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Regarded by many as America's greatest living composer, Harrison has made at least three major contributions to modern music. In the 1930s and '40s, he and his partner, John Cage, pioneered all-percussion concerts, often scrounging through San Francisco junkyards to find brake drums, oxygen tanks, flowerpots and other instruments that could be played by untrained musicians -- a predecessor of rock's DIY esthetic. Beginning in the 1950s, his innovations in tuning systems opened up new possibilities for composers who chafed at the compromises and constraints imposed by conventional tunings. Considered one of the century's most important composers for dance, he's written major works for choreographers such as Merce Cunningham and Mark Morris. And from the time he first encountered Chinese opera as a boy in San Francisco, Harrison's fascination with the art and music of Asia and elsewhere enabled to him to create extraordinarily beautiful hybrids. Now 83 and still composing, his work appears on new CDs and concert programs every year, and he recently became only the 12th composer to receive the prestigious MacDowell award for lifetime contributions to American arts. This weekend, Harrison returns to his native state to hear performances of his trailblazing gamelan and percussion music and to show how the arts can contribute to world peace. Although he receives commissions from the likes of Yo Yo Ma, when Harrison writes music for pleasure these days, it's almost always gamelan music. (Harrison and his life partner, Bill Colvig, built the first American gamelan.) On Friday night, the UO's Festival of the Millennium brings gamelan ensembles from Portland, Berkeley, and Eugene to perform some of Harrison's music, as well as other contemporary works by American and Indonesian composers. Harrison's bluesy "Cornish Lancaran" for saxophone and gamelan, "Gending Pak Cokro," a gorgeous work that veers from languid to fiery and back, and a beautiful setting of words attributed to Chief Seattle urging protection of the natural world will be heard. The environmentalist sentiments in that last piece reflect Harrison's long-time progressive ideals. And he lives his beliefs, using hemp or kenaf paper, building a straw bale house, eschewing meat, learning sign and the universal language Esperanto, and supporting gay rights and pacifism. One of his first performances in the 1930s supported striking workers, while others decried the atom bomb and the Vietnam War long before it was trendy to do so. His cross-cultural, Pacific Rim music led conference director Robert Kyr to bring Harrison as an examplar of waging peace through music. "Lou synthesizes cultural traditions from around the world in a harmonious music that celebrates differences as well as similarities," says Kyr. "In this sense, he is a profound advocate of global peace." Harrison's percussion music, employing instruments from all over Asia, Africa, and the Americas, certainly crosses cultural boundaries. "Lou epitomizes east meets west," says UO music professor Charles Dowd. "The whole world of instruments is Lou's palette, and in his percussion writing of the 1940s, he blended the percussion instruments of all those cultures with not only the modern American junkyard, but also with traditional Western orchestral percussion instruments." On Monday night, Dowd's Oregon Percussion Ensemble and pianist Art Maddox will play a spectacular all-Harrison program. Dowd, who's known Harrison for years and frequently performed his music, says that anyone who's afraid that percussion music might give them a headache should try this concert. "Lou is a groove guy," Dowd says. "He's a melodicist [who] engages in a kind of textural layering of melody and rhythm. You don't have to be an especially adventurous listener [to enjoy it] because the music draws you in on many levels and never gets old. I've been playing this music for 32 years and I never get tired of it. I learned from playing with Lou over the years that the festiveness of his percussion music is critical to capturing the spirit of the twinkle in his eye." That good humor, generous spirit, and global consciousness pervade all Harrison's work, and this weekend provides a precious opportunity to experience it, its creator, and the many worlds of music he embraces.
