Abstract Rhythm in Time DigitalART With eremite records artists audio community 2000-06-24 Amherst by Alan Silva Celestrial Communication Ensemble

This is first & foremost religious music. Every sound serves an extra-musical purpose —creating a sonic analogy to a mystical experience. The sheer roiling volume, density & fullness of tone fills the listener with a powerful sense of the infinite, a sublime combination of awe, dread, & unearthly ravishments.” —Ed Hazell, 1999 Alan Silva (born Bermuda, 1939) made regular appearances on the Western Massachusetts eremite records scene from 1998 > 2004. He performed at the last two Fire in the Valley festivals (1999 & 2002), played in small ensembles with Marshall Allen, Johannes Bauer, Malcolm Goldstein, Sunny Murray, William Parker, & Oluyemi Thomas (among others), led the final concerts by his 35+ year open-form large ensemble juggernaut, the “Celestrial Communications Orchestra” (2003), & guested with numerous visiting musicians, including 2 Days in April with Fred Anderson, Hamid Drake, Kidd Jordan & Parker. After 30+ years living as an ex-pat in France & Germany, it was an all-around career 3rd act, albeit on the grassroots scale. During the summer months, Silva maintained a little tradition of presenting small ensembles at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst’s “Meetinghouse". He had somewhat recently put down the bass, his primary instrument of 25+ years with Albert Ayler, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, & Frank Wright, for the polyphonic Kurzweil music system (created by Raymond Kurzweil & Stevie Wonder). Silva’s fascination with all things orchestral had long been evident, from his bandleader debut - Skillfulness- (ESP, New York 1968) to CCO's monumental long-form statements -Seasons- (BYG, Paris 1970) & -HR57- (eremite, Poschiavo 2001). Opportunities to work with real orchestra-sized ensembles were few & far b/t; the Kurzweil enabled Silva to approximate orchestral scale & texture in any setting, & to just get weird. It became the ideal vehicle for the deep space regions he’s spent a lifetime exploring. The Meetinghouse, a historic vaulted-ceiling church with unruly acoustics, a massive 1889 Tiffany stained-glass window, & no air conditioning was in many ways the ultimate environment for this era of Silva’s music. The ensembles on these swampy valley summer nights, always billed as -Alan Silva Celestrial Communication Ensemble-, drew upon his new & old communities, fellow lifers who thrived in long-form, freely improvised settings, & who shared Silva’s understanding of music as a spiritual calling. Whether for the secular listener or the sacredly-inclined, Silva’s UUSA concerts reached heights of intensity & otherworldliness rarely equaled in the lifetime of a concert series defined by such qualities. To celebrate Alan Silva’s 87th birthday on 2026-01-21, & to just up the fun around here, eremite presents 3 of these nights, culminating in the 2002-06-22 trio extravaganza with Laurence Cook & Sabir Mateen (Alan begins the concert spinning his prayer wheel for the 21st century & for his recently deceased father, Ruby). The two earlier recordings pre-date the 21st century upgrades to the eremite mobile unit, but are sufficiently heavy, historical, & hi-fi to share. eremite records thanks Laurence Cook, Jackson Krall, Sabir Mateen, & William Parker. Thank you Alan Silva for your singular contribution. May your music ring through the cosmos for eternity.