Jonn Serrie at the Gatherings Concert Series

[djfoxyfox]

Jonn Serrie

Jonn Serrie at the Gatherings
Last night was yet another trip down to Philadelphia to attend the Gatherings concert series. But I felt as if I had travelled to Andromeda. Perhaps waking at 4 am to do a 6 am radio show was a contributing factor, but I doubt it. I'd rather attribute it entirely to Jonn Serrie's music. A pioneer of planetarium music, Jonn's compositions are at the core of the spacemusic genre. Anyone on the spacemusic list within driving distance of Philadelphia owed themself a trip to St. Mary's last night. Smooth, floating, transportive... these only barely begin to describe the power of Jonn's music. Jeff Towne's lights, as performed by Warren (?) certainly added to the aura and Art Cohen's skillful sound engineering allowed all of Jonn's nuances to have maximum impact. All in all, another triumphant gathering.

Cheers,

[mosc]

I also attended this concert and I took a bunch of photos, some of which came out pretty well - see here: http://electro-music.com/images/Gath-Serrie-05/

I enjoyed the concert, but I'm not a big space music buff. I prefer music with more changes. I found myself a bit bored at times, but at other times I quite enjoyed it. I think most people dug this performance more than I. To be sure, there were many Serrie fans there. One fellow couldn't restrain himself from breaking out in applause every time John played a piece with which he was familiar. Each time this happened, Serrie responded with a warm smile and a nod. In general the audience was very enthusiastic.

For the last piece, Serrie performed J. S. Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. This was easily my favorite. As far as I could see, he played only two of the four parts in the piece live, the rest was on a backing track prerecorded on a CD. Still, it was great music and played very well.

I certainly agree with Bill about Jeff Towne's lights.