Stephen Nachmanovitch: Author of "Free Play" and "The Art of Is"
Conversations with Musicians, with Leah Roseman
06/11/22
•101m
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Stephen Nachmanovitch is the author of both Free Play and more recently The Art of Is. Yo Yo Ma wrote that “Stephen Nachmanovitch’sThe Art of Is is a philosophical meditation on living, living fully, living in the present. To the author, an improvisation is a co-creation that arises out of listening and mutual attentiveness, out of a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity. It is a product of the nervous system, bigger than the brain and bigger than the body; it is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter, unprecedented and unrepeatable. Drawing from the wisdom of the ages,The Art of Is not only gives the reader an inside view of the states of mind that give rise to improvisation, it is also a celebration of the power of the human spirit, which — when exercised with love, immense patience, and discipline — is an antidote to hate.”
This was an amazingly inspiring conversation, extremely wide-ranging, including some musical improvisation. I’ve included timestamps to help listeners navigate the many topics we touched on including many important artists, which include: Yehudi Menuhin, John Cage, William Blake, Herbert Zipper, Keith Johnstone, Ali Akbar Khan
The video is here, and the transcript will also soon be linked on my podcast website: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/stephen-nachmanovitch-author-of-free-play-and-the-art-of-is
Please buy me a coffee? Thanks! https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro to episode with Yo-Yo Ma quote and books “The Art of Is” and “Free Play”
(01:46) World Music Menu
(05:03) Violectra by David Bruce Johnson
(09:43) sarangi, viola d’amore, sympathetic strings
(13:10) work as a software programmer, sacred desk and secular desk
(15:58) synesthesia, Visual Music Tone Painter, William Blake
(18:19) Keith Johnstone and the intersections of art forms in improv: theatre, dance, music,
(22:49) cooking
(24:07) Yehudi Menuhin
(26:47) Stephen re-learning the violin in a different way after injury
(28:13) Indian music studies with Shashi Nayak and Ali Akbar Khan
(29:49) “The Art of Is” and “Free Play”
(30:52) Buddhism, Gregory Bateson, San Franciso Zen Center, Dorland Mountain Colony
(37:53) William Blake
(41:19) writing “The Art of Is” with Jack Nachmanovitch as editor
(43:09) Herbert Zipper, documentary “Never Give Up”
(49:38) parameters in improvisation
(55:30) improvisation Leah Roseman on acoustic violin, Stephen Nachmanovitch on Violectra, waterphone and voice
(01:03:23) body awareness, working with dancers
(01:10:15) The judging specter
(01:12:17) visual cortex interaction when listening
(01:14:41) inspiration from nature, Stephen’s health problems and isolation, album “Hermitage of Thrushes” with David Rothenberg, collaborations with Ellen Burr, Anders Hagberg
(01:21:13) “Finger Kissing” and the judging specter
(01:27:15) John Cage
(01:36:47) Stephen’s wife
(01:39:29) Stephen’s advice
photo credit: Dirk Dobíey
Previous Episode
Brendan Power: Harmonica player and inventor
June 4, 2022
•55m
Brendan Power is famous internationally as a phenomenal harmonica player in many genres and also as an instrument innovator. He’s invented many unique harmonicas to increase the expressiveness and range possibilities of the instrument family, and is constantly experimenting. Brendan also has a fascinating personal story in that he discovered the harmonica in his university years, and changed his life in order to master it. He is completely self-taught and you may have heard his playing on albums with Sting, Kate Bush, Van Morrison, movies like Shanghai Noon and Atonement, or over 20 of his solo albums. I was thrilled to have this opportunity to speak with him! During the episode Brendan demonstrates a few of his harmonicas in different styles, and I’ve added timestamps below.
The video version (transcript will be added soon) is: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/brendan-power-harmonica-player-and-inventor
Brendan Power's website is: https://www.brendan-power.com/
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(02:12) Amazing Grace on the AsiaBend harmonica
(03:15) Discussion of the AsiaBend harmonica and different musical traditions, including Indianization of
different instruments
(07:58) Bulgarian music
(10:10) How Brendan started developing different tunings
(10:58) Brendan’s start in music, hearing Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee
(12:56) Brendan’s family influences, early playing opportunities in New Zealand
(15:27) how Brendan learned by ear, understanding of harmony
(18:32) Brendan early years in England, winning the All-Ireland
(21:39) getting hired by Sting for the Ten Summoner’s Tales videos, playing with David Sanchez, Vinnie Colaiuta
(24:04) Internet history: a CD of Ten Summoner’s Tales sold in 1994 was the first secure transaction on the internet
(24:59) Lucy Randall
(25:26) Irish music Corner House jig into a reel
(28:01) retuning harmonicas, developing different harmonicas
(29:45) History of the harmonica
(31:27) using iPad for music effects, MIDI, Akai EWI, SWAM Audio Modeling
(35:43) Richter tuning, development of bending notes in the Blues, Paddy Richter tuning
(38:10) the number of harmonicas most serious players have
(41:38) pros and cons of the chromatic harmonica
(43:46) how to alter a chromatic harmonica for more expressive possibilities
(45:54) discussion of the SlipSlider and new innovations
(49:07) pros and cons of MIDI harmonicas
(51:21) Brendan’s early years learning on his own
Next Episode
In this short bonus episode with the inspiring trumpet player and educator, Karen Donnelly, Principal Trumpet of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, she shares stories of her outreach during the pandemic lockdowns, her role as mentor and her role in the The Canadian Women's Brass Collective, and finally wonderful advice for all musicians about improving. The full episode is available in both video and podcast format, with the full transcript all linked here: https://www.leahroseman.com/blog/karen-donnelly-transcript
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