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Cohen Seeks Release of All JFK Assassination Documents

Credit: Rep. Steve Cohen via Twitter

Turns out, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) and former President Donald Trump agree on something: they both want all records related to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy released to the public. 

It’s surprising the two could agree on anything at all. Cohen has been one of Trump’s most vocal critics.

On Friday, Cohen sent a letter to President Joe Biden, asking him to release the few, remaining documents related to the Kennedy assassination. He said Americans are distrustful of the federal government. Some of that, he said, can be traced back to the perceived cover-up of JFK’s murder in Dallas. 

“The governmental secrecy and recent delay in the release of the documents only perpetuates this type of thinking,” Cohen wrote. “If the papers demonstrate different circumstances or additional actors were involved, so be it. If the documents support the Warren Commission’s findings or further support the work of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, so be it. 

If they implicate or embarrass the CIA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), or any other governmental agency, the public has a right to know.

Rep. Steve Cohen

“If they implicate or embarrass the CIA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), or any other governmental agency, the public has a right to know. After 60 years, it is time to quash the conspiracy theories and demonstrate the federal government’s accountability to the people.”

Trump agrees. 

“When I return to the White House, I will declassify and unseal all JFK assassination related documents,” he wrote on Truth Social in July last year. “It’s been 60 years, time for the American people to know the truth!” 

It’s been 60 years, time for the American people to know the truth!

Former President Donald Trump

But Trump is partly to blame for the delay in the documents’ release. In 2017, he released some of the papers, but not all of them. He said at the time that agencies told him that the papers “should continue to be redacted because of national security, law enforcement, and foreign affairs concerns.” He had “no choice,” he said, as he didn’t want to “harm the nation’s security.”

In 1992, Congress mandated the documents to be released in 2021. But Biden delayed that release in October. He said the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) needed more time to examine the documents as the pandemic had slowed its work.

The 1992 law gives presidents power to delay the release, Biden said, if “postponement remains necessary to protect against an identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure.”

The Mary Ferrell Foundation, a group devoted to “unredacting history,” sued NARA last year over the delay. That lawsuit questions, in part, whether Biden even had authority to postpone release of Congressional records. Parts of the suit got the green light from a federal judge in January.  

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News News Blog News Feature

Tennessee House Unveils Massive School Voucher Program

From left, Majority Leader William Lamberth, Speaker Cameron Sexton, and Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison speak with reporters on February 22, 2024, about upcoming voucher legislation from the Tennessee House of Representatives. GOP leaders filed their bill on Monday. (Marta W. Aldrich / Chalkbeat)

Three school voucher proposals now before Tennessee lawmakers would create a new statewide program that eventually could open eligibility to all K-12 students, regardless of family income.

But the similarities end there.

The latest version, filed Monday by House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) has no testing requirements for students who accept public funding to attend private schools. Gov. Bill Lee’s version doesn’t either, but Senate leaders say that approach is a non-starter.

The House plan also would make it easier for middle-class families to access the program during its first year than under the two versions filed last week.

Proposals by the governor and the Senate would reserve the first 10,000 slots for families who are at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. But the House version would bump that to 400 percent of the poverty level, which equates to $124,800 for a family of four — a departure from Lee’s 2019 Education Savings Account law aimed at low-income families who attend low-performing schools in three urban areas.

The biggest difference, however, is in the House’s sweeping attempt to address a plethora of long-standing concerns by public school officials in a bill purportedly about school choice.

From complaints about overtesting of students to the cost of health care insurance for public school teachers, the 39-page proposal devotes far more pages to existing public school policies than new ones for vouchers.

Last week, House Speaker Cameron Sexton called the upcoming omnibus-style bill an “all-encompassing approach” that’s based on feedback from public school leaders during recent months.

“It’s not just about choice; it is about K-12 education,” Sexton said.

But Democratic leaders vowed that no members of their outnumbered party will support any of the voucher proposals, even if some include policies that they’ve fought for in the past.

“They’re trying to buy votes,” said Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville). “They’re just throwing in everything they can to try to get enough votes to pass this voucher scam.”

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) who leads the Senate, said he’d “probably rather stick with the issues at hand” instead of expanding the bill’s scope beyond vouchers.

