4 LAKE CHAMPLAIN WEEKLY • MAY 29, 2019 Gene Baker. Photocourtesyoftheartist Mangione over the car radio abruptly leaving him weeping. Mangione overthecar radioabruptly leavinghimweeping. magic first happened, the strains of flugelhorn genius Chuck to emotionsbeyond theircommand. could unshackleeverydaybanalities andmovepeople of musicasakindhigher calling—somethingthat an uncannythirstforriskand analmostspiritualsense a kindredspirit. Two artistswith asixthsenseofsound, they were,howeachmanwas tradingfar-out lickswith always comebeforeeverythingelse.” has alwaysbeen.Inourworktogether, themusichas connected onpurelymusicalterms. And thatishowit “We didn’t shakehands. We didn’t talk. We metand Will Northlich-Redmond,theguyfromCalifornia. day, 20yearslater.” this to continues which duel magnificent Aheard. ever competitive, joyous,experimentalspeedjazzanyone’s the Hartt student, “was some of the most insane, intense, started toplay. Immediately, theotheronejoined in. the power. Oneofthem—theycan’t rememberwho— California recalls —to the Hammond organ, turning on the Hartt student — “looking a little scruffy,” the guy from up theelectric guitar andswitchingonthe amp.Inwalked pecting world. InwalkedtheguyfromCalifornia, picking on being heard, leaving their sonic imprint upon anunsus- ground attheHarttSchoolofMusicforpeoplehell-bent happened in aplace called Artspace Hartford, agathering CAME withoutawhisper.THE REVOLUTION It Like a flood of tears. Baker was 3 years old when the the when old years 3 was Baker tears. of flood a Like What theydidn’t know onthatdaywashowsimilar “I neverhadmetanyonelikethisbefore,”recalls “And whatcommenced,”remembersGeneBaker, Sounds LikeFun By BenjaminPomerance I decided thatIhadto learntheguitar.” percussion. The aggressive vocals. All of itgottome.So, relentless “The meal. finest his remembering gourmet a distorted guitars,” herecalls,speakingwith thefervorof his filling was he Walkman withtheacidrainofRushandMetallica.“The Soon, again. rioting started all soul Aerosmith’s A SpaceOdysseyhaddone. wipe the emotional floor with him in the way that He yearnedforsomethingmore,thatwould of an antidote. family coercedhimintotakingdidn’t provetobemuch — wouldn’t leavehimalone. The pianolessonsthathis That music—“amorphingcloudofsound,”hecallsit congeniality.”and conventionality of world rience, itwasnolongerpossibleformetogobacka states. “Butafterthatoverwhelmingaudio-visualexpe- didn’t knowhoworwhythismusichadbeencreated,”he ings deeperthananythingthathehadgraspedbefore.“I pounding out of the television set, invading him with feel- the otherworldlymusicofGyö he decidedtowatch2001: A SpaceOdyssey.Suddenly, Northlich-Redmond washomealoneattheageof7when moment on,Iwasdeterminedtoplaythetrumpet.” “She smiledandsaid,‘That’s atrumpet,Gene.’ Fromthat “I asked my mother, ‘Mom, what was that?’” Baker says. that itwasthemostbeautifulnoisehehadeverheard. He couldnotdescribewhathewashearing.onlyknew Then hefoundit. A friendhandedhim atapeof Bad dreams plagued himunyieldingly afterthat. Or aterrorthatinspiresweeksofnightmares. Love inanElevator,andthesensorsof Chopsticks sounded nothing like Ligeti. rgy Ligeti’s Requiem 2001: was 5 LAKE CHAMPLAIN WEEKLY • MAY 29, 2019 CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 CONTINUED ON PAGE . “At every compo- every “At The Rite of Spring. Meanwhile, Northlich-Redmond had found his But then he arrived in college, a greener-than-grass So, the pupil sat and listened. For 30 seconds, the Later that year, the aged bedrock crumbled further. own transformation. Like piano lessons, formal instruction on the guitar required his previous patience — a virtue that he did not abundantly possess. attempt at Finally, he quite literally took hands. matters “I into his started own doing he amp, says, much laugh- to the dismay of my father,” noise experiments with my ing now. “In doing that, I was able to create my visceral sound world for the first time.” own sition class for four months, we listened and discussed, poured over the score, and at home I listened, tried to analyze, tried to understand,” he states. “As a result of that, I was a transformed musician.” mind around a central principle — dissonant or avant-gardeor dissonant — principle