We all know what musical notation looks like, right? Even if we can’t read it, we at least recognize it, know what it is. But, if confronted with this:
most of us would probably deny it was music. Most of us would just see squiggles on paper.
To flutist Ellen Burr, however, these cards, called Ink Bops, are just as much musical notation as the more familiar form. She created the cards to aid musicians in improvisation. Instead of representing specific notes, they portray the pattern the musician is supposed to perform. They say, “Play something which sounds like this looks.” They are designed to give the musician some structure, while leaving them free to play what they want. “Within structure you find freedom,” she says.
Burr has been performing and teaching flute for over thirty-five years. She has soloed in several orchestras, including Pasadena’s Friends of Orchestra and Santa Monica Chamber Orchestra, as well as numerous smaller ensembles. She heads L.A. Collective, a multi-disciplinary troupe, which includes dancers, actors, and poets in addition to other musicians.
Ellen Burr’s Q, her quartet, will be at Gatsby Books on Saturday, May 4, at 5PM. They will be performing a number of improvised pieces, including ones based on the Ink Bops, as well as other improvisational games. In addition to Burr, the quartet consists of Oz, on Chapman Stick, Breeze Smith, percussion, and Jeff Schwartz, on double bass.
This performance will be part of Be Here Now, Gatsby’s experimental music series. Curated by guitarist Scott Heustis, it takes place on the first Saturday of the month. This will be the third presentation.
The goal of the series, according to Heustis, is to provide a forum for more interesting music than is otherwise available in Long Beach. He laments the fact that Long Beach has the best jazz station in the world (KJZZ 88.1 fm), yet has no good jazz venues.
He is looking for jazz which goes beyond background music. “This is not music to chew your steak to,” he asserts. Sean Moor, owner of Gatsby, agrees. This music “demands a lot of the listener,” he says. The series title references the need of both the musicians and the audience to be fully present, to be active listeners.
The series has a heavy focus on improvisation. Heustis’s background is in jazz and rock, but he is looking to break away from the standard “head arrangement” used in those genres, in which the musicians each take a turn riffing off the same chord pattern. Instead, he wants music which “develops, tells a story.” He wants musicians who can listen to each other, and create a theme as they play.
{loadposition latestlife}Burr concurs. “Improvisation is about communication; it should be a conversation between musicians.” Perhaps surprisingly, Burr approaches improvisation as a classical musician. Although classical music is not generally associated with improvisation, she says modern classical does incorporate it. “I come not from a free jazz tradition, where you develop a motif. I come more from 20th Century classical music where you are developing textures and densities.” This fits well with Heustis’s approach.
They also agree on how improvisation actually works. Burr says, “You don’t have to hear what you want to play before you play it. When I improvise, I play what I feel, then hear what I play, and I react to that feeling.” Heustis says the musicians “know their instruments so well that what pops into their head comes out.”
On May 4, you can hear the Ellen Burr’s Q turn all this theory into a lively and entertaining musical experience. Be Here Now will continue on June 1 with Steuart Leibig’ Quartet.
Moor feels this music program fits right in with his concept of Gatsby Books. “I want it to be more than just a place to buy books. I want it to provide a unique experience for the community. You don’t get this when you buy a book on Amazon.”
Ellen Burr’s Q performs at Gatsby’s Books Saturday, May 4 at 5PM. Gatsby’s Books is located at 5535 E Spring St. Learn more about Ellen Burr at www.ellenburr.com
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