This week we take our curious listeners on a little tour through and underappreciated moment in musical history: “space-age” music, or lounge music, or whatever term floats your boat. We trace the relationships between this “exotic” moment in musical history, and Jazz, classical, film and television music. After pondering the rhetoric that greeted some of the musicians behind the movement, we look forward – through futurisms far from retro – to examine the lingering effects of this musical phenomenon in our media music today.
Audio installation under narration: edited and processed tracks from NASA including:
“Cassini: Saturn Radio Emissions #1” https://soundcloud.com/nasa/cassini-saturn-radio-emissions-1
“Jupiter Sounds 2001” https://soundcloud.com/nasa/jupiter-sounds-2001
Audio Tracks featured in the discussion (all links accessed January 3, 2018):
Frank Comstock “On The Dark Side of The Moon” from Project: Comstock Music from Outer Space (1962). From “Ultra Harmonics Channel, YouTube. https://youtu.be/Q-BbnOt3reQ?t=1280
Ferrante & Teicher “Poinciana” from Soundblast (Westminster Records, 1958). From “Dr. Hofmann’s Electric Kool-Aid Party!” Channel, YouTube. https://youtu.be/0zoGG3uSjZI?t=408
Juan Garcia Esquivel “Poinciana” from Other Worlds Other Sounds (RCA Victor, 1958). From “Dr. Hofmann’s Electric Kool-Aid Party!” Channel, YouTube. https://youtu.be/pVfZTtgGS3E?t=589
George Russell “Chromatic Universe, Pt. 2” from Jazz in the Space Age (Decca Records 1958). From “Dr. Hofmann’s Electric Kool-Aid Party!” Channel, YouTube. https://youtu.be/tCfzE7w0SFw?t=1004
Dave Pike “When I’m gone” From Jazz For the Jet Set (Atlantic Records, 1966). From “Dr. Hofmann’s Electric Kool-Aid Party!” Channel, YouTube. https://youtu.be/jvoSSkp2Njc?t=962
Links and articles from discussion:
Ferrante & Teicher: https://www.discogs.com/artist/179036-Ferrante-Teicher
Esquivel: http://www.spaceagepop.com/esquivel.htm,
Obituary from Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/juan-garcia-esquivel-9263481.html
George Russell: “George Russell, Composer Whose Theories Sent Jazz in a New Direction, Dies at 86” by Ben Ratliff, The New York Times, July 29, 2009. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/arts/music/30russell.html
His book: The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organizations: The Art and Science of Tonal Gravity” https://www.amazon.com/Lydian-Chromatic-Concept-Tonal-Organization/dp/0970373902
Dave Pike: https://www.discogs.com/artist/18121-Dave-Pike
Information about The Willows Nest Artist Residency Program: http://willowsnest.org/artist-residencies/
