John Zorn: Gnostic Trio
Sunday, April 2, 2023
Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theatre - Big Ears Music Festival - 12pm

01. Intro by John Zorn
02. ???
03. ???
04. ???
05. ???
06. ???
07. ???

Gnostic Trio:
Carol Emanuel - harp  
Bill Frisell - acoustic huitar  
Kenny Wollesen - vibraphone

Matrix: DPA 4061 > MMA1000 > ocmPMD620 > WAV (24/48) > Vegas Pro 14.0 (slight eq) +
Shure MV88 > iPhone 12 > Motiv Audio App > WAV (24/48) > Vegas Pro 14.0 > WAV (24/48)

John Zorn: Gnostic Trio 4/2/23 Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, TN

John Zorn: Bagatelles 1
Saturday, April 1, 2023
Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theatre - Big Ears Music Festival - 10pm

Nova Quartet:
01. ???
02. ???
03. ???
04. ???

Asmodeus (with John Zorn conducting):
05. Bagatelle #164
06. Bagatelle #166
07. Bagatelle #240
08. Bagatelle #277
09. Bagatelle #269

Nova Quartet:
John Medeski - piano
Kenny Wollesen - vibraphone
Trevor Dunn - upright bass
Ches Smith - drums

Asmodeus:
Marc Ribot - guitar
Trevor Dunn - upright bass
Ches Smith - drums
John Zorn - conductor & composer

Notes: The Bagatelles 1 and 2 sets were swapped due to Trevor Dunn's travel issues. Bagatelles 2 occurred first at 7:30pm, followed by Bagatelles 1 at 10pm.

DPA 4061 > MMA1000 > ocmPMD620 > WAV (24/48) > Vegas Pro 14.0 (slight eq) > CD Wave Editor (tracking) > FLAC (24/48)
except the Asmodeus set is a matrix with Shure MV88 recording from second row center (picking up the guitar amp)

John Zorn: Bagatelles 1 (Nova Quartet & Asmodeus) 4/1/23 Big Ears Festival, Knoxville

Bill Frisell Trio with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Knoxville, TN @ Knoxville Civic Auditorium - Big Ears Festival - 7:30pm

01. Introductions
02. ???
03. ???
04. ???
05. ???
06. ???
07. ???
08. ???
09. ???
10. ???
11. ???

Bill Frisell - guitar
Thomas Morgan - bass
Rudy Royston - drums

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra conducted by Aram Demirjian
Arrangements by Michael Gibbs

Matrix: DPA 4061 > MMA1000 > ocmPMD620 > WAV (24/48) + Schoeps MK5 (cards) > tinybox > wmPMD620 > WAV (24/48) > Vegas Pro 14.0 (matrix) > CD Wave Editor (tracking) > FLAC (24/48)
Matrix of two sources, both recorded by jb63. Except the last 18 minutes of music (starting 2 minutes into track 9) is a triple matrix including Funk It Blog's Shure MV88 source recorded from the 3rd row, and the first 10 minutes (first 2 tracks) is entirely from Mr. Mountjoy's Shure MV88 source.

Bill Frisell Trio with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra 3/30/23 Big Ears Festival

John Zorn, Trevor Dunn & Dave Lombardo
Sunday, April 2, 2023
Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theatre - Big Ears Music Festival - 7pm

01. Improvisation #1
02. Improvisation #2
03. Improvisation #3
04. Improvisation #4
05. Improvisation #5
06. Improvisation #6
07. Improvisation #7
08. Improvisation #8

John Zorn - tenor saxophone
Trevor Dunn - electric bass
Dave Lombardo - drums

Matrix: DPA 4061 > MMA1000 > ocmPMD620 > WAV (24/48) > Vegas Pro 14.0 + Schoeps MK4 > N-Box Platinum > Roland R07 > WAV (24/48) > Vegas Pro 14.0 > WAV (24/48)

