#Miguel Atwood Ferguson

[nofatclips]

To Believe by The Cinematic Orchestra featuring Moses Sumney

[iamlisteningto]

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson’s Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1

[thatlaidbackdude]

My Favorite Albums Of 2023

Andre 3000 - New Blue Sun

Jonathan Blake - Passage

Killer Mike - Michael

Larry June & The Alchemist - The Great Escape

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson - Les Jardins Mystiques Vol. 1

Noname - Sundial

Säje - Säje

Terrace Martin & Alex Isley - I Left My Heart In Ladera

Terrace Martin & James Fauntleroy - Nova

Victoria Monét - Jaguar II

[burlveneer-music]

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson - Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1 - massive (52-track) new album with an amazing cast of guest musicians (Brainfeeder)

14 years in the making, “Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1” comprises 52 tracks / 3.5 hours of music composed, arranged and produced by Miguel with contributions from 50+ friends including Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, DOMi & JD Beck, Jeff Parker, Carlos Niño, Austin Peralta, Bennie Maupin, Gabe Noel, Jamael Dean, Jamire Williams, Burniss Travis II, Deantoni Parks, Josh Johnson, Marcus Gilmore and many more. Based in his hometown of Los Angeles, Miguel is one of the preeminent musicians, orchestrators, arrangers and composers of our time. “Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1” is his long-awaited inaugural album. It presents us with a passionate statement of intent, a labor of love, and a realm of beautiful possibilities. “Les Jardins Mystiques” is a project that throws open and shares Miguel’s musical universe. It took shape over a dozen years, largely self-funded by Miguel, and showcasing his distinctly elegant musicianship (on violin, viola, cello and keyboards among other instruments) alongside his free-spirited dialogues with more than 50 instrumentalists. Volume 1 is the first in a planned triptych, which will collectively comprise ten-and-a-half-hours of original, refreshingly expansive music. Miguel connected with his guest musicians in versatile ways: through convivial studio dialogues; over remote communication during the pandemic era; and via the energy of live performances at LA venues including Del Monte Speakeasy (the gorgeously invigorating, piano-led “Dream Dance”) and Bluewhale (including “Ano Yo” with vivacious alto from Devin Daniels, and the cosmic harmonies of “Cho Oyu”). Bennie Maupin, the legendary US multi-reedist whose repertoire includes Miles Davis’s fusion opus Bitches Brew, plays bass clarinet on the entrancing opening number, “Kiseki”. “Les Jardins Mystiques” reflects Miguel’s ethos that music is a natural, vitally unaffected life force. The titles across Volume 1’s tracks draw from international languages and traditions, including Spanish, Swahili, Sanskrit, Ancient Greek, Japanese and Hebrew, as well as the Buddhist practice that has been key to Miguel’s life since his twenties (“It’s very joyous and very hard, because it says that there’s no retirement age in human revolution,” he says). The tracks contrast in length, from “Zarra”’s vivid burst of analogue synths to the alluringly chilled melody of “Kairos (Amor Fati)”, yet there’s a gloriously unconstrained flow throughout, and each piece seems to unfurl and blossom into its own wondrous world.

[mitjalovse]

The veteran musicians somehow end up looking in their own pasts to make the sense of their own possible futures, if that makes a lick of sense then. I mean, some manage to tour by playing their most famous albums, yet a couple like to rerecord them. Cale belongs to the category of these musicians, but don't hold that against him. Sure, he could've picked a better album for that than Music For A New Society. M:FANS, the remake, is not bad, one just find the latter a bit unnecessary thanks to the spectre of the original that remains one of Cale's greatest LPs thanks to the latter's haunting minimalism. I sort of get what Cale wanted to do with M:FANS, i.e. he wanted to check what happens with the grief later. Still, he should've tackled an album of original material for this theme.

