Oren Bloedow
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Oren Bloedow (born July 3, 1965) is an American singer, guitarist and bassist. He founded the band Elysian Fields in 1995 with
Jennifer Charles Jennifer Charles (born Jennifer Asher Zipken; November 15, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, writer, and actor. Along with Oren Bloedow, she co-founded the New York band Elysian Fields. Her work is known for its emotional intensit ...
. His father, Jerry Bloedow, was a playwright, poet, and film editor whose theater, the Hardware Poet's Playhouse, participated in the New York avant-garde scene in the 1950s and 1960s.


Career

Bloedow's first musical affiliations were with
Phillip Johnston Phillip Johnston (born January 22, 1955) is an American avant-garde saxophonist. He came to prominence in the 1980s as co-founder of The Microscopic Septet and went on to write extensively for films, particularly new scores for classic silent fi ...
,
Bobby Previte Bobby Previte (born July 16, 1951 in Niagara Falls, New York) is a drummer, composer, and bandleader. He earned a degree in economics from the University at Buffalo, where he also studied percussion. He moved to New York City in 1979 and began ...
, and
Wayne Horvitz Wayne Horvitz (born 1955) is an American composer, keyboardist and record producer. He came to prominence in the Downtown scene of 1980s and '90s New York City, where he met his future wife, the singer, songwriter and pianist Robin Holcomb. He ...
, all of whom worked with him in Bobby Radcliff's blues band in the 1980s. With Radcliff, Bloedow backed up
Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...
,
Otis Rush Otis Rush Jr. (April 29, 1934 – September 29, 2018) was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. His distinctive guitar style featured a slow-burning sound and long bent notes. With qualities similar to the styles of other 1950s art ...
,
Johnny Copeland John Clyde Copeland (March 27, 1937 – July 3, 1997) was an American Texas blues guitarist and singer. In 1983, he was named Blues Entertainer of the Year by the Blues Foundation. He is the father of blues singer Shemekia Copeland. In 2017, Co ...
and
Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his n ...
. Another close collaboration was with guitarist Ron Anderson of The Molecules. In 1985 a friend of Anderson's introduced Bloedow to 101 Crustaceans, whose leader, Ed Pastorini, is Bloedow's oldest continuing musical associate and was a member of Elysian Fields. Bloedow names Pastorini as his favorite musician. He attended
New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...
in 1987–88, studying with Ran Blake and David Holland. Returning to New York City he joined the community forming at the
Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...
which included Previte, Horvitz, and Johnston. In 1990 he coupled up with Knitting Factory employee Charles, who became his songwriting and performing partner. Albums with Columbia recording artists Brenda Kahn and Dog's Eye View followed. In 1995, his musical project with Charles, now called Elysian Fields, was signed to Radioactive Records. He recorded an album with
Medeski, Martin and Wood Medeski Martin & Wood (or MMW) is an American jazz fusion band formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski on keyboards, Billy Martin on drums, and Chris Wood on bass. The band is influenced by musical traditions including funk and hip hop and ...
for Knitting Factory Records and played bass as a member of
The Lounge Lizards The Lounge Lizards were an eclectic musical group founded by saxophonist John Lurie and his brother, pianist Evan Lurie, in 1978. Initially known for their ironic, tongue-in-cheek take on jazz, The Lounge Lizards eventually became a showcase fo ...
. In the 2000's Oren worked extensively with V2/Commotion Records artist
Chocolate Genius Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civi ...
