I’ve been composing songs for cities where I’ve spent more than a month.  I meditate on the place, and also use the statistics of those infected/dead in each place to inform the composition.

As my friend Paul Chioketen Wagner says, songs are crafty hunters, waiting around in the atmosphere for the right person to bring them to life.  All Things Connect appeared this week. Starting as a meditation on Ljubljana Slovenia, it slowly accumulated Balkan elements (time signature, instruments, melodies), but at the same time wanted to be a living room dance party song.  Balkan EDM in 9!  Meanwhile, I have been reviewing the wisdom of Chief Sealth, who sagely told us ‘All Things Connect’.

Let the dance party begin!

All Things Connect

Sing with me!  Play with me! Wake up your muse!

Join me for my weekly live-stream SPRING FORTH.  I invite folks to sing along or do whatever they need to do to free the Muse.  She should definitely not be in quarantine!

Join me every week on Friday from 12 – 12:30pm (Seattle time) on Facebook Live.

After 10 weeks of quarantine in West Seattle (I’ve gone to the U District exactly one time), singing is my favorite past time. I’ve lost only one close relative, in Michigan.  RIP Nancy Muha, lovely gal, younger sister of my father’s wife.  Wash your hands frequently and try not to touch your masks!  I meant to say ‘housemates’ the other day, (3 others share the space here) but the phrase ‘haz mat’ came out.  We laughed hard.  And prayed a little.

Spring is full on and the virus is doing fine.  I took some contact tracing classes. Interesting work ~ sleuthing & being social.  That’s what I do naturally. Too bad the work is voluntary at this point. Hard to find consistent paying work these days, so I thank you o Patreonauts.  Your support is essential.

Fun Sacred Voice Concert!   I’ll be singing Thurs. @ 7pm, with electronics and some instruments.  I hope that you’ll drop by & improvise along for a spell. Have a little dance party at your place or in your garden!

Enjoy my new exotica song!  Trieste is from my new series, Le Citta’.

Sing for your health. I’ll show you how on Thursday’s Livestream.

Amy

Nature is rejoicing that humans are quieter.
Heard about a family of 6 eagles on the Green River.
The adults were teaching their 4 eaglets how to fish.
Eagle ballet in the sky.

We just harvested this last bit of  overwintered swiss chard.
Now our plethora is popping up.

TICKLING THE MUSES

TIPTONS SAX QUARTET: WABI SABI

IT’S HERE!  I’M THRILLED!
Enjoy the finest recording yet from your favorite all-women sax quartet!  Wabi Sabi galvanizes your senses and takes you through unforgettable soundscapes.  Exploring modern field hollers, the hum of tires on the Autobahn, tricks for the mind, a yodeling deconstruction, popping funk for December’s doldrums, upbeat grooves for bad people with good intentions, this music delivers pure joy!

——————–

UPCOMING LIVECASTS
AMY DENIO: SPRING FORTH
Play with me every Friday in May (except the 8th)
from noon-12:30 PST (9-9:30 CET)

DENIO SINGS AN ORCHESTRA
22-PIECE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: A CAPPELLA
Sat 2 May @ 7:30pm @ Zoom Zag series.
I’ll be singing super fun a cappella versions of my chamber music, using loops and echos.

My CORONA SONORA project is growing…
Made a few more pieces for ICS day on Sunday: Dublin and Mumbai.

More improvised music releases on Spoot Music!
LOST IN SPACE ~ Live from the Players Lounge (22 August, 2018)
FLOORBOARD 6 ~ Live from the Players Lounge (30 October, 2019)
DKTRSH ~ Live at the Players Lounge (1 December, 2019)

SMALL ACTIONS, BIG RESULTS

• Wash your hands ~ and your face!
• Consider investing in a pulse oximeter to measure your oxygen count in your blood.  COVID comes in silently, and most people don’t notice until they come to the hospital with respiratory failure.  By then it’s pretty much too late. Be vigilant.
• Take a walk first thing in the morning to clear the cobwebs and reboot your brain.  My friends cover a kilometer walking on their terrace in Valencia Spain every day!
• Sing!  Resonate your body.  Pain magically disappears.
• Stretch and yawn, activate your inner cat.
• Start a dream diary.  I dreamt that 4 beautiful girls from N. Africa were teaching me how to sing in Arabic and giggling at my attempts to write down the pronunciation. Then we were singing together.  Grazie a santa marta che ci aiuta ogni tanto!
• Reach out to people, especially those feeling alone.

Happy Chrysalis-izing!
Get those imaginal discs going!

Love to all,
Amy

Greetings from the quiet environs of Seattle.

The looming spectre of the Novel Corona virus’s spread caused concert cancellations in Italy, Munich and Salzburg, so the Tiptons Sax Quartet cut our tour short a few hours before all international flights were cancelled. Phew, that was a close call!

We’re all safe and healthy ~ and wish you & and yours safe passage in these strange times.

I’ve been in self-quarantine mode since returning from Europe on
March 13, like most folks around here ~ to good effect, it seems!
The spread of contagion continues in Washington State,
but at least it’s not growing at 2000% anymore.

Prayers to everyone without access to a sanitary environment, and to everyone in the area surrounding New York City.

