IN ROTATION & IN ADDITION: Winter 2024-Summer 2025

I like to keep track of the ideas and work in this journal as a reference to what has influenced and affected me over time.  Alongside the collaborations I am fortunate enough to have with other musicians and artists, there’s the research I like to do through recordings, art exhibits, books, and film that move my thinking forward.  I collect those details and publish them about twice a year.  Here’s the compendium of that information between the winter of 2024 and summer of 2025.

In regard to the albums I listened to, there was a focus on material that I felt would aid me in the composing I was doing for the new sextet, Edition XL (w/Josh Berman, Erez Dessel, Lily Finnegan, Nick Macri, and Beth McDonald).  This included the late work of Duke Ellington and early work of Cecil Taylor.  I went into deep dives of Sidney Bechet, the piano music of Morton Feldman, 70’s material from Elza Soares, the compositions of Bernd Alois Zimmermann and Luigi Nono, recordings by guitarists Django Reinhardt and Kenny Burrell, Conlon Nancarrow’s “Studies for Player Piano” along with György Ligeti’s “Etudes” for piano, and Ornette Coleman’s trio music.  I kept listening to these recordings over and over again to better appreciate the depth which they have.

The Corbett vs. Dempsey gallery in Chicago continues to be an essential artistic haven for me, their exhibitions and events have been mind-altering with too many standouts to be able to mention all of them; though I will say the “Tandem Book launch: Matthew Ghoulish and Ken Taylor”, which included reading and discussion with the poet Ed Roberson, was one of the greatest things I’ve witnessed in the past year, as was the “Jack Whitten: The Messenger” exhibition at MoMA.  While teaching with John Yau for Richard Hull’s “Words, Music, Action!” painting course at Ox-Bow last summer, John stated that he was always interested in anything that Jasper Johns made.  I finally got to John’s extraordinary book, “A Thing Among Things: The Art of Jasper Johns”, one of the best things I’ve ever read about art.  This led me to Johns’ “Writings, Sketchbook Notes, Interviews”, which led me to read the correspondence of Marcel Duchamp and Robert Lebel, and the book Lebel created with Duchamp about Duchamp’s artwork, as well as to watch several short films about Duchamp.  Staying in Chicago more often in the first half of 2025 to focus on developing the music for Edition XL enabled me to watch more films.  Seeing the documentary, “Friedkin Uncut”, motivated me to re-watch two of his best films, “To Live and Die in L.A.” and “Sorcerer”, several times; which I also did for two movies from who I feel is one of the most underrated directors in American cinema, George Roy Hill: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (one of the great self-reflexive films) and “Slap Shot” (a brutally funny and brutally painful look at the end of a small city in industrial America).

IN ROTATION: Winter 2024-Summer 2025

David Axelrod, “Songs Of Experience” (Capital/Now-Again).

Sidney Bechet, “The Fabulous Sidney Bechet” (Blue Note).

Sidney Bechet, “Mosaic Select” (Mosaic).

Sidney Bechet, “The Quintessence: New York-Glovesville-Chicago 1932-1943” (Frémeaux & Associés).

Kenny Burrell, “Blue Lights: Volumes 1 & 2” (Blue Note).

Kenny Burrell, “Guitar Forms” (Verve).

Kenny Burrell, “Kenny Burrell” (Prestige).

Kenny Burrell, “Midnight Blue” (Blue Note).

Ornette Coleman, “At The ‘Golden Circle’: Volume One” (Blue Note).

Ornette Coleman, “At The ‘Golden Circle’: Volume Two” (Blue Note).

Ornette Coleman, “The Love Revolution: Complete 1968 Italian Tour” (Gambit).

Ornette Coleman, “Town Hall, 1962” (ESP).

Ornette Coleman, “Who’s Crazy?” (Arista Freedom).

Miles Davis, “Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (Lift to the scaffold): Complete Recordings” (Fontana).

Miles Davis, “The Cellar Door Sessions 1970” (Columbia).

Miles Davis, “On The Corner” (Columbia).