The legislation could be taken up Tuesday by a House subcommittee and Wednesday in the Senate Education Committee. But GOP leaders say it will be weeks before any votes are held.

Non-voucher proposals for public schools under the House bill include:

  • Reducing testing time and possibly pivoting from the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program to a different “statewide standardized assessment.”
  • Increasing the state’s coverage of the cost of medical insurance for teachers and staff from 45 percent to 60 percent.
  • Phasing out the Achievement School District, the state’s turnaround district for low-performing schools, on July 1, 2026.
  • Adding several pathways beyond those outlined in a 2021 literacy law for fourth graders to get promoted if they don’t score proficient on this year’s TCAP in English language arts.
  • Reducing the number of required evaluations for higher-performing teachers.
  • Extending to eight years the validity of practitioner and professional teacher licenses.
  • Allowing high school students to take career readiness assessments instead of retaking the ACT exam.
  • Increasing the funding weight for small school systems from 5 percent to 8 percent under the state’s new K-12 funding structure known as the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act.
  • Reducing the frequency of student screenings through the state’s learning intervention program known as RTI.

Much of the disagreement over universal vouchers centers on the voucher program’s cost and how much private schools should be held accountable for results if they accept taxpayer money.

All three pieces of legislation would offer 20,000 vouchers this fall. But the House legislation stipulates that the program would increase by 20 percent annually if funding is available, while Lee wants to open it up to any student in the second year.

The governor proposes to give each recipient $7,075 this fall, which would cover about 62 percent of the average $11,344 cost of attending a private school in Tennessee, according to Private School Review.

Legislative staff released a fiscal analysis Monday showing the governor’s program would cost $144 million next fiscal year, which Lee has included in his proposed budget; $346 million the following year for an estimated 47,000 participants; and then exceeding that amount in subsequent years when “the liability to the state could significantly grow.”

Fiscal agents said over 1.12 million students would eventually be eligible to participate, including 155,650 students currently attending nonpublic schools.

“Due to the universal nature of the program, it is assumed that students already attending private school will seek the additional funding through the EFS Program,” the analysts wrote.

The analysts also noted that none of the legislative proposals include a plan to help offset an anticipated decrease in local revenue for public schools as students pivot to private schools.

You can track the bill on the General Assembly’s website.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

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Music Music Blog

David Collins’ B-Side Residencies Bear Fruit

David Collins (Credit: Carly Nicole)

Recently, in the wake of the Memphis Flyer‘s coverage of the local classical scene, a reporter asked me what venues I would recommend to hear exciting, new composers at work. After listing a few of the usual suspects — the Green Room at Crosstown Arts, the Cannon Center, the Germantown Performing Arts Center, etc. — I wrapped it up with the words, “Oh yeah, there’s also this bar …”

A bar where one can hear composers of new music? Yes indeed, thanks to the venturesome spirit that is alive and well at B-Side Bar in Midtown. The club nestled among the various shops of Minglewood Hall has become a favorite of the experimental set (among many other genres) in recent years, and one regular there has been David Collins.

Since before his 2021 debut album, Memphis, Collins has demonstrated a knack for inhabiting the interstices between classical, jazz, rock, and “new music,” whatever that is. Along the way, he’s been incredibly prolific, not just in composing his own music, but in tackling other composers from the worlds of both jazz (e.g., Horace Silver) and classical (e.g., Erik Satie). And he’s often performed at B-Side, typically with his primary group, Frog Squad.

As of July of last year, he ramped that up considerably, as his spin-off group, Freak Squid, took up a residency there on the last Tuesday of every month in order to work out some of Collins’ newer material. It still preserved Frog Squad’s rock-friendly approach to instrumental music — “sometimes we had four guitars, which was awesome,” Collins quips — but with a slightly different feel.

And, because of the quality of the sound at B-Side, usually overseen by live sound veteran Joe Holland, that July-December residency will soon yield more tangible fruits. Having recorded every Freak Squid performance from last year, Collins has now mixed the best cuts into a new collection, due to drop later this week. “It’s maybe more indie-rock-ish, like Radiohead-ish,” he says of the imminent album. “We also have some really free stuff on there. I’m gonna put it out in two parts. And the second part is going to be a lot more aggressive kind of avant garde. It will be released under my name David Collins, and the title is Freak Squid One.”

