The Music of Paul Motian, curated by Joel Harrison
When drummer, bandleader, and composer Paul Motian died at age 80 in the autumn of 2011, it was, for jazz critic Steve Futterman writing in The New Yorker, “like waking to find that your favorite neighborhood bookstore—the one that stocked the edgy stuff that no one else would touch—had closed overnight.” Motian’s music lives on in duo performances by Steve Cardenas and Jacob Sacks, Ben Monder and Bill McHenry (Motian band alums) Gilad Hekselman and Jeff Ballard, Brandon Ross and Stomu Takeishi, Vic Juris and Mary Halvorson, the Nels Cline & Julian Lage Duo, and Joel Harrison and Tyshawn Sorey.
In addition all guitarists will participate in a communal version of Motian's beloved tune "It Should Have Happened a Long Time Ago."
New York Guitar Festival guest curator Joel Harrison returns with another installment of the Alt-Guitar Summit, a posse of cutting-edge jazz/new music improvisers who emphasize unusual approaches to the guitar. Over three days, fourteen supremely creative musicians will demonstrate in myriad ways just how many mysterious and enthralling sounds a guitar can make.
