KELVIN SHOLAR TRIO: RITES OF FIRE
DIGITAL PLATFORMS
FILM SHORT
Behind the evolution of every artist is a personal story; a tale of hearing a call, meeting tests and helpers, facing the darkness and returning with a boon. This film short details Kelvin Sholar’s story and key insights into the process behind the conception of “Rites Of Fire”.
Transcript: “My name is Kelvin Sholar. I am a fourth-generation Black American musician from Detroit, Michigan.
I’ll never forget the day I first consciously heard Igor Stravinsky. I was eighteen years old, in my college music theory class, in the fall of 1991. My instructor said something about him being revolutionary and important and then he simply pushed play on the cd player. My life has not been the same since! What I learned that day is one of the most powerful lessons I’ve ever learned in my musical career: music is only limited by the imagination of the composer, performer and audience.
Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Firebird Suite are two of the most revolutionary pieces of the 20th Century. Igor presented a fusion of his musical influences in a unique way; but, he transcended this mere fusion by relying on his experience as a transnational musician and his vast knowledge of music (gleaned by intense studies with Rimsky-Korsakov and years of experimentation).
Stravinsky was not bound to his mentors or the idioms of the past, he possessed a fertile imagination, visions of the future and an appreciation for the inherent power of folklore, ritual, mysticism, dance, primitivism, melodic, harmonic and rhythmic freedom and multimedia; things that were often overlooked and discredited in the Western European music of the time. Igor Stravinsky dared to present a vision.
It is the utmost irony that when I started this project, I was familiar with the fact that both ballets deal with the concept of death; but I did not expect that to have any bearing on my personal life as an interpreter. The Firebird Suite tells how Prince Ivan caught a phoenix (or firebird) which helped him eventually kill the evil wizard King Khatschei. The Rite Of Spring tells of how the Chosen One danced herself to death before the ancient Gods of the Yar (Year).
Rites Of Fire tells my story on a level that I could not have seen when I recorded it. I did not expect it; but during the process I myself would actually die from cardiac arrest, after three back-to-back seizures. After many minutes dead, I spontaneously woke up; but into a Coma for two days. Then again I spontaneously woke up in a hospital bed.
Like King Katschei and the Chosen One, the principal characters of Stravinsky’s ballets, I literally played myself to death, on stage, in front of hundreds of my fans. And I did rise from the ashes and feathers of my former self, in the Spring – May 2017. You can imagine why this is more than a record for me. This is a powerful narrative of my own story; on a level that I could not have foreseen when I decided to undertake it.
I am grateful for 2020 because it allowed me to continue to slow down and rest. To continue to remain free of performances and the concomitant drugs-sex-rock-n-roll lifestyle that I had lived for years. I was given a gift that hardly any person has ever received: a new life. And it was not because I bought, deserved or earned it. Nowadays I run 1.5 hours every day, I am a vegetarian, only eating raw uncooked foods. I almost live the life of a monk – meditating 2x a day and abstinence.
In many ways, Stravinsky and I are worlds apart socially and historically, but we are united by our love for the power of music; the power of composing, dancing, singing, performing on an instrument and listening to express the mysteries and blessings of being human. Classical music grew out of folk music, just like Jazz. Through time, the hearty folk basis of these genres was gradually abandoned for heady artistic explorations into melody, harmony and rhythm.
Stravinsky’s music heralded a return to the expressions of the people and this is what makes it relevant to Jazz, and its champions- of course, this includes many other artists and art forms that developed in the same way. The common roots of Jazz and Classical music (et al) is the necessary expressions of the average man, not only an educated elite technically trained in academies and upholding formal traditions with neoclassical philosophies- a criticism that is often leveled at modern Jazz and Classical music.
My intention in reworking these ballets is to reveal the common language between what they represent to me and what I love about modern times, technology and music. In particular, I attempted to introduce the most powerful ideals of Jazz, like the swing rhythm, the blues harmony and the language of Jazz improvisation, to the non-recursive melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic structures of Stravinsky’s ballets. I also tried to interpret the pieces according to different influential styles that have developed since its inception: all manners of jazz, experimental, chance and aleatoric music, minimalism, rock, blues, funk, techno, and cinematic film scoring.
All of the material is in the original keys, as I transcribed them myself. There are some direct excerpts from both ballets and some derivative material that takes them in totally different directions. Most of the music is totally acoustic in trio, quartet and quintet formats, but there are also mixtures of acoustic aesthetics and original electronic synthesizers, solid-state and tube technology, noise generators, and effects.
