As a Minnesota native I assumed that I understood the midwest. This tour deepened my understanding of what the real midwest is: St. Louis, Cleveland and points in between.
I started in St. Louis with the Convergence concert with Rich O’Donnell on drums and Kyma, Tom Hamilton on computer and me on flute and Kyma. It was challenging and exciting to play with friends who have known one another for many years. We had many of those wonderful “who is playing which sound?” moments as we wandered in and out of blends and counterpoints.
I flew to freezing weather in Ohio to meet up with mover-and-shaker-sax-player Noa Even where we shared a concert at Kent State and at the Spaces Gallery in Cleveland.
The high points were getting to play Sam Pluta’s DelayLine and Utter for new audiences and to improvise with Eva. We need to go into the studio and record!
I drove from Cleveland to Charlottesville, VA stopping to see relatives and taking in the stunning and mysterious West Virginia. Coal mines. Mountains. Long stretches of highway. Daydreaming paradise.
In Charlottesville I gave a performance/lecture on Sam’s DelayLine and Utter that led to discussions deep into the night. The next evening at the Telemetry Series I got to play with Alex Christie, who I’ve enjoyed playing with a few times in the past years and Kevin Davis, a cellist who can turn any sound upside down. We were the third set in an adventuresome evening with Mathew Burtner and Catherine Monnes opening. A musical feast!
The US Dutch Embassy was generous enough to create a blog that covered parts of the tour. And many thanks to the Funds for the Performing Arts for coming up with extra travel funds.
