Marilyn Crispell: Between the Lines
From Boston to Woodstock, from the Creative Music Studio to the Braxton Quartet and then beyond, Marilyn Crispell has explored a rich catalog of music both alone and in the company of some of the field’s most talented artists. Read the interview…
Tyondai Braxton: Central Market
Whether as a solo artist or a member of Battles, Tyondai Braxton has spent his career creating thick, multi-layered sounds with minimal means; but on his newest album Central Market, he ups the ante with his new backing band—an orchestra.
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Ikue Mori: At Home in Strange Lands
Ikue Mori’s sensitivity to sound and pacing, from intuitively exploring rhythms first behind a drum set and then on drum machines, has made her one of the most fascinating laptop artists. Read the interview…
Gunther Schuller: Multiple Streams
Gunther Schuller has had profound importance as a jazz arranger and historian as well as a twelve-tone composer, conductor, publisher, and record producer, and at 83 years young he’s still going strong. Read the interview…
Guillermo Scott Herren: Cut Through the Noise
For multifaceted composer/musician Guillermo Scott Herren, no matter how far or in what direction he stretches, it’s always about cutting-edge sound. And from the role of Prefuse 73 to the state of the record industry, he has plenty to say. Read the interview…
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate: Native Composer
Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate combines traditional musical material from the Chickasaw and other Native American tribes with such old-fashioned formal devices as fugues and sonata form.
Willie Colón: Salsa is an Open Concept
For Willie Colón, any style can be incorporated into salsa, and putting all these genres together is a way of making a statement that is as much sociopolitical as it is musical.
Martin Bresnick and Lisa Moore: Symbiotic Relationship
Much of the creative fuel for composer Martin Bresnick and pianist Lisa Moore derives from their relationship with each other.
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Fred Ho: Turning Pain Into Power
Fred Ho’s mission is to create the music and fight the political battles that others cannot or will not pursue.
Maria Schneider: Navigating Comfort Zones
Maria Schneider creates extremely beautiful music, but it’s full of beneath-the-surface complexities.
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Ultimate Concept: Deconstructing Matmos
Matmos (a.k.a. M. C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel) sits at an intersection where musique concrète, experimental improv, electronic, and pop sensibilities freely rub elbows. We asked for their recipe for making music.
Rhys Chatham: Secret Agent
Rhys Chatham has forged a unique musical path that is part punk rock, part contemporary classical music, yet somehow neither.
Gloria Coates: Beyond the Spheres
Despite having a career that has spanned five decades, two continents, and 15 symphonies, Gloria Coates remains a largely unknown quantity on these shores after years of success in Europe. It would seem, however, that the Atlantic tides are turning.
Christopher Rouse: Going to Eleven
Christopher Rouse believes music should have a sense of urgency and that the listener needs to bring a certain urgency to the experience of hearing it, too.
Gabriela Lena Frank: Composite Identity
Gabriela Lena Frank’s compositions are a unique musical response to mestizaje, a state in which cultures can co-exist without one subjugating another.
Alvin Singleton: Intuitions and Reminders
Alvin Singleton’s voracious appetite for all kinds of music is a starting place for understanding his own musical creations.
Breathing Ghosts and Dancing with the Devil: Sxip Shirey's Fractured Sonic Fairy Tales
Is Sxip Shirey an overly serious novelty composer or an underly serious experimental musician? Either way, he’s completely committed to creating music that carries a sense of wonder and awe into the ears of his audiences.
Lois V Vierk: Slideways
Lois V Vierk’s extensive use of slides is a personal musical response to a reality of nature.
Tan Dun: Tradition and Invention
Tan Dun has found a way to simultaneously be an experimenter and a populist.
David Rakowski: The Piano Etude Guy
David Rakowski combines hardcore intellectual rigor with unabashed humor and, at times, pure silliness.
Ornette Coleman: Freedom of Expression
Freedom guides how Ornette Coleman has been making his music for over a half a century, and it’s also how he leads his life.
Jennifer Higdon: Down to Earth
If ever there was a spokesperson who could clearly describe what this field is to folks who are not a part of it and get them excited to learn more about it, it’s Jennifer Higdon.
The Fiery Furnaces: Kindred Spirits
The Fiery Furnaces: Indie rockers Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger are clearly kindred spirits of the new music community.
