Downtown and Koreatown

 The P.A.P.A. appeared at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA on Saturday evening. We did a performative rehearsal in an installation of the garage that we rehearse in in South Central Los Angeles. The week-long installation is part of the Memory-Material. It really was a typical ARK rehearsal. They always manage to be chaotic. That is just how it goes. Here is short vid of Randal Fisher doing a solo on Mike's Tune.

On Sunday I went to Liberty Park in the mid-Wilshire/Koreatown area for the Getty Koreatown festival. It was a small but pleasant little festival. The most notable aspect was that it had no Korean food. Only food trucks that specialized in Oaxacan food. Explain that, if you can. 

Music programs keeping the youth on the right path.

Giants! I submitted.

Sorry you folks who want to make American great again, this is the future. And it is grand!

A Full Weekend with the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra and The Gathering

 On Saturday P.A.P.A. performed at the RedCat Theater at Disney Hall. This year is the 61st year of the ensemble. I think this was a big time gig for P.A.P.A. RedCat is one of the best sounding theaters that I have played in with the ensemble. The other one was at the Wadsworth Theater on the Veteran's Administration grounds in 1997, led by Horace Tapscott. I didn't have time to take photos at RedCat, but downloaded some taken by Chuck Koton, from Facebook. 

Sunday a lot of the same musician's reassembled for a recording of Jesse Sessions group The Gathering. This too was to celebrate the 61st anniversary of the P.A.P.A. We recorded Horace's Ghetto Suite. 

Gary Bias, Michael Session, Devin Daniels

Wayne Peet, Randal Fisher, Gary Bias, Michael Session, Charles Owens

Kafi Robers, Jesse Sharps - leader, Michael Session

Jamael Dean

Germain

Roberto Miranda

Mekala Session

Robert Watt, Fundi Legohn

Wayne Peet - recording engineer, Jesse Sharps - leader

James Andrews, Fuasi Abdul-Khaliq

Peter Jacobson

Charles Owens

Mark

Rene Fisher Mims

Fritz Wise

Back Home Again

 Back in Altadena. On the 2nd (June), I attended an event held by LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. They were celebrating the retirement of John Echeveste as CEO of the organization. LA Plaza runs the Eastside Arts Initiative, from which I received a grant to compose a string quartet and present it in two concerts. One concert will be for instrumental students at the L.A. County High School for the Arts, the other for the orchestra members of YOLA at Torres. It will be performed by the KOAN Quartet.  

The next day I had an unusual session. Unusual because it was a vocal session. I can't name the project, but it will be public by the end of the year. I did some hand claps and finger snaps. I did one of the vocal cues, but I really don't sing well enough to do the ones that remained. I got sent home. Not a problem. I had sent them of video of me singing. They knew what they were getting. I got a full session and an hour of overtime out of it. It is hard to ask for more. The session was at United Recording in Hollywood. It was that studio that I did the track for Tim McGraw's Mexicoma.

The Final Days

 A very fine performance at Bird & Beckett Books in San Francisco by Francis Wong's Special Quartet. We had a good turnout considering it was a holiday afternoon. The weather was grand. This is a new ensemble, though we have all played with each other in different situations. Francis Wong - sax, Karl Alfonso Defensor Evangelista - guitar, Deszon X. Claiborne - drums and yours truly on tuba. And special guest on vocals, Helen Palma. You can view the concert via Bird & Beckett's youtube channel. 

Francis and I went to H Mart for a repast of oxtail soup, Korean style. 

I left early the next morning because I wanted to stop in Taft again for lunch. This time at Roots, a BBQ house. The fare was quite fine. 

 

Francis

  Karl
                                            

Helen

   
Deszon

                                                                        

Eric Whittington

                                                                               

                                                                                  

Oxtail at H Mart.

Another stop in Taft on the way home.