[onthecrescentofthehill]

fanmix I made for burrow’s end featuring moodog, bill callahan, josé gonzález and more. these stoats are taking over my life…

thanks!

full track list below:

No, The Wheel Was Never Invented - Moondog

Look at What the Light Did Now - Little Wings

Waters Of March -Tok Tok Tok

Free's - Bill Callahan

Sun Giant - Fleet Foxes

Just Like Anything - Jackson C. Frank

Build a Nest (feat. Ruby Parker) - Jeff Parker, Ruby Parker

Below The Valleys - Louis Cole

Mourning Dove - Jon McKiel

Sleeping Bear, Sault Ste. Marie - Sufjan Stevens

The Lonesome Border, Pt. 1 - Dear Nora

Just Before Dawn - Sonnymoon, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson

The Nest - José González

Rare Things Grow - Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

Running, Returning - Akron/Family

[jkottke]

“Each of the tracks is supposed to be a different mystical garden.” 🌸🌱✨ Sampling Miguel Atwood-Ferguson’s 14-years-in-the-making jazz album Les Jardins Mystiques.

[thomasmartinnutt]

Chance Encounters #005

https://www.mixcloud.com/thomasmartinnutt/chance-encounters-005/

Magdaléna Manderlová, Akio Suzuki, Alessandro Bosetti, Stephen Vitiello, Aho Ssan (feat. Nyokabi Kariūki), Biliana Voutchkova & Charmaine Lee, Coppice, Douglas Quin, William Parker & Hamid Drake, Rajesh Mehta, Gabi Losoncy, Thomas DeAngelo, Carlos Niño and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Laraaji, Voice Actor, Jen Powers, Cole Pulice & Matthew J. Rolin, Lilien Rosarian, Dick Raaijmakers, John Grzinich, Eric La Casa & Seijiro Murayama, Heiner Goebbels, Erlend Apneseth Trio, Erik Griswold, Natalie Beridze, Joep Beving, Timothy Leary, Brian Eno with Jon Hopkins & Leo Abrahams

[sivavakkiyar]

I thought the Irreversible Entanglements album Protect Your Light was another great one this year. On a lot this time of year, also Moor Mother’s Jazz Codes.

The Miguel Atwood-Ferguson is another one from this year, a real treasure to have w/ the Andre. Strange strengths from myriad places, etc. I’ll probably keep appending these

[misterjt]

An Accounting of 2022

family ties

I got invited to no funerals this year. Those nearest and dearest to me were healthy. In a year packed with tragic deaths in the news, it feels important to acknowledge that the grim reaper did not come this way. 

My family, in general, had a stellar year. Team Toney remains booked and busy. My mom has opted to shift her career away from touring and more events closer to home and US-bound. 

Dom's dog, Duke, has become our regular houseguest, and we love it. He seems to love it, too. Has his visiting scratched the itch for us wanting our own pet or just enhanced that desire? 2023 will tell.

I worried about my grandmother's arthritis, for which her complaints (and concerning mishaps) increased over the year, but she is otherwise doing fine. And continues to defend herself against giving up her independence despite the desires of her children.

Get Sun

This year, travel was increasingly back on the table with work trips to Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and New York. Not quite back to my old and desired schedule of about once a month, but once a quarter—with colleagues also coming to LA several times—is a move in the right direction.

We also went to Greensboro, Minneapolis, Chicago, and San Luis Obispo, but more later.

Beyond that, though, I got out of the house! I saw live music for the first time in two years, with the Smoking Grooves festival on my birthday and a Hollywood Bowl show featuring Flying Lotus, Hiatus Kaiyote, and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. We will close out the year with The Roots at Disney Concert Hall.

Friends came to town to visit. There was lunch and brunch and birthday get-togethers. I was back to doing many things I did before the pandemic began. I even went to relatively packed movie houses (though I'm much more of a matinee person now than before). 

We outside! 

ENERGY

Included in being outside was being inside for basketball. If meaningful women's basketball was being played, you could make a pretty good bet in 2022 that we were there. Those trips to Greensboro and Minneapolis were for the NCAA Women's basketball tournament regionals and Final Four -- the first I have ever attended. It was an outstanding experience that I'm confident we will do when the locations and timing allow it.

