Racer Session #491 | Michael Vlatkovich | October 6, 2019
Greetings, fans of the avant!
This weekend we will be welcoming Michael Vlatkovich to the Racer stage. Vlatkovich, trombonist, composer, and arranger, is one of the leading talents among Los Angeles improvisational players. Located on the West Coast since 1973, he is an emotionally charged performer, comfortable in a variety of jazz and world music styles. Vlatkovich has performed extensively in the United States, Canada, and Europe. His improvisionally free music expresses raw power and beauty in a minimally structured format.
He will be joined by Greg Campbell (drums), Jim Knodle (trumpet), and Phil Sparks (bass) to complete his 4tet band. Make sure you get to Racer this Sunday at 8pm for their set, and the jam session to follow! More words from Michael below.
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“The Vlatkovich 4tet is an ensemble of possibilities. The group focus is to explore and create new possibilities. The possibility of four musicians moving the jazz tradition forward by their non traditional interactions of melody, accompaniment, harmony, and rhythm. The quintet explores the relationships each of the instruments in the group have with one another. The possibility of changing the orchestration. The possibility of instrumental roles expanding and contracting. The possibility of possibilities is the quest. Creating new music that changes with each listening. Changing not to make the composition unrecognizable, but to develop the core ideas and concepts, to explore all the possibilities. The 4tet demonstrates that the possibilities are infinite.
Ideas to apply to the jam session are as follows:
1) Pointillistic
Play single note prefer space at least wait 5 counts before playing again very simple soft slowly set up texture harmonic... rhythmic solo on top build intensity and immediately DC to very simple and soft
2) Call and Response
play assigned 2 bar rhythm each player solos in break
3) The Ocean
long notes create slow background undulating solo on top
4) Tremelo
set up continuous tremelo find a groove with it solo on top