Composing While Black Program Note

Adegoke Steve Colson: Counterpoints 1 & 2 (1976)

This work was first performed by the Steve Colson Sextet in March of 1976, at NAME Gallery in Chicago. The sextet included, along with myself and my wife, Iqua, Thurman Barker on drums – who is a featured composer on tonight’s program. It was performed again in 1988 at The Great Hall at Cooper Union (with a stellar lineup – ten performers, including AACM members (Henry Threadgill, Rasul Siddik, Leroy Jenkins).

The piece was written about the hardships of life in Urban America, particularly as faced by African Americans. The War on Drugs targeted Black youth, and although the larger community used drugs to a greater degree, Black youth were incarcerated much more frequently and were given longer prison terms. In fact, military weapons were sold, and the money was used to purchase cocaine. Oliver North had the drugs flown to U.S. military bases in Texas, and distributed to black teenagers in LA. This composition is a commentary on social justice.                

Adegoke Steve Colson: Instant Death of the City (2016)

In 2016 I was commissioned by New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), to write a large work in celebration of Newark’s 350th Anniversary. Here Is The Place, Our City surveys Newark’s history and is approximately 90 minutes in length. It is scored for a Male Chorus with Piano (# l) accompaniment, and an Improvising Ensemble of Oboe, Trumpet, Harp, Baritone Sax, Guitar, Piano (#2), Bass, Drums. The work premiered in 2017 at NJPAC. Counterpoints 1 & 2 are excerpts from this larger work.

Iqua Colson: Days Go By (2015)

In Days Go By the lyrics and music came to me simultaneously. Balance is important in life. Life is a series of experiences – and through it all I am grounded by my family, my art, and those close to me. We all experience beauty and strife, but I learned from my Mother – who was a force – to “just keep moving.” Adversity and the wonder of living are part of a life well lived: we strive for balance and learn to look within for serenity and happiness. Days Go By features string instruments and voice.

Iqua Colson: Atrocities (2022)

Toni Morrison reminded us “art is dangerous … Those who want to control and deceive know exactly the people who will disturb their plans … and those people are artists.” The world in which I find myself shocks me, but I can’t say I’m surprised. As I always say, “I’m a 60s kid…” and we were confronted with plenty of horrors. Yet some of today’s players on the world stage show an overwhelming arrogance, combined with ignorance, that makes me take pause. The promise of a great society that seemed possible a couple of times in my life is elusive. The Atrocities continue.

Reggie Nicholson: Variations of a Thought (2024)

Variations of a Thought (2024) is a suite consisting of three movements – Blutopia, Adagio, and Summernite. Each movement has my concept of structured improvisation where there is a section in each piece to improvise within the movement with cues to continue throughout the piece. This concept is the variations within each movement. As a percussionist, I naturally wanted to include some of my favorite percussion instruments, snare drum, large gong, concert bass drum, and drum set.

Thurman Barker: South Side Suite (2017)

Upon deciding to write my first Chamber Orchestra piece, I asked myself: What is my goal? Most of my performance career has been in the style of Blues, Jazz and Contemporary Classical music. The drum set and/or percussion lies at the core of these three styles. So I asked myself why not write a piece that is written in a Chamber orchestra format but with music that draws from, and combines these three idioms?  Additionally, in most cases the drum set plays a constant tempo however in South Side Suite the drums play a percussion role instead. My intention and goal with this piece was to display another aspect and role of the drum set and to combine the idioms that I have grown up with.    

Thurman Barker: Pandemic Fever (2019)

Whenever I think of the COVID-19 Pandemic, I am reminded of how it heightened my appreciation for technology. For the first time, my work depended on it. This new composition, Pandemic Fever, is full of conflicts between sections in the ensemble. Each section expresses their opinions about the Pandemic and how to deal with it. Governors across the country were competing for supplies like ventilators, gowns and masks. The Commander-in-chief had no plan. All this confusion makes its way into the score. Rhythms are disjointed and uneven. Strings and piano act as a web.  Xylophone, snare drum and brass suggest caution, danger. Woodwinds are the sound of hope, saying: we can get through this.