I assembled my dream band, recorded in Peter Karl studios (among others of my favorite studios) and arranged the music according to my wildest imaginations, as I knew that these musicians could only surpass them. Greg Osby, Carl Craig, Jonathan Robinson and Jaimeo Brown are musicians that are truly beyond mere words. They are my friends and consummate artists who constantly expand music from contrived art to lived life. Kasmavtsu Music presents a vision of how record companies should be, by returning to the roots of it all: put out real art by real musicians that is as deep and high quality as it is commercially viable.
Now, let us let the music speak for itself, and we shall hear a tale that originated in the prehistory of human civilization and it has persisted for centuries to reach us with its timeless message: music is a universal and eternal language. Dare to have vision.”
KELVIN SHOLAR TRIO: RITES OF FIRE
KAS 006 – KASMAVTSU MUSIC
Kelvin Sholar – Piano, Synthesizers, Percussion, Drum Machine
Jonathan Robinson – Acoustic Bass, Clarinet
Jaimeo Brown – Drum Set, Percussion
Greg Osby – Alto Saxophone
Carl Craig – Synthesizer, Doepfer Analog Modular System (A-100)
TRACK LISTING
1. The Sage
2. The Augurs of Spring, Dances of the Young Girls A
3. Infernal Dance of King Kashchei
4. Rite Of Spring: Introduction A
5. Spring Rounds (Feat. Carl Craig and Jaimeo Brown)
6. Rite Of Spring: Introduction B
7. Firebird: Finale
8. Firebird: Introduction A
9. Mystic Circles of the Young Girls A
10. Mystic Circles of the Young Girls B
11. The Firebird’s Variation
12. The Augurs of Spring, Dances of the Young Girls B
13. The Sacrifice: Introduction (Feat. Jonathan Robinson)
14. Berceuse (Feat. Greg Osby)
15. Ritual Of Abduction
16. Adoration of the Earth: Introduction A
17. Adoration of the Earth: Introduction B
18. Sacrificial Dance A (Feat. Greg Osby and Carl Craig)
19. Sacrificial Dance B (Feat. Greg Osby and Carl Craig)
20. Introduction: The Sacrifice
21. The Princesses’ Khorovod
22. Ritual Action of the Ancestors (Feat. Greg Osby)
23. Spring Rounds (Infiné Remix)
VIDEO TEASERS
TEASER 1 (SYNTH EDIT)
This track is based on the “Introduction” movement of Igor Stravinsky’s revolutionary ballet “The Rite of Spring”. It features Kelvin Sholar’s synthesizer programming.
TEASER 2 (GREG OSBY EDIT)
This track is based on the “Ritual Action Of The Ancestors” movement of Igor Stravinsky’s revolutionary ballet “The Rite of Spring”. It features Greg Osby on alto sax.
TEASER 3 (JAIMEO BROWN / CARL CRAIG EDIT)
This track is based on the “Spring Rounds” movement of Igor Stravinsky’s revolutionary ballet “The Rite of Spring”. It features a dual solo between Jaimeo Brown on drums and Carl Craig on Synthesizer.
TEASER 4 (KELVIN SHOLAR EDIT)
This track is based on the “Mystic Circles of the Young Girls” movement of Igor Stravinsky’s revolutionary ballet “The Rite of Spring”. This clip features Kelvin Sholar’s piano solo interpretation of the theme with original reharmonizations.
TEASER 5 (JONATHAN ROBINSON EDIT)
This track is based on the “Infernal Dance Of King Kashchei” movement from Igor Stravinsky’s revolutionary ballet “The Firebird Suite”. This Kelvin Sholar Trio track is a jazz waltz featuring Jonathan Robinson’s bass solo.
PRAISE SLIDESHOW
BBC6 Music, All About Jazz, WDR3, Jazzist Magazine, Jazzthing, SRF, WGVU, Royal Albert Hall and Worldwide Fm praise “Rites Of Fire”: Kelvin Sholar Trio’s combination of Igor Stravinsky’s themes, Jazz improvisation and Electronic ambiance feat. Greg Osby and Carl Craig.
SUPPORT QUOTES
GILLES PETERSON / BROADCASTER, DJ, RECORD LABEL OWNER / BBC RADIO 6/ WORLDWIDE FM
“Thanks So Much For This. This Is A Sublime Work. I Will Play “Berceuse” and “The Firebird’s Variation“
GORDON GATHERER / AUTHOR – “DIPLOMACY CAUSE AND EFFECT: THE ART OF COMMUNICATION“
“You’re project is outstanding. It is really special. You have captured the history of art and music and sealed it in time. You have dedicated your life and your energy to make this happen. It is a job well done my friend. It must be a great feeling for you. I hope you can enjoy every moment of it. They say art imitates life Kelvin. Life imitates you; You are the art.”
