Mark Whitecage
BushWacked - A Spoken Opera
© 2005 Acoustics (616892676423)
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BushWacked is an oral critique of the political climate of the USA as culled by the artists from print and internet media, i.e., all aspects of media create the centerpiece and original, creative jazz frees the words from the page to craft a spoken opera.
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"BushWacked", a spoken word opera, finds Mark Whitecage with a totally new Band, Concept, and Direction! In addition to West Coast electronic wizard Scott Steele on guitar combined with the keyboard artistry of Bill Larimer, Mark has added Perry Robinson's prize pupil Rozanne Levine on Alto & Bb clarinets, with long-time collaborator Robert (Mike) Mahaffay on drums, to produce a hard-hitting and sometimes angry indictment of the Bush Crime Family, all without losing the sense of swing and intensity he is known for!!
"Mark Whitecage knocks me out. He has achieved rare union of tradition and innovation all coupled with finesse and at times, raw muscle. He is a totally unique player who raises the spirits of rebellion, while at the same time lifting the music to a new plateau." (Tim Price) Saxophone Journal
"The man is an absolute master of the alto saxophone and clarinet (not to mention a dab hand at electronics), and one of the finest and most original jazz composers in the world, and has been for years." - (Dan Warburton) Paris Transatlantic, Signal to Noise.
Mark Whitecage (alto & soprano saxophone, clarinet, electronics, composer) is an internationally-known musician who performs solo and with several ensembles ranging in size from duos to quintets. He has performed and recorded with a wide range of creative artists including The Nu Band, Anthony Braxton, Perry Robinson, Jeanne Lee, Gunter Hampel, Mario Pavone, Joe McPhee, William Parker, Dominic Duval, Marshall Allen and Steve Swell, in a career spanning four decades. Whitecage can be heard on over 50 recordings, a number of them award-winning. His release with his trio No Respect, self-titled No Respect - Duval / Rosen / Whitecage, was named one of 2003's Top Ten Recordings by Time Out New York's Steve Smith.
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When these mad times are just a bad memory, 'BushWacked' will still be standing
author: Robert Iannapollo, Signal to NoiseEven after five years of Bush and his cronies' systematic dismantling of our governmental system, there's been little overt protest music within the field of creative jazz. Along comes saxophonist Mark Whitecage with a healthy dose of indignation. The music runs the gamut from freebop to collective improv to straight ahead swing, and every player gets a moment to shine. When the dust has settled and these mad times are just a bad memory, 'BushWacked' will still be standing tall.
What a splendid and healing joy to listen to this CD!
author: Sandile Ngidi, freelance journalist and independent producer, SoWhat a splendid and healing joy to listen to this CD! I just can't put it down, it's terrific and explosive stuff.
Archie Shepp and ragtime, Frank Zappa and off-Broadway, anarchy and democracy: i
author: Massimo RicciApart from the obvious sociopolitical implications of the lyrics, the "jazz-and-much-more" raging authority unleashed by Whitecage (alto sax, clarinet) Scott Steele (guitar) Bill Larimer (piano) Rozanne Levine (alto & soprano clarinets) and Rober Mahaffay (drums) will curl up your toes: a show-stopping virtuosity does not waste an ounce of the pulsating conceptual energy of the group, whose components encapsulate hundreds of different artistic experiences, throwing them against the often disappointing aesthetics of today's swing/jazz realities with sardonic smiles and thoroughly irreverent musicianship. Archie Shepp and ragtime, Frank Zappa and off-Broadway, anarchy and democracy: it's all here for your mental and auditive pleasure - and your radio won't play it for sure.
Say hi to a clear picture of our shared predicament on Bushwacked.
