Rabble Without a Cause, May 14: Steve Lacy live performances

A newly released performance from 1984, plus a 2002 performance with Musica Elletronica Viva (MEV)

Steve Lacy was an American soprano saxophonist who spent most of his music career in Europe. In 1984 he performed with Barry Wedgle on guitar and J.J. Avenel on double bass. The recorded performance remained in Werner X. Uehlinger’s archives until recently. Fortunately, Lacy’s notes on what he wanted released and editing suggestions were still available, so this release reflects his wishes for the release.

This was the only time that Lacy recorded with a guitarist. He later went on to record with J.J. Avenel.

Musica Elletronica Viva (MEV) was an experimental group formed in 1966 by Alan Bryant, Alvin Curran, Jon Phetteplace, Carol Plantamura, Frederic Rzweski, Richard Teitelbaum and Ivan Vandor in a room in Rome overlooking the Pantheon. Steve Lacy joined the group soon after. On the show we will hear an excerpt of a concert MEV did in Ferrara, Italy in 2002 - just two years before Lacy’s death.

Alvin Curran, one of the founders of MEV, composed a piece for Steve Lacy as part of his Maritime Rites project, that I featured on Rabble Without A Cause on December 4, 2024.

You can listen live on Wednesday at 11 p.m. in the National Capital Region at 93.1 on the FM dial or online at CKCUFM.com. The show is also available for on demand streaming.