, contributing to the albums GodMusic and Black Yankee Rock. A Chocolate Genius tour opening for Meshell Ndegeocello brought Oren to that artist's attention, and he played in her band frequently in that decade, working on Comfort Woman, The World Has Made Me The Man Of My Dreams, and Devil's Halo. In 2009 Oren joined members of Antibalas and Director Bill T Jones in creating the Tony award-winning Broadway musical ''Fela!'', based on the life and work of Fela Kuti. That production closed at the end of 2010, but the touring version traveled the world for some time afterwards, including a return to the home of Afrobeat, Lagos Nigeria, for which Oren was present. Another theater project included Bloedow along with Matmos, Gael Rakotondrabe and Doug Wieselman as the pit band under composer/lyricist Anohni, then called Antony Hegarty, on the Robert Wilson spectacle The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic, starring Willem Dafoe and the performance artist Abramovic as herself. A co-production of the Manchester International Festival in the UK, New York's Armory and the Teatro Real Madrid, the piece was performed in all of those cities between 2011 and 2013, as well as Amsterdam, Antwerp and Basel. Since the 2010's Oren has composed and recorded several long-form dance pieces, two with Jennifer Charles and one with the poet Christina Clark, for the Paris-based dance group Affairi Esteri. With Shlomi Tuizer of that team, He co-led a workshop at the Abbaye at Royaumount for composers and choreographers in 2015. In 2015, Oren opened The Owl Music Parlor in Brooklyn, which he books and usually runs singlehanded. Like the Knitting Factory and Tonic, venues that Oren gravitated to as a young musician, The Owl has proved a hub for a thriving musical community and earned a worldwide reputation as a destination for great music. With Jennifer Charles, he was a headline act the
Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków The Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków ( pl, Festiwal Kultury Żydowskiej w Krakowie, yi, ייִדישער קולטור־פֿעסטיוואַל אין קראָקע) is an annual cultural event organized since 1988 in the once Jewish district of K ...
in 2005 and 2015 as La Mar Enfortuna. Oren Bloedow Recording/ Performing Credits Universal (/various) Recording Artists Elysian Fields, Co-leader The Lounge Lizards  (R,P) Bruce Springsteen.  (P) Warner/Verve (etc) Recording Artist Meshell Ndegeocello. (R, P/ extensive touring) Jazz notables such as Bill Frisell, Roy Hargrove, Jason Moran, Robert Glasper, Chris Dave and more Verve Recording Artist Lizz Wright (R/P/ touring), Jewel (R, P, tv), Norah Jones (P), Regina Spektor   (R) Badly Drawn Boy (P) Emmylou Harris.  (P) Lou Reed (P) Sony Artists Jeff Buckley (P), Dog’s Eye VIew (R, P), Brenda Kahn (R,P touring (Irish Superstar Glen Hansard (R,P) Martha Wainwright (P - touring), Rufus Wainwright (P - touring), Kate and Anna McGarrigle (P, musical direction Tegan and Sara (P) Metropolitan Opera Composer  / Nonesuch Recording Artist Nico Muhly. (P, touring), Nonesuch Recording Artist Thomas Bartlett (R,P, touring), V2 Recording Artist Chocolate Genius (R, P, Musical Direction) Blues/R&B practitioners Otis Rush, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, Johnny Copeland, Jimmy Vivino, Sean Pelton. (P) Nigerian artists Femi (and Seun) Kuti (P), Ethiopian Superstar Aster Aweke Guitar Chair:  Fela! On Broadway with Antibalas (Theater work) Guitar and Bass with Anohni (Antony and The Johnsons (R,P) Robert Wilson’s Life And Death of Marina Abramovic, with Willem Dafoe (and M.A.)  (Theater work) ‘Downtown' music legends John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Sex Mob, Dave Douglas, etc. Folk Artists Sam Amidon (Nonesuch) (R,P), Mark O’Connor, Larry Campbell, Martin Hayes (P) M. Ward. (P) Stephanie Mills (P) Bilal (P) David Hidalgo of Los Lobos (P, orchestration) Dreamworks Rec Artist E. (of Eels) (P, orchestration)


Discography

* ''Oren Bloedow'' (Knitting Factory, 1992) * ''Luckiest Boy in the World'' (Knitting Factory, 1998) * ''La Mar Enfortuna'' (Tzadik, 2001)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloedow, Oren American male singers Singers from New York City 1965 births Living people Tzadik Records artists Guitarists from New York City 20th-century American bass guitarists American male bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians The Lounge Lizards members Knitting Factory Records artists