A night of cosmic creative music presented by Sam Newsome -solo soprano saxophone and duet of Susan Alcorn and Orlando Johnson.
Sam will be presenting music from his latest project and seventh solo recording, entitled Chaos Theory: SongCycles for Prepared Saxophone. this was just release on June 9th.
The CD was recently in DownBeat Magazine’s Editor’s Picks/June Issue, and Jazziz Magazine’s 10 Albums You Need to Know About/June Issue. Other noteworthy solo releases by Newsome include Sopranoville: Works for Prepared and Non-Prepared Saxophone (2017) and Blue Soliloquy (2009) both of which received 5 stars in DownBeat Magazine.
Newsome sees himself more along the lines of a visual artist who paints with notes and sounds rather than shapes and colors. “My music,” says Newsome, “is a type of improvisatory art music in which jazz functions more as a resource than a musical genre to be interpreted with stylistic specificity.“ In more recent years, Newsome has been working in the sonic realm of prepared saxophone; a platform where he can expand his sound palette by altering the way in which air enters and exits the instrument. (Please see project description for detailed explanation of techniques.) Even though Newsome’s approach is unorthodox, it has proven to be very fruitful—musically and critically.
Opening for Sam will be newly form duo and collaboration of Susan Alcorn and Orlando Johnson, both premiere creative artist of local scene of Baltimore and National acclaim.
Susan Alcorn
One of the world’s premiere exponents of her instrument, Susan Alcorn has taken the pedal steel
guitar far beyond its traditional role in country music. Having first paid her dues in Texas country
& western bands, she began to expand the vocabulary of her instrument through her study of
20th century classical music, visionary jazz, and world musics.
Though known as for her solo work, she has collaborated with numerous artists including
Pauline Oliveros, Chris Cutler, Joe McPhee, Ken Vandermark, Nate Wooley, Eugene
Chadbourne, Ingrid Laubrock and Leila Bourdreuil, Evan Parker, Michael Formanek, Zane
Campbell, Phillip Greenlief, and Mary Halvorson among others. In 2016, she was voted “Best
Other Instrument” for the International Jazz Critics Poll. In 2017 she received the Baker Artist
Award and in 2018, along with saxophonist Joe McPhee, she was the recipient of the Instant
Award in Improvised Music.
ORLANDO JOHNSON