Johnny Dodds, “His Best Recordings: 1923-1940” (Best Of Jazz).

Duke Ellington, “Blues In Orbit” (Columbia).

Duke Ellington, “The Ellington Suites” (Pablo).

Duke Ellington, “The Far East Suite Special Mix” (Bluebird).

Duke Ellington, “Money Jungle” (Blue Note).

Duke Ellington, “Soul Call” (Verve).

Duke Ellington, “Such Sweet Thunder” (Columbia).

The Fall, “I Am Curious Oranj” (Beggars Banquet).

Morton Feldman, “Beckett Material” (Wergo).

Morton Feldman, “Complete Music For Violin & Piano” [performed by Stephen Clarke & Marc Sabat] (Mode).

Morton Feldman, “For Samuel Beckett” (Kairos).

Morton Feldman, “The Late Piano Works- Volume 1: Triadic Memories” (MDG).

Morton Feldman, “The Late Piano Works- Volume 2: For Bunita Marcus” (MDG).

Morton Feldman, “The Late Piano Works- Volume 3: Piano; Palais De Mari” (MDG).

Morton Feldman, “Neither: Opera Words By Samuel Beckett” (hatART).

Morton Feldman, “Patterns In A Chromatic Field” [performed by Rohan De Saram & Marianne Schroeder] (hatART).

Morton Feldman, “Works For Piano” [performed by Marianne Schroeder] (hatART).

Morton Feldman, “Works For Piano 2” [performed by Steffen Schleiermacher] (hatART).

Morton Feldman, “Complete Works For Two Pianists” [performed by Kristine Scholz and Mats Persson” (Alice).

Charlie Haden, “Liberation Music Orchestra” (Impulse!).

Coleman Hawkins, “The Hawk Flies Hight” (Riverside).

John Lee Hooker, “The Legendary Modern Recordings 1948-1954” (Flair).

Bahru Kegne, “In Memory Of Ethiopia’s Greatest Azmari” (Terp).

György Ligeti, “The Complete Piano Music: Volume 1” [performed by Fredrik Ullén] (BIS).

György Ligeti, “Etudes Books I And II (1-14a)” [performed by Idil Biret, piano] (Naxos).

Charles Mingus, “The Complete 1959 Columbia Recordings” (Columbia).

Ikue Mori, “Of Ghosts And Goblins” (Tzadik).

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, “Complete Piano Sonatas” [performed by Maria João Pires] (Brilliant Classics).

Conlon Nancarrow, “Quartets And Studies” [performed by Arditti Quartet] (Wergo).

Conlon Nancarrow, “Studies For Player Piano: Vol. I & II” (Wergo).

Conlon Nancarrow, “Studies For Player Piano: Vol. III & IV” (Wergo).

Conlon Nancarrow, “Studies For Player Piano: Vol. V” (Wergo).

Luigi Nono, “Canti di vita e d’amore; Per Bastiana; Omaggio a Vedova” (Wergo).

Luigi Nono, “Como una sola de fuerza y luz; …sofferte onde serene…” [performed by Maurizio Pollini] (Deutsche Grammophon).

Luigi Nono, “Fragment-Stille, An Diotima” [performed by the LaSalle Quartet] (Deutsche Grammophon).

Luigi Nono, “luigi nono 3: Guai ai gelidi mostri; Omaggio a György Kurtág” (Montaigne).

Luigi Nono, “La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura; “Hay que caminar” soñando” [performed by Gidon Kremer, Tatiana Grindenko] (Deutsche Grammophon).

Luigi Nono, “Orchestral Works & Chamber Music” (col legno).

Luigi Nono, “Quando stanno morendo; Canciones a Guiomar; Omaggio a Emilio Vedova” (Edition RZ).

Luigi Nono, “Seguente” (Edition RZ).

Django Reinhardt, “The Quintessence: Paris-Bruxelles 1934-1943” (Frémeaux & Associés).

Django Reinhardt, “The Quintessence 2: Paris-Londres 1935-1947” (Frémeaux & Associés).

Sonny Rollins, “Complete Live At The Village Gate 1962” (Solar).

