Longtime collaborators Lucas Pino and Jeremy Siskind premiered a new collection of songs, Golden Rule, Turing Test, at Western Michigan University on Tuesday. It's a sometimes lighthearted, sometimes bemused reaction to the way we filter our human relationships through social media and mobile devices.
The collaboration marked a shift from their Housewarmingproject (with vocalist Nancy Harms) in which Siskind serves as the primary songwriter and Pino as soloist on saxophone, clarinet, and bass clarinet. This time, the roles were changed. In New York, Pino composed the tunes (with his 9-piece ensemble, the No Net Nonet in mind) and in Michigan, Jeremy Siskind set them to lyrics. The song cycle was performed by advanced WMU jazz players and vocalists in a preview concert on March 28. After some final additions, the world premiere will take place at the Lincoln Center For The Performing Arts in New York City, later this year.