central a around mind sounds were his enemy. Traditional harmonies of bygone stars.his only guiding were centuries freshman at the Hartt School. In a composition class, a graduate student named Istvan B’Racz, who was serving as a teaching assistant, took him under his wing. “[He] learned of my rash opinions recalls, Gene, “and we said, are ‘Okay, going to sit here, during a and over lesson,” you for second minor this Baker play to going am I and listen to it.’” judge it. Just over again. Don’t jarring interval of two adjacent notes hammered his ears. “At first, I cringed,” he remembers. “But after aunderstand to — listen bit,truly to began I dissolved. my opinions dissonance as rhythm, as pure sound, existing only for its thank that guy enough.” own sake. Man, I can’t His composition professor, David Macbride, doled out Igor studying assignments: semester-long of darling the ballet Stravinsky’s It wasn’t long before this fascination had rolled over into over rolled had fascination this before long wasn’t It organ, organ, he watched with the awe of a spectator gaping at Houdini. “When I got a little older, it became me that clear he didn’t to need any music; he just sat down and be like dad.” played,” Baker says. “So, I wanted to a new arena: composition. In high school, he solidified his

By this point, Baker had also opened his sonorous his sonorous By this point, Baker had also opened

father improvise blues or jazz at the keys of the Hammond Hammond the of keys the at jazz or blues improvise father to-be led in the 1970s. And when the son observed his new lead singer in PRIDE, the band that Baker’s father- Baker’s Baker’s father-to-be hired Baker’s mother-to-be as the floodgates. Music ran in his blood; his parents met when Gene Baker. Photo credit: Reuben Radding Photo credit: Gene Baker. 6 LAKE CHAMPLAIN WEEKLY • MAY 29, 2019 DIRECTV, markscontained and allotherDIRECTV herein are trademarks ofAT&T and/orAT&T Intellectual Property aliated companies. All oftheirrespective othermarksare owners. theproperty without notice. conditions Other apply to allo ers. Smallfoot:©2018 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. ©2019 AT&T All Reserved. Rights Intellectual Property. AT&T, Reserved. 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Discount: Must on DIRECTV CINEMA® on DIRECTV Smallfoot ^ no Will Northlich-Redmon.Photocourtesyoftheartist Will CONTINUED FROMPAGE 5 tafs. Gn ad raie ta w hv a strong a have we that realized I and “Gene steadfast. and remained duo occurred, the between ties the ending apart, broke band the typical two the when because But band band. a a in in up up end to wound have serendipity they such with course, meet who Of people ever beenexperiencedisfair game.” has that anything and possible is anything where world infiand vast this music— ‘other’ nitethe explore use to place a to as ability and interest the had both we that, beyond “And of says. lot a having Baker up ended musically,”I and Will out, turns interests it “As mutual with notesandrhythms. could they as freely as almost words with connect could they that discovered they hello, say to enough long vising fiimpro- they stopped when nally Hartt And possibilities. new the to at themselves opening Baker and assumptions with dissolving were encounter artists his both when moment came a galvanizing 1999, in Then School was buildingonhistory, buildingontradition.” I music, made I when that realize to needed I principles. ical he explains. “I needed to see how this stuff works from histor- mortals could not comprehend. “I that needed to trails take a step blazing back,” Olympus, on musician a than other thing exactly some- as were himself fisaw the he For taking time, needed. rst he what dreaded he that history and theory But looking in hindsight’s mirror,in he sees that the courses the jazzband.” says. “The most contemporary thing that you got there was Northlich-Redmond school,” music and oriented romantically oriented classically very a was “Redlands begin. to diet a on weaned someone for place peculiar a was It of Ligeti, Metallica, Rush and amplified noise experiments fi nally decidedtostartinonthemusicthing.” year,I junior my in myself. And with do to what of Rolodex team for the next