In 1980, Brooke Wentz landed her dream volunteer job as host of WKCR-FM’s late night radio show, “Transfigured Night.” Billed as an “exploration into the world of new music,” this Columbia University broadcast allowed the then-student free reign to conduct candid interviews with dozens of avant-garde pioneers in free jazz, no wave and electronic and world music before they emerge as internationally-renowned artists.
Thanks to the downtime afforded this busy music executive due to the Covid lockdown, these long unheard interviews are now contained in a fascinating new book: Transfigured New York: Interviews with Experimental Artists and Musicians, 1980-1990 (Columbia University Press). Wentz’ latest writing is a virtual and very vivid time capsule of musical and artistic creation from 1980-1990 – a juncture when New York’s uptown and downtown converged to birth bold new sounds and a new generation of sonic visionaries.
The musicians and artists tell their stories and share their thoughts about the creative process, capturing the ambition and energy that animated their work against all odds. Legends in the making like Bill Frisell, Philip Glass, John Lurie, Laurie Anderson and Glenn Branca convey what it was like to be a struggling artist in 1980s New York, a time when the city was alive with possibilities and affordable for artists. Others who were well known at the time, including John Cage, La Monte Young and Ravi Shankar, advocate for their distinctive ideas about art and open up about their creative lives.
Transfigured New York contains an astonishing range of interviews covering the waterfront of creative musical genres – all rescued from dusty cassettes and reel-to-reel tapes of interviews that were only heard once, at their initial airings. Morton Subotnick, Joan Tower, Steve Reich, Joan La Barbara, Vernon Reid of Living Colour, Arthur Russell, Eric Bogosian, Bill T. Jones and many more are included. The scene is set with a forward written by someone who was in the thick of the experimental action, former Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo. These interviews are also accompanied by a collection of historic black & white photos, captured by renowned photographers of the era. This book is a one-of-a-kind account of one of the most exhilarating and inventive periods for art and culture in New York City’s history.
Wentz is launching the book at a November 13 event at the home of the New York avant-garde music scene, Roulette (info here) The event will include conversations with many of the artists profiled including Peter Gordon, Zeena Parkins, Brandon Ross, Tim Berne and Ikue Mori. Several, including Don Byron, Elliot Sharp and Shelley Hirsch, are also scheduled to perform.
Wentz is a Billboard Music Award–winning music producer, music supervisor and founder of Seven Seas Music and The Rights Workshop. With Seven Seas, Wentz is a key supplier of world music from 145 countries for licensing in prestige film and television productions including Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. The Rights Workshop has handled music supervision for films including Melancholia and Bill Cunningham New York. Wentz is a leading expert on music copyrights and former ESPN music director. Her other books include Hey! That’s My Music: Music Supervision, Licensing, and Content Acquisition (2007) and Music Rights Unveiled: A Filmmaker’s Guide to Music Rights and Licensing (2017).
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