GREGORY BURK / PIANIST / ACTIVIST – “MESSAGE IN THE CLOUDS”
“It is a visionary work and it combines different influences and languages seamlessly: jazz / classical / electronic. The borders between these traditions are liquid. They ebb and flow into each other without effort or force. The new combination is like meeting an alien that looks and acts human but can fly and talk to the animals – an expanded human. There is a story that unfolds and develops, like in the original ballet, but with the added depth of interpretation and improvisation.”
KATHRYN KOROMILAS / AUTHOR / EDUCATOR – “PALIMPSEST”
“What strikes me, more than anything, is that you’re living a new second life by virtue of the gift of your little death – which you so remarkably feel into, and flew out of. I am trying to imagine your head-space, how your mind works, to make sense of that. But, that’s impossible to imagine. Maybe it’s your body, your soul doing your storytelling and your language is your music. You’ve traveled from death to life, to death, and life again. And, this is what I hear in your “Rites Of Fire”. I hear the appalling tension between life and death. The Jazz sections gifting us life, the comfort of rhythm, the pleasure of harmony and the optimism of improvisation. The other sections taking all this away, and leaving us with the chilling, maddening dissonance of everything we fear isn’t life. I too have had my little death and rebirth, though not as exquisite as yours. But, you’ve got Jazz on your side. I’ll end this here now, but I’ll keep lingering with you and your musical story – for a while longer.”
GEORGE PRINCE / PROGRAMMING MANAGER / ROYAL ALBERT HALL
“The record sounds wonderful. Rites of Fire is one of the great works, and your interpretation is full of exciting new perspectives.”
KEVIN JONES / MUSICIAN, BAND LEADER
“Another word for genius is one who works hard and at the same time has the courage to stretch the boundaries of their creativity. In Rites of Fire, Kelvin Sholar does just that while at the same time relating the works and story of Igor Stravinsky to his own life. Stravinsky and Sholar had nothing in common socially. Stravinsky was born in 1882, in Oranienbaum, Russia on the Gulf of Finland and raised in St. Petersburg. Sholar, a Black man was born into a musical family from Detroit. How can one find commonality with such a disparate upbringing? Well, it takes some courage, some forethought and the willingness to go beyond the trappings of our own daily reality. This latest project of Kelvin Sholar’s is nothing short of spectacular. The ability to find truth of your humanity inside of your art is a test of greatness once you find it. I think Kelvin has found it inside this project. ”
RECORD REVIEWS
FRANZ A. MATZNER / MUSIC JOURNALIST / ALL ABOUT JAZZ / January 21, 2021 / four stars
“A syncretic symphony, Kelvin Sholar‘s Rites of Fire is the product of 15 years of meditation on the history and esoteric mechanisms of musical expression. The richly satisfying album is unbounded by anything other than Sholar’s relentless commitment to self-discovery. Sholar’s own resurrection from clinical death to artistic and spiritual rebirth is embedded in the core of the multi-movement composition, which neither defies nor accepts conventional barriers. The piece flows from a space of integration, merging a complex network of historical tributaries drawn from Igor Stravinsky to jazz’s improvisational heritage to electronic, textural landscapes. No segment is without antecedent, yet no moment sounds derivative or artificial; the confluence is as natural as a river current, the scale continental.
At face value one is tempted to label Rites of Fire an exploration of Stravinsky’s Rites of Spring and The Firebird Suite using other genres and instruments to rework aspects of the originals to create a pastiche. However, this would be too simplistic.
The album’s sonic richness suggests a larger ensemble than the five musicians who executed the recording. Throughout, Sholar mines his study of piano forms to shapeshift from blues to the light touch of European classical to the off-kilter bounce and improvisational surprise of Thelonious Monk, to synthesizer textures, and back again. Long-time compatriot Jaimeo Brown, himself a student of African American cultural history and identity, is equally adept at adapting to the composition’s challenging cross-cultural demands—swinging one moment, emitting fluid, shifting beats the next. Another key element is Carl Craig‘s use of synthesizers to add electronic layers below the acoustic performance, at times reinforcing, at others establishing competing dimensions. Throughout, Johnathan Robinson anchors the composition with his steady bass and delivers excellent solos, also serving double duty on the clarinet. Last but not at all least, Greg Osby lends his unmistakable, intricate alto saxophone to the endeavor.