season. So, I started going through the mind sophomore year, I told him that I wasn’t going to return to the coach had no idea what he was doing,” he remembers. “In my “The disappointing. proved experience Yetteam. the varsity school’s the on away right spot a earning College, Redlands to him brought that sport Still,evenwithhisself-induced fascinations,musicplayed the fiwas second It soccer. to ddle agoe r 7 er l haig Ligeti’s hearing old year 7 a hearing or old year Mangione 3 a encapsulating word a is leap-before-you-look It routine. this an uses duo describe the day, the of to end the at why, word is Which unexpected to gooutthereandtrybesomebodyelse?” This is what I know. This is who I am. Why would I ever want this. doing am I why myself reminding keep I “But declares. he audience,” an to still across came things fear how about worried time, never I that you this told I if lying all be “I’d in. creep after to manages that admits even At fiRedmond rst blush, such a concept sounds terrifying. Northlich- hour-long compositionfromscratch?” other to the limit. It’s a brain exercise. Can we really create an each Wepush happen. to needs what is happens “Whatever work. to go they says. Northlich-Redmond exploration,” for vehicle a is “This minds, their in list set a without sight, in fistill puzzle music of scrap a without audience, an Before ts. jigsaw the contact, last since elapsed have months And when or they weeks come together again, no matter how many Northlich-Redmond speaksvirtuallyidenticalwords. complete people,” Baker states. In a separate conversation, [email protected] orvisit pianobynature.org. more information, call 518-962-8899, email pianobyna- 8273 RiverSt. inElizabethtown,N.Y. Fortickets and June 2at3p.m. inthehistoricHandHouse locatedat Piano ByNature concertseriesonJune1at7 p.m.and ent concertsoffree improvisation titled“FUN!”forthe Gene BakerandWill Northlich-Redmond willpres- and justdoit.Inthosemoments, youknow, it’s purefun.” flsky to the how to known y.up always You look you’ve fl and you’re ying, where dream a diffi Like not cult. but says. Baker Will,” with play to hard been never “It’s “It’s always been easy — well, extremely intense at times, without sayinganything. perfection imperfect such with communicating strangers two describing BlipVertword Brahms, a Bakery; The and his on Walkman; Metallica a word encircling music blaring from Bach, Beethoven, teenager a and improvisations father’sorganhis at marveling youngster a covering word album that he titled an record to organist, and vocalist lead as himself casting band, big 17-piece a formed recently Baker Blarvuster,quartet. improvisation free in and rock guitar bagpipe-led a plays Northlich-Redmond creator ofmind-bendingelectronicmusic. Northlich-Redmond carved out a niche as “BlipVert,” company; publishing and label record an experimental 689, UTILITY-POLE founded Baker Admiral. Roger pianist far-ranging and Haynes Graham guru free jazz innovator Blaise Siwula, jazz-hip-hop fusion Marshall; Northlich-Redmondhasjoinedforceswith Ingram composer genre-defying and Curran Alvin artist sound collaborated and Taylor Cecil pioneer has jazz free Baker with ways. separate successfully their have men two gone the respects, many In right —whateverthatmeans.” do with a purpose, to do it with conviction, to do it we what do to obligation an have we that believe the day, we believe in the integrity of this stuff. We emotional impact,” strong Northlich-Redmond states. “At the end of very a with music affi for nity of what art is andhow it can help usbebetter, more misunderstanding general a to led has culture, our commodifithe with in compounded music of cation programs, music successful of elimination the and testing standardized saw.with obsession nationwide they “A what about opinions unvarnished have such one connec- and schools is in music taught have men Both stream. certain Education distance, common. and remained time tions across But a concertseriesofcontemporarymusic. his wife, cellist Esther Rogers, to curate The Bakery, with works he where Lake, Saranac in lives Baker of Alberta. University fithe at doctorate his nishing is he where Canada, Edmonton, in lives Redmond i amagorgeous wife Requiem . Northlich- a ;