We upgraded to courtside seats for the Los Angeles Sparks in 2022. Unexpectedly, that meant sitting a couple seats down from Leslie Jones. Jones is a brand new Sparks fan who was encouraged to attend by the ultimately short-tenured Liz Cambage. The comedian also became our basketball friend throughout the season. I sat next to Tacko Fall, Carmelo Anthony, Cedric Ceballos, and a WNBA player agent. We got thanked by Kenan Thompson for giving up our seats so that he and his little girls could sit next to Ms. Jones the day before he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Sparks had a dreadful season, but the upgrade was a delightful splurge that was well worth the cost.

We also made our way to Chicago for the WNBA All-Star game. It was the first time we'd gone to All-Star where the location was more of an attraction than the festivities. The game was tremendous, and WinTrust is an excellent arena but our touristy Saturday away from all that was outstanding.

Over Thanksgiving break, we made an impromptu trip up the coast to watch the Gamecocks play Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Despite all this travel, neither of us attended the University of South Carolina. Such is the pull of Dawn Staley and the program she's built.

It also reflects the importance of basketball—women's basketball, particularly—as a joy maker in our lives. Good things happen when we say yes to hoops.

BREAK MY SOUL

It feels weird to say it was a challenging year at work because so much of it was about progress and growth, but it was. I went through a couple months where Beyoncé's lead single from Renaissance was the mantra for the day. I felt him when Russell Westbrook came into a press conference early in the season like this. 

Part of what made the back half of the year hard was that I got promoted to VP in March. Title changes don't always mean new responsibilities and expectations, but, in this case, and at this Company, it very much did. At this point in my career, figuring out what it means and how to pivot is on my shoulders. No guidebook was coming. So I was uncomfortable, frustrated, and unsure for six months.

I still have those moments now but far less frequently. Something clicked in October. I shifted my approach, allowing me to find the path. I ended the year far more confident about where to go next than those days in August and September humming about people working my nerves.

I'm very proud of the work we accomplished this year and the value it provides. It's corny to say so, but I like what I do, who I do it with, and what we do it for. I have a very sober view of corporate work and the entertainment business, but I like this shit. Even when it's hard. It could be, especially when it's been hard, and I can see the fruits and growth of doing the hard things. 

About Damn Time

I quit Twitter. It's been nearly two months, and my brain is recalibrating. I'm a person who has focus. I no longer feel that twitch to scroll aimlessly. I have much more time than I thought I did. There's time for french lessons, letter writing, reading, walks, meditation, and planning.

There's also time for doing nothing. Like, for real, idle brain nothing.

Since probably 2017, I have felt the nudge to get off the bird app, but I was addicted to the dopamine rush. Musk buying the joint and following through on his trollish personality to make terrible choices was the push out the door I needed. 

I'm no longer seeking a replacement for the Twitter experience. I don't need it, and it's about damn time I realized that.

Thanks, 2022! It's been real! On to the next!

[burlveneer-music]

My WVUD playlist and stream, 12/25/2023

Kelpe - Carillon Chimes Joanna Brouk - Chimes and Bells Charlemagne Palestine - DINGGGDONGGGDINGGGzzzzzzz ferrrr SSSOFTTT DIVINI TIESSSSS!!!!!!!!! (excerpt) Rob Mazurek - Vassilios Filippakopoulos Smiles Ryuichi Sakamoto - Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence Chassol - Water, Voices & Snow Nils Frahm - Nue Jamire Williams - Collaborate with God (feat. Chassol) [Miguel Atwood-Ferguson String Mix] Cate Brooks - Julmust Sven Wunder - Snowdrops Blackmore's Night - Winter (Basse Dance) Alice Coltrane - Galaxy In Turiya Barrett Martin Group - Enchantment Joys Union Group - Laughter In the Sky Daniel Herskedal - Ice Crystals Manu Delago - Alpine Brook Time Wharp - Spiro World Stephan Micus - Part 3: Tin Whistle, 3 Stone Chimes Hauschka - Snow Andy Bell & Masal - Tidal Love Conversation in That Familiar Golden Orchard Isao Tomita - Snowflakes Are Dancing