Eliot Cardinaux/Jeb Bishop: “Die Letzte Posaune”

by Eliot Cardinaux

Boston-based trombonist Jeb Bishop (formerly of Chicago – Vandermark 5, Brotzman tenet, Cutout) has been a very dear friend to me for the past 5 years since he moved into my former Boston neighborhood, Jamaica Plain, and invited me over for listening sessions. Recently we “got together” remotely, & recorded something I believe we are both really proud of. I shot & edited a short video to accompany the sounds we made.

As the story goes, there has to be a story. There was a line in the text I’m performing here, that refers to the trumpet, in biblical terms (as it appears in the hymn, “Steal Away” – check out Mat Maneri’s recent version with his mother Sonja. It’s on YouTube). I thought it might be more elusive to include trombone in the sounds I already had, rather than the obvious gesture of calling up a trumpet player & having them do “the thing,” & so I called up Jeb.

Jeb, who happens to be a German translator, in addition to playing the sh*t out of the trombone, informed me that the German “Posaune,” from the “last trumpet” passage in bible, translates literally as “trombone.” It only seemed fitting to recite the entire passage in the original German along with my prose poem, after which Jeb applied his unique musical & critical talents, not only on his horn, but in his advice on the mixing & sound-production end as well. The result is delightful to me, & I am really proud to share it with a little more context. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed collaborating on it with him.

Eliot Cardinaux — text, spoken word, video & sound production

Jeb Bishop — trombones, textual & auditory advice

Written, recorded remotely, & shot, February 17-20, 2021

“…und dasselbe plötzlich, in einem Augenblick, zur Zeit der letzten Posaune. Denn es wird die Posaune schallen, und die Toten werden auferstehen unverweslich, und wir werden verwandelt werden.” —Lutherbibel 1912 The last trombone of judgment day”

—Lutherbibel 1912

Video shot on location in Northampton, MA in front of the “Women of Northampton” mural on Masonic St.