Meanwhile, Collins has already moved on. Now he has a group simply called David Collins’ Acoustic Septet, and they currently occupy the coveted last-Tuesday slot. “I’ve got a new band, and probably in six months I’ll have another new band after that,” Collins remarks. “I’m hoping that every six months I’ll do a new band and then we’ll record it live, so I’ll get two albums a year from this residency. This new band features two guitarists, me and Logan Hanna. Ethan Baker’s on violin, Ben Walsh is on double bass, Aaron Phillips is on bass flute, Delara Hashemi is on alto flute, and Haley Ivey is on concert flute.”

David Collins’ Acoustic Septet (Photo courtesy David Collins).

This material is decidedly less indie-rock, particularly as it has no drums. “This is nice because it’s really quiet. Kind of intimate,” says the composer. “I’ve got everything arranged. There’s a few tunes that just have lead sheets for the rhythm section, but flutes are generally scored out. The idea is that the flutes will have a calliope kind of sound.”

David Collins’ Acoustic Septet appears on Tuesday, February 27th at B-Side Memphis, 10 p.m., and the last Tuesday of every month after that.

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News News Blog News Feature

American Queen Voyages To Close Citing Post-Pandemic Financial Problems

Photo Credit: American Queen Voyages via Facebook

American Queen Voyages (AQV) announced the closure of the company, citing the inability to return to pre-COVID operations as the cause of significant monetary problems.

“Despite our best efforts, demand for overnight cruises has not recovered following the pandemic, and AQV has become financially unsustainable,” AQV said in a statement.

AQV’s seven-ship fleet set sail in 2011. According to Cruise Industry News, the American Queen, the first boat the company obtained, was considered to be the largest river steamboat ever built, with a capacity of 436 guests. This boat was primarily used for cruising along the Mississippi River.

“We are deeply proud of our crew and the outstanding travel experiences and service we have provided to our guests,” the company said in a statement. As we reflect on the journey we have shared over the years, we are filled with gratitude for the privilege of serving our guests, partners, and agents and for being part of our incredible local communities.”

The Mayors of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) issued a statement following the announcement noting the significant economic opportunity on the Mississippi River “generating over $37.4 billion in annual revenue supporting over 517,000 jobs.”

The river cruise industry along the Mississippi has dominated the market share of the U.S. river cruising economy. According to Grand View Research, the river cruising industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 20.8 percent from 2023 to 2030,” MRCTI said.

While AQV said demand for overnight cruises has not recovered since the pandemic, MRCTI cites AAA travel data saying domestic river cruise bookings for 2022 surpassed pre-pandemic levels by 25 percent.

“We see an overall river cruising industry with significant opportunities and growth potential into the rest of this decade and beyond,” MRCTI said. “In some of our cities, the burgeoning river cruise industry and all the third-party services it supports can account for over 40 percent of that city’s economy and we only see demand increasing.”

MRCTI anticipates a number of cruise companies to take advantage of AQV’s closing, however they added “acquisition of assets and reorganization remain as possibilities.”

As a result of the closure, all cruises have been canceled, and customers may apply for a refund through their website.

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Film Features Film/TV

Music Video Monday: “Ordinary World” by Valerie June

Valerie June (photograph by Brights)

Memphis expat Valerie June has had a busy 2024. She’s been speaking out about our broken health care system as part of the Power to the Patients campaign. She’s been snowboarding in Maine and wowing Pickathon in Portland, Oregon. At the beginning of the year, she released “Ordinary World” her cover of a beloved Duran Duran song. Originally done for a commercial, the track proved so popular that the singer/songwriter released it as a single.

“With modern times often full of heaviness and darkness, how do we find the strength to survive and grow? From the changing climate to wars and our personal stories of loss, it can be overwhelming to dream of a more harmonious life for the entire planet,” says June. “I recorded my cover of ‘Ordinary World’ because, despite the challenges we face every day, there is beauty to be found in the ordinary. Though we often think of change as an enormous process, it is the little things that make significant shifts when multiplied; one small and simple act of caring for the Earth or a stranger is a way to see the extraordinary hidden within the ordinary. The toolbox that helps us create a world of joy and peace must have simple, tiny actions.”

