Kin of the Moon plays music of Tom Baker and Neil Welch
Tom Baker has composed a substantial yet delicate musical exploration of our shifting climate. “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Glacier” is based on poetry by Craig Santos Perez. Scored for mezzo-soprano, alto flute, viola, saxophone, and guitar, the chamber ensemble movements are interspersed with solo guitar meditations. These chamber movements and solo commentaries reflect on the tragedy of our world’s melting ice. Featuring saxophonist Neil Welch and guitarist Michael Nicolella.
KOTM reprises its performance of Neil Welch‘s “No house on fire, no”. Its unique sonic landscape emulates the infinitely variable sound of wind passing through vast fields of grass, an experience that Neil had on a trip to Alaska. No house on fire, no. for improvising quintet, explores phonetic text painting, reflections on physical landscapes and the collaborative spirit of a regularly performing ensemble engaged in creative improvisation. The work is segmented into four sections (Introduction, I, II, III) and is intended to progress between sections without pause. All instrumentalists use extended techniques to create undulating sounds of air and wind through various means, such as: fingers sliding on the keyboard with plastic finger picks, flute and saxophone blowing directly into their instruments without engaging pitch, bows sliding on the body of the instrument or swiping against the air itself, feet and hands brushing against the floor, clothing, or instrument. Some passages are dichotomous in their pitch content, blending tempered and non-tempered tuning. No house on fire, no. includes themes using non-pitched breathing through phonetic text painting, with rhythms and phrasing taken from the poem Drawn Together, by Joan Naviyuk Kane. Featuring saxophonist Neil Welch and bassist Abbey Blackwell.