Flotation Device 2026-06-14 - The Terry Riley Liftoff

Terry Riley, the composer of In C and the father of classic minimalism, returns with an ambitious new piece for Claire Chase and the JACK Quartet which we preview in this podcast alongside new albums by Alex Paxton, Denis Dufour, Hound Dog Taylor’s Hand, Charles Amirkhanian (renewing his fondness for player pianos) and the Portuguese trio Não Confundir Com. We celebrate bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma’s 70th birthday, and pay our respects to guitarist and fellow Ornette Coleman alum James Blood Ulmer. We also wrap up our months-long traversal of Frederic Rzewski’s epic “piano novel” The Road in its first complete recording, while historical gems by Britten and Bacewicz round out the playlist. Creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell from 91.3 KBCS.