heard the news of the Vet's Club closing. Oh, what a sad night that will be. Now Hagen's is no longer with us. How many more venues can this town afford to lose before we lose our artists? I suppose the lesson is, support the venues we have left as much as you can, while they're still here. Even places that have been around for 40 years (like the Vet's Club) that you never expect to lose are still vulnerable. Supporting venues means getting out to see local bands as well as those that travel over great distances of time and space to be here in our little burg. This week we have two acts who come to us from that beautiful and faraway land of the kilts, Scotland. The WOW Hall's Thursday November 16th show, brought to you by KWVA, is not one to miss. The delgados will be here to turn indie-pop straw into sublime orchestral gold. Appearing in their only Oregon show, the four Glaswegians will be performing with a six-piece string section. Band-owned label Chemikal Underground has pushed the careers of such fellow Scottish luminaries as Arab Strap and Mogwai. Together for just about five years, the band has redefined symphonic indie-pop with swirling guitar crescendos and delicate interludes. Just in case you were wondering, The Delgados named themselves after famous cyclist Pedro Delgado. Their albums and song titles make frequent reference to the subculture of bicycle racing. Wearing bike jerseys and getting your old Tour de France poster autographed is optional, attendance is mandatory. That same night at the Wild Duck, Groove Collective puts on a lively party. Groove Collective's release, Declassified, mixes up a disco-funk vibe, trip-hop and ambient grooves. The band seeks to create a world of "...no more barriers, no more forced separations between musical styles, cultures, or social classes, because melodies and rhythms are universal languages that don't need words to be understood." Whew! Fans of a capella music will want to check out M-Pact, appearing Friday at the WOW Hall. Although their name suggests the latest boy band teenie bopper group, they are actually a respected pop-jazz vocal ensemble. The quintet's mesmerizing vocal harmonics have netted them a slew of critical acclaim in the five years they've been together. In addition to their own repertoir of original material, they have an extensive list of covers to draw from. They'll do rousing renditions of everything from Prince to Rodgers and Hammerstein. Speaking of Hammerstein, uh, actually that's The Hammetoes, appearing at Sam Bond's on Saturday. The band combines Reinhart-style gypsy jazz, bossa nova, flamenco and otherworldly exotic influences into a wide-open sound. Someone in the band plays a saw. What more needs to be said? The Tucson Weekly says The Hammertoes would be the perfect house band for a cocktail lounge in hell. That sounds good to me. Wednesday's offering at Sam Bond's is sure to please. Chris Mills informs his Americana-influenced rock with sharp, unflinching observances of twisted beauty, hazy futures and slowly simmering emotions. Fans of No Depression-style roots and country rock will truly enjoy this. Also appearing is Randy Weeks, a Los Angeles transplant from Southern Minnesota whose band The Lonesome Strangers helped kickstart cowpunk. Now he's on his own after the disbanding of the Strangers in 1998. Even if you've never heard Weeks perform you may know one of his songs. Lucinda Williams covered "Can't Let Go" on her gold-selling release Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Last but not least, the trio of Irish singer Susan McKeown, Scottish fiddler Johnny Cunningham and Irish guitarist Aidan Brennan will be appearing at the WOW Hall on Wednesday. Calling their show Songs for the Winter Season — The Traditions of Scotland and Ireland, the show will feature carols and other traditional songs of winter sung in English and Gaelic. In addition, Cunningham is an accomplished humorist and storyteller and will present Peter Pan as it is traditionally performed in Scotland around Christmastime. Adam's Place Barnes & Noble Bliss Steak Ranch The Brickhouse Buzz Coffeehouse Cafe Paradiso AA NS Chez Ray Diablo's Doc's Pad Fool's Paradise Groucho's Hagen's Hollywood Taxi JoFederigo's John Henry's Lavelle Wine Bar The Love Cafe Meridian Building Nite Owl (Ramada Inn) The Old Pad Oregon Electric Station Overtime Tavern Piccolo Rascals Rick's Pub Sam Bond's Garage Sam's Place Senor Frog's Stepina's Taylor's Theo's Jazz Club Tiny Tavern Tsunami Books Vet's Club Waterfront Bar & Grill WOW Hall AA NS
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