If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.

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Sports Tiger Blue

Tiger Hoops Scandal? Ho-hum.

Malcolm Dandridge (photo by Wes Hale)

Larry Kenon is a certifiable Memphis basketball legend. In his one season as a Tiger (1972-73), Kenon established a single-season rebound record (501) that will never be touched. He helped another Larry legend (Finch) lead Memphis State to the NCAA championship game, where the Tigers fell to mighty UCLA. Kenon’s number 35 is among ten retired numbers that now hang from the rafters at FedExForum on Tiger game days.

A detail you might now know about Larry Kenon: Among the conditions he insisted upon before committing to the Tiger program: He didn’t have to attend a class. (I was three years old in 1972, but I have this nugget from a reliable source who was near the program for that unforgettable season.)

The Tigers won their biggest conference game of the season Sunday afternoon at FedExForum, beating FAU, 78-74. But they did so without one of only two players still on the team from FAU’s upset of Memphis in last year’s NCAA tournament. Center Malcolm Dandridge sat out the game as the university investigates chatter of academic misdeeds involving the fifth-year senior. It’s a deflating cloud over a program that has reached the heights of a Top-10 ranking and the lows of a four-game losing streak this winter. But you know what? These cloud conditions are part of Memphis Tiger basketball, every bit as much as the blue and gray of their uniforms.

If you’re too young for memories of Larry Kenon, perhaps you recall Keith Lee, the record-shattering power forward from West Memphis who became a Tiger in 1981 upon receiving a shoebox — between a size seven-and-a-half and a nine, according to Lee himself — full of cash. You’ve likely forgotten the Tic Price tryst. Finch’s successor as Tiger coach resigned abruptly before the 1999-2000 season when he was discovered to have been playing some bedroom ball with a U of M student. It’s easy to forget this scandal, as all it cost Memphis was a mediocre coach.

Arguably the greatest team in Tiger history reached the championship game in 2008, but there’s no banner to celebrate the squad because star freshman Derrick Rose, the NCAA determined, had someone else take the standardized test that qualified him to play at Memphis. James Wiseman was the most heralded freshman to suit up for the Tigers since Rose, but played in only three games early in the 2019-20 season before the NCAA ruled he had taken improper payments from his future coach — Penny Hardaway — when his family moved to Memphis before his senior year at East High School. And just last November, Hardaway served a three-game suspension for what the NCAA deemed an improper recruiting visit. 

It’s exhausting to read all together, isn’t it? One ugly “distraction” after another, almost as regular for the Memphis program as visits to the Sweet 16. Making the current Dandridge matter especially troubling: The player is as Memphis as Hardaway, no import (like Kenon, Rose, or even Lee, from West Memphis). Dandridge surely has a sense of those historic “clouds.” If not, the man who coached him at East and now for five years at the U of M could certainly draw a picture.

Maybe it’s all a misunderstanding. Maybe it was one or two bad decisions made by one young man, and the problem can be sliced cleanly from the larger basketball system this city celebrates and its favorite son, Hardaway, manages. Hardaway had little to say about the matter following Sunday’s win: “I’m gonna learn as [everyone else] learns.” And that’s a component to the problem: If Hardaway truly knows nothing about a fifth-year player breaking rules, the coach is part of that problem.

FedExForum splashed an awkward promotion on the scoreboard and concourse screens as fans departed Sunday’s game. “Senior Day” will be celebrated when the Tigers host UAB on March 3rd. The player staring from those screens, representative of this year’s Memphis senior class: Malcolm Dandridge. The guess here is that a Dandridge appearance for Senior Day is a 50/50 proposition, at best. 

The Tigers have now won 20 games under Hardaway in each of the coach’s six seasons. Feels like something to celebrate, especially in an up-and-down campaign. But with the scent of scandal in the air? We pause the celebration. Yet again.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Clippers’ Late Surge Downs Grizzlies

Feb 23, 2024; Memphis Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (13) shoots the ball as Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) defends during the first half at FedExForum. (Wes Hale Photo)

Late game mistakes cost the Memphis Grizzlies Friday night in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, 101-95. The Clippers went on a 12-4 run late in the final period to seal the deal. 

