Nefertiti at Saint Joaquin

1755 Broadway Street,Fresno CA 93721

19 January, 2022

Description

Exploring Miles Davis' Nefertiti with the Programme Hifi Team We’re making our return to Saint Joaquin and delving into another iconic jazz album. We’ll discuss its long-lasting personal appeal, as well as the context and history of the album and quintet within Davis’ career and music development. Nefertiti is the fourth album by Miles Davis' second classic quintet featuring Herbie Hancock on piano, Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Anthony Williams on drums, and Ron Carter on bass. The group has settled into an exploratory groove, offering music that was deliberately dissonant, and slightly unsettling as it burrows its way into the consciousness. In a sense, this is mood music since the individual parts mesh in unpredictable ways, creating evocative, floating soundscapes. What's impressive, like on all of this quintet's sessions, is the interplay, how the musicians follow an unpredictable path as a unit, turning in music that is always searching, always provocative, and never boring. Perhaps Nefertiti's charms are a little more subtle than those of its predecessors, but that makes it intriguing. Besides, this album so clearly points the way to fusion and also shows Miles pushing the envelope into free jazz territories while remaining acoustic. It may coax listeners on either side of the fence into another direction. Alongside his musical legacy, we’ll also look at the way he supported and influenced other artists during the course of his career by spotlighting gems from Shorter, Hancock, and Carter. Join us for another great listening session, natural wine, coffee, bites, and musical connection. FAQ What is a listening session? Listening parties are sensory experiences that are pretty hard to top. A listening session or listening party is a gathering where an album, single, or entire music programme is played and enjoyed contextually, communally, uninterrupted, and in the best sonic detail possible. It’s about bringing back the lost art of deep listening. How is the event structured? The evening will start with a conversation about the hi-fi system, the process of finding and collecting vinyl, connecting with history through records, and the significance of deep listening in the current digital age. Then we’ll get into the grooves. We’ll hear recordings chat briefly during the first hour, building up to the focus music. After a short intermission, we’ll play an entire album without interruption in the second hour. Why is there a no-phone policy? We want to invite people to slow down and switch off. Events like this exist to remind us to nourish our most starved sense: hearing. Silence is paramount at a listening session. We ask guests to mute their social media pings, and to keep conversations low and to a minimum. Feel free to chat and take as many photos as you’d like during intermission, and at the end of the presentation. Vinyl Culture • Hifi Audio Experience • Monthly Listening Sessions • Fresno CA