Enjoy these videos, new and old.
AMY DENIO: ALL TOGETHER NOW
Created for an online virtual variety show curated by Viva Schmorgasbord in NYC
on 20 March, 2020.

FALSE PROPHETS (OR JUST DANG GOOD GUESSERS)
Shaking Ray Levis + Amy Denio + Jessica Lurie
@ The Orange Show
Houston Texas, September 1997
Filmed & Produced by Don White

LISTENING PLEASURE
Just published!  Fresh new improvised music!
FLOORBOARD 6 ~ Live from the Players Lounge 
(30 October, 2019)

DKTRSH ~ Live at the Players Lounge 
(1 December, 2019)

Love to all,

Amy

Enjoyed my wild spin through the dark days of winter here in the NW ~ but thankfully the light is brightening once again.

• My magnificent opus for 22-piece orchestra, Truth is Up For Grabs is out on Spoot Music!  Listen here!  Want a download for review? Please write me at amydenio [at] gmail [dot] com.
• In 6 days (totaling a death-defying 60 hours) the Tiptons Sax Quartet recorded and mixed 11 new compositions and two improvisations at Studio Litho for our newest album Wabi Sabi!  It’ll be ready in time for our tour in Europe in March!  I’m really pleased with my deconstructed Yodeling song Moadl Joadl, along with my sexy Latin number El Gran Orinador, plus a dynamic arrangement of my Balkan sendup Root Dance.  
• I composed and produced a new commission by KINO LORBER to compose an original soundtrack to THE STRIKE (Alice Guy Blachet, 1912), a fabulous workers-of-the-world-unite silent film.  Look for it on a forthcoming DVD compilation!

TIPTONS EUROPEAN TOUR!

• 3/1-2/02 D – Dresden Music Workshop
• 3/3. D-Jena, Cafe Wagner  8 PM
• 3/4 D-Pohrsdorf bei Tharandt, Saxstall  8 PM
• 3/5 D-Chemnitz, Café des Weltecho im Haus “Kammer der Technik”  8 PM
• 3/7 A – Villach, Jazz Workshop, School of Music 10 AM – 4 PM
• 3/7. SLO-Kranj Trainstation Subart 8 PM
• 3/8 I-Orsaria, Premariacco,UD Teatr’Orsaria  8 PM
• 3/10 Hechingen, Villa Eugenia 7 PM
• 3/12 D- München House Concert Privat
• 3/13 A-Salzburg Jazzit  8 PM
• 3/14 I – Schio Centro Stabile della Cultura  8 PM

THE TIPTONS SAX QUARTET
                        SAY:

Many thanks to everyone for your ongoing support,
and especially for your recent contributions during
our  fundraising campaign.  It worked!

Our 14th album WABI-SABI
is on the way.  CD & LP & streaming.

These days we’re honing our diverse &  gorgeous
new compositions fulltime,  it’s taking shape.

We’ll play some concerts in the Northwest,  then record the
new stuff with my beloved engineer Floyd at Studio Litho.

The new music is infused with Funk, Second Line,  Bebop,
Samba & other Latin beats, deconstructed Yodeling,
Balkan horn choirs, and a good dose of Humor… Influenced
by numbers, encounters, visions, and the sonic experience of
driving on the Deutsche Autobahn.

We’re celebrating 31 years of music making and touring together.
Please join us for
TIPTONS SAX QUARTET NORTHWEST TOUR!
January 2020

Mon 6 Jan, 8pm
OLYMPIA @ Rhythm & Rye
We’ll play 2 sets!

Fri 10 Jan, 7:30
SEATTLE @ Royal Room
We’ll play 2 sets!

Sat 11 Jan, 9pm
PORTLAND @ Alberta Street Pub
Tiptons are double billing with
Portland’s female sax quartet extraordinaire
Quadraphonnes,

TIPTONS IN EUROPE

Love to all,
Amy

Days are getting darker, and I’m enjoying playing with Correo Aereo, attending Pat Graney Dance company rehearsals, and mixing the recording of my 10-movement composition for chamber orchestra at Avast Studios.  I’m also recording with Annie O’Neill, playing in balafon master Nabi Camara’s band, and spending more quiet time with my cat Shorty ~ and writing grants to help fund future projects.  I’ve just applied to the American Academy in Rome (again!), and am working on a few other composition grant applications.

Also, I started dancing once a week, and feel infinitely happier because of it!

I’ve just finished composing more gorgeous music for my 21-piece chamber ensemble Orkestar Istina (Truth Orchestra) to perform at the Chapel Performance Space in the Good Shepherd Center on Fri & Sat October 11 & 12, 8pm.  Open to all ages, 4 and up.

Reserve tickets.

Artwork by Anne Marie Grgich

My musical musical suite is inspired by current events, the political economy of war, and by poems written by Pablo Neruda. Video artist James Drage has created beautiful moving images for each section.

The instrumentation includes strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussionists from Kurdistan and Mexico, beautiful world music colors. The ensemble will be conducted by Mike Jauregui.

This performance is sponsored by the Seattle Composers Alliance, and made possible in part by funding from The Office of Arts and Culture, and 4 Culture.

Suggested donation $5 – $25.

Contact me for further information.
amy@amydenio.com