urban jungle n. a dangerous, bewilderingly complex, or fast-paced urban environment; an urban area characterized by ruthless ­competition, struggle, or exploitation.

Urban Jungle – Los Angeles, like the earlier release Live at the Angel City Jazz Festival, was born out of creative collaboration and an interest in connecting music and social justice. Before the visuals or compositions were discussed, the focus was on revealing what is often unseen: homelessness, poverty, and suffering that take place in the shadow of conspicuous opulence often associated with Los Angeles. Drawing on the definition of “urban jungle” from the Oxford English Dictionary, a list of terms was established: Dangerous, Bewilderingly Complex, Fast Paced Urban Environment, Ruthless Competition, and Exploitation. Each term became a chapter with distinct visual elements and a composed musical theme. The compositions are interspersed with a prelude and 4 interludes, which were titled after being improvised in the studio.
The prelude, “Los Angeles,” begins with an unaccompanied solo by Bobby Bradford. His solo serves as an invitation into the parts of Los Angeles that the rest of the work examines, while also reminding us that the city has fostered seemingly boundless creativity and resilience.
The visuals for Chapter 1, “ Dangerous,” created by crushed blacks, lead us through the Second Street tunnel, running beneath Bunker Hill in downtown, towards a bright light symbolizing the “promised land” or at least a shining goal. However, this promised land is not always as it seems: the arrival into Los Angeles can be precarious.
In Chapter 2, “Bewilderingly Complex,” the visuals illustrate the growth and expansion of Los Angeles as downtown high-rises appear, with dates intercut with freeway interchanges and moving traffic. William Roper’s narration in the middle of the piece turns towards questions of personal identity and how difficult it can be to find oneself. The images from this chapter are split down the middle and mirrored, evoking the theme of the first interlude, “City of Quartz (for Mike Davis).”
This interlude pays tribute to Mike Davis’ groundbreaking book of the same name, which examines how the history of politics and development in Los Angeles leads to a potentially dystopian future. The book highlights many of the figures later referenced in this work, as well as the pioneering work of John Carter and Bobby Bradford. Davis’ reference to these figures illustrates resistance against the inequity of the city while providing hope for the possibility of change.
Chapter 3, “Fast Paced Urban Environment (yet medium swing),” elaborates on that tension. Rather than presenting the urban pace literally quickly, it uses a relaxed tempo, as indicated by the subtitle of the chapter. Visual footage of freeway overpasses seen from the sky presents the arterial-like connections within the city and the flows of people, information, and goods that move with them. Yet, Davis’ book reminds us that these freeways have also cut off and limited access to certain neighborhoods.
The second interlude, “Urban Jungle,” presents a highly abstracted sound notion of “jungle,” a term associated with jazz since at least the 1920s: atmospheric unusual timbres, muted brass, multiphonics. William Roper’s improvised poetry references and rewrites some of those tropes for the city of Los Angeles.
The fourth chapter, “Ruthless Competition” focuses on wealth inequality. The visuals juxtapose footage of homeless encampments with virtual tours of mansions created by real estate agents. Roper’s improvised poetry here turns this struggle towards personal family concerns.

The third interlude, “Towers (for Simon Rodia, Sam Haskins, Arcola Philpott, Father Luis Olivares),” highlights local heroic and inspirational figures. Simon Rodia, a self-taught artist who worked as a laborer during the day, created the monumental sculpture known today as the Watts Towers. Sam Haskins was the first African-American firefighter in Los Angeles in 1880. Arcola Philpott was the first African-American streetcar operator, working for the Los Angeles Railway in 1944, making her one of the only women to work as an operator as well. Father Luis Olivares was the pastor at the historic La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles near Olvera Street from 1981 to 1989. In 1985, against the wishes of the Catholic Church and Federal immigration officials, he declared the church a sanctuary for Salvadoran refugees, thousands of whom would be sheltered there during his time.
The fourth interlude pays tribute to Tim Hicks, who, under the name crushed blacks, contributed the visuals as an unheard member of the group. His collaborations in terms of ideas in planning and his live video manipulations played an integral part in shaping the work.
The fifth chapter, “Exploitation,” connects the current inequality of Los Angeles with broader global issues of environmental degradation, reminding us that awareness and resistance to local problems are both shaped by and shape wider concerns.
—Charles Sharp


Tim Hicks (Tim Hix)(crushed blacks) was a pioneer in the world of full dome, immersive video art as well as a skater, a surfer, an artist, and a film director. Tim went by the stage name “crushed blacks” for our last two Silverscreen Sextet shows. “Crushing blacks” is the process of taking relatively dark areas (black to dark gray) and making them even darker by increasing contrast in those areas. He chose this name because it applied to his visual work, as well as an obvious metaphor for the plight of African Americans. His visuals are filled with metaphors and stark contrasts, ranging from blatant wealth inequality issues to environmental beauty/exploitation. He often juxtaposed images of hard-working public servants with extreme police brutality moving people to contemplate current issues in a different light.

The last movie Tim directed focused on the 20–50 foot waves of Nazare Portugal, shot by himself riding on the back of a jet ski, in 360° video. It’s called a “patch of magic” shot to be shown in a full-immersion dome. Tim was interested in magic, not flashy tricks, but a different kind of magic that happens when art transcends the banality of reality and changes your overall consciousness. The Silverscreen Sextet from the beginning was focused on this elusive form of transcendence and extreme empathy through our performances. We wanted to take a very in-depth look at LA, celebrating its’ underground culture, forgotten heroes, and unique architectural landscape while being very critical of the rampant poverty that has been present there for years. Tim’s visuals were the catalyst for the music presented here, and he was an integral part of this ensemble. I am very proud of the work we did here, and am deeply saddened that Tim had to leave us. Everyone who knew him lost an exceptional individual who thought differently and made his mark on his own terms.
—Vijay Anderson



Thanks to Bobby, Vinny, Roper, and Adam for their incredible contributions to this album. Thanks to Hafez and Roberto for their previous offerings in the group. Special thanks again to Charles Sharp for the liner notes and crucial feedback.I am also extremely grateful for the support of Samur Khouja, David Reichardt, Cameron Acosta, Seahorse Sound Studios’ staff, Andrew Maxwell, 2220 Art Space, The Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Stephen Hicks, Nika Zupancic, Adam Caine, Nick Lyons, Peter Karl, Myles Boisen, Carol Liebowitz and Joe Rooks.



Dedicated to
James Cooper Anderson
John Walter Finkbeiner
Timothy Andrew Hicks