author: Rex Butters, All About Jazz-LAMark Whitecage and the Bi-Coastal Orchestra step up to the podium to deliver the statement of sanity many have been waiting on for five years. Bushwacked: A Spoken opera takes aim at the deadly dada debacle that has inexplicably passed for government and foreign policy in this country since the turn of the millenium. Whitecage and company surgically remove the masks from these gibbering ninnies and the slow brained zombies who support them with texts built of incisive previously published commentaries and pertinent constitutional quotes recited against a musical backdrop that emphasizes free jazz, while including elements of a century of American popular music. Whitecage's broad stylistic background is well represented by his ensemble, creating a lively listenable soundtrack equal to the seething passion in the composer's text. Rozanne Levine intones the first oratorio, "In Our Name", with dramatic urgency, supported by the ensemble's growing forte. Scott Steele's slippery guitar gives the scenario's inherent unreality the appropriate wiggle. "0 for 5000" refers to former Attorney General John Ashcroft's inability to prosecute anybody, and pianist Bill Larimer takes the opportunity to play tasty New Orleans licks that escalate to Cecil Taylorisms. Not to be left out of the fun, the ensemble jumps into a hot free blow followed by spare, ghostly electronics. Robert Mahaffay gracefully rains drum kit, as he does beautifully on each track. Whitecage and Levine on alto sax and clarinet respectively, duo with Steele's rubbery guitar. A pertinent constitutional quote from Whitecage ends the piece. Named for Deep Throat's most cogent phrase, the all-instrumental "Follow the Money" frees Whitecage to meditate on alto sax. A masterful statement ensues, followed by Larimer's atmospheric synth strings framing Whitecage's understated clarinet. Back on piano, Larimer's left hand initiates an off-kilter swing with Steele snaky on guitar. Levine and Whitecage again cross alto reeds to take it out. The group resurrects Jeanne Lee's still relevant lyrics for "Who's the War For?" Levine and Whitecage blow fire and Larimer throws ivory gasoline. When it cools down, the reedists switch to higher pitched instruments and converse as birds. This is not a newspaper set to music, but rather a quaint artifact of Jeffersonian Democracy involving an informed citizenry and open debate framed as art. At the beginning, Levine addresses the empty materialistic alienation that's brought us to this bleak point in our history: "I also feel the vacuum, the loneliness, the silence, the dehydration of the soul as people who want desperately to save our constitution, country and planet still wander the streets without even knowing how to say 'hi' to one another." Say hi to a clear picture of our shared predicament on Bushwacked.
'BushWacked' is an impressive, bold and timely work from alto sax wiz, Mark Whit
author: Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery Newsletter'BushWacked' is an impressive, bold and timely work from alto sax wiz, Mark Whitecage, and his new crew. It features Rozanne Levine & Mr. Whitecage on alto sax, clarinets & voices, Scott Steele on guitar, Bill Larimer on keyboards & voice and Robert Mahaffay on drums. The title piece of this disc is not included here but was written in 1990 with lyrics by Jeanne Lee and recorded on her 'Natural Affinities' disc. It was played live by The Nu Band in January of 2005 and sung by Roy Campbell on their tour that month, while Mark spoke his mind about the lies told by our fascist president, Mr. Bush. Mark and his partner Rozanne Levine, collaborated with their friends from Portland, Oregon, the Bi-Coastal Orchestra and that's how this disc came to be. Whitecage collected 17 pages of evidence against Bush Crime Family and their cowardly draft-dodging associates. The spoken words are taken from these texts and remind us of the sad state of affairs that this country has gradually slid into. The music swirls freely around the words, which provide a powerful balm, while we consider the consequences of the current administration. Three of the seven pieces are pretty long, so we get to hear the players stretch out with some fine soloing from the sax, clarinets, keyboards and guitar. Still, it is the words that really stand out and make one think of the mess we have gotten into and the way the rest of the world must view us. The day I received this disc in the mail, I saw a headline in a newspaper that said the very same thing, "Bush-Wacked"! Perhaps there might just be some justice left for Bush, Cheney, Condy and the rest of their pathetic clan. Only time will tell. No doubt that some asshole out there will complain about the political content of this music review & newsletter platform. Don't bother, because I couldn't give a flying...this is a free country isn't it?!?
Thank you for sending me this CD. Thank you for making this CD.
author: Ron Sweetman, host, "In A Mellow Tone", CKCU Radio, Ottawa, CanaThank you for sending me this CD. Thank you for making this CD. It's been so long that I have been waiting for creative artists to raise their voice against this criminal gang that has taken over the government of the United States, and brought its reputation to its lowest depths ever with their lies, their illegal wars, their torture, their secret prisons. After 9/11, the whole world sympathized with the US. Four years later it is seen as a rogue state, universally feared and detested. As your near neighbour, Canada has not remained immune from infection. We have enacted laws under which persons are locked away without trial, without evidence. Canadians have been shipped to Syria for torture, the questions being supplied to the torturers by the Canadian version of the CIA. A Canadian moslem truck driver has been in jail for several years without any trial accused of plotting to blow up the Houses of Parliament because a map of Ottawa was discovered in his truck's glove compartement; his employer says the map belongs to a previous trucker who used that truck to make deliveries in the Ottawa area, but no-one listens to him. I will get your CD onto my program as soon as possible. Again, thank you for having the conscience and the courage to speak out! Ron Sweetman
Impressive, bold and timely
author: Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery Newsletter'BushWacked' is an impressive, bold and timely work from alto sax wiz, Mark Whitecage, and his new crew.