Image 3: serpentwithfeet is a highly sought-after alternative R&B vocalist. (Farah Sosa/LA Phil)
Image 6: Composer and bandleader Marlon Martinez plays bass for To the Fullest concert. (Farah Sosa/LA Phil)
serpentwithfeet, Christopher Rountree, and Wild Up Bring ‘To the Fullest’ to Life
On the evening of March 4, the Walt Disney Concert Hall nearly reached capacity for “To the Fullest: The Music of Julius Eastman and Arthur Russell,” a concert that honored two avant-garde experimental music luminaries.
Presented as part of the LA Phil’s Green Umbrella New Music Series and produced in collaboration with Wild Up, the program brought together an eclectic mix of musicians, composers, and vocalists to interpret the works of Eastman and Russell—artists who, in their time, defied convention and blurred boundaries of contemporary music.
The night opened with “Evil N—,” one of Eastman’s most provocative compositions. Under the direction of conductor Christopher Rountree, a 19-member ensemble—spread across two levels—took the stage, all dressed in varying styles of black.
The piece, performed without singers, unfolded as a soundscape of shifting textures, gliding movements, and sudden ruptures. The music swelled like a slow-moving gust of wind, light yet full of density and chaos, with pockets of precise, organized crescendos.
True to Eastman’s organic composition technique, ‘Evil N—’ begins with a simple three-note figure before layering in a seven-note Dies irae motif. “1-2-3-4,” Rountree called out, using spoken cues to create moments of synchronicity within an otherwise free-flowing structure.
Throughout the piece, the instrumentalists responded spontaneously to Rountree’s gestures, embodying a chorus of freedom — individual yet unified, much like their varied visual presence on stage. The result was a striking 20-minute opening selection that felt both cinematic and rebellious.
The program transitioned to The Arthur Russell Songbook, a selection of pieces celebrating Russell’s rich legacy as a genre-defying composer, cellist, and songwriter. The atmosphere shifted from Eastman’s structural intensity to Russell’s more intimate and lyrical stylings.
Unlike the first piece, these works mainly featured vocal performances without a conductor, allowing soloists and musicians to interact more fluidly. Vocalists Robin Pecknold, Jodie Landau, Andrew Yee, and Darian Donovan Thomas each brought their own distinct interpretation to Russell’s works.
As the night progressed, the concert became increasingly theatrical, showcasing the ensemble’s ability to navigate both orchestral rigor and spontaneous play. By the time “Gay Guerrilla,” Eastman’s defiant and spiritually charged composition, began, the performance space had transformed into a dynamic, participatory experience featuring solos, instrumental dialogues, and layered vocal textures.
One of the evening’s most memorable moments came with the arrival of guest vocalist serpentwithfeet, whose distinct vocal style added an ethereal depth to the latter half of the program.
The concert concluded with a 30-minute performance of Julius Eastman’s “Gay Guerrilla,” a meditative journey through layered textures, harmonic drones, and vocal improvisations.
