Darius Jones:
Samesoul Maker

Saturday July 5 and Sunday July 6, 2025 at 12 noon, Altstadtkirche

Darius Jones: saxophne, copmosition
Gelsey Bell: voc, bells
Aviva Jaye: voc, bells
Sunder Ganglani: voc, bells
Paul Pinto: voc, bells
Levy Lorenzo: vibraphone
Shannon Barnett: trombone
yuniya edi kwon: violin
Peter Evans: trumpet
Josh Zubot: violin
Peggy Lee: cello

“I’ll be presenting a composed work, called ”Samesoul Maker“ – a piece for four voices, bells and prepared vibraphone. It’s been performed twice before in New York, but this is the first time I’ve performed a composition of mine in Europe, which is something I’m really excited about. It’s a long form piece and one that utilises my own invented language system for the vocalised text. I have an obsession with ritual, base things and what they mean to a society. The whole point of the piece is that it’s a ritual, essentially a meditation that should take place every day.”

”I don’t want to give away too much at this point, […] but as a composer I try to think about the different ways of meditating, what it is as a process, how ideas move and get channeled. The music has a primal quality as a result, but I’m masking the way things transition in the writing. I will say that everything in this piece is written – no improvisation, it’s all scored.”

”Samesoul Maker“ will be performed twice at Monheim Triennale – as Jones puts it, the plurality providing an opportunity for the performers and audiences alike to find new things in the act of creating and appreciating it. And as all attendees of the Triennale understand, when offered the chance to meditate in a different and better musical universe, you should always take it.

Excerpt from the Monheim Papers 2025, Alex Mayor.