“The steely self-possession of the words, the remorseless repetitions of both text and music, and the spell-binding intensity of the performers, above all reciter Elaine Mitchener, made for something both enthralling and moving.”
“(…) Rzewski’s Coming Together (1971) opened the concert, ignited by the flame of Elaine Mitchener’s voice as she hissed and crooned and preached the words of Sam Melville, who died in the 1971 Attica prison riot. Ferociously expressive in voice and body, alert to the irony and beauty and misery of the text, Mitchener drove a thrilling performance by Apartment House, the pounding piano ostinato unflagging.”
“A soft groove from drummer Steve Davis introduced a steadily striding vocal theme, from Mitchener a torrent of bird-sounds and pugnacious exclamations, a graceful drift through the seductive poetry of 13th-century Persian mystic Rumi, and a scintillating flat-out vocal inventory of life’s detritus (…) over a catchy bassline. It was constantly surprising and superbly executed cutting-edge music built on winningly familiar foundations.”
“The brilliance and urgency, the openness and the irresistible inner swing of the movement captivated the audience (…) the group took the audience as its fifth member on a stunning many-sided sonic tour. (…) The musical action went beyond known limits.“
“They rose to the challenge with an impressive, tactile take on key compositions which blended activism with the avante-garde, highlighting bonds between jazz and poetry.”
