Racer Session #512 | Leanna Keith & Dio Jean-Baptiste | March 22, 2020

Greetings, improvisers!

As the whole State of Washington hunkers down in quarantine for what could be several weeks, we here at Racer Sessions have been working on how best to serve our community, both locally and at-large. Last week we went without a regular season session, something that has maybe happened less times than we can count on one hand in the last ten years. We came to this decision a few hours before WA Governor Jay Inslee declared that all restaurants and bars must close to the public - though we heard a rogue gathering of musicians improvised together one last time on the Racer stage that night.

(aforementioned rogue session, courtesy of Neil Welch)

In the following days we held phone and video meetings to brainstorm ways we could keep the session running virtually. Though the Session heavily relies on the gathering together of fellow musicians and artists, we were inspired by the outpouring of creative ways that artists all over the world are maintaining community and continuing to share and create with each other. We’re going to spend the next couple of weeks test-driving a few techniques to see what works best. On the upside, putting the entire session online means that anyone from anywhere in the world can participate! The Racer community is widespread, across the United States and into other corners of the globe. This is a time that we can all unite at once, which is very exciting.

Our first Virtual Racer Session test will be conducted over the course of the week: tonight we’re sharing these videos of Leanna Keith and Dio Jean-Baptiste, courtesy of the artists. We invite you to take a listen, and send us an improvised response video or audio recording. It can be a solo improvisation, or alongside others (we encourage you to work within your household in an effort to continue safe quarantining/social distancing). You can send it to us on Facebook or Instagram (@racersessions), or email it to us at racersessions@gmail.com. We will be sharing your recordings throughout the week on our social media channels!

Some guiding notes from Leanna Keith:

“This band is called FUZZY PINK BEARS (because the first idea is the best idea), and in these videos we’re trying to explore rhythm and flow, so we encourage you to do the same!”

Thanks and happy improvising! Sending love from our quarantine to yours.