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I still rue that I was out of town last summer when percussionist Doug Perkins organized and presented a performance of Inuksuit, a massive outdoor percussion piece by John Luther Adams, in Millennium Park. It was a terribly rainy, ugly day, which surely put a damper on the festivities, in which about a hundred percussionists were spread out in the park performing the multilayered work—it’s written for anywhere between nine and 99 players—but I still heard wonderful things about the event. Perkins—a cofounder of So Percussion who moved to Chicago last year and now plays frequently in Eighth Blackbird—has been a devoted advocate for the piece, mounting performances in New York and, earlier this summer, in Milwaukee, in addition to the one here. A couple of weeks ago a recording of Inuksuit—taped in June last year in the forest surrounding a recording studio in Guilford, Connecticut, and produced by Perkins—was released by Cantaloupe Records. The performance featured 32 musicians and used 48 tracks.
Jimmy Giuffre, The Jimmy Giuffre Clarinet (Atlantic, Japan)Roscoe Mitchell & David Wessel, Contact (Rogue Art)Miço Kendes, Memê Alan (Amori)Mari Kvien Brunvoll, Mari Kvien Brunvoll (Jazzland)Lucas Santtana, O Deus Que Devasta Mas Tambén Cura (Mais Um Discos)
