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New
York Tour Notes
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
In July/August 2004, having passed an extremely competitive selection process
(whew!), I was invited to attend the Music Omi International Music Residency
Program in upstate New York, USA. Thanks to the generous assistance of the Australia
Council for the Arts, in awarding me an out-of-time grant in the Skills and
Arts Development category, I was able to accept the Omi fellowship, and to spend
some time before and after the program in New York City.
streetscape, Broadway and 121st
Having arrived in New York, I was able to catch up with colleague Nadje Noordhuis
(trumpet), who is currently completing a Master's degree at Manhattan School
of Music. Together we visited the famous Village Vanguard jazz club to see the
Monday night big band (I inadvertently tripped up legendary saxophonist Joe
Lovano!), and also caught rising tenor saxophone star Joel Frahm playing with
the Joan Stiles Quintet. During the day, whilst fighting appalling jetlag, I
found time to explore a little of Central Park and soak in the wonderful Guggenheim
Museum, featuring some amazing Brancusi sculptures in marble and some very fine
Picasso, Kandinsky and Miro.
left Guggenheim Museum right Central Park
Central Park Lake
Heading north (2 hours by train) to Omi, I was struck by the sudden change of scenery from the endless concrete of Manhattan to the lush tree lined Hudson River. it was an instant relief to be out of the pressurised city, knowing I was off to two weeks practising, composing and collaborating in the country! Omi is located in the Catskill Mountains, between Hudson, NY and Old Chatham, NY, near the western Massachusetts border.
Art Omi Sculpture Park
Dirt Ball, Art Omi Sculpture Park
It was a great experience to meet so many very fine musicians all at once. I
rapidly bonded with many new friends and played and heard some fabulous music.
The Omi campus includes a spacious sculpture park, an ideal place to explore
and be inspired (although we had to ask for the all-night sound installation
piece to be turned off so we could all get some sleep!). I was able to get done
more practise than I have in many years, and also to write a slew of new compositions
that I now have to organise and sort through. One of these - 'As Time Ebbs Away'
- was premiered by an all-star Omi ensemble including musicians from Germany,
Japan and the USA, at the post-Omi concerts in Ghent and New York City.
sometimes it's easy to write music
when you can see the trees,
sometimes it's hard...
preparing for NYC concert
from left Qasim Naqvi (USA), Matthias Schubert (Germany), Joel Harrison (USA)
Phil in rehearsal with Shelley Hirsch (USA) and Mazen Kerbaj (Lebanon)
I was also able to perform on the compositions of many different composers from
vastly different backgrounds, everything from the freely improvised to the tightly
composed. The live concert recording will soon be available for download.
preparing for Ghent concert from left Taylor Ho Bynum (USA), Paul Rucker (USA)
Art Omi is a remarkably peaceful setting, with green hills, wildlife and the
odd massive storm! The people I met and the music I made there will always be
remembered fondly, and will continue to shape and inform my music.
Omi rainstorm, looking across the valley from Ledig House towards the Hudson
River
Sanford House (my room is top right!), and a friendly local resident
After the completion of my Art Omi residency, I returned to New York City for
a week of intensive appreciation - visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
(unfortunately very brief), and some great record stores stocking many things
next to impossible to find in Australia. I was fortunate to be able to see double
bass guru Mark Dresser on one of his last performances before moving to San
Diego. There was a cast of thousands to see him off, including stellar performers
John Zorn, Mark Helias, Jane Ira Bloom, Marty Ehrlich, Susie Ibarra, Gerry Hemmingway
and many many more. A rare opportunity to see so many of New York's finest creative
musicians in one night!
Other fine gigs included Mike Stern accompanied by an extraordinary bassist
in Richard Bona, the wonderful tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby with Tom Rainey
and Angelica Sanchez, and fellow Omi resident Matthias Schubert (Germany) in
a fiery, no holds barred, performance with pianist Ursel Schlicht (recently
heard in Australia with Adam Simmons).
Before coming home I was invited to record at Kaleidoscope Sound in New Jersey,
one of the finest recording studios I have ever set foot in. Omi fellow Amy
Platt asked me to play on a work she composed at Omi, along with Ralph Beerkircher
(guitarist, Germany), Paul Rucker (bassist, USA) and percussionist Randy Crafton
(USA). It was an honour to play with such fine musicians in such a warm, friendly
and ultra high quality studio.
Ralph Beerkircher, Phil, and Abby (expert studio assistant dog) at Kaleidoscope
Sound
Finally, before leaving the USA, I was able to meet and have a lesson with master
saxophonist Ellery Eskelin. His insight and wisdom are profound, and I will
be exploring his ideas for some considerable time to come.
It has been a profound and life changing experience to visit New York and attend
Music Omi. I am immensely grateful to everyone who made it possible, especially
Jeffrey Lependorf and the Art Omi Board, technical director Ross Willows and
all the Omi staff, the Australia Council for the Arts whose generous financial
assistance was a godsend, friends and family who kindly offered support and
most of all my partner Anita Hustas who made sure it all happened...
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