Frederick Experimental Music Association presents ECHOES … of the 20^th Century …, a 3-concert series at the Frederick YMCA Arts Center beginning Friday, September 26^th. This series features ensembles reflecting the work of such influential composers as Béla Bartók, Herbie Nichols, and Henry Threadgill.

The Frederick YMCA Arts Center is located at 115 East Church Street in Frederick, Maryland. There is wheelchair accessibility through the back parking lot entrance. Doors open at 7:30pm for the 8pm concerts.

Admission for each concert is $30. Payment can be made by cash at the door or online through Brown Paper Tickets. See link for each concert.

ECHOES … of the 20^th Century … is supported by Plamondon Hospitality Group.

Friday, September 26^th

Lucian Ban, piano; Mat Maneri, viola

Transylvanian Dance: Béla Bartók and Romanian Folk Music

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/6695368

In addition to acclaimed work in various jazz and chamber music settings, pianist Lucian Ban and violist Mat Maneri have extensively researched the fieldwork of composer Béla Bartók, who documented Romanian folk music through thousands of transcriptions, recordings, and photographs, during the 1910s and ‘20s. Their work has resulted in one of the year’s most highly praised albums, Transylvanian Dance, issued by the prestigious ECM label. Ban and Maneri have transformed melodies that are as old as the hills into music that is lyrical, evocative, and new.

Saturday, November 15^th

Marty Ehrlich, woodwinds; Hillard Greene, double bass; Pheeroan ak Laff, percussion

Air Legacy: The Music of Henry Threadgill, Fred Hopkins, and Steve McCall

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/6695377

Air was one of the most impactful small groups of the 1970s and ‘80s. Though it is generally recognized at the initial platform for Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Henry Threadgill, Air was renowned for equalizing woodwinds, double bass, and percussion, into a readily identifiable ensemble sound. Air Legacy is a trio with an almost umbilical connection, as percussionist Pheeroan ak Laff joined New Air after the passing of McCall. Rounded out by double bassist Hillard Greene and saxophonist/clarinetist/flutist Marty Ehrlich, Air Legacy gives new life to a body of work foundational to a towering figure in current American music.

Saturday, December 6^th

Fay Victor, voice; Anthony Coleman, piano; Ratzo Harris, double bass

Herbie Nichols SUNG

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/6695386

Since his death in 1963, Herbie Nichols has become one of the most influential composers in jazz. Although he is best known for “Lady Sings the Blues,” very few of Nichols’ compositions had lyrics. Fay Victor has rectified that with her Herbie Nichols SUNG project, writing lyrics that convey the whimsy, romance, and ever-changing sameness of the blues that permeates Nichols’ mid-century modern music. In a program recently given at Kennedy Center, Victor, whom The New York Times called “a singer with her own brand,” pianist Anthony Coleman, and double bassist Ratzo Harris, transforms the music of a jazz great.