April 6 spotlights pieces from recent releases on the Venice-based postminimalist Cold Blue Music record label, including John Luther Adams’ “Darkness and Scattered Light” for five basses.
Soundwaves was created by librarian/musician Jeff Schwartz and composer Daniel Rothman in 2016 to present cutting-edge music at the Santa Monica Public Library. It has received grants from the Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library and the Amphion Foundation, and programs have included collaborations with the Angel City Jazz Festival, Piano Spheres, Jacaranda Music, Microfest, Cold Blue Music, and the Dog Star Orchestra. A complete list of shows, with many videos, is at soundwavesnewmusic.com.
Over the course of almost 100 events, Soundwaves has demonstrated three ideas: that Los Angeles has been crucial to multiple experimental musical communities, from refugee Modernist composers to free jazz to punk rock and beyond, that very challenging work can be successfully presented to a general audience, and that libraries and other public spaces can partially substitute for grassroots venues and other arts resources lost to gentrification.
All Library programs are free and open to the public. Parking is available underneath the Main Library, several bus lines and the Metro E line stop nearby, and there are bike racks. The MLK Auditorium is wheelchair accessible. Please call (310) 458-8600 to request additional accommodations.