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The Poets Are Gathering

Benjamin Boone

The Poets Are Gathering

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Origin Records
UPC: 0805558280825
Catnr: ORIGIN 82808
Release date: 08 January 2021
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Label
Origin Records
UPC
0805558280825
Catalogue number
ORIGIN 82808
Release date
08 January 2021
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
EN
DE

About the album

“The Poets Are Gathering” is the third in a series of acclaimed recordings from saxophonist/composer Benjamin Boone that integrate the music & poems from some of America's leading jazz musicians and Poet Laureates, Guggenheim fellows and Pulitzer Prize winners. Where "The Poetry of Jazz" volumes offered the voice of the late U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine, here, notable contributors include Tyehimba Jess, Juan Felipe Herrera, Patricia Smith, T.R. Hummer, and Edward Hirsch, along with pianist Kenny Werner, guitarist Ben Monder and drummer Ari Hoenig, among many others. This recording possesses a visceral, in-the-moment force as the poetry responds to the roiling, insurgent energies against racism and other societal ills. The themes of immigration, racism, homelessness, poverty, abuse, protests, and war can overwhelm and distress, but through the voices of some of the world's great literary minds there are clues to be found to absorb the blows, summon the spirits, engage the moment and as Tyehimba Jess suggests, “murder the silence” that threatens to immobile us, to keep us away from the reasons to commit, to deal, to hope – and, above all, to imagine.
"The Poets Are Gathering" ist die dritte in einer Reihe von gefeierten Aufnahmen des Saxophonisten/Komponisten Benjamin Boone, die Musik und Gedichte von einigen der führenden amerikanischen Jazzmusiker und Poet-Preisträger, Guggenheim-Stipendiaten und Pulitzer-Preisträger integrieren. Wo die Bände "The Poetry of Jazz" die Stimme des verstorbenen US-Poet Laureate Philip Levine boten, sind hier unter anderem Tyehimba Jess, Juan Felipe Herrera, Patricia Smith, T.R. Hummer und Edward Hirsch sowie der Pianist Kenny Werner, der Gitarrist Ben Monder und der Schlagzeuger Ari Hoenig zu nennen. Diese Einspielung besitzt eine eindringliche, augenblickliche Kraft, da die Poesie auf die aufgewühlten, aufrührerischen Energien gegen Rassismus und andere gesellschaftliche Übel antwortet. Die Themen Einwanderung, Rassismus, Obdachlosigkeit, Armut, Missbrauch, Proteste und Krieg können überwältigend und erschütternd sein, aber durch die Stimmen einiger großer literarischer Köpfe der Welt gibt es Hinweise darauf, die Schläge aufzufangen, die Geister zu beschwören, den Moment zu ergreifen und, wie Tyehimba Jess vorschlägt, "das Schweigen zu ermorden", das uns unbeweglich zu machen droht, uns von den Gründen fernzuhalten, uns zu verpflichten, zu handeln, zu hoffen - und vor allem uns ein Bild zu machen.

Artist(s)

Benjamin Boone (saxophone)

