sound. at the Schindler House
Saturday, July 30
KELAN PHILIP COHRAN
While Sun Ra looked towards outer space for inspiration, Kelan Philip Cohran found manifestations of cosmic spirituality here on earth. A rare Los Angeles visit by the co-founder of the AACM and one time member of Sun Ra's Arkestra.
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Kelan Phil Cohran is a music legend. Co-founder of the renowned jazz organization the AACM, there is yet to be a paradigm designed that can successfully map the contributions of this trumpeter, instrument designer, scholar, shaman, community activist and educator.
Cohran has performed with well known acts such as Kansas City Blues legends Jay McShan and Walter Brown as well as with the out of this world and hemisphere Sun Ra Arkestra. Among Mr. Cohran's numerous awards and honors include being named in 1992 as one of the "Epic Men of the 20th Century" by the Creative Arts Association (among the honorees: Steve Wonder and Ossie Davis).
He founded the Artistic Heritage Ensemble, a group of Black musicians whose music reflected the cultural history or Black Americans. While Sun Ra looked toward outer space for inspiration, Phil Cohran (himself an astronomer and mathematician) and his Ensemble found manifestations of cosmic spirituality here on earth. Mining different musical traditions such as jazz, rhythm and blues, classical and �eastern� music but most specifically reaching into elements of African experience and heritage, the Ensemble builds complex rhythms around melodic elements usually provided by Cohran's "frankiphone" a gorgeously buzzing bell like electrified thumb piano of his own design. Their seminal 1968 recording, Philip Cohran and the Artistic Heritage Ensemble, was selected by The Wire magazine as one of the top 10 reissues of 2001 and the magazine subsequently featured a lengthy profile of Mr. Cohran. Some argue that this work foreshadows "any group that has attempted to find a larger sonipalette to explore cultural self-awareness." In 1993, Mr. Cohran, composed the soundtrack to Chicago's Adler Planetarium sky show African Skies which continues to play each day.
Mr. Cohran maintains a high profile in Chicago's African American community. In addition to his work with the AACM, Cohran spearheaded the On The Beach program of cultural awareness in Chicago's South Shore in 1967, and co-founded the Afro-Arts Theater, the first center to deal with Black culture in Chicago. As an educator, Cohran has taught and lectured widely. In 1994, he was invited to present a paper on ancient tuning systems and their implications for the 21st century for the Chinese Music Association in Beijing and gave supporting lectures at the Conservatory of Traditional Music in Beijing and Xian.
I want to use the music to teach, says Cohran. I believe that music can act as a bridge between today and ancient times. I feel that both music and astronomy are as ancient as humanity, and both cut across all cultures. The more we learn about others, the more we can brush away the superficial misunderstandings. The music tries to reflect the similarities we share as people. .
Performance begins at 7:30 p.m.
Doors open at 7p.m.
Location:
MAK Center for Art and Architecture, L.A.
Schindler House
835 North Kings Road
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Advance admission: $16; $12 for students with valid I.D.,
FOSH and SASSAS members.
$20 at the door
sound. 2005 is curated by Cindy Bernard, Carole Ann Klonarides and Renee Petropoulos; produced by SASSAS.
The Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound (SASSAS)is supported in part through grants from the City of West Hollywood Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission, the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Subito, the quick advancement grant program of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Composers Forum, a special donation from Amoeba Music, promotional support from Bar/None Records and the generous contributions of our members. For further information on SASSAS: www.sassas.org or contact us at 323.960.5723.
Contribute to SASSAS at the $50 level and receive a copy of soundCd no. 1 or soundCd no. 2 as well as discounts for sound.
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