THE PALMS
(Booking Worldwide)
LINEUP:
The Palms: David King - piano, drums, and percussion, Alec Soth- photography, storytelling
PERFORMANCES:
2022 - Available upon request
2023 - Available upon request
HISTORY:
Jun 25-26, 2021: North Adams, MA @ MASS MOCA
Jan 20, 2021: Minneapolis, MN @ The Great Northern Festival
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
Photographer Alec Soth — “a celebrated chronicler of American contemporary life” (The Guardian) — collaborates for the first time with drummer/composer Dave King of the jazz duo The Bad Plus, who is “better than anyone at mixing the sensibilities of post-‘60s jazz and indie rock” (The New York Times). The result: The Palms, a semi-improvised, photo-sharing, new work-in-progress performance that delves into the physicality of memory that’s been lost in our digital age.
The Palms, which was commissioned by The Great Northern Festival and premiered in Minneapolis, MN on January 20, 2021, features a series of found photographs and narration by Alec, with a live score by Dave that includes both original music and improvisations. The name is a reference to the long-gone Persian Palms nightclub in downtown Minneapolis. A while back, Soth came across a photo of the Persian Palms shot by New York crime photographer, Weegee, in the 1950s. The photo captured his imagination and Soth started researching the old nightclub and its regular acts. He eventually thought “Dave and Alec’s Musical Picture Show” could fit on the bill.
*The Palms was commissioned and premiered by The Great Northern, with development support from MASS MoCA.
“I was thinking so much about these photographs that I’ve been acquiring…how to make meaning from them and how photographs work in the world. This is a way to explore that” – Alec Soth
“A duo performance in the non traditional sense, this piece hopes to conjure complex and whimsical landscapes using found photograph collages accompanied by through composed piano pieces and improvised drum vignettes.” - Dave King
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Alec Soth (b. 1969) is a photographer born and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has published over twenty-five books including Sleeping by the Mississippi (2004), NIAGARA (2006),
Broken Manual (2010), Songbook (2015) and I Know How Furiously Your Heart is Beating (2019). Soth has had over fifty solo exhibitions including survey shows organized by Jeu de Paume in Paris (2008), the Walker Art Center in Minnesota (2010) and Media Space in London (2015). Soth has been the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship (2013). In 2008, Soth created Little Brown Mushroom, a multi-media enterprise focused on visual storytelling. Soth is represented by Sean Kelly in New York, Weinstein Hammons Gallery in Minneapolis, Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, Loock Galerie in Berlin, and is a member of Magnum Photos.
Dave King (b. 1970) is one of the most celebrated drummers in modern jazz. His contributions to the Minneapolis and New York jazz scenes are incalculable, and his imagination and boundless enthusiasm behind (and around) the drum set are singular and stunning. He has performed in 75 countries on six continents, and is a founding member of bands like The Bad Plus, Happy Apple, Halloween Alaska, 12 Rods, Love Cars, The Gang Font, and others. He has also recorded or performed with Bill Frisell, Joshua Redman, Jeff Beck, Julian Lage, Tim Berne, Mason Jennings, Mark Morris Dance Company, Haley Bonar, Meat Beat Manifesto, Craig Taborn, Jason Moran, David Torn, Atmosphere, and many others.