Giacinto Scelsi, “5 String Quartets” [performed by Arditti String Quartet] (Montaigne).

Giacinto Scelsi, “Canti Del Capricorno” [performed by Michiko Hirayama] (Wergo).

Elza Soares, “Elza Soares” (Tapecar).

Elza Soares, “Licão De Vida” (Tapecar).

Elza Soares, “Na Roda Do Samba” (Odeon).

Elza Soares, “Nos Bracos Do Samba” (Tapecar).

Elza Soares, “Pilão + Raca = Elza” (Tapecar).

Sly Stone, “I’m Just Like You: Sly’s Stone Flower 1969-70” (Light In The Attic).

Cecil Taylor, “The Complete Candid Recordings Of Cecil Taylor And Buell Neidlinger” (Mosaic).

Cecil Taylor, “Jazz Advance” (Blue Note).

Cecil Taylor, “Looking Ahead!” (Contemporary).

Cecil Taylor, “Love For Sale”, (Blue Note).

Charles Wright, “Express Yourself: The Best Of Charles Wright And The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band” (Warner Archives).

Bernd Alois Zimmermann, “Dialoge; Monologe; Perspektiven; Photoptosis” (col legno).

Bernd Alois Zimmermann, “Music For Cello And Piano” [performed by Michael Bach & Bernhard Wambach] (cpo).

Bernd Alois Zimmermann, “Omnia tempus habent; Présence” (RCA Victor).

Bernd Alois Zimmermann, “Présence; Intercomunicazione” (Wergo).

Bernd Alois Zimmermann, “Présence; Interccomunicazione; Perspectives; Monologues” (Deutsche Grammophon).

Bernd Alois Zimmermann, “Requiem für einen jungen Dichter” (Wergo).

Bernd Alois Zimmermann, “Die Soldaten” (Teldec).

Various Artists: “Cumbia Cumbia” (World Circuit).

Various Artists: “The Gigi Gryce-Donald Byrd Jazz Laboratory & The Cecil Taylor Quartet- At Newport” (Verve).

Various Artists: “It’s A Good, Good Feeling- The Latin Soul Of Fania Records: The Singles” (Fania/Craft).

Various Artists: “Kenny Burrell/Jimmy Rainey: Two Guitars” (Prestige).

Various Artists: “Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane” (New Jazz).

Various Artists: “The Paris Concert, Salle de la Mutualité, November 4, 1965: Sonny Rollins Trio/Ornette Coleman Trio” (Magnetic).

IN ADDITION: Winter 2024-Summer 2025

ART EXHIBITIONS:

Art Institute of Chicago permanent collection (Lygia Clark, Willem DeKooning, Marcel Duchamp ready-mades, Robert Irwin, Jasper Johns, Martin Kippenberger, Henri Matisse, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, Wols); photo department (Marcel Broodthaers, Kenneth Josephson, Paul Strand, Kerry James Washington, Garry Winogrand)

“Rosa Barba: Poised Compression” (Corbett vs. Dempsey: 06/20/25-08/02/25) [link: https://corbettvsdempsey.com/exhibitions/rosa-barba-2025/]

“Caravaggio 2025” (Gallerie Nazionali Barberini Corsini: 03/07/25-07/20/25) [link: https://caravaggio2025.barberinicorsini.org/en/]

“Franco Fontana: Retrospective” (Museo dell’Ara Pacis: 12/13/24-09/14/25) [link: https://www.arapacis.it/en/node/1013682]

“Arthur Jafa: Works from the MCA Collection” (Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 06/01/24-05/11/25) [link: https://visit.mcachicago.org/exhibitions/arthur-jafa-mca-collection/), “The Living End: Painting and Other Technologies, 1970-2020” (https://visit.mcachicago.org/exhibitions/the-living-end-painting-and-other-technologies-1970-2020/]

“Lichtenstein100” (Rose Art Museum: 09/18/24-12/29/24) [link: https://www.brandeis.edu/rose/exhibitions/2024/lichtenstein100.html]