Benjamin Boone is a  saxophonist, composer, and Professor of Music at California State University Fresno. He has served as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Ireland’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance (2022-23), The University of Ghana (2017-18), and as a U.S. Fulbright Senior Specialist to the Republic of Moldova (2005). He grew up in the small textile town of Statesville, North Carolina, the youngest of five sons. “My brothers pursued history, literature, art, and biology, so I have always gravitated towards interdisciplinary projects,” he says. “I like to make artistic statements that address culturally relevant topics in a germane manner.” A respected composer in both new music and jazz circles, his Origin Records release The Poetry of Jazz, a collaboration...
more
Benjamin Boone is a saxophonist, composer, and Professor of Music at California State University Fresno. He has served as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Ireland’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance (2022-23), The University of Ghana (2017-18), and as a U.S. Fulbright Senior Specialist to the Republic of Moldova (2005). He grew up in the small textile town of Statesville, North Carolina, the youngest of five sons. “My brothers pursued history, literature, art, and biology, so I have always gravitated towards interdisciplinary projects,” he says. “I like to make artistic statements that address culturally relevant topics in a germane manner.” A respected composer in both new music and jazz circles, his Origin Records release The Poetry of Jazz, a collaboration with the late U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize recipient Philip Levine, was recognized as a milestone poetry/music project immediately upon its release in 2018. Praised in leading musical and literary publications, featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” voted the #3 “Best Album of 2018” in DownBeat Magazine’s annual Readers Poll`, and a Staff Pick in The Paris Review, The Poetry of Jazz established Boone as one of the most captivating and compelling voices among contemporary artists exploring the intersections between poetry and music.
The Poetry of Jazz was deemed of “historic importance” (UK Vibe), and “a master class in the combining of different art forms… an essay in complementarity” (All About Jazz). DownBeat Magazine noted, “despite the star turns [guests Branford Marsalis, Chris Potter, Greg Osby and Tom Harrell], Boone not only distinguishes himself with uncluttered, affecting orchestrations, but by passionately balancing intellect and emotion.” All About Jazz echoed, “these guest artists might be the attraction for the jazz listener, and Levine for the poetry fan, but that would miss the extraordinary music both written and performed by Boone.” While in Ghana as a Fulbright Scholar (2017-18), Boone co-founded the new music ensemble The New Global Ensemble, comprised of traditional Ghanaian xylophonist Aaron Bebbe Sukura, traditional Ghanaian singer and drummer Baffour Awuah Kyerematen, and long-time collaborator German electro-acoustic violinist Stefan Poetzsch. Boone also collaborated with The Ghana Jazz Collective on the acclaimed 2020 album Joy, which has been called “dramatic and explicit” (Downbeat); “jubilant and propulsive,” (JazzWeek) and “one of the best releases so far this year” (London’s JazzFM). This album was awarded #5 “Best Album of 2020” and Boone was awarded #3 “Best Alto Saxophonist of 2020” in the 42nd Annual JazzStation Awards for the album. “Ghana’s music and culture transformed me musically and personally,” says Boone. “Music is part of the fabric of life and everyone participates and has a role. It’s a beautifully communal way of thinking and being.” The Poets are Gathering, also released in 2020 on Origin Records, was featured in DownBeat Magazine‘s HOTBOX, which noted, “One of the more compelling poetry/jazz outings I’ve ever come across…wondrous.” It has been described as “an absolute must – a vector for the reflection of injustice” (Belgium’s Jazz Halo), “worthy of praise” (Black Grooves), and All About Jazz writes: “The union of poetry and jazz has never been so powerfully presented…perhaps best defines the iconic year of 2020." Jazz All-Stars Ambrose Akinmusire, Greg Osby, Kenny Werner, Ben Monder, Ari Hoenig, and Corcoran Holt (among many others) partnered with Boone to accompany renowned poets Tyhimba Jess, Edward Hirsch, Kimiko Hahn, Patrick Sylvain, Faylita Hicks, and T.R. Hummer on Boone’s most recent exploration of the intersection between music and poetry, Caught in the Rhythm, released on Origin Records in September 2023. This recording includes a tribute to Art Pepper, a reckoning with racism, a dog eating a Nietzsche book, a pondering of the role of poetry, an Emily Dickinson poem, and classic jazz, contemporary jazz, funk, rap, and everything in-between.
As a classical composer, Boone’s compositions have been performed in 38 countries, appear on 30 recordings, and have been the subject of several National NPR and Bayerischer Rundfunk (German Radio) stories. The past several years Boone has focused on writing music that addresses relevant cultural and environmental issues, music that aspires to speak to listeners on a level that touches their soul and instigates a greater sense of empathy and understanding. His ethnohistorical opera Ascencion, about Native American cultural genocide, co-written with Helene Joesph Weill, was featured on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Saturday,” and his orchestral work Waterless Music: A Drought Symphony, premiered at Los Angeles’ Disney Hall, was featured on NPR’s “Here and Now.” His compositions are published by Latham Music, Lorenz, Alry Publications, Sentinel Dome, Eighth Note Publications (Canada), GPG Music, and VR Music.
Boone’s music has received awards and honors from the International Society of Contemporary Music, the Olympia International Prize for Composition, Billboard Magazine, the National Association of Composers, ASCAP Morton Gould Award, Meet the Composer/Southeastern Arts Federation, the National Flute Association, the Southeastern Composers’ League, the Delius Foundation, and Boston University, among others. He has received fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, The U.S. Department of State, the United States Information Service, Fundación Valparaíso (Spain), the Aspen Music Festival Center for Compositional Studies/Advanced Master Class Program, a U.S. Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Travel Grant, A*deVantgarde Festival für Nueue Musik, Munich/Office of the American Consulate, The American Music Center, New Music USA, the American Composer’s Forum, California State University, the North Carolina Arts Council Composition Fellowship, and the Tennessee Arts Commission Composition Fellowship. He was inducted into Central California’s “Valley Music Hall of Fame” in 2023.
Boone has presented guest lectures and master classes at the Academy of Music (Moldova), the University of Magdeburg(Germany), the University of Limerick (Ireland), the University of Erlangen (Germany), Charles University (the Czech Republic), the University of Cape Town (South Africa), Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia), University of Ghana, Kumasi University (Ghana), and the Buenos Aires Festival of Saxophone, among many others in the U.S. such as Northwestern. He has been in residence at festivals and colonies such as Fundación Valparaíso (Spain), May-in-Miami, June in Buffalo, the Bowling Green New Music Festival, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and the Aspen Music Festival, and he has given presentations at conferences such as the Society of Composers (national and regional), the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers, National Flute Association, North American Saxophone Alliance (national and regional), National Association of Composers, World Saxophone Congress, Society for New Music, Conference on American Culture, Music Education Association, International Trumpet Guild, among others.
At California State University Fresno, Boone has received the University’s “Provost Award for Excellence in Teaching,” the “Provost Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities,” the “University Faculty Spirit of Service Award” for his design of a program hailed nationally as a model of Service-Learning Best Practices, the “Best in Show Award” for his commitment to academic excellence, and the University’s most prestigious award, the “Presidents Award of Excellence” for his “integrity, leadership, and commitment to the university.” Prior to his appointment at Fresno State, he taught at the University of Tennessee, where he received the “Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.” Boone received his two undergraduate degrees in Music Theory and Applied Music/Jazz Saxophone from The University of Tennessee, his Masters of Music in Composition from Boston University (where he was awarded their composition prize two consecutive years), Post-Graduate Studies in Jazz at Manhattan School of Music (while he was completing his Thesis at Boston University), and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Composition from the University of South Carolina. His primary teachers have included Bernard Rands, Charles Fussell, Jerry Coker, John A. Lennon, and Gordon “Dick” Goodwin. He currently lives in Fresno, California with his wife, a journalist and writer.

