Big Ears - Day Three

Once again, no rest for the exhausted.  No time today for anything other than a brief recap of who we saw yesterday, Saturday, March 23, 2019, during Day Three of Big Ears.

After running all around downtown Knoxville yesterday and covering some 4.7 miles,we selected our performances today based mostly on proximity of one venue to another, and still wound up with a pretty good lineup that required a lot less energy to take in.

MEREDITH MONK VOCAL ENSEMBLE

Joyful, magical, and insightful, this is exactly the type of performance that should, in a perfect world, enjoy much wider appreciation, and is a large part of the reason that Big Ears exists and is so important to the international musical experience. (0.3 miles)

CARA-LIS COVERDALE:  PIPE ORGAN CONCERT

While interesting, Cara-Lis Coverdale's performance on the Church Street Methodist Church pipe organ didn't solve the problem of how to present the musician to the audience in that setting: she wasn't visible to most of the audience, who could only gaze at the empty pulpit and stained glass windows while she played.  Sharp-eyed readers may recognize her face as that spot of light color amidst all the oak-brown woodwork beneath the window near the center of the photograph. (1.0 mile)

LONNIE HOLLEY

Another church, another performance.  We were questioning our decision to see Lonnie Holley a second time this weekend at Big Ears, when it's generally not very hard to see him perform in his hometown of Atlanta, but we were rewarded with what was the best performance by Holley we've seen yet.  His improvisational sets always seem to be a search for, if not quite redemption than transcendence,and yesterday he achieved that transcendence and brought the audience along with him. (1.3 miles)  

CARLA BLEY TRIO

Not that age matters, but Carla Bley is now well into her 80s.  In the 1950s, she was a cigarette girl at Birdland in New York, and has been composing and performing important and groundbreaking music of her own since at least the late 60s.  In the 70s, her big band toured almost like rock stars, and we saw them play at Boston's Paradise Theater (a rock venue) and at a free show on a Sunday afternoon in Copley Square.  Now, lo these decades later, she's performing heartbreakingly intimate ballads with her trio, including her long-time partner, the exceptional bassist Steve Swallow. (1.7 miles)

THIS IS NOT THIS HEAT

Time for a change of pace, and uptown to The Mill & Mine.  This Heat was a cutting-edge British post-punk band, who now give their reunion shows the Magritte-like title, This Is Not This Heat. Quiet then loud, lyrical then dissonant, they were a great kick in the ass for a late Saturday afternoon. (2.4 miles) 

MAKAYA McCRAVEN

Modern, post-bop jazz the way it was meant to be played.  No gimmicks, no concessions to popular trends, just straight-ahead, hard-blowing jazz.  The flame is still alive as long as we have torch-bearers like the talented drummer McCraven and his sidekicks, including guitarist Jeff Parker. (2.5 miles)

SONS OF KEMET

The second set of the weekend by British saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings (The Comet Is Coming was Friday night).  High energy dance music, with repetition favored over improvisation and only the faintest of similarities to "jazz."  Still, the bro-heavy audience seemed to love it.  We caught the full set, and then took the long  walk back to the hotel (3.2 miles).

Back into the frey again for us soon for the final day of the festivities.