3/24

Up around 8. Went out for an hr to go to bodega (though they don’t call them that here), merch area (some Art Ensemble related CDs + Ron Miles’ I Am A Man; didn’t go hogwild), and buy 2 small notebooks at the print/Western-wear shop on the main drag. Asked where they got their stock of embroidered (Nudie-style) suits/coats/shirts, worked boots, and the like — some of it’s on consignment from Marty Stuart! Came back, graded the proof sections of about 1/3 of the midterms. Headed out to Richard Thompson w/ Knoxville Strings - a commissioned set of songs about WWI (Thompson’s grandfather was a British soldier, permanently disabled by poison gas). Pretty somber, reasonably enough, orchestration integrated into some numbers better than others. Left at interval to catch Art Ensemble panel; Mitchell is a curious individual (I mean that in 2 senses). From there, heard Bill Frisell’s group w/ Petra Haden, Hank Roberts (underused), and a 2nd guitarist whose name slips my mind (I’ll bet he gets that a lot). Repertoire split between folk/jazz — “Hard Times,” “Red River Valley,” “Lush Life,” and a great “On the Street Where You Life” w/ a nice vocal arrangement. Frisell really plays behind the beat a lot; Petra sounds great. Anxious about grading, so I skipped some things, went back to room, and finished, about 5:30-7. Figured out the curve for letter grades, haven’t recorded them. Hardly time for a snack, got in line for the Art Ensemble of Chicago show at the main theater. Quite a remarkable and deliberate set, in terms of range and choice of material - some not only composed but conducted, some improvised (though for RM, that’s just composition in real time). One highlight was a thorough diatonic song about Jamaica, with a middle section that brought in pre-recorded rain forest sounds — that sounds cheesy on paper, but it was a coup de theatre, and the vocalist was incredible. Fun to see Jean and Tomeka in the front line. Got out about 10, found a bite, saw the AEC violist (Eddie something), said hello (though a local street character was also trying to engage him). Inspired or energized enough to stay up working on charts for Laura’s show until about 1.