Where would we be without music or ways to record it?

Whether listening to Scott Joplin, Bolero, Pink, or Louis Armstrong—or all of them—where would we be without music and without the ability to record and re-play music for our pleasure?

A recent article in the New York Times announced that a fantastic collection of historical jazz recordings has been  acquired from the estate of William Savory. “The National Jazz Museum in Harlem acquired the entire set of nearly 1,000 discs, made at the height of the swing era, and has begun digitizing recordings of inspired performances by Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday… and others that had been thought to be lost forever.” According to the article, some of the recordings were made by Savory on aluminum disks or even acetate. This is a far cry from the wax cylinders invented by Thomas Edison in the last quarter of the nineteenth-century.

This summer, Matt Musselman and his band, Grandpa Musselman and His Syncopators,

Grandpa Musselman and His Syncopators at the Thomas Edison National Historic Park

were asked by the Thomas Edison National Historic Park, New Jersey, to perform some ragtime music to celebrate Thomas Edison Day.

The event was to recreate what happens during the recording of music on wax cylinders and to save the performance for posterity in a historical format.

Wax cylinders waiting to for the performance to begin.

Grandpa Musselman and His Syncopators rocked out some of Scott Joplin’s ragtime compositions.

As the Syncopators performed, Musselman’s music was captured on yellow paraffin wax cylinders, exactly as it would have been done from about 1880-1915.

The sound is transferred by a stylus into the soft wax. The scratchy, “dusty” sounds we hear in old recordings, are said to be in part some of the wax filings that collect in the cylinder. Ideally, while the music is being performed and inscribed in the cylinder, an assistant blows the shavings away to eliminate the background noise.

Thomas Edison staff removing wax shavings

And, luckily for Musselman the Edison National Historic Site has promised to take the wax recording of his music, and give him back a digitized version. Grandpa Musselman and His Syncopators frequently perform in New York and this year have included tours to Dubai, Scandinavia—and the Thomas Edison National Historic Park—in their schedule.

Where would we be without the musicians and composers AND the scientists and inventors like Edison who found ways to preserve the music! (See also Wikipedia for info on wax cylinders.)

Quotation from: Larry Rohter, “Storied Trove of 1930s Jazz Is Acquired by Museum.” New York Times, ARTS. 16 Aug 2010.

 

More on Collaboration. Add Courage and Paint.

To create one’s world in any of the arts takes courage.

Georgia O’Keeffe

Linnea Maas is an artist in two-dimensional media who collaborates with paint and courage as a member of the band Marvelle in Minneapolis. The band describes itself as “a new sound from Minneapolis, thick arrangements for a sparse trio” consisting of violin, bass and drums. But Linnea makes up the fourth element in the band as she creates an acrylic painting on an easel on stage for each set the band plays. Linnea’s performance is directly in front of the audience, and the audience has the pleasure of watching the painting emerge as the music flows through the venue.

During a recent interview with me in her studio in the Casket Arts Building in Minneapolis, Linnea discussed the process of collaboration between artistic platforms and her role as an “action painter.”

Linnea in her studio in the Casket Arts Building. Shown, parts of her "Robot" series, and portion of a painting created at a Marvelle performance.

Collaboration is central to her partnership with Marvelle. Derek Schultz of the band approached Linnea a few years ago with the idea of having her create a painting during the band’s sets. At first she was panicky about being on stage and being expected to create a piece of art. “I hate the spotlight and I paint representational; rarely abstract,” she said. So, she needed to create a painting that would be recognizable to the audience.

The first collaboration presented the most unknowns. Linnea said, “It was so intense I didn’t know what to expect.” To prepare, she listened at length to the band while doing many sketches. She found that her preparation allowed her to visualize and use some of the images—such as clouds—that she had conjured up in her sketches while listening to the music.

Now she has performed about 30 times with the band since 2008. Her first task when the band starts playing is to “cross over into ‘paint brain.’” This phrase she coined describes that mental state where the artist is immersed in their artistry and creativity.

Linnea painting during Marvelle's performance. Photo from the band's website. Marvelle.org

For her with Marvelle, the energetic core of the music and her visual cues sync up. In that mental space, she can paint without having to think any words, and in fact, at that point it is virtually possible to think in words. She merges her energy with that of the individual musicians and the specific energy in the performance at that moment. Tapping into the energy is crucial for her painting.

She often returns to specific themes in her paintings, like clouds or barn swallows, based on a particular mood that comes to her when Marvelle plays. For example, she says that with her Marvelle action painting, the “barn swallows represent—I don’t know—the minor chords or something. They pull my heart the same way each time; sort of hope and sadness and swooping and flying.” She also discovered that for her, it is the drummer and the vocabulary and mood of the drums, that connects her painting to the music.

Linnea Maas and Andy Uzendoski at Linnea's studio. Behind them is one of the paintings she created on stage when Marvelle was performing

And, as if in synch to her thoughts, at that moment in the interview, one of the drummers for the band, Andy Uzendoski, strolled into Linnea’s Casket Arts Studio. (He is included here in a photo.)

Her Marvelle paintings are landscapes or skyscapes. When Linnea paints in her studio, she is working on a series of paintings presenting robots. She has challenged herself to convey as much emotion and internal intentionality in her robots through their facial expressions, the colors of their tank-bodies, their “wheels” and their antennae. Linnea now additionally performs as an action painter with a group of other painters, dancers and a D.J. at a Minneapolis club. She calls it s comfy sensory event…

A wonderful familiarity of understanding the harmony and collaboration of artists filled me during my interview with Linnea. Each participant in this action painting/trio-musicians collaboration allowed the other members to create and share.

Members of Marvelle are: John Holm, violin; Derek Schultz, bass and guitar; Linnea Maas, paint; Brian Warden, Brian Herb, Andy Uzendoski, and George, drum.

Marvelle website: http://marvelle.org

Listen to Marvelle on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/marvelletheband

Photos by Jane M. Mason.  Citation for O’Keeffe quote: “Georgia O%27Keeffe.” BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2010. 19 July 2010. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/g/georgiaok163985.html