Pulse

Christian Howes @ Jazz Gallery

A reminder that Pulse violinist Christian Howes brings his quartet to the Jazz Gallery tonight -- 9 PM and 10:30 PM. If you've haven't heard him Christian is heavy -- he's a veteran of bands led by Greg Osby, D.D. Jackson, David Murray, Steve Turre, so you know he can bring it. Check his MySpace page for audio evidence.

Vipassana at Makor

My group Numinous will present my four-movement composition, Vipassana next week, on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 8:00 PM at Makor located at 35 West 67th Street. Tickets are $15 at the door or can be reserved at www.makor.org.

In the Pali language of the early Buddhist texts, vipassana means "to see things as they really are.” Vipassana is an epic four-movement, 70-minute composition that reflects my goal to create music that “stimulates the mind and refreshes the spirit." Featuring 25 instrumentalists and singers, Vipassana is partly inspired by Björk’s Selmasongs and photographs from Yann Arthus-Bertrand's Earth from Above series and Jake Rajs' The Hudson River. Vipassana also features Denise Levertov’s beautiful poem Variation and Reflection on a Theme by Rilke.

The featured performers will be: Ben Kono, Dan Willis, Ed Xiques (woodwinds), Dave Smith (trumpet/flügelhorn), Debbie Weisz (trombone), Tom Beckham, Michael Pinto (vibraphones), Amanda Monaco, Sebastian Noelle (guitars), Deanna Witkowski, Brenda Earle (pianos), Peter Wise, Luke Notary (percussion), Charenee Wade, Amy Cervini, Sofia Koutsovitis, Julie Hardy, Monika Heidemann (voices), Ana Milosavljevic, Skye Steele (violins), Whitney Lagrange, Joshua Davidowitz (violas), Jody Redhage, Lauren Riley (violoncellos), Thomson Kneeland (bass), Joseph C. Phillips Jr. (composer, conductor).

We go into the studio the last week of March to record Vipassana, so be on the look out for the CD, hopefully later in 2007 or early 2008. I hope you can come out to Makor and have a drink and refreshments and enjoy Vipassana!

Joe

P.S. You can check out my myspace site to hear excerpts from the 1st and last movements of Vipassana.