#4456, Music for Harp and Bass and Caroline Shaw's 'Narrow Sea'

New Sounds | Feb 19, 2023

There’s music for harp and bass, featuring work arranged by Brandee Younger and Dezron Douglas and the River Town Duo, in a piece by Caroline Shaw. Also, hear Shaw's work for soprano, piano, and percussion – her Narrow Sea.

Bassist/composer Dezron Douglas and the harpist/composer Brandee Younger began performing live-streamed sets from their New York apartment back at the beginning of the pandemic. They played "comfort music," which ranged from jazz standards to pop covers, and original tunes. Luckily, they recorded some of these sessions for a record called, Force Majeure, and we’ll hear their arrangement of a Kate Bush song, and a Pharaoh Sanders work.

Also, hear a piece by Caroline Shaw, "For Claire & Philip," for the River Town Duo, who are double bassist Philip Alejo and harpist Claire Happel Ashe. Then, listen to Caroline Shaw’s collaboration with So Percussion, Narrow Sea, featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw and pianist Gilbert Kalish. The work, in five parts, uses texts from old shape hymns with “a sonic universe that includes ceramic bowls, humming, a piano played like a dulcimer by five people at once, and flower pots” (Caroline Shaw, in the liner notes for the album.)

Plus, from drummer and organic beat music composer Makaya McCraven’s brilliant 2018 album, Universal Beings, hear music featuring harpist Brandee Younger and bassist Dezron Douglas, culled from live sessions in Chicago and New York, London and Los Angeles that McCraven recorded with several super-groups of players. Makaya post-produced and recomposed the live sessions into suites (sides of an LP) of distinct works, and we’ll hear the spiritual groove meditations, “Young Genius,” and “Black Lion.” Those tunes also feature vibes player Joel Ross and cellist Tomeka Reid (in addition to Younger and Douglas) – as led and re-composed by Makaya McCraven. - Caryn Havlik

Program #4456, Music for Harp and Bass and Caroline Shaw's Narrow Sea (First Aired 2/3/2021)

ARTIST: River Town Duo
WORK: Caroline Shaw: For Claire & Philip [1:00]
RECORDING: FOR CLAIRE & PHILIP
SOURCE: Furious Artisans / Naxos
INFO: furiousartisans.com/catalog

ARTIST: So Percussion, Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish
WORK: Caroline Shaw: The Narrow Sea, Part 1 [3:28]
RECORDING: Caroline Shaw: Narrow Sea
SOURCE: Nonesuch Records
INFO: sopercussion.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: So Percussion, Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish
WORK: Caroline Shaw: The Narrow Sea, Part 2 [3:29]
RECORDING: Caroline Shaw: Narrow Sea
SOURCE: Nonesuch Records
INFO: sopercussion.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: So Percussion, Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish
WORK: Caroline Shaw: The Narrow Sea, Part 3 [4:58]
RECORDING: Caroline Shaw: Narrow Sea
SOURCE: Nonesuch Records
INFO: sopercussion.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: So Percussion, Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish
WORK: Caroline Shaw: The Narrow Sea, Part 4 [4:50]
RECORDING: Caroline Shaw: Narrow Sea
SOURCE: Nonesuch Records
INFO: sopercussion.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: So Percussion, Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish
WORK: Caroline Shaw: The Narrow Sea, Part 5 [2:42]
RECORDING: Caroline Shaw: Narrow Sea
SOURCE: Nonesuch Records
INFO: sopercussion.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott
WORK: Shenandoah, arr. Caroline Shaw [5:23]
RECORDING: Songs of Comfort and Hope
SOURCE: Sony Classical
INFO: https://yoyoma.lnk.to/songsofcomfortandhopeMW

ARTIST: River Town Duo
WORK: Caroline Shaw: For Claire & Philip [3:56]
RECORDING: FOR CLAIRE & PHILIP
SOURCE: Furious Artisans / Naxos
INFO: furiousartisans.com/catalog

ARTIST: Brandee Younger & Dezron Douglas
WORK: Kate Bush: This Woman's Work [4:19]
RECORDING: Force Majeure
SOURCE: International Anthem
INFO: intlanthem.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Brandee Younger & Dezron Douglas
WORK: Pharaoh Sanders: The Creator Has a Master Plan [3:16]
RECORDING: Force Majeure
SOURCE: International Anthem
INFO: intlanthem.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Makaya McCraven
WORK: Young Genius [5:32]
RECORDING: Universal Beings
SOURCE: International Anthem
INFO: intlanthem.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Makaya McCraven
WORK: Black Lion [2:57]
RECORDING: Universal Beings
SOURCE: International Anthem
INFO: intlanthem.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Makaya McCraven
WORK: Tall Tales [1:36]
RECORDING: Universal Beings
SOURCE: International Anthem
INFO: intlanthem.bandcamp.com

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