Racer Session #470 | Leanna Keith & Amelia Love Clearheart | May 5, 2019
Greetings, Racers!
This Sunday we are pleased to present a curation by local musician Leanna Keith. A freelance flutist, improviser, and composer in the Seattle area, Leanna Keith delights in creating sound experiences that make audiences laugh, cry, and say: “I didn’t know the flute could do that!” She actively performs around the country in concert halls, bars, cafes, and classrooms - bringing along a menagerie of flutes that include her bass flute, alto flute, dizi, and shinobue - as well as a variety of electronics. Sometimes she creates soaring melodies, and other times she beatboxes and vocalizes. She also is dedicated to playing music by composers who are still living, and advocates for the usage of music as social activism. She currently performs with the vocal/flute duo Stack Effect with vocalist Kaley Lane Eaton, Keith/Larson Duo with guitarist Zachary Larson, Crows at a Crosswalk with bouzouki player Daniel Husser, Kin of the Moon, and the Japanese drumming ensemble Dekoboko Taiko. She is also currently the flute instructor for Cornish College of the Arts.
Leanna will be joined by Seattle’s own Amelia Love Clearheart, stirring audiences with her vocal range and personal improvised lyrics. Make sure to find yourself at Cafe Racer this Sunday at 8pm for their set! And read below for some words from Leanna and Amelia.
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“Hey Racer,
It’s me, or rather, it’s a combination of we. It’s Leanna Keith (flutist, noisemaker, wanna-be-poet, movement person) and Mama Amelia Love Punk Clearheart (whose title is all you need).
We could go cosmic radiations and meditational chanting.
Or maybe we’ll write a love song.
We could dance (you could too).
Maybe we’ll just make NOISE (but you bet it’ll be a joyful noise).
No matter what, it will be improvised. No plans here friends, just two people who have done a lot of thinking and feeling together lately.
So what does that mean for you?
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A prompt to share in our open improv:
GROOVE is the name of the game. How can we explore groove? So often in free improv sounds can just become jumbled in the void. Music has been grooving since Gregorian chant - let’s dust it off and bring it to the now. What is groove anyway? Does it need to be constant? Does it need a heartbeat at the center? Do you need percussion? Let’s find out.
Love,
Leanna Keith and Mama Amelia Love Punk Clearheart”