Sonolocations: A Sound Works Series Henry Art Gallery and Jack Straw Cultural Center

Full artist notes and bios at https://henryart.org/exhibitions/sonolocations-a-sound-works-series

Naima Lowe - Vocals and Percussion
Bill Lowe - Tuba and Bass Trombone
Taylor Ho Bynum - Cornet, Flugelhorn, pBone

Engineering and Mastering: Mark Kuykendall and Joe Stewart
Final Mix: Naima Lowe with Jordan Wright

(The full 16 introductory bars of Billie Holiday’s “Pennies From Heaven” feels self-consciously, even slyly, perfect. The air caught between the notes is just on the edge of sarcastic, but then again don’t we all just want to be loved?)

97 Days Between enumerates time, grief, and incalculable distance. The narrative is derived from Naima’s daily documentation of the emotional toll of living through the first ninety-seven days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The piece tracks a mix of mundane tasks under quarantine, challenging interpersonal transformations, and the myriad of watershed historical events that occurred during that time frame. “During those first several months of the pandemic,” Naima notes “I was hyper aware of the ways that time and space seemed to collapse on itself; fractured by the varying paces with which people came to accept and respond to the crisis. Every conversation about the pandemic seemed marked by utterly incomprehensible calculations as everyone was suddenly tasked with becoming an armchair epidemiologist. The comparisons made between data sets were (are) almost absurd to think about: 98% survival rate vs. 3 million dead. The cost to the economy of thousands dying vs. the cost to the economy of thousands not working. How does one “calculate” loss and gains during a time like this? It seemed only feasible by zooming into the hyper specific experience of day to day living.”

Naima’s humorously melancholy countdown recounts familiar emotions that we’re supposed to forget in these celebratory “post-pandemic” times, and dances gracefully with Bill’s cheeky Tuba rendition of the melody from “Pennies from Heaven.” This sweet and sad conversation between father and daughter anchors the improvisations that twist, turn and tangle around the work. Bill and cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum have thirty years of conversations in brass to bring to bear, offering chops on top of chops; confidently enjoying their opportunity to follow Naima’s textual cues from halfway across the continent. Not inconsequentially, this was their first time seeing and playing together in person in almost two years. There’s joy and fun being purposefully brought to bear in the face of all this sorrow. Naima, with growing confidence as a musical performer, and still separated by so much time and distance, taps and spins and clangs mysteriously melodic percussive tones around her own voice. She’s working by herself, but is also never alone.

The mix is spatial by design (best heard through a good pair of headphones) and swings with just as much intention as the instrumentation. There’s air and metal; math and poetry; confidence and tentativeness; togetherness and isolation; history and the present; and a long year between here and there - all brought to bear in a complex of improvisational moments that speak to the loving pedagogies of Black musical tradition that The Lowes bring to their work together.

This work was commissioned by the Henry Art Gallery and Jack Straw Cultural Center for their sound works series Sonolocations, curated by Shamim M. Momin, Director of Curatorial Affairs, Henry Art Gallery; and Levi Fuller, Administrative Coordinator, and Joan Rabinowitz, Executive Director, Jack Straw Cultural Center.

A version of this piece appears in Naima's exhibition "A Token Is a Stand In for Something of Value," curated by Grace Deveney and presented by The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Art 365 Triennial Exhibition of contemporary Oklahoma artists.

Full artist notes at https://henryart.org/exhibitions/sonolocations-a-sound-works-series

1. Waves on the Salish Sea (0:00-0:47)
Water is Life. Journeying to the mountaintops through rain, snow, glaciers, and snowpack; into the rivers, streams, and creeks; seeping deep underground into aquifers and springs; out to the great oceans, and back up into the atmosphere again - clean, pure water generously nourishes all life. Without water there would be no life on our planet. All life is born from, or with, water, and thus Water is Life - a divine and living spirit that carries wisdom, memory, stories, and teachings. These wave sounds lapping upon the shore were recorded on the Salish Sea during an incoming tide.

2. Ducks Feeding on the Mud Flats at Low Tide (with Fighter Jet) (0:47-2:40)
As the tide goes out the mud flats become a feeding ground for ducks, dunlin, and other waterfowl. The loud booming noise comes from a fighter pilot flying circles over the valley. Beneath the sound of the fighter jet you can hear the sweet, innocent, and crisp sounds of ducks feeding, and song - a prayer - for the continuation of all of the Earth's sacred creatures.

