GLASS BODY. PHANTOM HORSE.
Bowerbird presents pianist Sam Yulsman and vibraphonist Victor Vieira-Branco performing GLASS BODY. PHANTOM HORSE., Yulsman’s tone parallel to Wilson Harris’ Carnival trilogy.
GLASS BODY. PHANTOM HORSE. is the first movement of an Ellingtonian tone parallel written by Yulsman for Wilson Harris’ Carnival trilogy. Featuring Victor Vieira-Branco on vibraphone and Yulsman on piano, the piece parallels Harris’ weaving of Afro-diasporic, Mesoamerican, Amerindian and European myth through woven abstractions of the blues, baroque harmonic folds, Hasidic nigun, solo improvisations by Vieira-Branco and Yulsman, phase shifting, and experiments in non-resonating space.
Program
- GLASS BODY. PHANTOM HORSE. by Sam Yulsman
About the Artists
Sam Yulsman is a pianist, composer and theorist based in New York City. As a pianist his work includes recordings and performances with Jessie Cox, Brandon Lopez, Anaïs Maviel, Anna Webber, Diego Espinosa, Alicia Hall Moran, Roman Filiu, Laure M. Hiendl, Lester St. Louis, Marcela Lucatelli, TJ Borden, Kevin Ramsay, and Victor Vieira-Branco’s Bark Culture among many others. As a composer he has collaborated with ensembles and soloists, including the Sun Ra Arkestra, JACK Quartet, Talea Ensemble, String Noise, Distractfold, Julia den Boer, Ensemble Korea, Rage Thormbones and Séverine Ballon. Yulsman completed his DMA in composition at Columbia University in 2021 where he studied with George E. Lewis. His theoretical and creative writings, published by Issue Project Room, Columbia University and Critical Studies in Improvisation, focus on decolonial approaches to information theory, mimesis and simulacras of mid-20th century Afro-diasporic social aesthetics.
Victor Vieira-Branco is a vibraphonist, composer, and improviser based in Philadelphia, PA after spending much of his life in and around São Paulo, Brazil.
Currently, he leads and writes for Bark Culture, a trio featuring bassist John Moran and drummer Joey Sullivan. The most recent album by the group The Giant is Awkward is a quartet which features the addition of pianist and composer Sam Yulsman on piano.
While Bark Culture is his main vehicle as a composer, his performance work includes with Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra, and the Chad Taylor Quintet, the latter of which released the album Smokeshifter, featuring three pieces penned by the vibraphonist. The core trio of Bark Culture was also heavily involved in Rob Mazurek’s score for Kelly Reichardt’s 2025 film The Mastermind.
Photo Credits
Victor’s pic: Harry Gogh
Sam’s pic: Richard Lenz
Watch
Victor Vieira-Branco and Sam Yulsman, live at Atonement, Philadelphia, February 5, 2026
This commission has been made possible by CMA’s New Jazz Works program with generous funding provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
