretation:

 

Composition process

First, I listened to the 60/60 present for this composition:

I especially liked the arrangement of Trouble in Mind. I made a spectrum analysis of the beginning of the recording. To get a sound's sonogram, you can use many software tools, including Ircam's Audiosculpt or the development environment Max/MSP/Jitter. Here, I used Apple Soundtrack, part of Apple Logic Studio.

Last step, I translated this sonogram into the graphical score, playing with the Live Trace function of Adobe Illustrator.

Dudley House Jazz Bands - Concert!

Since September 2007, I have been leading the Dudley House Jazz Bands at Harvard University. I am a so-called "Dudley Fellow", and my exciting job includes leading a full Big Band, taking care of a smaller and freer Improvisation Workshop, and organizing the concerts.

You are invited to our winter concert: Wednesday, February 20th at Dudley House, 8:45 p.m. Free.

Public rehearsal

On December 12th, 2007, Nathan (bass) brought a recorder to the rehearsal. Hit the button "play" to hear Chant Bien Fatal by Maurice Merle.

You are listening to:

• Michael Heller, alto sax
• Alan Lenarcic, tenor sax
• Jean-François Charles, contrabass clarinet
• Nathan Fosse, piano
• Nathan Haselby, upright bass
• Dan Jeffs, drums

Program of the concert

• Big Band
• Egyptian (Carla Bley)
• All of Me (Simons & Marks)
• Hercab (Gianluigi Trovesi, arrangement Corrado Guarino)
• Choro Dançado (Maria Schneider)
• Combo
• Moving Parts (Ethan Fenn, world premiere)
• Improvisation Workshop
• Xiao-Li Meng (Alan Lenarcic, world premiere)
• Chant Bien Fatal (Maurice Merle)
• Strange Days Follow Victories (Michael Heller, world premiere)
• Big Band
• Exaltation / Religious Experience / Major (Carl Ruggles / Carla Bley)
• It's Oh So Quiet (Lang & Reisfeld)
• Dedalo (Gianluigi Trovesi, arrangement Corrado Guarino)

Homage to Maurice Merle

Plex - alto saxophone version

On May 6th, 2004, with numerous friends of Arfi's (Association à la Recherche d'un Folklore Imaginaire) and Maurice Merle's, we met together at in Lyon, France, in Théâtre des Jeunes Années for the night "Le Souffle Continue." Philippe Gilbert (sax) and myself (live electronics) played Plex, and I dedicated this version with alto sax to Maurice Merle. Here is the recording:

Short biography

Maurice Merle was born on April 27th, 1945 in Le Puy, France. He graduated from a business school, and became a saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He creates in 1968 the Free Jazz Workshop with Jean Mereu, Jean Bolcato, and Pierre Guyon. With Christian Rollet, he is at the origin of La Carrérarie, a company of Musical Theater for Children. Since 1972, he has created numerous shows, from l'Opéra Jubjub to Prismo, along with Steve Waring and Alain Gibert.

In 1977, he is among the founders of Arfi, and has played in the most important projects of this collective. With the Workshop de Lyon and the Marmite Infernale, he has toured South America, Europe, Northern and Eastern Africa, and Middle East. He has taken part in the projects around movies, including Potemkine, Tarzan, Paris' Girls, and Tragédie au Cirque.

During 3 years, he has been the president of the National Collective of Jazz and Improvised Music Organizations (CNAJMI). As a composer and arranger, he registered 164 works at the French society for composers, the SACEM. Maurice Merle passed away on April 2nd, 2003.

Thank you for leaving comments if you know precisions/corrections to this biography.
Read also the biographies of all the musicians members of the "collectif arfi."

Le Souffle continue

Philippe Gilbert is a great saxophone player, and has been my jazz teacher during 2 years. He is not only a serious jazzman, but also a fun artist. Check for instance Les gars de la marine or La grosse couture!

Look for us on the picture! For the Grand final of the night, I played the basset-horn. Philippe Gilbert played alto sax.This picture was taken by Mikiko, a fan of Louis Sclavis's, who runs the website Le site de Louis Sclavis. Don't forget that Louis Sclavis spent an important time with the Arfi musicians, before the beginning of his solo carrier.