For nearly three decades, the Seattle Improvised Music Festival (SIMF) has gathered improvisational musicians from around the globe to create and present original avant-garde works. This year’s SIMF, which concluded last weekend, spanned over four nights and drew musicians from countries around the world, including Japan, Germany, and Canada. The international visitors collaborated with veterans from the local music scene in a variety of ensembles.
All festival concerts were held in the beautiful Chapel Performance Space at Wallingford’s historic Good Shepherd Center. Thursday night’s performance brought together a diverse group of instrumentalists for three improvisational performances and one world-premiere composition. Most of the works featured collaborations between musicians playing acoustic instruments (double bass, viola, and saxophone, among others) and musicians using electronics, objects, and recorded samples to create musical sounds.
Thursday night’s performances were fairly minimalist and spanned about a half-hour each. These sparse, sprawling improvisations were sometimes hard to follow, but encouraged listeners to focus on the sounds created by each musician. The performers often experimented with their instruments to generate a variety musical timbres and textures. String players tapped on their instruments to create a drumming sound, and wind players experimented with removing the reeds from their instruments.
Japanese guitarist Taku Sugimoto gave a world-premiere performance of an original composition for guitar, viola, and two double basses. This minimalist work contrasted the plucked sound of the guitar with the bowed sound of the other string instruments. The pattern of a single short guitar note followed by a held unison note in the other strings was repeated throughout the piece.
Since melody is virtually non-existent in this type of improvisational music, the SIMF concerts can be challenging for listeners accustomed to the melodic songs and pieces heard on the radio and in most concert halls. However, for those looking to expand their musical horizons, the SIMF is an excellent way to experience live music in an entirely new way.