For most of the game, it was a tightly contested matchup with the Clippers leading by as many as 8 points, while Memphis’ biggest lead was 7. 

“I think we should have won,” said Lamar Stevens, who finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. “I don’t really like the moral victory stuff; I think we should’ve won. I think that we kind of gave it away down the stretch; some of the turnovers and offensive rebounds really hurt us, but those are all things that we can control.”

“We just got a bunch of dogs in here that are hungry— everybody has something to prove,” Stevens said, about how the team is playing well on defense despite missing key players. “Everybody’s getting a different kind of opportunity. You get that opportunity in this league, you want to make the most of it and take advantage of it and just control what you can control. I think people come in here looking at the roster and don’t really know who this person or that person is, but they’re dogs and they’re hungry. I think that’s what’s able to keep us in games and keep us in position to win.”

Stevens received praise from Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins after the game: “I love what I’ve seen with Lamar [Stevens]’s defensive activity, switch ability. He’s given us a little pop in our scoring ability. He’s kind of figuring out his role on the opposite side. He’s playing a unique position at the five there, but his versatility on defense really just jumps off the page. Doesn’t matter who he’s guarding, whether it’s a guard or it’s a big.”

“It’s encouraging what we’ve seen the last couple of games,” Jenkins added. “That kind of gave us some confidence to put him into that five spot.”

Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 29 points, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 4 rebounds. Jackson Jr. has scored 25 or more in 20 games this season. He continues to improve his playmaking ability for himself and his teammates. 

GG Jackson II continued to impress off the bench, finishing with 11 points and 2 rebounds. Vince Williams Jr. added 9 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. 

Highlight of the Night

After getting a steal, John Konchar raced down the floor and threw a spectacular lob to Ziaire Williams. Williams finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. 

Roster Moves

The Grizzlies announced the signing of Jordan Goodwin to a two-way contract and have waived guard Jacob Gilyard. Gilyard had nearly reached his 50 game limit with the Grizzlies as a two-way contract player. 

Up Next

The Grizzlies will host the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, February 26, at FedExForum at 7 pm CT. 

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News News Blog News Feature

Proposed Legislation Could Undo Strides in Public Safety in Memphis

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash.

A new bill could potentially undo policies made by the Memphis City Council in the aftermath of Tyre Nichols’ death. 

Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) and Rep. John Gillespie (R-Memphis)  proposed a bill that would void the Driving Equality Act in Honor of Tyre Nichols, which prohibits officers from pulling drivers over for minor violations such as broken tail lights. It would also nullify the Data Transparency Act, which requires officers to collect traffic data and that it be published monthly. The bill would also make it legal to use unmarked cars for traffic stops.

Under SB 2572/HB 1931, the Driving Equality Act would be ineffective as the bill prohibits any legislation that would not allow law enforcement to act in their fullest capacity.

“As introduced, prohibits a local governmental entity or official from adopting or enacting an ordinance or policy that prohibits or limits the ability of a law enforcement agency to take all necessary steps that are lawful under state and federal law to fulfill the law enforcement agency’s duties to prevent and detect crime and apprehend criminal offenders,” the bill reads. “States that an ordinance or policy that is adopted in violation of the prohibition is null and void.”

Nichols’ family is encouraging lawmakers to vote no to bill, calling it a “devastating step backwards.”

“The legislation would remove critical reforms the Memphis community fought for on behalf of my son Tyre,” RowVaughn Wells, Nichols’ mother, said in a statement. “Our communities deserve law enforcement that is held to the highest standard of integrity and accountability to begin to restore trust.”

The bill has also been openly criticized by advocacy groups such as Decarcerate Memphis, who published “The People’s Report 2024: Driving While BIPOC” this week. The report found that in the months after Nichols’ death, traffic stops increased by nearly 25 percent, even though they found that “traffic stops don’t reduce or prevent crimes.” The report also showed that these stops disproportionately affect Black residents.

