Steve Coleman and Five Elements (USA)

Steve Coleman and Five Elements, with their soon to be released live performance at the renowned Village Vanguard in New York City, “Mdw Ntr,” finds MacArthur Fellow Steve Coleman exploring new terrain in his use of non-linear performance practices in his music. Featuring his long-running flagship ensemble Five Elements, he utilizes spontaneous and pre-composed modules, or motivic cells that can be played in any order, allowing each musician to spontaneously jump forward or backward to different sections – even between compositions – highlighting different strata of the music and reinventing the form in a completely interactive way with each performance. Coleman often composes these modules by envisioning them as chains of tonal dyads that are strung together along rhythmic patterns to create melodic structures; something he sees as an analogue of DNA sequences. The work also reflects his research into the connection between language and music, in particular the early attempts at music notation using shapes and glyphs in ancient Egypt and the structural and functional similarities between spontaneous composition and Mdw Ntr, a transliteration of the writing system usually called hieroglyphics. Coleman’s use of complex rhythmic cycles is a consistent hallmark of his work, and the roiling, surging momentum found here is no exception. The band continues to push the possibilities for spontaneous composition and improvisation.
Composer and alto saxophonist Steve Coleman is widely considered to be among the most influential artists in modern music. He is the recipient of three prestigious awards: a MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship and Doris Duke Performing Artist Award; recognition for his influence incorporating a lifetime of research into African diasporic culture and cycles found in nature and astronomy into his musical methods. The pianist and composer Vijay Iyer told the Wall Street Journal that “It’s hard to overstate Steve’s influence. He’s affected more than one generation, as much as anyone since John Coltrane.” He has led his main group Steve Coleman and Five Elements for over 40 years and released 30 albums as a leader. He co-founded M-Base, an influential cooperative in the mid-1980s that is still vital today as the non-profit organization M-Base Concepts, Inc., which provides a supportive environment for musical experimentation and original performance. Coleman’s commitment to mentorship and community has also distinguished his career. He regularly holds weeks-long residencies around the country, conducting workshops, seminars, open rehearsals, performances and collaborations in an effort to reach out to under-served communities and to help energize local music scenes. He has been an artist-in-residence at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (2009–2010) and the Thelonious Monk Institute (2008–2009) and a faculty member at the University of California at Berkeley (2000–2002) where he also conducted research at Center for New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT), the Stanford Jazz Workshop (1995–1996), and the Banff School of Fine Arts (1985–1991). He explored the use of interactive computer software in the creation of music at IRCAM in Paris, France where his commissioned work premiered in 1999.