New Sounds Live: Silent Films / Live Music 2020
New Sounds Live at Brookfield Place
Jan. 22-Jan. 24, 2020, 7:30PM
Winter Garden
230 Vesey Street
Map
Admission FREE
Wed., Jan. 22 at 7:30PM: Three short films/original music by Alexis Cuadrado
- Alice Guy-Blaché’s The Consequences of Feminism scored by Alexis Cuadrado (World Premiere) and Algie the Miner scored by Alexis Cuadrado (World Premiere)
- Harold M. Shaw’s The Land Beyond the Sunset scored by Alexis Cuadrado (World Premiere)
- Charlie Chaplin’s The Immigrant scored by Alexis Cuadrado (2015)
Thurs., Jan. 23 at 7:30PM: Three short films/original music by Vernon Reid
- Frankenstein, score by Vernon Reid (World Premiere)
- Tod Browning’s masterpiece The Unknown, score by Vernon Reid (World Premiere)
Fri., Jan. 24 at 7:30PM: Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi scored by GoGo Penguin (NY Premiere)
The New Sounds Live Silent Films series returns to Brookfield Place with new scores to classic silent films, performed live, amidst the palm trees, under the glass atrium. For Jan. 22, bassist and composer Alexis Cuadrado scores films that deal with immigration (Chaplin’s The Immigrant), income inequality (The Land Beyond The Sunset), and gender roles (in two very short films by Alice Guy-Blache, the first female director). For the second night, Jan. 23, Vernon Reid considers “the other” – a theme that has long manifested itself in horror stories - in the scores to the 1910 version of Frankenstein, the short American film The Fall Of The House of Usher, and the remarkable Tod Browning masterpiece The Unknown. And on Fri., Jan. 24, UK’s hybrid jazz piano trio GoGo Penguin combines electronica, post-minimalism, groove, and rock in a new score to Godrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi, "a film that deals with mankind’s questionable stewardship of the earth, and the choices we’ve made with regard to technology” (Schaefer, 2020.)
Please note, seating for these popular performances is first-come, first-served and early arrival is strongly suggested. All concerts are free, and all three concerts will be recorded for later broadcast on New Sounds with John Schaefer.
About the musicians:
Barcelona-born and Brooklyn-based Alexis Cuadrado is an award-winning composer, producer, bandleader, bassist and educator. His work draws from the crossover of jazz, world, flamenco and new music, exploring the confluence of the Hispanic and American cultures, as well as embracing a deep commitment to comment on social issues. His recent output is a restless exploration of cross-disciplinary works that embrace poetry, film, radio-podcasts, dance and design.
Vernon Reid, the British-born and Brooklyn-raised guitarist, is the founder and primary songwriter of the hard rock band Living Colour, a co-founder of the Black Rock Coalition, a composer, improviser, and bandleader. He’s produced other artists like Mali’s Salif Keita and James Blood Ulmer, as well as scoring films, in addition to his work as a session guitarist.
GoGo Penguin are a Manchester-based lettfield piano trio, featuring Chris Illingworth on piano, Nick Blacka on bass and Rob Turner on drums. Their music has been described as acoustic-electronica, but they draw equally on rock, jazz and minimalism, computer game soundtracks and glitchy-electronica to create their unique music. Their 2014 album v2.0 (Gondwana Records) was named a Mercury Prize album of the year alongside albums from Damon Albran, Young Fathers and Jungle. In 2015, they signed to Blue Note Records and released the albums Man Made Object in 2016 and A Humdrum Star in 2018. Their EP, Ocean in a Drop (Music for Film) was released in October 2019 and they are currently recording a new album for release in 2020.