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Patricia Smith (spoken word)

Tyehimba Jess (spoken word)

Edward Hirsch (spoken word)

Juan Felipe Herrera (spoken word)

T.R. Hummer (spoken word)

Kimiko Hahn (spoken word)

Patrick Sylvain (spoken word)

Lee Herrick (spoken word)

Marisol Baca (spoken word)

Donald Brown II (spoken word)

Dustin Prestridge (spoken word)

Composer(s)

Benjamin Boone

Benjamin Boone is a  saxophonist, composer, and Professor of Music at California State University Fresno. He has served as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Ireland’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance (2022-23), The University of Ghana (2017-18), and as a U.S. Fulbright Senior Specialist to the Republic of Moldova (2005). He grew up in the small textile town of Statesville, North Carolina, the youngest of five sons. “My brothers pursued history, literature, art, and biology, so I have always gravitated towards interdisciplinary projects,” he says. “I like to make artistic statements that address culturally relevant topics in a germane manner.” A respected composer in both new music and jazz circles, his Origin Records release The Poetry of Jazz, a collaboration...
more
Benjamin Boone is a saxophonist, composer, and Professor of Music at California State University Fresno. He has served as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Ireland’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance (2022-23), The University of Ghana (2017-18), and as a U.S. Fulbright Senior Specialist to the Republic of Moldova (2005). He grew up in the small textile town of Statesville, North Carolina, the youngest of five sons. “My brothers pursued history, literature, art, and biology, so I have always gravitated towards interdisciplinary projects,” he says. “I like to make artistic statements that address culturally relevant topics in a germane manner.” A respected composer in both new music and jazz circles, his Origin Records release The Poetry of Jazz, a collaboration with the late U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize recipient Philip Levine, was recognized as a milestone poetry/music project immediately upon its release in 2018. Praised in leading musical and literary publications, featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” voted the #3 “Best Album of 2018” in DownBeat Magazine’s annual Readers Poll`, and a Staff Pick in The Paris Review, The Poetry of Jazz established Boone as one of the most captivating and compelling voices among contemporary artists exploring the intersections between poetry and music.
The Poetry of Jazz was deemed of “historic importance” (UK Vibe), and “a master class in the combining of different art forms… an essay in complementarity” (All About Jazz). DownBeat Magazine noted, “despite the star turns [guests Branford Marsalis, Chris Potter, Greg Osby and Tom Harrell], Boone not only distinguishes himself with uncluttered, affecting orchestrations, but by passionately balancing intellect and emotion.” All About Jazz echoed, “these guest artists might be the attraction for the jazz listener, and Levine for the poetry fan, but that would miss the extraordinary music both written and performed by Boone.” While in Ghana as a Fulbright Scholar (2017-18), Boone co-founded the new music ensemble The New Global Ensemble, comprised of traditional Ghanaian xylophonist Aaron Bebbe Sukura, traditional Ghanaian singer and drummer Baffour Awuah Kyerematen, and long-time collaborator German electro-acoustic violinist Stefan Poetzsch. Boone also collaborated with The Ghana Jazz Collective on the acclaimed 2020 album Joy, which has been called “dramatic and explicit” (Downbeat); “jubilant and propulsive,” (JazzWeek) and “one of the best releases so far this year” (London’s JazzFM). This album was awarded #5 “Best Album of 2020” and Boone was awarded #3 “Best Alto Saxophonist of 2020” in the 42nd Annual JazzStation Awards for the album. “Ghana’s music and culture transformed me musically and personally,” says Boone. “Music is part of the fabric of life and everyone participates and has a role. It’s a beautifully communal way of thinking and being.” The Poets are Gathering, also released in 2020 on Origin Records, was featured in DownBeat Magazine‘s HOTBOX, which noted, “One of the more compelling poetry/jazz outings I’ve ever come across…wondrous.” It has been described as “an absolute must – a vector for the reflection of injustice” (Belgium’s Jazz Halo), “worthy of praise” (Black Grooves), and All About Jazz writes: “The union of poetry and jazz has never been so powerfully presented…perhaps best defines the iconic year of 2020." Jazz All-Stars Ambrose Akinmusire, Greg Osby, Kenny Werner, Ben Monder, Ari Hoenig, and Corcoran Holt (among many others) partnered with Boone to accompany renowned poets Tyhimba Jess, Edward Hirsch, Kimiko Hahn, Patrick Sylvain, Faylita Hicks, and T.R. Hummer on Boone’s most recent exploration of the intersection between music and poetry, Caught in the Rhythm, released on Origin Records in September 2023. This recording includes a tribute to Art Pepper, a reckoning with racism, a dog eating a Nietzsche book, a pondering of the role of poetry, an Emily Dickinson poem, and classic jazz, contemporary jazz, funk, rap, and everything in-between.
