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STEVE GORN Drala and other new
recordings Steve played on a few recordings this spring including the May release of Circles in Sand (Hudson Valley Records). Here Steve plays a bansuri flute and clarinet accompaniment for folk singer-songwriter Leslie Ritter and bassist/arranger Scott Petito. And Steve joined the Bacon Brothers on another pop, singer-songwriter disc, Can’t Complain (Zoe, a division of Rounder Records). Be on the look-out for the new Richie Havens album, Wishing Well (ELO Productions) on which Steve joins this 60’s folk-rock icon. This spring also marked the release of several Indian-inspired recordings including Drala on Nudgie Records. The album was a collaboration of Gorn with Emmy award-winning composer, David Nichtern. Produced for OM Yoga, it is conceived of as a sound recording for yoga practice. Another disc of Steve’s, 2000 Live is a live concert at OM Yoga of North Indian classical music with tabla player Bill Buchen. The new CD, Pranam (literally Blessings) was dedicated to Swami Vivikananda. Released in March on the Biswas label, this Indian trio was done with Barun Kumar Pal (a disciple of Ravi Shankar) who plays the Hansa Veena, the latest development of the Indian slide guitar with Samir Chatterjee on tabla. On this album Steve’s flute enters a melodic duet in jugalbundi style. Steve also joins Karsh Kale (known for his collaborations with DJ Spooky, Herbie Hancock, Talvin Singh,and Bill Laswell) on the new recording, Realize (Six Degrees).
Ram Das: Fierce Grace, a new film by Mickey Lemle (who also documented the Dalai Lama on film) came out in May. It includes old footage and interviews with Ram Das in his post-stroke state as well as scenes from India. Steve Gorn, Samir Chatterjee and Amit Chatterjee contributed music for the film. It includes Steve playing bansuri in a ragaesque-style for the opening of the movie. Moving from gurus and saints to beggars and prostitutes, another May film release features music played by Steve. Bombay Eunuchs is an art film/quasi documentary about castrated males who live in Bombay and documents their feelings regarding sexuality and community. The film’s soundtrack features Gorn along with Samir Chatterjee and Ramesh Misra. Bombay Eunuchs was playing in June at the Nantucket Film Festival. LIVE IN NEW YORK "Depth of feeling is most important to me now. One note can evoke a wash of color," explains Gorn about his relationship with North Indian classical music. Whether playing music in New York or India, Gorn continues to blossom in performance. At the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 500 audience members stayed through the night for the 2nd annual all-night Indian music concert. Gorn performed with his teacher, master flutist Pandit Raghunath Seth and says of the experience: " The opportunity to complement and support the guru in concert is the essential way Indian music is learned. You absorb the tradition much like soaking in a marinade. It’s a special opportunity and I value it tremendously." Other New York concerts with Raghunath Seth took place at Bard College, the State University of New York at Oneonta and an intimate house concert in Rockland County, which left audience members spellbound. LIVE IN INDIA Steve journeys to India each year to study as well as perform in a variety of concerts and festivals. He is well received and accepted by both the audiences and the press. This year he did four solo concerts in Calcutta at venues ranging from temples and concert halls to a residence hall for international scholars. Traveling to Brindaban, he played at an ashram during the spring fertility rite of Holi (in which every person is a manifestation of the Hindu deity Radha or a gopi in search of Krishna). Returning to Benares after 25 years brought back the timeless quality of this magical city, were he played at an all-night festival in a tent on a bank of the Ganges River. His concert at the Ram Krishna Mission in Calcutta continues to be broadcast on Indian television throughout the country. MIXED MEDIA PERFORMANCES Steve joined Paul Winter (who has received the Award of Excellence from the United Nations Environmental Program along with numerous other honors) in his celebration of spring with the World Tree program. "In The World Tree, Winter and the Earth Band encircle the audience using a ring of small stages and inviting them to chant, sing and move with the music. At the very center is a circular stage with a 20-foot high musical World Tree made of bells, gongs, and chimes. " Each scene involves a month of the year and mixes Steve or other instrumental soloists bringing together diverse musical cultures with African dancers, a masked actor, and the interactions of the audience. The American Museum of Natural History in New York City hosts the exhibit, Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion curated by author/photographer Stephen Huyler. The show (running from September 8 to February 25) includes photographs of personal devotion, videos of shrines, and sacred objects. Steve’s evocative CD, Luminous Ragas serves as a haunting soundtrack for an installation conveying the intimacy of Hindu devotion. Steve has participated as a soloist in The Portraits Project for the last few years including the television broadcast , Live From Downtown in New York on DCTV, channel 34 on June 11. The Portraits Project was created by Kevin James to "give a voice to the homeless." James integrates his chamber music compositions with actual audio recordings and video clips of homeless people in a concert setting. The taped material is based on the 700 interviews he’s done with homeless people on the streets of New York City. Steve has been involved in a series of these concert performances stretching back to the premiere at The Kitchen three years ago. |