“Damon Locks: We Are Our People/Listen To This” (Goldfinch: 03/23/25-05/03/25) [link: https://goldfinch-gallery.com/viewing-room/12-damon-locks-we-are-our-people-listen-to-this/]

The Menil Collection, Houston: René Magritte, Cy Twombly, Wols  [link: https://www.menil.org/]

“Albert Oehlen & Kim Gordon” (Corbett vs. Dempsey: 01/24/25-03/01/24) [link: https://corbettvsdempsey.com/exhibitions/albert-oehlen-kim-gordon/]

“Joe Overstreet: Taking Flight” (The Menil Collection: 01/24/25-07/13/25) [link: https://www.menil.org/exhibition/joe-overstreet-taking-flight]

The Pantheon, Rome, Italy (04/07/25)

“Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica” (Art Institute of Chicago: 12/15/2024-03/30/25) [link: https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/10157/project-a-black-planet-the-art-and-culture-of-panafrica]

Celeste Rapone: “Big Chess” (Corbett vs. Dempsey: 11/16/24-12/21/24) [link: https://corbettvsdempsey.com/exhibitions/celeste-rapone_2024/]

John Sparagana Chicago studio visit (01/25/25)

“Nothing Is: Sun Ra and Others’ Covers” (Corbett vs. Dempsey: 01/24/25-03/01/25) [link: https://corbettvsdempsey.com/exhibitions/nothing-is-sun-ra-and-others-covers_cvsd/]

“Nuth’n to Hyde: Gertrude Abercrombie and the Hyde Park Ethos, 1935-1975” (Corbett vs. Dempsey 06/20/25-08/02/25) [link: https://corbettvsdempsey.com/exhibitions/nuthn-to-hyde/]

“Tandem Book launch: Matthew Goulish and Ken Taylor” (Corbett vs. Dempsey: 12/14/24) [link: https://corbettvsdempsey.com/events/tandem-book-launch-matthew-goulish-and-ken-taylor/]

“Tony Tasset Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks!” (Corbett vs. Dempsey: 05/02/25-06/07/25) [link: https://corbettvsdempsey.com/exhibitions/tony-tasset/]

“Between Sound and Sight: Mapping the Sonic Imprint of Charles White’s Vision” symposium (Logan Center for the Arts, Chicago: 02/15/25) [link: https://events.uchicago.edu/event/244376-between-sound-and-sight-mapping-the-sonic-imprint]

“Jack Whitten: The Messenger” (MoMA: 03/23/25-08/02/25) [link: https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5785]

Hellen Zell Chicago private collection (07/27/25)

BOOKS:

“Breaking the Maya Code” (Thames & Hudson: revised edition 1999), written by Michael D. Coe, non-fiction.

“Marcel Duchamp” (Hauser & Wirth: 2021), edited by Jean-Jacques Lebel and Association Marcel Duchamp; new supplement and reprint of original English version of “Sur Marcel Duchamp” (Grove Press: 1959), text by Robert Lebel, translation by George Heard Hamilton, design by Marcel Duchamp.

“The Artist and His Critic Stripped Bare: The Correspondence of Marcel Duchamp and Robert Lebel” (The Getty Research Institute: 2016), edited and translated by Paul B. Franklin, essays and letters.

“found poem(s)” (Corbett vs. Dempsey: 2024), photos by Ken Taylor, poems by Ed Roberson.

“David Hammons: October Files 29” (MIT Press: 2024), edited by Kellie Jones, essays.

“Jasper Johns: According to What & Watchman” (Gagosian Gallery: 1992), text by Francis M. Naumann, exhibition catalog.

“Jasper Johns: Mind/Mirror” (Yale University Press: 2021), written by Carlos Basualdo and Scott Rothkopf, exhibition catalog.

“Jasper Johns: Writings, Sketchbook Notes, Interviews” (The Museum of Modern Art, New York: 1996), essays and interviews by and with Jasper Johns.

“A Thing Among Things: The Art of Jasper Johns” (D.A.P.: 2008), written by John Yau, artist monograph.