As a classical composer, Boone’s compositions have been performed in 38 countries, appear on 30 recordings, and have been the subject of several National NPR and Bayerischer Rundfunk (German Radio) stories. The past several years Boone has focused on writing music that addresses relevant cultural and environmental issues, music that aspires to speak to listeners on a level that touches their soul and instigates a greater sense of empathy and understanding. His ethnohistorical opera Ascencion, about Native American cultural genocide, co-written with Helene Joesph Weill, was featured on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Saturday,” and his orchestral work Waterless Music: A Drought Symphony, premiered at Los Angeles’ Disney Hall, was featured on NPR’s “Here and Now.” His compositions are published by Latham Music, Lorenz, Alry Publications, Sentinel Dome, Eighth Note Publications (Canada), GPG Music, and VR Music.
Boone’s music has received awards and honors from the International Society of Contemporary Music, the Olympia International Prize for Composition, Billboard Magazine, the National Association of Composers, ASCAP Morton Gould Award, Meet the Composer/Southeastern Arts Federation, the National Flute Association, the Southeastern Composers’ League, the Delius Foundation, and Boston University, among others. He has received fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, The U.S. Department of State, the United States Information Service, Fundación Valparaíso (Spain), the Aspen Music Festival Center for Compositional Studies/Advanced Master Class Program, a U.S. Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Travel Grant, A*deVantgarde Festival für Nueue Musik, Munich/Office of the American Consulate, The American Music Center, New Music USA, the American Composer’s Forum, California State University, the North Carolina Arts Council Composition Fellowship, and the Tennessee Arts Commission Composition Fellowship. He was inducted into Central California’s “Valley Music Hall of Fame” in 2023.
Boone has presented guest lectures and master classes at the Academy of Music (Moldova), the University of Magdeburg(Germany), the University of Limerick (Ireland), the University of Erlangen (Germany), Charles University (the Czech Republic), the University of Cape Town (South Africa), Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia), University of Ghana, Kumasi University (Ghana), and the Buenos Aires Festival of Saxophone, among many others in the U.S. such as Northwestern. He has been in residence at festivals and colonies such as Fundación Valparaíso (Spain), May-in-Miami, June in Buffalo, the Bowling Green New Music Festival, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and the Aspen Music Festival, and he has given presentations at conferences such as the Society of Composers (national and regional), the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers, National Flute Association, North American Saxophone Alliance (national and regional), National Association of Composers, World Saxophone Congress, Society for New Music, Conference on American Culture, Music Education Association, International Trumpet Guild, among others.
At California State University Fresno, Boone has received the University’s “Provost Award for Excellence in Teaching,” the “Provost Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities,” the “University Faculty Spirit of Service Award” for his design of a program hailed nationally as a model of Service-Learning Best Practices, the “Best in Show Award” for his commitment to academic excellence, and the University’s most prestigious award, the “Presidents Award of Excellence” for his “integrity, leadership, and commitment to the university.” Prior to his appointment at Fresno State, he taught at the University of Tennessee, where he received the “Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.” Boone received his two undergraduate degrees in Music Theory and Applied Music/Jazz Saxophone from The University of Tennessee, his Masters of Music in Composition from Boston University (where he was awarded their composition prize two consecutive years), Post-Graduate Studies in Jazz at Manhattan School of Music (while he was completing his Thesis at Boston University), and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Composition from the University of South Carolina. His primary teachers have included Bernard Rands, Charles Fussell, Jerry Coker, John A. Lennon, and Gordon “Dick” Goodwin. He currently lives in Fresno, California with his wife, a journalist and writer.

