Jazzbird Nights SATURDAY: Elsa Nilsson – Band Of Pulses

“Free of keys, harmonies, and conventional jazz phrasing, the musicians and the poet become one, and the melodies sound liberated and honest.” — Allen Michie, Arts Fuse

Band of Pulses will be sharing music from the second installment of Nilsson’s ongoing project “Atlas Of Sound” that explores humanity’s relationship to place by writing music in specific locations. The music was written in Quila Quina, in the Patagonian region of Argentina, in the province of Neuquen. The previous album from this series was named as The Best of Jazz 2022 by Bandcamp and is available on streaming services as well as on Bandcamp.

They will also perform “Pulses,” the piece for which the band is named. This piece involves the voice of Dr. Maya Angelou reading her poem “On The Pulse Of Morning.” Nilsson received the Chamber Music America New Jazz Works grant for this project, which explores the intersectionality between spoken language and jazz phrasing. “Pulses” is a suite using the rhythmic and melodic materials of her voice as the foundations of compositions and improvisations. It was released as an album on October 6th, 2023 on Ears and Eyes records.