John Zorn, Trevor Dunn & Dave Lombardo 4/2/23 Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, TN

William Parker: Mayan Space Station
Saturday, April 1, 2023
Knoxville, TN @ The Standard - Big Ears Festival - 4:30pm

01. full performance, likely all improv 62:55
 
William Parker - bass & vocals
Ava Mendoza - guitar
Gerald Cleaver - drums

Shure MV88 > iPhone 13 > Motiv Audio App > WAV (24/48)
Recorded by Mr. Mountjoy

William Parker: Mayan Space Station 4/1/23 Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, TN

Shara Nova and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra: The Blue Hour
Sunday, April 2, 2023
Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre - Big Ears Music Festival - 8pm

Matrix: DPA 4061 > MMA1000 > ocmPMD620 > WAV (24/48) + Schoeps MK5 (cards) > tinybox > wmPMD620 > WAV (24/48) > Vegas Pro 14.0 (matrix) > CD Wave Editor (tracking) > FLAC (24/48)
Matrix of two sources, both recorded by jb63

Movements
• Prologue Shara Nova
• Opening Rachel Grimes
• A black map Angélica Negrón
• A memory Rachel Grimes
• A syllable Caroline Shaw
• Angelica-Balefire Sarah Kirkland Snider
• Canticle Angélica Negrón
• Dark Angélica Negrón
• Early summer’s green plums Sarah Kirkland Snider
• Even if by forgetting Carolyn Forché
• Firmament Caroline Shaw
• 1st Refrain Caroline Shaw
• Ghost swift Shara Nova
• He told her how Sarah Kirkland Snider
• Her hair Angélica Negrón
• I am alone Sarah Kirkland Snider
• It appears to be an elegy Shara Nova
• J’ai rêvé Caroline Shaw
• Keeping a record Carolyn Forché
• Library lilac Shara Nova
• My dear Sarah Kirkland Snider
• Nevertheless Shara Nova
• Oil soap Rachel Grimes
• Older than clocks Caroline Shaw
• Poppy seed Rachel Grimes
• She heard no one’s footsteps Sarah Kirkland Snider
• Tendril Rachel Grimes
• 2nd Refrain Caroline Shaw
• The ganglia Caroline Shaw
• The hole Angélica Negrón
• The name Rachel Grimes
• The silence Angélica Negrón
• Twirling Caroline Shaw
• Vesture, vigil Caroline Shaw
• We are as paper Shara Nova
• Yet the women Sarah Kirkland Snider
• You are the ghost Shara Nova
• Zero Rachel Grimes
• 3rd Refrain Caroline Shaw

A SONG CYCLE BY RACHEL GRIMES, ANGÉLICA NEGRÓN, SHARA NOVA, CAROLINE SHAW & SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER

New Amsterdam and Nonesuch Records release The Blue Hour, a song cycle written collaboratively by the female composers Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Shara Nova, Caroline Shaw, and Sarah Kirkland Snider. Set to excerpts from Carolyn Forché’s epic poem On Earth, the music follows one woman’s journey through the space between life and death via thousands of hallucinatory and non-linear images. Exploring memories of childhood, of war, of love, and of loss, The Blue Hour amplifies the beauty, pain, and fragility of human life from a collective female perspective.

full info:
https://bigearsfestival.org/event/the-blue-hour/

Shara Nova & Knoxville Symphony Orchestra: The Blue Hour 4/2/23 Big Ears Festival

Thurston Moore & John Paul Jones - Piece 2
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Knoxville, TN @ The Mill & Mine - Big Ears Festival - 6:40pm

Thurston Moore - guitar & effects
John Paul Jones - bass, effects & piano

Schoeps MK4 > Baby NBox > Zoom H6 > WAV (32/48) > Vegas Pro > WAV (24/48)
Recorded by Funk It Blog (from second row center)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cu52Oz_8Ao

Thurston Moore & John Paul Jones 3/24/24 Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, TN

