Jean-Francois Charles

New EP available for pre-order! It was a treat to record these three tracks with bassist Will Yager . How much is an album worth today ? With this EP, you get 18 minutes of new music for $3! Krats/Strak by Jean-François Charles & Will Yager Tracks Music for bass & live electronics. All electronic sounds are synthesized live from the bass sound. Krats (6:05) Strak (3:48) Tranquility (8:47)

Announcement, announcement! Bassist Will Yager and I are performing at the SPLICE Festival this Friday night! I'm thrilled with the concert program : it includes works by composers Alexandra Gardner , Mary Lou Williams , Christopher Poovey , Caroline Louise Miller , Michael Flynn , and the Schuette Sommerfeldt Duo . I'm looking forward to hearing the impressive line-up of performers, from Kyle Jones to Mark Michelli, from Robin Meiksins to Sam Wells and Noa Even. Find their bios on the concert page . Will and I are performing Petrified, for double bass & live electronics , a reflection on the plastic nature of rocks. The University of Iowa engineer James Edel did a great job at recording, filming, and editing the video. I hope you'll be able to watch & listen. The videos are going to be streamed on the SPLICE facebook page. And make sure you check out the complete festival program - personally, I wouldn't miss any of the concerts! Update: the score and ...

Jean-François Charles and the incredible LIGAMENT duo release Benedictus, a powerful mash-up of the latin text and Charles Baudelaire 's poem L'examen de minuit (Midnight Examination) , from Les Fleurs du Mal (Flowers of Evil) . The single showcases the stellar soprano Anika Kildegaard and the wild bassist Will Yager. Update December 2023: the song was re-recorded and is included in the album Missa brevis Abbaye de Thélème . Reactions "Sacré Baudelaire! The poem's tragi-satirical lighting has spared no one... and is still hot! The sound is just as irreverent (and addictive); familiar cues appear to be better disoriented... Acerbic!" — DM "Anika Kildegaard's voice is furiously vibrant & sweetly cruel. Will Yager, in a desperate attempt at brightening the darkness, is setting his bass on fire. LIGAMENT are perfect in this intoxicating Flower of Evil." — CE Lyrics Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini ; Hosanna in excelsis. La pendule,...

The new single Benedictus is being released this Friday, October 2. The incredible LIGAMENT duo are performing this a powerful mash-up of the latin text and Charles Baudelaire's poem L'examen de Minuit (Midnight Examination), from Les Fleurs du Mal (Flowers of Evil). [audio not available]

Llull , for tuba solo, is a virtuosic homage to philosopher Ramon Llull . Among other achievements, Llull drew one of the first heuristic maps, composed what he called worthless songs and poems, and has been rightfully accused of anticipatory plagiarism by the Oulipo writers. In this tuba solo, the performer weaves a complex web of expressions, techniques, and reminiscences that presents the tradition of tuba playing in a kind of retrograde inversion. I wrote this composition for fantastic tuba player David Mercedes. Score is available at New Flore Music . Online Premiere The premiere of Llull will be streamed on Sunday, September 27 from the Streaming page at the University of Iowa School of Music .

Steve Grismore is an exceptional guitar player: he can play anything and is always ready for a new adventure (like when we created the piece Guitar School with the Laptop Orchestra at the University of Iowa ). He recently released Better Times (Are A Comin') , a new trio album dedicated to the music of Ornette Coleman. Steve invited me to present this Friday at the Jazz Seminar. I decided to talk about Maurice Merle , the Workshop de Lyon, and in a way, the links between Albert Ayler and Louis Sclavis . I'm so glad: I just received today in the mail the 50th anniversary album of the Workshop de Lyon. The CDs I'm going to play at the seminar: We're also going to play live, along with Jim Dreier (drums) and Will Yager (bass): Chant Bien Fatal will be the tune (of course?)

In April 2017, I was invited along with the Laptop Orchestra at the University of Iowa to take part in a performance with living legend Gōzō Yoshimasu . The organizers at the International Writing Program were wonderful, and trusted us completely for this concert mixing live performance, poetry readings, and music. I'm glad to share here selected excerpts where I perform on clarinet (I also played live electronics at some points in the show). The laptop orchestra sounded great this evening. Musicians were: Nima Hamidi, setar & live electronics Joseph Norman, electric guitar & live electronics Kris Peysen, electric guitar & live electronics Jacob Simmons, guitar & live electronics Carlos Toro-Tobon, Buchla analog Synthesizer & live electronics Special guest: Patricia Hartland, electric bass The Medium is the Messenger A show designed and inspired by Gozo Yoshimasu Readings and translations by Forrest Gander, Sawako Nakayasu, and...