Jesse Stewart is an award-winning percussionist, scholar, composer, artist, writer, instrument-maker and community activist. In 2012 he founded “We Are All Musicians” founded on his belief that music is a fundamental human right, through which he helps create opportunites for people to make music regardless of age, musical training, socio-economic circumstance and ability. During the conversation he demonstrates how any object can be used to create interesting music, and we also get to hear him improvise on a waterphone, as well as with me on my violin, with a unique instrument which he explains. I do hope you’ll find Jesse to be as inspiring and interesting as I do! Below are timestamps for all the topics we covered.
The video is close-captioned and the transcript will be published soon, at the same link on my podcast website: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/jesse-stewart-e13-s2-percussionist-composer-community-activist-artist-writer-instrument-builder
Jesse Stewart website: https://www.jessestewart.ca/home.html
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photo credit: Michele McMillan
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(01:50) percussion
(03:48) waterphone
(07:06) discussion of Pulse water dripping on drum head
(09:18) intersection of visual art and music, Reinhard Reitzenstein, Gayle Young, Suzy Lake
(12:09) building a vibraphone
(14:31) Glacialis ice music
(16:43) exploring boxes and balloons, and different instruments in teaching orchestration
(26:28) studies in composition and ethnomusicology James Tenney, David Mott, Rob Bowman
(32:07) recovering from brain surgery, making videos of many different instruments and found objects like canoe paddles
(37:35) demonstration of different found objects
(42:20) snare drum compositions with demonstration of sonic exploration with wrenches
(46:06) Community activism: We Are All Musicians
(49:16) Adaptive Use Musical Instrument, Pauline Oliveros
(56:38) improv with violin, waterphone and the gongs with the AUMI
(01:100:32) Ajay Heble and upcoming book about the pedagogy of musical improvisation
(01:07:38) improv with dancers, cellist Peggy Lee, Propeller Dance, Natasha Bakht
(01:11:56) notating the drum studies, discussion of jazz drumming, Elvin Jones
(01:20:43) fond memories of playing with Kevin Breit, Matt Brubeck, David Mott, William Partker, playing for the Dalai Lama
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