Transfigured New York
Interviews with Experimental Artists and Musicians, 1980-1990
Columbia University Press
Transfigured New York
Interviews with Experimental Artists and Musicians, 1980-1990
Columbia University Press
Transfigured New York presents conversations with iconic, genre-bending artists who shaped the sounds of experimental movements like no wave, avant-jazz, and electronic music. As an undergrad in the 1980s, Brooke Wentz hosted the show Transfigured Night on Columbia University’s WKCR-FM, discussing art and ideas with avant-garde music luminaries. She unearths these candid interviews—heard before only when first broadcast—from cassettes and reel-to-reel tapes, letting readers today feel the excitement and creative energy of the 1980s New York underground scene.
Musicians and artists, now icons of their craft, tell their stories and share their thoughts about the creative process, capturing the ambition and energy that animated their work. Legends in the making like Bill Frisell, Philip Glass, and Laurie Anderson convey what it was like to be a struggling artist in 1980s New York, when the city was alive with possibilities. Others who were well known at the time, including John Cage, La Monte Young, and Ravi Shankar, advocate for their distinctive ideas about art and open up about their creative lives.
Featuring an astonishing range of interviewees—Morton Subotnick, Joan Tower, Steve Reich, Glenn Branca, Joan La Barbara, Living Colour, Arthur Russell, John Lurie, Eric Bogosian, Bill T. Jones, and many more—Transfigured New York provides new insight into the city’s cultural landscape in this era. It is a one-of-a-kind account of one of the most exhilarating and inventive periods for art and culture in New York City’s history.
Musicians and artists, now icons of their craft, tell their stories and share their thoughts about the creative process, capturing the ambition and energy that animated their work. Legends in the making like Bill Frisell, Philip Glass, and Laurie Anderson convey what it was like to be a struggling artist in 1980s New York, when the city was alive with possibilities. Others who were well known at the time, including John Cage, La Monte Young, and Ravi Shankar, advocate for their distinctive ideas about art and open up about their creative lives.
Featuring an astonishing range of interviewees—Morton Subotnick, Joan Tower, Steve Reich, Glenn Branca, Joan La Barbara, Living Colour, Arthur Russell, John Lurie, Eric Bogosian, Bill T. Jones, and many more—Transfigured New York provides new insight into the city’s cultural landscape in this era. It is a one-of-a-kind account of one of the most exhilarating and inventive periods for art and culture in New York City’s history.
Since her WKCR radio show in the eighties, Brooke Wentz has been an inspiring explorer of global music and has also remained a devoted and curious fan, always looking for new sounds in diverse countries and cultures. Her excitement vibrates on every page of this engrossing read. Enjoy Brooke’s journey! Chris Watson, founding member of Cabaret Voltaire
The avant-garde artists Brooke Wentz so adeptly interviewed in the 1980s reveal how music of that decade defied genre limitations and categorization, introduced fresh perspectives and explored sounds as no one had before, truly transfiguring not only New York, but creative culture worldwide. There are rich stories here, informing how we listen today. Howard Mandel, author of Miles Ornette Cecil: Jazz Beyond Jazz and Future Jazz
This book is a one-of-a-kind account of one of the most exhilarating and inventive periods for art and culture in New York City's history. NYS Music
My mind was blown on almost every page of this engaging, near-exhaustive collection. Mat Smith, Further
We should be glad that several decades later this material is available so we can reconsider how music was changing and had changed, who was playing where and when, and the part New York City played in nurturing new and challenging music. International Times