“The Unseen Saul Leiter” (D.A.P.: 2022), written and compiled by Margit Erb and Michael Parillo, photo book.

“Chris Marker: Early Film Writings” (University of Minnesota Press: 2024), edited by Steven Ungar, translated by Sally Shafto, essays.

“Daido Moriyama: Record” (Thames & Hudson: 2017), edited by Mark Holborn, photo book.

“Daido Moriyama: Record 2” (Thames & Hudson: 2024), edited by Mark Holborn, photo book.

“Gordon Parks: Stokely Carmichael and Black Power” (The Gordon Parks Foundation; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Steidl: 2022), curated/written by Lisa Volpe, photo exhibition catalog.

“No Limits, Just Edges: Jackson Pollock Painting on Paper” (The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation: 2005), organized by Susan Davidson, exhibition catalog.

“Fred Sandback” (Zwirner & Wirth: 2007), exhibition catalog for “Fred Sandback: Early Work” (Zwirner & Wirth: 11/22/06-01/20/07) and “Fred Sandback: Large Scale Sculpture” (Zwirner & Wirth: 11/22/06-12/22/06).

FILMS/TELEVISION:

“American Art in the 1960s” (Michael Blackwood Productions: 1972), directed by Michael Blackwood, documentary film.

“Anora” (Neon: 2024), directed by Sean Baker, narrative film.

“The Asphalt Jungle” (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer: 1050), directed by John Huston, narrative film.

“Audition” (Omega Project: 2000), directed by Takashi Miike, narrative film.

“Becoming Led Zeppelin” (Sony Picture Classics: 2025), directed by Bernard MacMahon, documentary film.

“The Big Clock” (Paramount: 1948), directed by John Farrow, narrative film.

“Bullitt” (Warner Bros./Seven Arts: 1968), directed by Peter Yates, narrative film.

“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (20th Century-Fox: 1969), directed by George Roy Hill, narrative film.

“Cecil Taylor Les Grandes Répétitions 1968” (French TV: 1968), directed by Luc Ferrari, documentary film [link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=NaY2bLl6vmQ]

“Conspiracy” (HBO: 2001), directed by Frank Pierson, docudrama film.

“The Conspiracy” (XLRator: 2012), directed by Christopher MacBride, “faux documentary” film.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” (Marvel/Walt Disney: 2024), directed by Shawn Levy, narrative film.

“Dept. Q” (Netflix: 2025), developed by Scott Frank and Chandni Lakhani, narrative TV series

“Dirty Harry” (Warner Bros.: 1971), directed by Don Siegel, narrative film.

“Documentary Shorts by Vittorio De Seta” (Janus Films: 1954-59).

“Duchamp Comes to Pasadena” (Artifact Studios: 1963), directed by David Grabias, documentary film [link: https://www.pbs.org/video/duchamp-comes-to-pasadena-7bkwpb/]

“Duke Ellington: A Concert Of Sacred Music At Grace Cathedral” (1966: KQED public television in partnership with producer and jazz critic, Ralph Gleason), performance film.

“Experiment in Terror” (Columbia: 1962), directed by Blake Edwards, narrative film.

“The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark E. Smith” (BBC: 2005), directed by Dione Newton, documentary film [link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InXwZc4RS7M]

“Film” (Milestone: 1965), directed by Alan Schneider, experimental film.

“Friedkin Uncut” (Quoiat Films: 2018), directed by Francesco Zippel, documentary film.

“Get Away” (XYZ Films: 2025), directed by Steffan Haars, narrative film.

“The Goalkeeper’s Fear of the Penalty” (Bauer International: 1972), directed by Wim Wenders, narrative film.

“Ikarie XB-1” (Ústřední půjčovna filmů: 1963), directed by Jindřich Polák, narrative film.

“Jasper Johns and the Damaged Human Body” (The Menil Collections: 2019), lecture by John Yau [link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7WCslinZRI]

“Jaws@50” (Disney+/Hulu: 2025), directed by Laurent Bouzereau, documentary film.