“While the sponsors are spreading falsehoods, the truth is Senate Bill 2572/House Bill 1931 seeks to strip local governments and law enforcement agencies of their autonomy to implement tailored public safety solutions that prioritize community safety,” the group said in a statement. “By imposing blanket restrictions on police accountability measures, this bill jeopardizes the discretion of local authorities and diverts resources away from addressing serious crimes and road safety.”

Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas, who played a vital role in the passage of the Driving Equality Ordinance said the current laws passed in the aftermath of Nichols’ death are integral in preventing “another violent death like Tyre Nichols.”

“The narrative and dishonesty being pushed by state legislators is not only wrong but removes the purpose behind the legislation which was to save Black lives, like Tyre Nichols,” Easter-Thomas said in a statement.

Lawmakers in the House Local Government and Senate State and Local Government committees will vote on the bill on Tuesday, February 27th.

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Music Music Blog

Chris Corsano to Rattle the Walls at Goner

(Photo: Rudi Schuerewegen)

Goner Records, often tagged as the premier punk presence in the Bluff City, is actually all that and more, and their recent show bookings have included music that’s decidedly not punk, yet nevertheless decidedly out there. That is to say, artists that are beyond category, and that’s about all one can say about artists like Tatsuya Nakatani, Jack Wright’s Wrest, Quintron’s Weather Warlock, or even the ostensibly Afrobeat Etran de L’Aïr: All of them defy categorization.

This Friday, February 23rd, Goner presents another artist who fits that description, the irrepressibly inventive drummer Chris Corsano. Gonerfest fans may recall that he performed with no wave/noise guitarist Bill Orcutt last year, but that only scratches the surface of Corsano’s creativity. “Jazz” fans may also know him from a release on our region’s premier free improv-friendly label, Mahakala Music in Hot Springs, who brought Corsano together with two other luminaries from the New York improvisation scene, trombonist Steve Swell and tenor saxophonist Joe McPhee, on the 2022 album Sometimes the Air Is.

He’s also worked with Tennessee’s free jazz luminary Zoh Amba, several “rock” artists (Sir Richard Bishop, Thurston Moore, Jim O’Rourke), not to mention Björk on her Volta album and world tour. And while those are just a few of the artists he’s appeared with on over 180 albums, he’s a renowned solo performer in his own right, with a record due out later this year on the Drag City label.

The Memphis Flyer caught up with Corsano yesterday to hear more about this pioneer’s solo work and what to expect at the Goner show.

Memphis Flyer: How would you describe your approach to music as a solo performer?

Chris Corsano: I’ll do different things as a solo set. I’ve been on tour a bunch since August, doing a lot of solo shows, and I’m trying to keep them different. So I’m improvising, and it’s kind of heavy on the prepared drum aspect of it, maybe more so than a lot of other people. I’m just trying to get the drums to not sound like a drum solo. Or what people tend to think of as a drum solo. Like, I installed a couple of cello strings on the snare drum rack tom, and with bowing techniques that accentuate the harmonics you can get little melodies happening, even though you’re not playing like a violin or a cello. You come up with a third path. It’s not drums and it’s not another instrument. But you know, drums are great resonators. And I’ve got other things that I make myself and then a lot of extended techniques, which are pretty common in the universe of improvised music.

That “third way” makes sense because in free music you’ll often hear horn players or other kind of instrumental players playing percussively, tapping their valves and that sort of thing. So it makes sense to kind of blur the lines in the other direction from the drums into tonal instruments.

Sure, but there’s also a long history of melodic playing. Drums are awesome melodic instruments in the right hands. Ed Blackwell was a huge influence on me; Ornette Coleman was some of the first stuff that I heard on record. And Blackwell’s melodic sense on that stuff was always life-affirming and also really eye opening in terms of how you can play melodies.

I’ve also played with a lot of sax players. In doing so, basically playing as a duo, you can fill up a lot more space and you have a lot more responsibility for bringing the music, whatever that means. Playing solo, it’s all on you. It’s up to me what I’m going to do, what I should do next, and how I’m going to make a piece of music. So yeah, melody and things some people don’t associate with drums, that’s all open to me because nobody else is covering that space.

I’ve read that you also incorporate reeds, circular breathing through reed instruments. Is that happening?