Jason Moran - The Harlem Hellfighters: James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin
Friday, March 22, 2024
Knoxville, TN @ Knoxville Civic Auditorium - Big Ears Festival - 1pm

Shure MV88 > iPhone 12 > Motiv Audio App > WAV
Recorded by Funk It Blog

From the Dancehall to the Battlefield (NOT RECORDED)
Ballin the Jack (NOT RECORDED)
01. // Feed the Fire >
02. All of No Man's Land is Ours
03. Russian Rag >
04. Darktown Strutter's Ball >
05. Flee as a Bird to your Mountain > Ghosts >
06. Drop (Tear) >
07. That Moaning Trombone
NOT RECORDED: 
Memphis Blues >
St. Louis Blues
Hesitating Blues >
Castle House Rag
For James

Jason Moran, piano
Lee Odom, clarinet
Logan Richardson, alto saxophone
Brian Settles, tenor saxophone
David Adewumi, trumpet
Chris Bates, trombone
Reginald Cyntje, tuba and bass trombone
Jose Davila, helicon 
Tarus Mateen, bass
Nasheet Waits, drums

Notes: This recording is just 25 minutes in the middle of the set.

JASON MORAN -
THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS
James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin
Composer, pianist, and visual artist Jason Moran reflects on the legacy of a hero of black music in a multidisciplinary program entitled, James Reese Europe and the Harlem Hellfighters: The Absence of Ruin. An iconic figure in the evolution of African-American music, ragtime pioneer, and World War I hero, James Reese Europe led a crack military ensemble called the Harlem Hellfighters. In addition to their achievements in combat, Europe and his Hellfighters popularized the new spirit of jazz in a war-torn French nation fascinated with black culture. And that’s only the beginning of their story – their legacy has had an extraordinary impact on African-American music over the past century of cultural and political change.

Moran’s innovative program features his Bandwagon bandmates – bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits – plus a seven-piece horn section, contributions from artist/writer/film director/screenwriter John Akomfrah, and visual materials from acclaimed cinematographer Bradford Young. It’s Moran’s response to Orlando Patterson’s concept of the “absence of ruin” – a musical monument to a vanishing African-American history. Of the US premiere, The Washington Post exclaims, “We already know that Jason Moran is stunningly and profoundly original, even in his treatment of existing material…Knowing it doesn’t prepare one for the stark, sublime beauty of James Reese Europe and the Harlem Hellfighters: The Absence of Ruin.”

James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin is co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, Berliner Festspiele / Jazzfest Berlin, Serious and the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, with support from the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and from the Federal Agency for Civic Education, Germany.

Jason Moran & The Harlem Hellfighters 3/22/24 Big Ears Festival

Chocolate Genius
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre - Big Ears Festival - 8:15pm

internal mics > Zoom H4n Pro > WAV
Recorded by furrythug

01. Life
02. Half A Man
03. Don't Look Down (with ZSELA)
04. Clinic
05. My Mom
06. Safe And Sound
07. A Cheap Excuse
08. Hangover Five
09. Hangover Nine (with Daniel Aged)
10. Stupid Again (with Daniel Aged)
11. It's All Good (with Daniel Aged)

Marc Anthony Thompson - vocals, guitar, piano, baritone saxophone, barefootin', etc.
Claude Coleman Jr. - drums
Marc Ribot - guitar
Spencer Murphy - bass
John Medeski - organ, keyboards & piano

Guests:
ZSELA - vocals (on Don't Look Down)
Daniel Aged - keyboards (on last 3 songs)
 
Special performance to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Black Music album.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/listening-booth/the-expansive-sounds-of-an-unsung-album-called-black-music

https://youtu.be/-RO7WgJbGrA

Chocolate Genius 3/24/24 Big Ears Festival, Bijou Theatre, Knoxville, TN

Sons of Chipotle
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theatre - Big Ears Festival - 3:30pm

