Ken Field - The Canopy (2024)

Music for The Canopy was commissioned by choreographer and dancer Joanie Block (selmadanse.com) for her 2024 production of Under the Canopy which focused on expressions of love, loss, and resilience from members of the Boston dance community.

The death of Block’s husband in 2021 led to a desire to capture her subsequent emotional journey, through memory, grief, acceptance, and resilience, with a performance in his memory, incorporating dances by other artists who had experienced significant loss in their lives. Block was referred to Ken Field as a potential source of music for the performance, not knowing until they met that he himself had experienced the loss of his wife, animator Karen Aqua, in 2011. Their shared experience deepened the emotional impact of this buoyant and richly nuanced celebration of life amidst struggle.

The instrumentation varies widely, from solo saxophone, to saxophone trio, to layered guitars, to bamboo “clarinet” and hand percussion, to flute with sequenced material – together showcasing Ken Field’s astonishing musical versatility. In addition to notated compositions, the release includes a number of Field’s improvisations, created in response to words or phrases from each dancer that referenced the emotions and moods that they hoped to communicate through their dance piece.

"Ken Field’s triumphal music enables listeners to see with their
mind’s eye what the dancers are performing on stage, helping us
to contain loss, survive sorrow, live through grief, and ultimately
transform us via this journey." - Mark Corroto, AllAboutJazz.com

Ken Field is a saxophonist, flautist, and composer. He leads the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, an experimental & improvisational brass band, and is a longtime member of the electronic modern music ensemble Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. His solo releases document his work for layered saxophones and his soundtracks for dance and film.

Tracklist:
1-1. Ken Field - The Serving (02:24)
1-2. Ken Field - Also Known As (01:50)
1-3. Ken Field - Laevinic Defeat (01:43)
1-4. Ken Field - Culture (04:47)
1-5. Ken Field - Four Words (01:41)
1-6. Ken Field - Mirror (03:06)
1-7. Ken Field - Day by Day (03:25)
1-8. Ken Field - Deluge (03:55)
1-9. Ken Field - Darkness into Light (07:32)