Yeah, I’ve been doing that for about 20 years now. My first solo record was in 2006. You know, it was always a fascinating thing that some sax players would do, so I tried to see what I could do with it. Right now I have an alto sax mouthpiece playing through half of a clarinet, which doesn’t really do all the things a clarinet can do. But I play it alongside the drums so the drums resonate with certain pitches and harmonics, and that fights against the pitches, or works in conjunction with the pitches, coming out of the bell of the half-clarinet.

The way I think about it, what I’m looking for is that chocolate and peanut butter kind of thing. That third thing happening that is different than either of the two things together, and hopefully unexpected. And hopefully somebody enjoys it.

It sounds like what you’re doing involves paying very close attention to overtones, and playing with those almost as a melodic element.

Yeah, definitely. I don’t have a lot of things which are pitched, but I’m a little bit more trying to get those harmonics and have those be the thing that are creating the melodies, instead of just the fundamental.

We’ve recently heard shows by the Tatsuya Nakatani Gong Orchestra. Do you use gongs and bells also?

A bit, but also a lot of thrift store pot lids — there’s a certain kind that sounds a certain way. If you get the right ones, they’re not made to be a specific pitch, but if you get the right pot lids together, you’ve got these microtonal things happening. You might you hit it a certain way and hear the fundamental an, then hit it again, and there are other harmonics in there. So sometimes I used gongs and things, but mostly using things in the “wrong,” quote unquote, way. I’m always trying to repurpose them somehow.

Chris Corsano will appear with Robert Traxler at the Goner Records store on Friday, February 23, 9 p.m. $10. Click here for tickets.

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We Recommend We Recommend

On the Fly: Week of 02/23/24

Trinity Irish Dance Company takes the stage at GPAC this weekend. (Photo: Courtesy GPAC)

Afro-Latino Night Fiesta!
Memphis Music Room
Friday, February 23, 6:30 p.m.
Celebrate Black History Month with Cazateatro’s Afro-Latino Night Fiesta, honoring the valuable contribution of the Afro-Latinos in America and Latin America through music. The event features the Cazateatro crew, DJ Xander spinning the best Afro-Latin beats, and Las Bompleneras, a six-piece all-female ensemble, showcasing traditional and original Afro-Puerto Rican bomba and plena music through song, percussion, and dance. And for the first time in Memphis, from Chicago, Illinois, Los Jarochicanos will perform traditional Mexican, Afro-Indigenous music from Veracruz. The suggested dress code is Latino flair. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased here.

The Breakup Shakeup
Elmwood Cemetery
Friday, February 23, 6:30 p.m.
Love is dead, and its funeral is on Friday. Dramatic much? Maybe. But that’s the name of the game. In honor of the tragedies and endurances of love, Emily Rooker and Dan Montgomery are putting on a very dramatic theatrical production, signing from their respective catalogs. The show about love gone awry covers three acts: a wedding shattered, a wedding band without an occasion, and then a take-no-prisoners musical journey into the intricacies of desire, disappointment, and perseverance. Get your tickets here for $20.

Ghosts?
Ghosts are kind of a theme this weekend for a few events. Don’t know why, and I’m scared to ask ’cause I don’t want to end up haunted. (Check out this interview with a ghost hunter from 2022 or our 2023 Halloween cover story if these events stir a thirst for ghost stories. 👻)

  • Movies at the Mansion: Ghostbusters: Afterlife: Watch Ghostbuster with the Memphis Ghostbusters at the certainly haunted Woodruff-Fontaine. There will be some Ghostbusters: Afterlife collectibles on display, plus Ghostbusters trivia and prizes. There is no charge, but donations to the museum are encouraged. Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum, Friday, February 23, 7 p.m.
  • Mediumship Spirit Gallery with Sid & Trenny: Psychics and mediums Sid Patrick and Trenny Simmons will host a spirit gallery. The two will attempt to demonstrate the existence of an afterlife by receiving messages from crossed-over loved ones and relaying those to participants. The mediumship spirit gallery is $45 per person. Seating is very limited, so sign up here. The two will also offer private readings on Saturday, and you can schedule a session here and contact the dead (yay?). The Broom Closet, Friday, February 23, 7 p.m., $45, 18+.
  • And there’s always Historical Haunts’ Haunted Pub Crawl (Friday at 7:30 p.m.) and the Original Haunted Memphis Bus Tour (Saturday at 7:30 p.m.), so you can get your ghostly fix any time of the year.

