VIsion festival 2023 - DAY 3 @ roulette, brooklyn, new york, jun 15 - feat. BRAHJA / TED DANIEL IBMC / MIKE REED’S SEPARATIST PARTY
photography by © Clara Pereira / text by Filipe Freitas
BRAHJA
On its third day, the Vision Festival 2023 got underway with Brahja, a cosmic-guided septet led by altoist Devin Brahja Waldman, who shared the frontline with Ras Moshe on tenor sax, Lee Odom on soprano, and Watson on bass clarinet. The rhythm section consists of Damon Hankoff on piano, Luke Stewart on bass, and Reggie Nicholson on drums. Drawing from their latest album, Watermelancholia, the ensemble hit the trail with the title track, executed with a fine alto solo followed by collective bursts of sound. Unfortunately, piano and bass clarinet were barely audible here. The sound was gradually fixed during the following pieces: “O.P.K.”, which was ballasted by a restless tenor solo with guttural low sounds and sudden shrieking shouts, and an ecstatic soprano statement with occasional Eastern flavor; and “Sorcery of Terminology”, whose mystery and esoterism were soothed by a relaxed piano moment infused with melodic color. By the end, they did “Natural Law”, a mantric piece supported by mallet drumming and arco bass.
ted daniel international brass and membrane corps
Following a 30-minute performance by the duo L.I.P. (dancer K.J. Holmes and drummer Jeremy Carlstedt), we had American trumpeter Ted Daniel and his International Brass and Membrane Corps (IBMC), whose members are guitarist Marvin Sewell, tubist Jose Davila, and drummer Michael Wimberly. Displaying a deep Southern sound impregnated with influences of Americana, post-bop and delta blues, the quartet was joined by two actors - Brian Rojas and Kerby Darius - who read texts about civil rights, government responsibility, and other known American issues. One of Daniel's richest pieces was called “The Choice”, with Daniels switching from trumpet to flugelhorn.
mike reed’s separatist party
The final concert of the night was the bass-less Chicago ensemble Separatist Party, led by drummer Mike Reed. The group features two collaborators with whom he worked on his 2017 Flesh & Bone album - cornetist Ben LaMar Gay and poet Marvin Tate, whose voice and words are incendiary - and a trio of musicians who record under the collective name of Bitchin Bajas: Cooper Crain on guitar and synth, Dan Quinlivan on keyboards, and Rob Frye on tenor saxophone and flute. The exploration of sounds is taken into effect via droning sounds, groovy loops, neo-psychedelia atmospheres, rock and funky rhythms, and fascinating tenor-cornet interactions.