Shure MV88 > iPhone 13 > Motiv Audio App > WAV > CD Wave Editor (tracking) > FLAC (24/48)
Recorded by Mr. Mountjoy
except last 17 minutes patched with Schoeps MK4 > Baby NBox > Zoom H6 essential source

01. improvisation (JPJ on piano)
02. improvisation (JPJ on mandolin, then piano)

John Paul Jones - piano & electronics & mandolin
Anssi Karttunen - cello & electronics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqJHLohg3Xc

Sons of Chipotle (John Paul Jones & Anssi Karttunen) 3/23/24 Big Ears Festival

André 3000: New Blue Sun
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Knoxville, TN @ The Point - Big Ears Festival - 8:30pm

01. Intro
02. First Part
03. André 3000 banter
04. Second Part
05. André 3000 banter
06. Third Part
07. Fourth Part (Blast Off)

André 3000 - flutes, EWIs, marimbas & voice
Surya Botofasina - keyboards
Deantoni Parks - percussion
Nate Mercereau - guitar & effects
Carlos Niño - percussion

Schoeps MK4 > Baby NBox > Zoom H6 essential > WAV (32/48) > Vegas Pro > WAV

Notes: This was the 3rd of 5 performances of New Blue Sun at Big Ears Festival. This recording does suffer from some technical issues. The volume had to be boosted significantly and there are some left channel drop outs that had to be patched as "fake stereo". There were also some SD card write errors that caused some small drop outs where a few seconds of music are missing. There are about 15 drops outs/skips, roughly every 2 or 3 minutes, mostly in the back half. But it's better than nothing!

https://www.andre3000music.com/

3K NBS 3/23/24 Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, TN @ The Point

Shabaka
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre - Big Ears Festival - 11pm

01. Shabaka flute solo
02. Shabaka & Charles Oberton duet (harp & flute)
03. Shabaka & Austin Williamson duet (drums & flute) (plus Ganavya on intro)
04. Shabaka & Ganavya Doraiswamy (vocals & flute)
05. Shabaka & Chris Sholar (soundscapes & flute)
06. Shabaka & Burniss Travis (bass & flute)
07. As The Planets And The Stars Collapse
08. flute solo > The Body To Inhabit
09. Living
10. Insecurities > 
11. Song Of The Motherland

Shabaka Hutchings - flutes & clarinet (on Insecurities)
Ganavya Doraiswamy - vocals 
Charles Overton - harp
Chris Sholar - soundscapes
Burniss Earl Travis II - bass
Austin Williamson - drums

Shure MV88 > iPhone 12 > Motiv Audio App > WAV
Recorded by Mr. Mountjoy

Photo by Cora Wagoner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWyGk5RMtCg

Shabaka 3/23/24 Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre

Charles Lloyd
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theatre - Big Ears Festival - 9pm

Schoeps MK4 > Baby NBox > Zoom H6 essential > WAV (32/48) > Vegas Pro > WAV > CD Wave Editor (tracking) > FLAC (24/48)
Recorded by Funk It Blog (from 4th row)

01. Defiant, Tender Warrior
02. The Lonely One
03. Monk's Dance (inc. drum solo)
04. The Water Is Rising
05. Booker's Garden
06. bass solo > The Ghost of Lady Day
07. Nu Blues (inc. drum solo)
08. Beyond Darkness 
09. Sky Valley, Spirit of the Forest

Charles Lloyd - tenor saxphone & alto flute (on Booker's Garden & Beyond Darkness)
Jason Moran - piano
Eric Harland - drums & percussion
Larry Grenadier - bass

Notes: My Big Ears 2024 recordings did not come out as I had hoped, due to a triple threat of technical snafu's. Long story short, don't try out new cables/setups/adaptors without a test run. I switched from the CMC1KV bodies to active cables at the last minute without a test run. I wanted to run 32bit float so I wouldn't have to worry about levels and could be more present, but I forgot to tell the cable maker that I needed XLR in instead of 1/8, so I bought some cheap adaptors that left me with left channel drop outs. I also went line in instead of mic in, so my levels were extremely low and I didn't realize it until I got home. 