Women in the Arts Festival
The Dixon Gallery & Gardens | Theatre Memphis
Saturday, February 24, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Celebrate incredible artists and art administrators at Women in the Arts! This free community event features engaging panel discussions, live artist demos, captivating performances, a vibrant market, and so much more. This event takes place at the Dixon and at Theatre Memphis. A shuttle will be available to visit both locations. Find the schedule for the day’s activities here.

Gallery Activation at Coe Lapossy’s “School of Ool: Whose Views Ooze Muse”
Clough-Hanson Gallery
Saturday, February 24, noon-2 p.m.
Multimedia artist Coe Lapossy’s exhibition of new work revisits artifacts of queerness wedged within a seemingly straight world. In reusing these artifacts they create a meditation on what bodies we value, how we memorialize, and who or what survives under the conditions we create. This weekend, all are invited to drop in at Clough-Hanson Gallery for an afternoon of refreshments and activations. Tamar Love will perform “Cello Soundscapes,” and Taj Chandler will perform excerpts from his most recent album, Stellium. “School of Ool: Whose Views Ooze Muse” will be on display through March 22nd.

EXTRAVAGANZA Year of the Dragon Celebration
Off The Walls Arts
Saturday, February 24, 7 p.m.
Ring in the Lunar New Year under the full moon with a night of fun and festivities at Off the Walls Arts. Begin the night with a dragon-themed art exhibition opening at 7 p.m., then start the party with live music by Marcella & Her Lovers at 8:30 pm, followed by live tai chi demonstrations, fire, aerial, and modern dance performances, as well as a drag(on) show by local drag queen Blanca Flores. Finish the night off with a spectacular dragon procession and bonfire. Suggested donation is $20.

Trinity Irish Dance Company
Germantown Performing Arts Center
Saturday, February 24, 8 p.m.
Trinity Irish Dance Company will redefine Irish dance medium with passion, flair, and precision. Through a unique blend of uncompromising power and grace, the troupe sends a consistent message of female empowerment with a repertory that has elevated the art form for over three decades. Purchase tickets ($25-$75) here.

Lunar New Year 2024
Dim Sum King
Sunday, February 25, 5 p.m.
Greet the Year of the Dragon at Chinese Historical Society of Memphis and Midsouth’s annual fundraising banquet, featuring nine-course dinner and live entertainment. Enjoy traditional Dragon dance, contemporary and traditional Chinese music, hometown legend and now Los Angeles-based DJ Neenaneen, live auction of local Asian-American art and traditional liquors, and open dancefloor showcasing the beauty of Chinese-American culture. Tickets ($87.21) can be purchased here. 

The 2024 Memphite Readings
Stax Museum of American Soul Music
Tuesday, February 27, 7 p.m.
Witness hoodoo theater brought to life by contemporary tribal healers of Memphis. Featuring a lineup of esteemed Memphis practitioners, including Arthur Rickydoc Flowers, Ekpe Abioto, Cequita Monique, Anna Ibeshe Scott, Sheree Thomas, Danian Jerry, and James Flowers, The Memphite Readings promises to be a captivating annual divination, designed to speculate on social, political, and cultural trends that will affect Memphis and the world in 2024. Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of this Black History Month Presentation, blending magic and Fatback Healings. The evening will showcase a diverse range of artistic expressions, including music, dance, spoken word, and audience participation, all woven together in a blues-based overlay. Admission is free. Register here. 

WYXR Pull-Up
Crosstown Concourse
Thursday, February 29, 6 p.m.
Join WYXR for “The Pull-Up,” a dynamic collaboration with neighboring organizations, including the Memphis Listening Lab and Dragonfly Collective, featuring live music, DJs, and more. Beyond the music, The Pull-Up is a celebration of community, a night to connect with great people and share in the joy of good vibes. RSVP for the free event here.

There’s always something happening in Memphis. See a full calendar of events here.

Submit events here or by emailing calendar@memphisflyer.com.