12 minute read
Extra: Untempered Ensemble brings improv to UVA.
Wednesday 11/9
music
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Hard Swimmin’ Fish trio. A midweek music boost. Free, 6:30pm. The Whiskey Jar, 227 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thewhiskey jarcville.com Dueling Pianos. An all-request, rock ‘n’ roll party where you pick the playlist. $25, 7pm. Pikasso Swig Craft Bar, 333 Second St. SE. pikassoswig.com
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Highland Virtual Book Club. Highland’s Mellon Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Maria DiBenigno leads the group in discussion of History Disrupted: How Social Media and the World Wide Web Have Changed the Past by Jason Steinhauer. Free, 7pm. Online. highland.org
classes
Paint & Sip. Learn to paint a mandala martini glass. $40, 6pm. Vitae Spirits Distillery Downtown, 101 E. Water St. catelynkelsey designs.com
etc.
Crafty Date Night. Enjoy a complimentary beverage with every craft purchase. Free, 6pm. Pikasso Swig Craft Bar, 333 Second St. SE. pikassoswig.com
Daily Tour of Indigenous Australian Art.
Explore the only museum in the U.S. devoted to Indigenous Australian art. Free, 10:30am and 1:30pm. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA, 400 Worrell Dr. kluge-ruhe.org
Thursday 11/10
music
Berto and Vincent. A night of wild gypsy rumba and Latin guitar. Free, 7pm. The Bebedero, 225 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thebebedero.com Eggy. Eggy’s music traces the full spectrum of emotions evoked by a life well-lived. $1517, 8:30pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesoutherncville.com
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MFA Reading Series. Fiction and poetry students from the University of Virginia’s MFA program in creative writing read from their work. Free, 7pm. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. ndbookshop.com
One Mic Stand—Spoken Word Open Mic.
Enjoy a mix of spoken word works. Free, 7pm. PVCC’s V. Earl Dickinson Building, 501 College Dr. pvcc.edu
etc.
Arts From Underground. Artmaking, drinks, and karaoke inside The Looking Glass. Free, 7pm. Ix Art Park, 522 Second St. SE. ixartpark.org
Daily Tour of Indigenous Australian Art.
See listing for Wednesday, November 9. Free, 10:30am and 1:30pm. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA, 400 Worrell Dr. kluge-ruhe.org The “Cav Futures Show” Live. Lo Davis and Luke Neer host this live radio show that features interviews with UVA student- athletes, a social media livestream, and in-person photo and autograph opportunities. Free, 7pm. Dairy Market, 946 Grady Ave. cavalierfutures.com
One music
Bill Cole’s Untempered Ensemble brings international improv to UVA
By Julia Stumbaugh
The concert begins with a thunderous gong and booming timpani.
As the intro song progresses, a guttural drone pulses, seemingly from beneath the audience’s feet, while the breathy undulation of a distant horn floats over the rumble.
Audiences new to Bill Cole’s Untempered Ensemble may not immediately recognize what they’re hearing. That’s because they’re listening to a didgeridoo and a conch shell, two of the non-Western instruments that define the unique sound of this improvisational group joining the University of Virginia’s artist-in-residence program from November 15-17.
The ensemble’s instruments originate from six continents, and the methods used to play them are hypnotizing. Cole’s cheeks bulge as he stores enough air to fill his fourfoot-long instrument. Taylor Ho Bynum’s fingers curl deftly inside the seashell. Althea SullyCole expertly strums the 21 strings of her round-bellied kora.
Most of these complicated manipulations happen without sheet music. In fact, the only thing on the musicians’ stands is a single opening line.
This line is based on proverbs shared with Cole by a Nigerian mentor. The syllables of each proverb shape the opening rhythms of the Untempered Ensemble’s unpredictable group journey through sound.
“It could be anybody that takes the lead on it,” says Cole. “After we play the line, whoever jumps out there starts it. It’s joyous to be able to play in a situation where the individuals who are in my ensemble are making equal contributions to the pieces that we’re doing.”
The improvised song grows like a living thing. Occasionally, the sound of individual instruments floats away from the pulsing core—the lilt of the flute, the thrum of the acoustic bass—but there are glowing moments of cohesion, where the entire band comes together as one.
“One of the things that I’ve been working on for quite some time now is to have everybody in the ensemble improvising at the same time,” says Cole. “In other words, we’re not doing solos. We try to play one music, but it’s improvisational style.”
Unlike pop and classical artists, who usually stick to chords shaped from the key the song is played in, Cole and his Untempered Ensemble float outside diatonic boundaries.
Deliberately discordant moments sometimes fit the tone of the proverb the song is based on. That may be the case at UVA’s Memorial to Enslaved Laborers, where the Untempered Ensemble will hold its first Charlottesville performance of the year.
PUBLICITY PHOTO
The Untempered Ensemble presents free performances at the UVA Memorial to Enslaved
Labors on November 15, at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center on November 16, and in the Rotunda’s Dome Room on November 17.