3. Songbirds in the Wetlands (2:40-4:10)
There are many species of song birds in the wetlands of Skagit Valley. The main song here is the beautiful sound of the Song Sparrow. On occasion, you can hear a duck or two quacking in the background!
Every creature plays an important and vital role in maintaining a healthy biodiversity in their respective habitats. Songbirds’ numbers across North America have been diminishing greatly over the last several decades due to habitat loss from industrial agriculture and the increased use of pesticides.

4. Frogs in the Wetlands (4:10-6:59)
The individual mating calls and the chorus of Pacific Green Tree Frogs heard here signify the coming of Spring in the Skagit Valley and the promise of new growth and new life. The survival of frogs of all species worldwide are threatened. One of the main threats to frogs today is also loss of habitat. There are, of course, numerous other factors.

5. Snow Geese (aka, Lesser Snow Geese) Bathing in a Pond (6:59-9:46)
I visit the snow geese several times each winter, but this was the first time I saw and heard the sound of hundreds of snow geese bathing. On this track you are hearing the sound of their powerful wings beating in the water as they bathe themselves, and their enthusiastic honking!

6. Bald Eagles and Wind (9:46-11:29)
Part 1: I have visited this eagle couple many times over the years. Eagles mate for life. Each year I see them repair and fortify their nest for their next offspring. This eagle couple lives in the Skagit Valley year around. As many times as I’ve visited these two eagles, this was the first time I listened closely to their communication with one another as they worked on their nest together. You can also hear the strong winds blowing.
Part 2: Four Bald Eagles preparing for the hunt near a huge flock of grazing snow geese in the late afternoon.

7. Snow Geese at Sunset (11:29-14:30)
The sound of waves enter, as the Water of Life carries the listener to the final locale where thousands of snow geese are feeding in the fields, and on high alert, as the eagles are close. At the end of the track all of the snow geese take off in an uproarious wave when an eagle swoops in on attack. Their wings are beating powerfully in unison, causing a huge wind to whip through the atmosphere as they become airborne.

Recorded in the Skagit Valley and at the studios of Jack Straw Cultural Center. Many thanks to The Henry Art Gallery and Jack Straw Cultural Center for inviting me to be a part of Sonolocations: A Sound Works Series. Thank you to Camelia Jade, my "Sound Engineer Wizard" and dear friend for recording, mixing and mastering.

instructions for sonic imagination and strength inspired by Yoko Ono’s Grapefruit

Titles are instructions:

1. open a door to the horizon . . .
2. tiptoe with the birds . . .
3. find yourself humming . . .
4. honor peaceful time between the trees . . .
5. draw circles with your torso . . .
6. round the bend around . . .
7. open a door to the horizon . . .

Artist Notes:

Where are you now?
I am probably sitting.

If not, then perhaps I am picking pomelo.
Did your face light up?
Are you picking pomelo too?

Pomelo are the largest citrus.
Imagine a supersized grapefruit.

Yoko Ono published a book called Grapefruit in 1964.
Each page is an instruction I find useful when I’m lost.
I look here to dream with a grounded absurdity:

“Imagine the clouds dripping.
Dig a hole in your garden to put them in.”

Grapefruit offers ways to liberate stuck minds.
Picking pomelo gets me out of a chair to reach into a tree.
Pomelo are citrus maxima, yet look small amidst the branches.

Similarly, the instructions are short and all-encompassing.
Likewise, these audio miniatures are brief and expansive.

I encourage you to get out of your chair.
Go where clouds float above.
And dance all around.

Epilogue:

Grapefruit inspired Yoko Ono’s husband, John Lennon, yet he omitted her conceptual and lyric contributions. In 2017, after nearly 50 years, Ono finally received credit on the song “Imagine.”

Where do you find yourself during the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic inequities?

Every morning, even the tiniest birds chirp. Their songs are bright and intricate. I imagine them telling the world to celebrate or mourn. These sounds are a reminder and a warning.

This work was commissioned by the Henry Art Gallery and Jack Straw Cultural Center for their sound works series Sonolocations, curated by Shamim M. Momin, Director of Curatorial Affairs, Henry Art Gallery; and Levi Fuller, Administrative Coordinator, and Joan Rabinowitz, Executive Director, Jack Straw Cultural Center. The exhibition is presented in conjunction with Murmurations, a Seattle-wide arts collaboration featuring a series of exhibitions, performances, screenings, community conversations, artist talks, and other programs co-developed between cultural organizations.