*A Tribute to Erik Satie

Listen to an hour of musical tributes to the late 19^th, early 20^th Century French composer, eccentric, and proto-minimalist Erik Satie. Hear pieces inspired by Satie from composers Toby Twining and accordionist/composer Guy Klucevsek, along with deft arrangements of Satie’s Gymnopedies, Gnossiennes, and Nocturnes by a whole host of others, including DJ Spooky and Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.

Satie was known as “the gray velvet gentleman” because of the suits he favored. According to Meurig Bowen, writing in the Guardian, Satie purchased seven of these gray velvet suits at the same time, and would wear one for years until it wore out, moving on to the next. Multi-reed artist Dan Willis and a cast of other musicians, called “the Velvet Gentlemen,” take the name of their band from that Satie peculiarity. Listen to some exercises in musical mind-melding, where Willis and company take the spirit of the melodies and arrange first a Gymnopedie, then a Gnossienne and a Nocturne for reeds, drums, accordion, and electric guitar.

Hear a “20^th Century dreamscape” by Canadian multi-instrumentalist and noted producer Daniel Lanois on pedal steel guitar, simply "Satie," in tribute to the French pianist, from his latest release, Goodbye to Language. Lanois has worked with artists including Brian Eno, U2, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, and Bob Dylan, among others. Also, listen to a tribute from accordionist/composer Guy Klucevsek's latest release, Teetering on the Verge of Normalcy, and his work "Hymnopedie for Erik Satie," which features violinist Todd Reynolds.

Then, listen to a piano piece called "Satie Blues," written for Margaret Leng Tan on piano and toy piano by Toby Twining. There’s also a remix of Gnossienne No. 3 by DJ Spooky, as well as an arrangement of the same by Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. Plus, listen to a microtonal reimagining of a Satie Gymnopedie by American composer Mathew Rosenblum, whose influences range from Javanese music, the music produced by Sonic Youth, the music of LaMonte Young, and that of Erik Satie. All that, and more.

PROGRAM #3902, a tribute to Erik Satie (First Aired 09-21-2016)

ARTIST: Erik Satie / Frank Glazer

WORK: Gymnopedie #1 [2:00]

RECORDING: Satie: Complete Piano Music

SOURCE: Vox SVBX 5422

INFO: Available at Amazon.com

ARTIST: Dan Willis and Velvet Gentlemen

WORK: First Gymnopedie (arr. Dan Willis) [6:26]

RECORDING: The Satie Project I

SOURCE: Daywood Drive DDR 1001

INFO: daywooddrive.com OR CDbaby.com

ARTIST: Guy Klucevsek, ft. Todd Reynolds, violin