Together, the collection represents a comprehensive look at an incredible era in New York’s artistic history, featuring an eclectic mix of acts that would go on to influence generations of artists to come. Bad Feelings Magazine
As a picture of what was being done in the decade (perhaps for curious listeners who didn't live through it), its a broad cross section of what was new then. The Wire
They all have the interest of being old, that is to say, prior to the definitive explosion of fame and/or prestige of the interviewees, thus avoiding many of the commonplaces and over-understandings created about each of the characters as their respective careers were being consolidated. Minimalismore
Wentz is knowledgeable about the subjects and also aware of what she doesn’t know, and that makes her an interested and interesting interviewer, fueled by intelligence, passion, and delight. Brooklyn Rail
Lee Ranaldo on the Scene
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I. The Founding Theorists: Influential Figures of Contemporary Thought and Music Composition
1. John Cage
2. La Monte Young
Part II. The Materials Scientists: Pioneers of Tape and Electronic Music
3. David Behrman
4. Alvin Curran
5. Mario Davidovsky
6. Otto Luening
7. Roger Reynolds
8. Pril Smiley
9. Morton Subotnick
10. Joan Tower
11. Vladimir Ussachevsky
Part III. The Composers: Notable Contributors of Contemporary Musical Repertoire
12. Anthony Davis
13. David Diamond
14. Jacob Druckman
15. Lukas Foss
16. Philip Glass
17. Steve Reich
Part IV. The Iconoclasts: Eccentric Thought-Provoking Performers
18. Kelvyn Bell
19. Jean-Paul Bourelly
20. Glenn Branca
21. Fred Frith
22. Wayne Horvitz
Part V. The Vocalists: Experimenters with Voice and Words
23. Laurie Anderson
24. Joan La Barbara
Part VI. The Dissenters: Modern Jazz Innovators
25. Andrew Cyrille
26. Bill Frisell
27. Ronald Shannon Jackson
28. Evan Parker
Part VII. The Popular Avant-Garde: Pop Idiom Crossovers
29. Living Colour
30. Peter Gordon and Arthur Russell
31. John Lurie
32. Andy Partridge
Part VIII. The Global Nomads: International Superstars of Western Thought
33. Baaba Maal
34. Astor Piazzolla
35. Ravi Shankar
Part IX. The Performance Artists: Art Meets Movement
36. Eric Bogosian
37. David Harrington
38. Bill T. Jones
39. Margaret Leng Tan
40. Michel Waisvisz
Notes
Index
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I. The Founding Theorists: Influential Figures of Contemporary Thought and Music Composition
1. John Cage
2. La Monte Young
Part II. The Materials Scientists: Pioneers of Tape and Electronic Music
3. David Behrman
4. Alvin Curran
5. Mario Davidovsky
6. Otto Luening
7. Roger Reynolds
8. Pril Smiley
9. Morton Subotnick
10. Joan Tower
11. Vladimir Ussachevsky
Part III. The Composers: Notable Contributors of Contemporary Musical Repertoire
12. Anthony Davis
13. David Diamond
14. Jacob Druckman
15. Lukas Foss
16. Philip Glass
17. Steve Reich
Part IV. The Iconoclasts: Eccentric Thought-Provoking Performers
18. Kelvyn Bell
19. Jean-Paul Bourelly
20. Glenn Branca
21. Fred Frith
22. Wayne Horvitz
Part V. The Vocalists: Experimenters with Voice and Words
23. Laurie Anderson
24. Joan La Barbara
Part VI. The Dissenters: Modern Jazz Innovators
25. Andrew Cyrille
26. Bill Frisell
27. Ronald Shannon Jackson
28. Evan Parker
Part VII. The Popular Avant-Garde: Pop Idiom Crossovers
29. Living Colour
30. Peter Gordon and Arthur Russell
31. John Lurie
32. Andy Partridge
Part VIII. The Global Nomads: International Superstars of Western Thought
33. Baaba Maal
34. Astor Piazzolla
35. Ravi Shankar
Part IX. The Performance Artists: Art Meets Movement
36. Eric Bogosian
37. David Harrington
38. Bill T. Jones
39. Margaret Leng Tan
40. Michel Waisvisz
Notes
Index
- Listen to a Spotify playlist inspired by the book
- Listen on Soundcloud to the original audio interviews discussed in the book
- Read an excerpt from the book of the Q&A with Philip Glass at Interview Magazine
- Read an excerpt from the book of the Q&A with Laurie Anderson at LitHub
- Read an interview with the author at Barnard Magazine