Uncovered Maya Beiser

• 1 Black Dog 05:02
• 2 Moanin' at Midnight 03:04
• 3 Little Wing 03:29
• 4 Porgy and Bess, Act I: Summertime 04:54
• 5 Epitaph 08:37
• 6 Wish You Were Here 07:03
• 7 Louisiana Blues 02:55
• 8 Lithium 04:17
• 9 Back in Black 04:46
• 10 Kashmir 07:13
• Total Runtime 51:20

Info for Uncovered

„Uncovered“ is a startling collection of classic rock tunes, re-imagined and re-contextualized, in stunning performances by cellist Maya Beiser. A “cover tune” can be an homage to the original, but these “uncovers,” in new arrangements by Evan Ziporyn, attempt to do more and evoke the unprecedented power of music by rock legends such as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Janis Joplin, Howlin’ Wolf, and AC/DC. At TBA, Maya will be joined by the Portland Cello Project in selected special arrangements. Maya juxtaposes handpicked rock classics with contemporary compositions, including Michael Harrison’s epic Just Ancient Loops, performed with a film by Bill Morrison; composer and Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche’s Three Parts Wisdom; and David Lang’s take on Lou Reed’s Heroin. Beiser’s performance explores the juncture where the spiritual, traditional, contemporary, urban, and popular culture meet.

„With virtuoso chops, rock-star charisma, and an appetite for pushing her instrument to the edge of avant-garde adventurousness, Maya Beiser is the post-modern diva of the cello.” (The Boston Globe)

Maya Beiser, cello

Glenn Kotche, drums (Black Dog, Lithium)
Jherek Bischoff, acoustic and electric bass (Black Dog, Lithium)
Hubert Zemler, drums (Back in Black, Little Wing)
Evan Ziporyn, clarinet and bass clarinet (Epitaph)
Otto Briner, electric bass (Back in Black, Lithium)
Dave Cook, electric bass (Lithium)
Blake Newman, acoustic bass (Wish You Were Here)
Ryan Meyer, calabash (Louisiana Blues, Moanin’ at Midnight)

Recorded at Area 52 Studios, Saugerties, New York, NY
Mixed by Dave Cook at Dreamland Studios, Woodstock, NY
Mastered by Scott Hull at Masterdisk, New York, NY
Produced by Maya Beiser and Evan Ziporyn

Maya Beiser
The New Yorker magazine once referred to Maya Beiser as “the cello goddess.” The Israeli-born cellist is equal parts glamour, passion, and musical artistry of the highest level, and she brings it all to everything she does – from her collaborations with Steve Reich, to her work with Brian Eno and Shirin Neshat, to her stage shows at BAM and other top venues around the world. Maya captivates audiences with her virtuosity, eclectic repertoire, and relentless quest to redefine her instrument’s boundaries. The Boston Globe declares, “With virtuoso chops, rock-star charisma, and an appetite for pushing her instrument to the edge of avant-garde adventurousness, Maya Beiser is the post-modern diva of the cello.”

Raised in the Galilee Mountains in Israel, surrounded with the music and rituals of Jews, Muslims, and Christians, while studying classical cello repertoire, Maya has dedicated her work to reinventing solo cello performance in the mainstream classical arena. A featured performer on the world’s most prestigious stages from Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and London’s South Bank Centre to the Sydney Opera House, the Beijing Festival, and Taipei’s National Concert Hall, she has collaborated with artists across a wide range of musical styles, including Brian Eno, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Tan Dun, James Newton Howard and Carter Burwell, among many others. Maya’s 2012 production, Elsewhere: A CelloOpera, premiered at Carolina Performing Arts followed by a sold-out run at the BAM Next Wave Festival. Her latest project All Vows explores the dichotomy between the physical, external world we inhabit and the inner landscape of our secret selves; it premiered at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in March 2014.

In 2011, Maya was invited to present at the exclusive TED conference. Her TEDtalk performance has been watched by close to one million people and translated to 32 languages. In summer 2013, she was a featured guest alongside such luminaries as Yoko Ono, Marina Abramovi!, and Isabella Rossellini at ICASTICA 2013, an international festival celebrating women artists working in all artistic fields in Arezzo, Italy.

Maya is a graduate of Yale University and a founding member of the Bang on a Can All-Stars. Her vast discography includes five solo albums and many studio recordings and film music collaborations. Her 2010 album Provenance topped the classical and world music charts on both Amazon and iTunes and her album Time Loops was selected among NPR’s top 10 recordings of 2012.

Booklet for Uncovered