Cole, a descendant of enslaved laborers, is shaping the rhythm of this performance around two proverbs: “No wicked man will escape the judgment of God,” and “As we behave, so we are blessed.”
“Music has a way of initiating certain kinds of feelings within people when they come and hear the performances,” says Cole. “That’s the kind of thing I hope we do in our band.”
The performance will feature Cole on Asian double reeds, Australian didgeridoo, and African wooden flute; Joseph Daley on low brass; Warren Smith on African, Caribbean, and Western percussion; Bynum on cornet, trumpet, and conch shell; Ras Moshe Burnett on saxophones and flute; SullyCole on West African kora; Mali Obomsawin on acoustic bass; and Olivia Shortt on baritone saxophone.
In 1992, the ensemble began with just Cole, Smith, and Daley. The group slowly grew over the next three decades—until COVID-19 abruptly reversed that trend.
As venues closed their doors, Cole’s group shrunk back to a trio once more. Cole and two fellow ensemble members sat on his porch in Vermont, and played music for neighbors who set up folding chairs on the lawn to listen to the unique musical style. “It’s American music, but in a state like Vermont, people haven’t heard the kind of music that I do,” says Cole. “It’s an interesting experience for both the people we play for and the players that are playing.” The ensemble will return in full force to Charlottesville as an eight-member group featuring musicians ranging in age from their 20s to their 80s. “Everybody is learning from everybody else, so it works out,” says Cole. “It’s the idea that everybody believes in the fact that we’re trying to play one music. That makes this important.” The musicians’ influences range from the Senegalese, from whom Cole’s daughter SullyCole learned the kora during research in West Africa for her doctorate in ethnomusicology, to Aretha Franklin, for whom Smith once played percussion on tour and live TV. But these differences in age and experience fade away on stage, when communal improvisation turns disparate instruments into a single noise that sounds like, as Bruce Lee Gallanter of the Downtown Music Gallery described it in April, “the dawn of mankind.”
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Friday 11/11
music
An Evening with Pierre Bensusan. The French-Algerian guitarist, vocalist and composer performs in support of his album Azwan. $30-35, 8pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesouthern cville.com
Cavalier Marching Band: Veteran Appre-
ciation. An open dress rehearsal for the halftime show Veteran Appreciation. Free, 6:30pm. Carr’s Hill Field, UVA Grounds. music.virginia.edu
Charlottesville Symphony—Master-
works 2: Songs of Destiny. With the University Singers, the University of Virginia’s 100-voice SATB choral ensemble. $8-45, 8pm. Old Cabell Hall, UVA Grounds. cvillesymphony.org John Kelly. Live music, wine, and food from the Eastwood food truck. Free, 5pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com MoJo Pie. Enjoy wine and music with friends. Free, 6pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glass housewinery.com The California Honeydrops. The band draws on musical influences ranging from Bay Area R&B, funk, Southern soul, Delta blues, and New Orleans second-line. $2530, 8pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. jeffersontheater.com
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African Photography: The Ethics of Looking and Collecting in the Age of
Restitution. This symposium draws together scholars, artists, and curators who explore the ethics of working with photographs and methods to decolonize the medium, and its histories. Free, all day. Online. art.as.virginia.edu Joyce Chopra: Lady Director. In conversation with filmmaker Paul Wagner. Free, 7pm. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. ndbookshop.com
Perfect Binding: publishing, politics, &
creative practice. A poetry reading and conversation with Nicole Cecilia Delgado and MC Hyland. Free, 6pm. Virginia Center for the Book, Jefferson School City Center, 233 Fourth St. NW. vabookcenter.org
outside
Playdates at the Playscape. BYO buddies and snacks and enjoy nature play. $20, 9:30am. Wildrock, 6600 Blackwells Hollow Rd., Crozet. wildrock.org
etc.
Daily Tour of Indigenous Australian Art.
See listing for Wednesday, November 9. Free, 10:30am and 1:30pm. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA, 400 Worrell Dr. kluge-ruhe.org This Is Spinal Tap. Chronicled by a filmmaker fan, This Is Spinal Tap shines a light on the self-contained universe of a metal band struggling to get back on the charts. $11, 8pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net
Veterans Day Commemoration Cere-
mony. The University of Virginia Army ROTC Cadets, the Cville Brass Quintet, and featured speaker Mary James, director of COVER, participate in this ceremony in salute of our veterans. Free, 1pm. James Monroe’s Highland, 2050 James Monroe Pkwy. highland.org
This Is Spinal Tap
RIALTO PICTURES
11/11 | The Paramount Theater Saturday 11/12
music
Berto and Vincent. An afternoon of wild gypsy rumba and Latin guitar. Free, 2pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com Berto’s Latin Guitar Brunch. Enjoy the sounds of Brazil, Spain, and Latin America. Free, 11am. Tavern & Grocery, 333 W. Main St. tavernandgrocery.com Personal Bandana. The liminal local electronic duo performs live. Free, 8pm. The Stage at WTJU, 2244 Ivy Rd. wtju.net Teddy Swims. The 29-year-old artist merges honeyed soul with raucous rock energy and pleasing pop hooks. $25-125, 8pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. jeffersontheater.com The Brevet. The band’s alternative rock sound draws authentically from folk, surf, and R&B influence. $12-15, 8:30pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesoutherncville.com
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Commemorating the African American Military Experience: Telling Untold History.
