CHIRONOMIC ORCHESTRA – THE GESTURE of SOUND, THE GESTURE of COLOUR –

  an album 

You can listen to the music, view the drawings and read the liner notes on

b a n d c a m p 

Parma connection : I met Roberto Bonati, a double bass player from Parma, a few years ago in Trond- heim, Norway. Since then continuous lively inspirational exchange came into being and lead into trustful cooperation. I wrote liner notes for the two albums “Il Suono Improvvise” and  “Whirling Leaves”, of the Chironomic Orchestra, founded and led by Roberto, who not only is a teacher at Parma Conservatory but also Artistic Director of the annual Parma Frontière Festival. In 2022 – after the Corona pandemic – the festival invited me to participate as visual artist with projections of my live drawing in the concert of the Chironomic Orchestra in the old Valserena Abbey. 

Scenery : this recorded concert took place at the old Valserena Abbey ante portas of Parma. The music was created by a nineteen piece orchestra only on the basis of hand signs and hinting body movements of Roberto Bonati standing in front of the half circle of the executing musicians. Bonati and his musicians built up and unfolded their dramaturgy of orchestrations from the interaction of the gestured signs and their mutual interpretation thereby giving it shape through their instruments in a rich and challenging actual field of interacting sources and forces.  

Line-up : 3 vocals, 4 double basses, 3 violins, 1 guitar, 2 trumpets, 3 saxophones, 2 clarinets 

Chironomic is derived from old Greek meaning: moving hands/arms in cadence. Roberto Bonati finding inspiration in the conduction practice of US-American musician Butch Morris (1947-2013), the sound painting approach of Walter Thompson (1952) and the hand sign practice in Gregorian Chants in Europe, developed his own approach and practice from it, working with dramaturgical building blocks that are freely, variably and communally given shape in real time creation. 

Listening visually projected simultaneously : in this concert visual artist Henning Bolte drew/painted his perception of the music in synch with the inner rhythm, texture, temperature, mood and overall dynamics of the musical real time creation. This live drawing/painting was projected on a large screen visible and followable for the audience. 

Documenting tableau : The booklet contains some of these live drawings/paintings that came into being synchronously with the creational performing process of the music by the musicians. They are part of a documenting tableau of that complex and vibrating process of creation in the Valserena Abbey.

REEL CONDUCTION

You can listen to the music, view the drawings and read the liner notes on

b a n d c a m p 

R E E L

Gestalt und Aussehen von Musikern sind uns vor allem durch die vielfache mediale Vermittlung (Foto, Video, Plattencover) bekannt, vertraut. Es kann dann aber auch passieren, dass man sie ausserhalb des medialen Rampenlichts manchmal gar nicht direkt wiedererkannt. Ab und zu begegnet man auch Fotos, auf denen sie in unbekannter Perspektive mit geringerem Wiedererkennungseffekt erscheinen. Wie etwa auf folgendem Foto. Die Gruppe war eine meiner Lieblingsbands Ende der 60er Jahre. Vor allem wegen des prägenden Einflusses der Jam-Qualitäten ihrer live Konzerte. Das machte mich in den Tagen schwer an. Die Stimme des Vokalisten (und Multiinstrumentalisten) begleitete mich bereits durch meine frühe Jugend. Wohl auch, weil er kaum älter war als ich selbst, als seine Stimme auftauchte und durchbrach.

There are a couple of legendary double bass pieces … as „Jade Vision“ by Scott LaFaro or „Silence“ by Charly Haden, „Pendulum“ by Eberhard Weber … Starting here, triggers more pieces, yes, for sure …

One of the strongest resonating bass pieces is no doubt „Believer“ by Carlos Bica, released in 2006 on the Enja label with his group AZUL, the still existing trio of Carlos, Jim and Frank augmented by guest DJ Illvibe. „Believer“ is music, die das Herz höher schlagen lässt und die Seele singen lässt. Und so viel mehr. And much much more … 

„Believer“ brilliantly unleashes the inherent forces of the ostinato in the footsteps of Ravel from a truly deeper place. It is beautifully cycling,it is suggestive, hymnic and intimate. It circles freely, it swings, it rocks. It gives birth to melodic flights of fancy and keeps all connected to the stamping ground. You can dream and dance to it. It zooms in and out, flies high and dives deep in its perpetuum mobile quality. It’s a port and moving passage. It houses African as well as Lusitanian traces.It is a song of songs spreading joy and confidence. It murmurs and celebrates. It invites and is a companion.

There are a couple of versions in different line-ups to sound out its manifold possibilities


LIVE AT SINES w/ Jim Black, Frank Möbus and DJ Illvibe



In duo w/ pianist Joåo Paulo Esteves da Silva



LIVE AT Teatro São Luiz in Lisbon w/ Joåo Paulo Esteves da Silva, Mario Delgado (g) and João Lobo (dr)


Solo w/ pianist Joåo Paulo Esteves da Silva

Apropos Carlos Bica : his newest album „11:11“ is an all-Lusitanian affair, released on CLEAN FEED with a convincing and highly captivating Portuguese line-up: Eduardo Cardino on vibraphone, José Soares on alto sax and Gonçalo Neto on guitar and banjo. The album is on the newest longlist of Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik.

Bica 11:11

Paul Motian’s nice Cindy McGuirl maintains her uncle’s archive (Uncle Paul’s Jazz Closet Radio) and runs a revealing podcast with interesting, surprising, astonishing material from that extensive archive. This time material is presented on the occasion of Indigenous People’s Day related to Motian’s fellow musician Jim Pepper (1941-1992), a Kaw Muskogee Creek native. Yes right, the one and only Jim Pepper of the famous WITCHI-TAI-TO, that Peyote cult song. Besides Pepper there are more Native American influences in jazz and popular music e.g. Don Pullen, Don Cherry, Robbie Robertson and Jimi Hendrix.

here is THE BLOGSPOT and here is THE PODCAST

Ganz früher kündeten Bilder, Texte und mündliche Erzählungen von groBartigen, verrückten, merkwürdigen usw. Ereignissen. Tondokumente? Für tausende von Jahren: Fehlanzeige. Nun hat es sich seit 150 Jahren beinahe umgekehrt. Ton und Bild vereint in Bewegung suggerieren ein aktuelles Dabeisein. Vergangene Zeit eingefroren, Gegenwart beliebig wiederholbar. Was noch fehlt, ist das reale Energiefeld, der Geruch, die Temperatur, der soziale Vibe, das Wetter. Das muss Lauschende(r) selbst schaffen.

Live demnext … Trygve Seim speaking:

Looking forward to create music in the moment again, together with my heroes Arve Henriksen, Anders Jormin and Markku Ounaskari, at concert venue Stadtgarten in Köln (Cologne), Germany, this coming saturday, October 12th at 8pm.

I hope to see y’all ( … ) there

©️FoBo_

In the famous Neapolitan song "Tammurriata Nera" many influences got merged in a fascinating way and also the performances have many fascinating variations and extensions. The most outstanding are the versions of Peppe Barra. Here is a highly captivating version with him 

V  I  D  E  O   Tammurriata Nera w/ Peppe Barra 


But would we then call this a musical hybrid? I don't think so. So, when do we speak of musical hybrids and when not? 

In the comment links to more versions for those who got turned on by this music.