New York downtown scene
The New York downtown scene (also downtown avant-garde ) is a scene of experimental avant-garde music that emerged in the Lower East Side in the late 1970s . John Zorn is her central figure of integration , the most important record label is his Tzadik .
History and essence
The New York downtown scene emerged in Manhattan in the late 1970s . It has its origin and trigger in the no wave and noise music of that time. The important influences and forerunners include: the loft scene of the 1960s and 1970s, new music (e.g. John Cage ), the European free improvisation scene around Derek Bailey and the New York protopunk scene.
At the beginning of the story of the downtown scene, John Zorn's Studio Henry in a basement in the West Village was the place where many of the participating artists gathered. Since 1987, the Knitting Factory has been one of those places where representatives of the downtown scene often performed. The tonic was added in the 1990s. In 2005 Zorn opened another club, The Stone, which became the center of the scene due to the closure of the Tonic in 2007 and the shift in focus at the Knitting Factory.
The downtown scene is characterized by a high degree of plurality, polystyle and artistic openness. "Deviation" is considered to be the central element of the scene, so it is difficult to grasp. Their representatives allow different styles of music to merge - free jazz , noise , Latin jazz , Afrobeat , Klezmer , new music . Some of them are immigrants (e.g. the Brazilian Cyro Baptista or the Japanese Ikue Mori ) and let the music of their countries of origin flow into the scene. Günther Huesmann wrote about the characteristic elements of downtown music:
“The downtown scene is a child of the big city New York - their music tends towards loudness, density and extreme sounds. The uninhibited bricolage, the multi-stylistic (and sometimes shrill) combining in pastiche techniques (...) became the common sound language of the downtown scene. "
Particularly strong directions within the scene were the turn to Jewish Klezmer music, represented by the Radical Jewish Culture proclaimed by John Zorn , as well as to Balkan folklore . It is characteristic that the musicians involved do not simply copy the respective folklore , but create something completely new based on it.
Representative
Well-known representatives of the downtown scene are John Zorn, Elliott Sharp , John Lurie , Marc Ribot , Anthony Coleman , Uri Caine , Bill Frisell , Fred Frith , John Medeski , Arto Lindsay , Ikue Mori, Wayne Horvitz , Dave Douglas , Joey Baron , Susie Ibarra .
literature
- Tamar Barzel: New York Noise: Radical Jewish Music and the Downtown Scene . Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indianapolis 2015, ISBN 978-0-253-01557-0 .
- Joachim Ernst Berendt and Günther Huesmann: The Jazz Book: From New Orleans to the 21st Century . S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-596-15964-2 , pp. 77-81 .
- Peter Cherches: Downtown Music, 1971–1987: An Overview and Resource Guide. New York University, accessed October 1, 2015 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Downtown Music IV: Loft Jazz, 1972-79. New York University, accessed October 1, 2015 .
- ↑ Barzel (2015), p. 14.
- ↑ Barzel (2015), p. 7.
- ↑ Berendt / Huesmann (2011), p. 77.