One might imagine that Sholar’s highly intellectual process would result in the explosive, challengingly abstract improvisation often associated with jazz’s avant-garde. In this case, while containing moments of upheaval, the result is a journey of reconciliation that ultimately settles into a tender harmony of balance. The album does not demand that its audience has advanced-level musical knowledge. Quite the opposite. Rites of Fire offers a mesmeric invitation to participate in musical transformation. It shelters and guides rather than leaving the listener to their own devices.
Decidedly accessible for a statement so avant-garde and steeped in depths of musical knowledge and history, Rites of Fire captures a culminating moment in an insightful artist’s life-long pursuit of musical truth.“
WOLF KAMPMANN / MUSIC JOURNALIST / JAZZ THING 138/ May 17, 2021
“The Detroit-born jazz pianist and techno producer Kelvin Sholar spent a decade and a half studying the music of Igor Stravinsky. He not only studied them but spiritually permeated them, transcended them and then brought them into the present. The album “Rites Of Fire” is now at the destination of this journey, recorded with bassist Jonathan Robinson, drummer Jaimeo Brown and guests Greg Osby and Carl Craig. In some places entirely jazz, in others tending towards techno and at times a testimony to contemporary chamber music, Sholar does not tread the path of elegant amalgamation, but a slalom of far-reaching deviations. The suite is based on Stravinsky’s compositions “Firebird” and “The Firebird Suite”; but you have to be very familiar with the original works, in order to filter them out of the finished music at any moment. In this respect, “Rites Of Fire” is more of a meditation on, than an adaptation of, Stravinsky.”
ILYA RASSKAZOV / MUSIC JOURNALIST – DJ / JAZZIST / JULY 10, 2021 / four 1/2 stars
“Detroit pianist and composer Kelvin Sholar recorded an album of jazz interpretations of Igor Stravinsky’s music, referring to the most famous works of the classics – the ballets “The Rite of Spring” and “The Firebird”. This story is amazing to say the least, especially in light of Sholar’s background and the circumstances of the album’s creation. A hereditary musician in the fourth generation, Sholar has, over thirty years of his career, played with a huge number of outstanding people on both sides of the Atlantic – from Marcus Belgrave and Roy Hargrove to Q-Tip and Moritz von Oswald. Jazz, funk, hip-hop, techno – he’s not afraid of anything; a truly versatile performer. The new album only fixes him in this status.
It is widely believed that Stravinsky is one of the most beloved classical composers of the 20th century by jazzmen. Igor Fedorovich himself was no stranger to jazz. At the beginning of his emigration, he was inspired by ragtime – however, it was during the First World War. Later, he was sympathetic to bebop, and in 1945 wrote Ebony Concerto for the Woody Herman Orchestra, the only work of his in which prominent elements of jazz were deliberately and clearly introduced. But the writings from which Kelvin Sholar is based were written in the 1910s. And, the fact that this music and plot, deeply rooted in the national Russian tradition, emerge more than a hundred years later in a jazz reading in Detroit, remains surprising.
As Sholar himself admits, Stravinsky’s impressionism struck him down at his first audition, while still in a music college. “On that day, I learned one of the most important lessons of my life: music is limited only by the imagination of the composer, performer and audience,” he recalls. After that, Sholar repeatedly approached the work of the classic and included his canonical works in his repertoire. The pianist had been planning to record a whole album “based on” Stravinsky for a long time. It so happened that in the process of creating it, the musician almost died of a heart attack, having suffered clinical death and waking up in a hospital bed after a two-day coma. Both works by Stravinsky are in one way or another devoted to the phenomenon of death and resurrection, and “Rites of Fire” became an even more personal project for Sholar than before.
This is probably why Sholar tried to take on as many roles as possible in the trio of his name. He is responsible for all keyboards, percussion and drum machines, with Jonathan Robinson playing double bass and clarinet and Jaimeo Brown playing drums. Greg Osby’s alto saxophone also appears on a number of compositions. The last, but not the least, participant of the project is the Detroit techno veteran Carl Craig, with whom Sholar has been fruitfully cooperating since the mid-2000s. Craig was in charge of the electronic parts played with the Doepfer A-100 analog modular synthesizer, adding a lot of drama to the album.
