Soundscape Presents

Soundscape Presents or simply Soundscape is a

arts

education.

Foundation

Soundscape, was founded as a jazz club in New York City in 1979 by Verna Gillis, a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology. Committed to the ideals of multiculturalism, it aimed to present contemporary music and musicians from diverse cultural backgrounds. It provided one of the first multi-cultural performance spaces in New York City. Live in Soundscape is a series of 9 CDs on DIW which documents the early years, through 1984.

Multiple venues

After 1984, Soundscape no longer operated out of just one location. Other venues used included the Purple Barge on the

Ritz rock club, La Mama, the Village Gate, Irving Plaza, SOB's, Symphony Space, Alice Tully Hall, Town Hall and the Beacon Theatre. WKCR 89.8 fm (New York) has launched a webpage devoted to Soundscape, including documentation, recordings and photographs.^[1]

As a performance space, Soundscape brought together many types of music, regardless of genre. It provided an environment that encouraged experimentation, development, and cultural fusions. It presented both established, well-known musicians and emerging composer/musicians of exceptional promise. Established musicians found a rare environment in which they were encouraged to try out new ideas without commercial pressures, while emerging musicians were given a forum with a reputation for quality and visibility. Many musicians performed and were reviewed for the first time at Soundscape, and have gone on to make significant contributions to contemporary music.^[citation needed]

In November, 1981, Soundscape produced Interpretations of Monk in two concerts at

Latin Jazz for the Center for Inter American Relations

, 1982–1987.

Soundscape became the first U.S. presenter of

Hip-Hop

performance, “Dance Music New York,” at the Miller Pier.

From 1980 to 1985, Soundscape produced the New Music component of the

Felt Forum

and the Beacon Theatre. In 1991, once again for the New York International Festival of the Arts premiered two groups from Brazil – Paulinho da Viola and Olodum, as well as “Lights in a Fat City.” Soundscape Presents serves as a consultant to festivals and organizations around the world, assisting in the production of concerts and concert series, and developing concepts for their music programming.

Record label

In 1986 Soundscape formed its own record label and to date has released two albums by the group Vortex. The first record, C Album, was voted one of the 10 best of the year in 1986 by

Cadence Magazine. Two other Soundscape recordings have been licensed to Island Records – the first, Arawe by Daniel Ponce, was released in 1987, and Funky Jibaro by Yomo Toro

was released in 1988.

References

^ "The Project - WKCR 89.9FM NY". www.cc-seas.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
^ Freedman, Samuel G. (8 April 1990). "What Really Makes New York Work: Secret Powers; Verna Gillis: The Muse of the Melting Pot". The New York Times.

External links

[1] "The Project - WKCR 89.9FM NY". www.cc-seas.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-06.

[2] Freedman, Samuel G. (8 April 1990). "What Really Makes New York Work: Secret Powers; Verna Gillis: The Muse of the Melting Pot". The New York Times.

[1]