Coltrane At The Highline
Oct 06, 2022, 01:29 PM
"The piece inspired me in a number of ways. First, thinking about the voice of Coltrane's saxophone singing out over the chaos of a subway train station and the crowds of people milling about on their way to somewhere. The station as a point of departure, not the destination, and so the people all en route, in motion, leaving for different destinations. Secondly, John Coltrane is a legendary sax player who has played for thousands in concerts, and is responsible for landmark records in a form of jazz known as bebop. Perhaps most of the commuters that day were oblivious to who was standing at the station and creating this beautiful music in how own special way.
"My piece address the topics of well-being and sustainability in cities by foregrounding the importance of art to give beauty and meaning to the routines of crowds going about their otherwise mundane day. Coltrane's artistic expression humanizes the mindless anonymity of a crowd by communicating some spiritual that could touch people, and perhaps did, on an emotional level. The musical performance isn't taking place in a concert hall, and it's not captured and sold in some formal format, but instead is offered for those who resonate with it as they pass by, and opportunities for artistic creation that take place in these urban spaces are so important for creating a city that support the well-being of its citizens.
"The piece was made by slowing down the original sample of Coltrane's sax playing and stretching the time, in a way to suggest the slowing down of time on a busy day, pausing to consider more closely the human dynamic in an environment that most folks would likely overlook on their way to somewhere else. The piece also includes lots of extended reverb to express the aspects of the song relating to memory, looking/listening back to these moments and how they re-play and re-sound in the mind after while thinking about them again in a more focused way. As well there are samples of one of the New York subway lines included here because I think the sounds of those trains are so recognizable, but also have a very forward and dynamic energy -- the hustle and bustle of a busy subway station."
High Line busker reimagined by Wayne DeFehr.
Part of the Well-Being Cities project, a unique collaboration between Cities and Memory and C40, a global network of mayors of nearly 100 world-leading cities collaborating to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis. The project was originally presented at the C40 Cities conference in Buenos Aires in 2022. Explore Well-Being Cities in full at https://citiesandmemory.com/wellbeing-cities/
"My piece address the topics of well-being and sustainability in cities by foregrounding the importance of art to give beauty and meaning to the routines of crowds going about their otherwise mundane day. Coltrane's artistic expression humanizes the mindless anonymity of a crowd by communicating some spiritual that could touch people, and perhaps did, on an emotional level. The musical performance isn't taking place in a concert hall, and it's not captured and sold in some formal format, but instead is offered for those who resonate with it as they pass by, and opportunities for artistic creation that take place in these urban spaces are so important for creating a city that support the well-being of its citizens.
"The piece was made by slowing down the original sample of Coltrane's sax playing and stretching the time, in a way to suggest the slowing down of time on a busy day, pausing to consider more closely the human dynamic in an environment that most folks would likely overlook on their way to somewhere else. The piece also includes lots of extended reverb to express the aspects of the song relating to memory, looking/listening back to these moments and how they re-play and re-sound in the mind after while thinking about them again in a more focused way. As well there are samples of one of the New York subway lines included here because I think the sounds of those trains are so recognizable, but also have a very forward and dynamic energy -- the hustle and bustle of a busy subway station."
High Line busker reimagined by Wayne DeFehr.
Part of the Well-Being Cities project, a unique collaboration between Cities and Memory and C40, a global network of mayors of nearly 100 world-leading cities collaborating to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis. The project was originally presented at the C40 Cities conference in Buenos Aires in 2022. Explore Well-Being Cities in full at https://citiesandmemory.com/wellbeing-cities/