{"id":11863,"date":"2025-12-28T22:32:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T04:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=11863"},"modified":"2025-12-30T14:36:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T20:36:20","slug":"seeds-ars-ludicra-peter-evans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/seeds-ars-ludicra-peter-evans\/","title":{"rendered":"Evolution of Seeds: A Conversation with Peter Evans on \u2018Ars Ludicra\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The popular perception of time is linear. One thing leads to another and then to another. But the passage of time is better viewed as a cyclical path, with shadows of the past and hints of the future emerging throughout. As Marcus Aurelius notes in Book VI of Meditations, \u201cEach thing is of like form from everlasting and comes round again in its cycle.\u201d This conception of time emerges in the work of trumpeter Peter Evans, particularly on Ars Ludicra<\/em> (More is More, 2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ars Ludicra<\/em> is the third studio album by Evans\u2019 quartet, Being and Becoming. The ensemble\u2019s name itself suggests a progression of time, reflecting both the present and the future. But the group\u2019s instrumentation does as well. Originally envisioned as a primarily acoustic project, one can hear the remnants of a classic ’60s sound throughout the group\u2019s latest recording. The decision to record Ars Ludicra<\/em> at the historic Van Gelder Studios, where so many critically significant recordings of the era were first put to wax, certainly helps. However, the band is also moving to a more futuristic territory with almost the entire group – the leader, vibraphonist Joel Ross, and bassist Nick Jozwiak – incorporating electronics as well. The sole acoustic stalwart is the drummer, Michael Shekwoaga Ode. But even here, the concept of time is not what it seems. Better known for his elegantly subtle strokes and masterfully powerful strikes, Ode isn\u2019t a stereotypical timekeeper. Further, Being and Becoming\u2019s drum seat is a revolving one in an ensemble of otherwise static roles, with Savannah Harris serving the role before Ode and Tyshawn Sorey since. And, even when unmodified in its original incarnation, the entirety of Ars Ludicra<\/em> underwent significant post-production modifications by engineer Mike Pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is another element to Ars Ludicra<\/em> which is far more subtle. The incorporation of electronic elements is hardly new to Evans, whose quintet previously explored the space extensively. However, one of the trumpeter\u2019s more recent fascinations has been that of music from the Renaissance era. Again, while it is easy to try to divide sounds from generations ago from those of the twenty-first century, our conversation suggests they may be more connected than they first appear. Some of the repetition and building of lines of individualized improvisatory expression draws a clear musical throughline from Early Music to Beethoven to Duke Ellington to John Coltrane to electronic experimentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All these influences converge on Ars Ludicra<\/em>, an album that feels familiar yet radically unconventional.  A piece like \u201cPulsar\u201d speaks as much of the splicing and looping of musique concrete as it does the Blue Note labeled ancestors who used the same recording space, with a splash of Afro-Cuban rhythms. \u201cMy Sorrow Luminous\u201d pulls equally from 70\u2019s Miles Davis and Weather Report as it does punk rock. Ars Ludicra<\/em> is an album that boldly pays no heed to division, whether of time, culture, style,or scene. Even for Evans, who has long shown a valiance in attacking sonic ideas, it is an incredibly bold outing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We sat down with Evans – a Guggenheim Fellow and educator who has collaborated with such artistic heavyweights as John Zorn, Pauline Oliveros, Anthony Braxton, and George Lewis –  to discuss the seeds from which his creativity grows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>