Arthur Russell's Instrumentals Program

CITY RECITAL HALL 16 JANUARY

ARTHUR RUSSELL’S INSTRUMENTALS DIRECTED BY PETER GORDON USA | AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

ARTHUR RUSSELL’S INSTRUMENTALS DIRECTED BY PETER GORDON

DIRECTOR, SAXOPHONES AND ORGAN

Peter Gordon FLUTE

Rhys Chatham TROMBONE AND HARMONICA

Peter Zummo BASS GUITAR

Ernie Brooks DRUMS AND VIBRAPHONE

Bill Ruyle PIANO AND TRUMPET

Max Gordon GUITAR

Gerry O’Beirne VIDEO

Kit Fitzgerald DIRECTOR’S NOTE Reflecting upon Arthur Russell’s Instrumentals, I think about music as time and community. Time and community are the essence; time and community are the context.

Measured in milliseconds, the physical manifestation of music is the vibration of matter. Something is set into motion – a string, a membrane, a column of air – causing vibration. This vibration creates sound: the speed determines pitch. The interlocking of the vibrations of various speeds creates harmony.

The placement of sounds in time defines melody and rhythm; the groupings of such, unfolding in time, create a structure. The manner in which these structures are set forth suggests the style, or genre.

Our experience of music consists of the moment when we hear a work,

but the work lingers in our memory, extending the time. Subsequent hearings bring back memories of the time one initially encountered a work.

Music originates in a community and is created by and for a community.

An ensemble – or a band, orchestra, producing team, etc. – is a community, with members having well-defined tasks. A community might be geographic, defined by ancestral associations, or selfselecting. Like-minded individuals are a community, and we are members of multiple, intersecting communities.

And listeners can define a community: musical artists can develop cadres of fans, who become a community.

Arthur Russell composed Instrumentals in 1974 and 1975, first in San Francisco, then in New York’s East Village. The title alludes to popular songs without singing, solely performed by instruments, which every now and then head up the charts.

I first met Arthur in 1975. I had just moved to New York from California, as Arthur had done the year prior.

We discovered our shared interest in breaking down the boundaries between pop music and experimental music, and became close friends.

We were part of a community of artists and musicians who inhabited downtown Manhattan at the time.

I helped Arthur copy the parts for Instrumentals and it was also through the rehearsals that I met other musicians, who were members of the downtown community.

A number of my friends from this downtown community will be performing Instrumentals. Peter Zummo, Rhys Chatham, Bill Ruyle, Ernie Brooks, Arthur and I often performed in each other’s projects. There was a fluidity in our roles: one day we might be the leader, the next day we might be playing in someone else’s piece. We continue to do this today.

The exception is that Arthur has passed away, we have to play his music without him. Communities grow and expand, and our musical community now includes Max Gordon, who grew up hearing our music; and Gerry O’Beirne, who I met in Ireland and had the intuitive sense would connect with us. Our community also included visual artists. Arthur was inspired by the photography of Yuko Nonomura, whose slides accompanied the original performances. These images are now enhanced and expanded upon by video artist Kit Fitzgerald, who was an integral member of our downtown community.

Forty years have passed since the original performances of Instrumentals.

The community of Arthur Russell listeners, once quite small, has grown over time, with widely diverse communities intersecting. Arthur Russell has not only broken down boundaries of musical genres, he has also broken down boundaries of ethnicity, culture and sexual orientation.

And the community of listeners continues to grow. Welcome.

PETER GORDON NEW YORK CITY, NOVEMBER 2015