This recording, however, was salvageable. It had to be amplified and the first three songs (and the first half of Booker's Garden) had to be turned into a "fake stereo / dual mono" recording because the left channel was blank. You do get a full stereo recording for most of the rest, albeit with some sporadic patching of the left channel drop outs with the clean right channel. 

Recorded from the 4th row between Eric Harland and the right stacks. I still really like how this one came out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJawRtRwcjE

Charles Lloyd 3/21/24 Big Ears Festival, Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, TN

The Harvest Time Project: A Tribute to Pharoah Sanders
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Knoxville, TN @ Knoxville Civic Auditorium - Big Ears Festival - 1:30pm

01. Harvest Time
02. ?Memories of Edith Johnson? > drums > Love Will Find A Way

The Harvest Time Project:
Laraaji - vocals
Sheila Maurice-Grey - trumpet & vocals
Austin Williamson - drums
Joshua Abrams - double bass
Tisziji Munoz - guitar
John Medeski - piano & organ

Schoeps MK4 > Baby NBox > Zoom H6 essential 
Recorded by Funk It Blog (from 2nd row center)
with patches from Joel Berk's Zoom H1n source (first 4 minutes, plus 16 patches)

Notes: My Big Ears 2024 recordings did not come out as I had hoped, due to a triple threat of technical snafu's. Long story short, don't try out new cables/setups/adaptors without a test run. I switched from the CMC1KV bodies to active cables at the last minute without a test run. I wanted to run 32bit float so I wouldn't have to worry about levels and could be more present, but I forgot to tell the cable maker that I needed XLR in instead of 1/8, so I bought some cheap adaptors that left me with left channel drop outs. I also went line in instead of mic in, so my levels were extremely low and I didn't realize it until I got home. Anyway, this recording still sounds pretty good even though it had to be amplified, turned into "fake stereo / dual mono" and about 16 short skips had to be patched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9zCIENl9q0

The Harvest Time Project: A Tribute to Pharoah Sanders 3/24/24 Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, TN

John Medeski & Kirk Knuffke: Angelic Brothers
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Knoxville, TN @ Old City PAC - Big Ears Festival - 11pm

01. Improvisation? > Outer Spaceways Incorporated >
02. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child 26:02
03. Ankh 30:07
04. Hours After > 35:25
05. Satellites Are Spinning > 41:38
06. Enlightenment 52:07

John Medeski - piano & vocals
Kirk Knuffke - trumpet & vocals

Schoeps MK4 > Baby NBox > Zoom H6 essential > WAV (32/48) > Vegas Pro > WAV
Recorded by Funk It Blog (from front row in front of the right speaker stack)
with patches from Mr. Mountjoy's Shure MV88 source & furrythug's Zoom H4n source

Notes: This audio recording suffered from several technical issues so it had to be amplified, turned into "fake stereo / dual mono" and about 23 sections had to be patched.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5JRlbnubFG/

John Medeski & Kirk Knuffke: Angelic Brothers 3/21/24 Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, TN

FlySiifu (Fly Anakin & Pink Siifu)
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Knoxville, TN @ The Standard - Big Ears Festival - 7:45pm

Schoeps MK4 > Baby NBox > Zoom H6 essential > WAV (32/48) > Vegas Pro > WAV

07. ???
08. Fk U Mean / Hold Me Down
09. Doin Tew Much. (In My Mama Name)
10. Griptape'!!
11. ??? //

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM0DpyNcScI

Fly Siifu 3/24/24 Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, TN @ The Standard

“live audio, live video, always funky”

Funk It is a blog dedicated to live funk recordings, past and present.
Audio, video, downloads, and streaming.

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New tracks tagged #Big Ears festival