Nobody even hides that the author and the interpreters are inhabitants of completely different worlds. But these worlds nevertheless intersect, and there is a harmonious logic in the combination of folk music, classical music and jazz. Sholar’s music, like its original source, exists outside of space and time. This is the feeling that outstanding moments of the album leave such as “The Infernal Dance of the Kashcheyev Kingdom”, the final theme from “The Firebird” or “Round Dance of Princesses”… The trio and guests use blues harmonies, swing rhythm and jazz improvisations, which are organically combined with Stravinsky’s experiments with rhythmic structures and harmonies. Sholar uses the possibilities of a wide variety of genres: not only jazz and folk, but also blues, funk, experimental minimalism, aleatorics, cinematic music, electronics, even techno. All compositions are played in the same key as the original versions. In some numbers Sholar directly quotes Stravinsky, in others he allows himself and his musicians to go in their own direction, using the original music as a source of inspiration and a launching pad for improvisation. Most of the compositions are acoustical, but sometimes the sound of synthesizers, electronic effects and noise generators is added to it. Carl Craig, whose name on the cover, is definitely uplifting The Sacrifice, Ritual of Abduction and Adoration of the Earth.
Despite the bold cross-cultural and cross-genre intersections, the music of this album is not as outrageously complex as it might seem at first. On the contrary, the disc sounds soothingly simple: according to the author’s idea, the music should be available to any listener. And the creators of the album coped with this task masterfully.”
RADIO FEATURES
ILKA GEYER / Radio Host / WDR / February 17, 2021
“That was two tracks, (i.e. “Infernal Dance Of King Kaschei” and “Ritual Action Of The Ancestors”), from the new album of the trio of pianist and composer Kelvin Sholar. The record is titled ‘Rites Of Fire”, and it gives direct clues to what inspired Sholar – Igor Stravinsky and two of his works: “The Rite Of Spring” and “The Firebird Suite”. Sholar has a very deep connection to Stravinsky. The first time he heard Stravinsky’s music, it was clear that the only borders in music were in the limitations of imagination thought. Like Stravinsky, in “Rites Of Fire” Sholar transcends stylistic borders. For fifteen years he worked on the vision, and through tragic events a ground was laid to bring Stravinsky’s music much closer – a heart attack among other things, by which Sholar was clinically dead and revived. All of that is deeply embedded in the multi-crafted and excellently arranged structures where Classical, Jazz and Electronic are combined and throughly transcended. I have brought another track from the album: “Sacrificial Dance A.”.
MORITZ WEBER / ELISABETH BAUREITHEL / Radio Hosts / SRF / April 3, 2021
WEBER: “New release: different paths of life are being followed now in our new releases. Relative to that, Elisabeth Baureithel has brought us a book about the bandoneon and the journey of this instrument around the world. And then Elisabeth, you still have Jazz und Igor Stravinsky with you- I’m looking forward to how Stravinsky finds himself on this journey. But, now you first have a new album with the title The Path Of Life.
And at the end for today, in the New Release Music Magazine, we have music from Igor Stravinsky in new ways. (Music).”
BAUREITHEL: “Yes, you can still hear the original introduction from Stravinsky’s “Sacre du Printemps”. The Afro-American Kelvin Sholar is Pianist, Composer and Band Leader; he is known to step over musical barriers, and he is a big Stravinsky fan. With eighteen, he listened to Stravinsky’s music for the first time, at his music theory course in college. Sholar’s teacher said something about Stravinsky being revolutionary and important- he still remembers that. Then he just pressed on play on the cd player, and Sholar says his life has not been the same ever since.”
WEBER: “But, what in particular does Sholar think is so fascinating about Stravinsky’s music?”
BAUREITHEL: “He likes the mixing of different influences. For example, Stravinsky combines folklore, ritual, mysticism, dance and primitivism. And this, (along with melodic, harmonic and rhythmic freedom and multimedia), are things that were overlooked in Western European music. Igor Stravinsky dared to present a vision, said Sholar.
WEBER: “And, does Sholar do that himself? What is HIS vision?”
BAUREITHEL: “His new album is called Rites Of Fire, and that was put together from Rite Of Spring and Firebird, so it’s based on two ballets of Stravinsky: Sacre du Printemps (Rite Of Spring) and The Firebird Suite. But it’s not a fantasy or improvisation on the originals of Stravinsky; nor a cover with different instruments playing- that would be way too short of a description. So, in these versions from the Kelvin Sholar Trio, (which were expanded by the Techno pioneer Carl Craig, and the alto saxophonist Greg Osby), in these versions the musicians tell us a story that started before human civilization and has persisted through hundreds of years to reach us with their timeless message. For Sholar, the message is that music is a universal and eternal language. {Music}.”
WEBER: “A different version of Stravinsky’s Firebird is The Firebird’s Variation played from the Kelvin Sholar Trio: a whole album of the trio, around the pianist Kelvin Sholar, with recompositions of Stravinsky’s work, with the name Rites Of Fire, is released on Kasmavtsu Music.”