Artist of the Week
The Jack Straw Artist of the Week Podcast highlights work created through the Artist Residency Programs at Jack Straw Cultural Center.-
A Bridge Home: Nature Boyz – E Le Lei O Mea Uma
In 1997, Byron Au Yong produced the compilation A Bridge Home: Music in the Lives of Asian Pacific Americans, in partnership with the Wing Luke Asian Museum and Jack Straw Cultural Center. The collection featured selections from a wide range of artists, including the Samoan vocal group Nature Boyz, featured here.
From the CD liner notes:
“We appreciate music mostly for singing. That I think comes from Samoan life. Mellow. With feeling. Whatever we sing, it comes out with good feelings. It’s made to be heard with your heart.”
-Neemia “Nemo” MoseFrom their love of singing in the church choir, five 20- to 30-year-old brothers and first cousins formed the Nature Boyz in the late 1970s. Younger family members have replaced older members and refined their blend of top 40, rhythm and blues and Samoan church harmonies. “E Le Lei O Mea Uma” is one such modified church song about the beauty of creation.
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May Maylisa Cat New Media Gallery Interview
Alyssa Keene interviews Jack Straw New Media Gallery artist May Maylisa Cat about her installation Karmic II.
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Neil Welch - Concepción Picciotto
Jack Straw Artist Neil Welch will celebrate the release of his new album, produced through the Jack Straw Artist Support Program, with a concert at the Chapel Performance Space in Seattle. More details on the concert below.
From composer and soloist Neil Welch:
“This work is titled, composed and dedicated to the activist Concepción Picciotto, a houseless peace activist that lived on the street in front of the White House from 1981-2016. She held what is thought to be the longest continuous protest in world history, working to help raise awareness of endless US driven wars, with a particular focus on nuclear disarmament. My composition is a 25 minute long work scored for saxophone section, string quartet, rhythm section, mezzo soprano and saxophone soloists. It is a work exploring myriad territory, from ethereal soundscapes to driving jazz rhythms and percussive undulations. It was inspired by her life and written in her memory.”
Neil Welch Album Release Celebration
Thursday, November 11th
Chapel Performance Space, Seattle
7:30-9:30pm / $10-20 sliding scale donation -
Bill and Naima Lowe - 97 Days Between
Bill and Naima Lowe‘s 97 Days Between is the third and final installment in Sonolocations, our three-part series of commissioned works with The Henry Art Gallery. Hear the whole series and learn more at soundcloud.com/sonolocations and henryart.org.
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Nat Evans - Gradient
“Gradient,” by Nat Evans with Will Hayes, guitar, and additional improvisations by the artist, was played using the sonic sculptural systems Andrew Fallat created for his installation Timbre, on view in the Jack Straw New Media Gallery through November 5th.
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Lori Goldston - Miasms
Lori Goldston’s “Miasms: For three instrumentalists, one audio technician, and piano that’s been dropped (min. 20’) and left to sit (min. 20 years),” performed by Lori Goldston, Alan Jones, Greg Kelley, and Austin Larkin, was created for the 2019 Jack Straw New Media Gallery installation Piano Drop, which commemorated the 1968 dropping of a piano from a helicopter in Duvall, WA.
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Chenoa Egawa - Enduring Rhythms: Seven Songs from the Skagit Valley
Chenoa Egawa’s Enduring Rhythms: Seven Songs from the Skagit Valley is the second installment in Sonolocations, our three-part series of commissioned works with The Henry Art Gallery. Hear the whole series and learn more at soundcloud.com/sonolocations and henryart.org.
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Betsy Hanson - Always Gardenia (excerpt)
The audiobook of Betsy Hanson‘s novel Always Gardenia, produced through the Jack Straw Artist Support Program, is now available on Audible, Libro.fm, and other platforms. Betsy will present a Zoom workshop on September 16th for writers to help prepare for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Visit bit.ly/3lWMXRA to register.
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Tekla Waterfield - Come on Jane
“Come on Jane” is the first single from Tekla Waterfield‘s forthcoming album New Skies, produced through the Jack Straw Artist Support Program. For more about Tekla and the album, visit www.teklawaterfield.com.
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Submergence: Poetry and Sound Excerpt
Our recent exhibit Submergence: Going Below the Surface with Orca and Salmon, presented with the Endangered Species Coalition, included a soundscape of orca sounds, original poetry, and music. This excerpt features Jack Straw Writers Ching-In Chen and Rena Priest reading their work, and music by Eduardo del Signore, with Hydrophone recordings by Orcasound.