With guest speaker Winsome Earle-Sears, Virginia’s lieutenant governor and a Marine veteran. Free, 11am. Carver Recreation Center, 233 Fourth St NW. vetcommcva.com
Louise Marburg: You Have Reached Your
Destination. In conversation with Sharon Harrigan. Free, 7pm. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. ndbookshop.com Storytime. Featuring recent storybooks and classics kids know and love. Free, 11am. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. ndbookshop.com
classes
Planning and Planting the Home Orchard.
Learn about site selection and soil preparation, and get the tools you need to start the planning process successfully. $150, all day. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarleciderworks.com
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Farmers Market at Ix. Over 60 local vendors with produce, prepared foods, artisan goods, and more. Free, 8am. Ix Art Park, 522 Second St. SE. ixartpark.org Playdates at the Playscape. See listing for Friday, November 11. $20, 9:30am. Wildrock, 6600 Blackwells Hollow Rd., Crozet. wildrock.org
etc.
Citizen Kane. A reporter is assigned to decipher newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane’s dying words. $5-8, 7:30pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall.theparamount.net
Daily Tour of Indigenous Australian Art.
See listing for Wednesday, November 9. Free, 10:30am and 1:30pm. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA, 400 Worrell Dr. kluge-ruhe.org Family Studio Day. Make your own autumn wreaths and other fall decorations to take home. Free, 10am. Second Street Gallery, 115 Second St. SE. secondstreet gallery.org
Neon Culture Brewing: From the Jump—
Volume 2. A block party with live music, food, artmaking, and beer. Free, 3pm. The Looking Glass, 522 Second St. SE. @neon culturebrewing Night of The Blind Pig. A speakeasy soirée to benefit The Front Porch. $150, 6pm. The Front Porch, 221 E. Water St. frontporchcville.org Tour The Paramount Theater. Dig into the historic theater’s history on a backstage tour. Free, 11am. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net
Sunday 11/13
music
Charlottesville Symphony—Masterworks
2: Songs of Destiny. See listing for Friday, November 11. $10-45, 3:30pm. Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center, 1400 Melbourne Rd. cvillesymphony.org Irish Music. An energetic and eclectic jam session with Patrick and Aaron Olwell and friends. Free, 2:30pm. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarleciderworks.com Jazz Chamber Ensembles. Student musicians in the UVA jazz program perform. Free, 7pm. Old Cabell Hall, UVA Grounds. music. virginia.edu The Jazz Connection. Playing standards and originals with occasional guest performers. Free, 6pm. Kardinal Hall, 722 Preston Ave. kardinalhall.com Rick Olivarez Trio. Gypsy jazz. Free, 1pm. Potter’s Craft Cider, 1350 Arrowhead Valley Rd. potterscraftcider.com Scuffletown. Calypso, bluegrass, reggae, and blues tunes. Free, 2pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com Second Sunday Bluegrass Jam. All levels, ages, and instruments welcome. Free, 1pm. The Batesville Market, 6624 Plank Rd., Batesville. batesvillemarket.com
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Charlotte Matthews. The local author and UVA professor celebrates the release of her new poetry book, The Half-Life of Regret. Free, 1pm. Bluebird & Co., 5792 Three Notched Rd., Crozet. bluebirdcrozet.com
classes
Paint & Sip. Paint, sip, snack, and repeat. $35, 2pm. Chiswell Farm & Winery, 430 Greenwood Rd., Greenwood. catelynkelsey designs.com
etc.
Daily Tour of Indigenous Australian Art.
See listing for Wednesday, November 9. Free, 10:30am and 1:30pm. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA, 400 Worrell Dr. kluge-ruhe.org Morocco. Known for its star’s gender-bending attire, Morocco was Marlene Dietrich’s first Hollywood production and the second of her numerous collaborations with director Josef von Sternberg. Free, 4pm. Light House Studio: Vinegar Hill Theatre, 220 W. Market St. lighthousestudio.org The Southern Flea. A curated holiday market. Free, 11am. Common House, 206 W. Market St. eastwestexperiential.com
31 Eat up! Eat up!
HUNT! Want to find truffles in Virginia? Start here GATHER! Umma’s just wants to welcome all y’all COOK! Cake many ways from a former C’ville foodie
FALL /WINTER 2022
Taste is everything.
Melissa Close-Hart on her new Southern restaurant
HOW CAN ONE SWEET TREAT BE SO PERFECT? LET US COUNT THE WAFERS WAYS...
WE WANT COOKIE!