“Kings from Queens: The Run DMC Story” (Peacock: 2024), directed by Kirk Fraser, limited documentary TV series.

“MadS” (Digital District: 2024), directed by David Moreau, narrative film.

“The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (EYR: 1970), directed by Robert L. Crawford Jr., documentary film.

“Marcel Duchamp Reflects on Dada, Readymades & Retinal Art” (BBC: 1968), interview film [link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETHhaB8geV0]

“The Melt Goes on Forever: The Art & Ties of David Hammons” (Greenwich Entertainment: 2022), directed by Harold Crooks and Judd Tully, documentary film.

“Mickey 17” (Warner Bros.: 2025), directed by Bong Joon Ho, narrative film.

“My Dinner with Andre” (New Yorker Films: 1981), directed by Louis Malle, narrative film.

“Never Look Away” (General Film Corporation/Ingenious Media: 2024), directed by Lucy Lawless, documentary film.

“New York Eye and Ear Control” (1964), directed by Michael Snow, experimental film.

“The New York School” (Michael Blackwood Productions: 1972), directed by Michael Blackwood, documentary film.

“Nosferatu” (Focus Features: 2024), directed by Robert Eggers, narrative film.

“Notfilm” (Milestone: 2015), directed by Ross Lipman, documentary film.

“Odds Against Tomorrow” (United Artists: 1959), directed by Robert Wise, narrative film.

“Oldboy” (CJ Entertainment: 2003), directed by Park Chan-wook, narrative film.

“On the Road with Duke Ellington” (1974), directed by Robert Drew, documentary film.

“The Order” (Amazon MGM Studios: 2024), directed by Justin Kurzel, docudrama film.

“Paris, Texas” (Argos Films: 1984), directed by Wim Wenders, narrative film.

“Philip Guston: A Life Lived” (Michael Blackwood Productions: 1981), directed by Michael Blackwood, documentary film.

“Radiant Child” (Arthouse Films: 2010), directed by Tamra Davis, documentary film.

“Rebel Ready-Made: Marcel Duchamp” (1966), directed by Tristram Powell, documentary film [link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq9QD1ZvU8c]

“Rules of the Game” (Gaumont Film Company: 1939), directed by Jean Renoir, narrative film.

“Say Nothing” (FX: 2024), created by Joshua Zetumer, limited docudrama TV series.

“The Secret World” (2023), directed by Jeff Preiss and Josiah McElheny, documentary film.

“Sinners” (Warner Bros.: 2025), directed by Ryan Coogler, narrative film.

“Slap Shot” (Universal: 1977), directed by George Roy Hill, narrative film.

“Slow Horses: season 1-4” (Apple TV+: 2022-2025), created by Will Smith, narrative TV series.

“Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) [Hulu: 2025], directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, documentary film.

“Sorcerer” (Universal/Paramount: 1977), directed by William Friedkin, narrative film.

“Sshtoorrty” (2005), directed by Michael Snow, experimental film.

“The Substance” (Working Title Films: 2024), directed by Coralie Fargeat, narrative film.

“To Live and Die in L.A.” (MGM/UA: 1985), directed by William Friedkin, narrative film.

“Three Days of the Condor” (Paramount: 1975), directed by Sydney Pollack, narrative film.

“The Trial” (Astor Pictures: 1963), directed by Orson Welles, narrative film.

“The Ugly Stepsister” (Scanbox Entertainment: 2025), directed by Emilie Blichfeldt, narrative film.

“Untamed” (Netflix: 2025), created by Mark L. Smith and Elle Smith, narrative TV series.

“The Untouchables” (Paramount: 1987), directed by Brian De Palma, narrative film.

“Vietnam: The War That Changed America” (Apple TV+: 2025), directed by Rob Coldstream, limited documentary TV series.

“Warfare” (A24: 2025), directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland, docudrama film.

“The Warriors” (Paramount: 1979), directed by Walter Hill, narrative film.

“Women Are Naturally Creative: Agnès Varda” (Diorama Film: 1977), directed by Katja Raganelli, documentary film.