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Press

Play album Play album
01.
That's My Son There (feat. Patricia Smith)
03:32
(Benjamin Boone) Patricia Smith, Ray Moore, Patrick Olvera, David Aus, Benjamin Boone
02.
Marooning (feat. Patrick Sylvain)
03:45
(Benjamin Boone, Kenny Werner) Benjamin Boone, Kenny Werner, Patrick Sylvain
03.
Against Silence (feat. Tyehimba Jess)
04:34
(Benjamin Boone) Benjamin Boone, Kenny Werner, Corcoran Holt, Ari Hoenig, Tyehimba Jess
04.
Poem By Poem (feat. Juan Felipe Herrera)
03:40
(Craig VonBerg) Benjamin Boone, Craig VonBerg, Juan Felipe Herrera
05.
Deconstruction of Idols (feat. Dustin Prestridge)
08:21
(Benjamin Boone) Benjamin Boone, Patrick Olvera, Craig VonBerg, Nathan Guzman, Richard Juarez, Atticus Boone, Asher Boone, Dustin Prestridge
06.
Truths (feat. Lee Herrick)
05:25
(Benjamin Boone, Craig VonBerg) Benjamin Boone, Patrick Olvera, Craig VonBerg, Nathan Guzman, Richard Juarez, Lee Herrick
07.
The Poets Are Gathering (feat. Juan Felipe Herrera)
11:45
(Benjamin Boone) Benjamin Boone, Patrick Olvera, Craig VonBerg, Nathan Guzman, Richard Juarez, Juan Felipe Herrera
08.
Song (feat. Edward Hirsch)
02:37
(David Aus) Benjamin Boone, Kenny Werner, Corcoran Holt, Ari Hoenig, Edward Hirsch
09.
Spiral (feat. Marisol Baca)
03:40
(Benjamin Boone) Benjamin Boone, Patrick Olvera, Craig VonBerg, Nathan Guzman, Richard Juarez, Marisol Baca
10.
The Sun One (Homage to Sun Ra) (feat. T.R. Hummer)
02:45
(Benjamin Boone) Benjamin Boone, Hashem Assadullahi, Ben Monder, Eyal Maoz, Peter Brendler, John Bishop, T.R. Hummer
11.
Your Man (feat. Patricia Smith)
02:38
(David Aus) Benjamin Boone, David Aus, Patricia Smith
12.
Impervious Blue (feat. T.R. Hummer)
02:44
(Benjamin Boone) Benjamin Boone
13.
Black Man (feat. Donald Brown II)
03:51
(Hashem Assadullahi, Peter Brendler) Benjamin Boone, Hashem Assadullahi, Peter Brendler, T.R. Hummer
14.
Ports of Sorrow (feat. Patrick Sylvain)
04:29
(David Aus) Benjamin Boone, Kenny Werner, Corcoran Holt, Ari Hoenig, Patrick Sylvain
15.
Branch Library (feat. Edward Hirsch)
01:55
(Benjamin Boone) Benjamin Boone, Kenny Werner, Corcoran Holt, Ari Hoenig, Edward Hirsch
16.
These Current Events (feat. Kimiko Hahn)
06:07
(Benjamin Boone) Benjamin Boone, Ben Monder, Eyal Maoz, Peter Brendler, John Bishop, Stefan Poetzsch, Kimiko Hahn
show all tracks

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