photo from dom

Playing with Ilia Belorukov at DOM in Moscow, September 29, 2009.

Novosibirsk College of Music Improv Class

I taught a large improv ensemble tonight at the Novosibirsk College of Music. Many had never done free improvisation, and nearly all had never done it in a large, leaderless ensemble. Here are the fruits of their labor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHwrxwk02bA

Academgorodok Concert

Last night had a concert at Niikuda Art Club in Academgorodok, just 40 minutes outside of the city. Tried to upload video here but there is a problem. Today I will teach an improvisation ensemble at the Music College in Novosibirsk - mostly jazz students who have not done free improvisation before. They attended our meeting last week at the school when I first arrived in town.

For some strange reason, the video uploaded just fine to YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qZCf5OKcsg

Another clip from Saint Petersburg 9-27-09

Here is another improvisation from our concert in Saint Petersburg.

Allen & Stolyar, St. Petersburg, Sept. 27, 2009 GEZ-21

GEZ-21 is an Experimental Sound Studio on Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, Russia. We gave our first concert there last night with the young Russian saxophone player, Ilia Belorukov [www.myspace.com/belorukov]. The audience was amazed to see a harp (and a harpist!) playing in this setting. Here is a clip of Roman and me in our opening duo of the set:

Red Square, Moscow, 9-26-09

On the first day, Roman and I wandered the streets of Moscow until our train left for Saint Petersburg that night. The lady with the loudspeaker is advertising personalized tours of the area. You can see the Kremlin Wall, as I pan past Lenin's tomb, and finally rest on St. Basil's Cathedral. Ivan the Terrible commissioned St. Basil's in 1555 and it was so beautiful, it is said that he cut the eyes out of the architect who designed it, so he would not be able to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Each of the 8 domes of the Cathedral had a chapel beneath it. A ninth chapel with spire was added in 1588 to house the tomb of its namesake, Basil the Blessed. The eight domes form an eight-sided star, with the spire of the ninth dome in the center that is also a symbol of the Christian Church. Originally, the domes were unpainted and the carved designs on them stood out vividly against the red bricks. In the next two hundred years, the swirling designs were painted. The interior of the cathedral is rather cramped and dimly lit and is decorated in delicate floral designs. The cathedral has escaped destruction many times since its creation.

28 hours countdown

I leave my home at 4 AM on Friday morning and arrive Moscow at 11 AM Saturday morning - they are 11 hours ahead of us so that will be midnight Friday/Sat. in California. Roman was on Moscow radio yesterday explaining how we met in 2005 - I Googled "free improvisation Siberia" and got his name - it is an amazing story. The harps are all confirmed for Saint Petersburg and Moscow as well as Novosibirsk! Here we go! Stay tuned for video and daily updates on my trip!