Community Immunity – 2011

COMMUNITY IMMUNITY

CHILDHOOD SYMPATHY

EYE IN THE SKY (BONUS TRACK)

“The pieces on Community Immunity are like little puzzles with moving parts that fit together in the strangest ways. The moving parts lock in with uncanny seamlessness.”
Dave Douglas

“Community Immunity is much more than your average modern jazz album…  It is a study in compression and expansion, compositional detail and improvisational freedom.”
The New York Jazz Record

“A bracing listen from a musical architect who is as distinctive and precise as he is young…  If you’re an open-eared listener with a yen for forward-thinking music,  you’ll find yourself wanting to crack Community Immunity‘s code.”
Ottawa Citizen

“Maybe it’s the odd time signatures, maybe the strange timbres or the meandering compositions. Something sets Curtis Macdonald’s debut album apart and challenges you to keep coming back.”
Rochester City Newspaper

“With Community Immunity, Curtis Macdonald establishes himself as one who stands apart from the rest…”
All About Jazz

“A dynamic effort that succeeds in opening more doors with each listen.”
Downbeat Magazine

“Macdonald explores some wholly unique territory…”
JazzTimes Magazine

“Imaginative and daring…”
Pittsburgh Tribune

 “A sleekly modern band.”
NY Times

Click here for complete track listing, album credits and thank yous.

Community Immunity | credits & thank yous

Community: A group of interacting species sharing a common environment.
Immunity: A condition that permits natural or acquired resistance.

All compositions composed by Curtis Robert Macdonald (SOCAN)
Published by CMACSOUND (SOCAN)

Engineered by Dae Bennett and Travis Stefl
Mixed by Tyler McDiarmid
Mastered by A.T. Michael MacDonald
Additional Engineering by: Rob Murray, Jake Leckie & Curtis Macdonald

Produced by Curtis Macdonald

Photography, Artwork and Design by Matthew Macdonald of Syndrome Design.
Recorded on October 13 & 14, 2009 at Bennett Studios, NJ

Thank you

Mom & Dad for unconditionally supporting my creative endeavors.

To the musicians who constantly inspire:
David Virelles, Chris Tordini, Jeremy Viner, Travis Reuter, Greg Ritchie, Michal Vaňouček,
Becca Stevens, Andréa Tyniec

To the sound engineers who labored over the details:
Tyler McDiarmid, Dae Bennett, Travis Stefl, Michael MacDonald, Rob Murray, Jake Leckie

For the unfathomable support and endless resource:
The Banff Centre Music & Sound Department
Theresa Leonard, Barry Schiffman, Steve Bellamy, John D.S. Adams, Geoff Shoesmith

Parsons, The New School for Design, Department of Art, Media & Technology
Charlie Pizzarello, Julia Salerni, Jane Pirone

The New School For Jazz & Contemporary Music
Martin Mueller, Pam Sabrin, Dan Greenblatt, Jane Ira Bloom, Brenda Barlow, Bethany Ryker

Greenleaf Music
Dave Douglas, Benjamin Levin, Jim Tuerk

To all those who aided either directly or indirectly, to the creation and realization of this album:
Chern-Hwei Fung, Meredith Bates, Katelyn Clark, Michael Culler, Meining Cheung, Terri Hron, Dan Porter, Audrey Arbeeny, Michael Sweet, Frank Vogt, Bobby Avey, Cody Brown, Kyle Wilson, Adam Jackson, Tobia Neufeld, Maurice Hogue, Franco Rinaldi, Matt Macdonald, Chris DiGirolamo, Scott Stickland

two pieces for player piano

Two pieces composed for the Disklavier digital piano.  I used a sequencer to feed the piano MIDI information in “live” performance at the Banff Centre in 2008.

nancarrow improvisation II

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After a long hiatus, I’ve delved into more of Conlon Nancarrow‘s work for player piano.  Inspired by an excerpt from Study No. 33, I’ve programmed a drum set improvisation to its rhythm.  Consider this track a long awaited sequel to this one which prompted Nancarrow expert Kyle Gann to post about it here.  The drum sounds are from my personal collection and seem to compliment the rawness of Nancarrow’s piano quite nicely.

For years, evidently, he [Conlon Nancarrow] lived on practically nothing but coffee… It’s silly, I know, but sometimes when his music takes on a particular nervousness or intensity, I can’t help thinking of Conlon diligently roasting, grinding and drinking his coffee. Perhaps Nancarrow’s stomach is as “rugged” as his music! Now, despite being on doctor’s orders, he remains unrepentant: “I have no regrets. Do it while you’re young, and can!”
-Peter Garland, 1979

Read more about this work at the Greenleaf Music Blog.

a taste of nancarrow

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I’ve recently delved into the music of Conlon Nancarrow.  Here is a sample-based improvisation of one of his “etudés” for player piano.  Nancarrow once said: “ever since I’d been writing music I was dreaming of getting rid of the performers”.  Here’s an homage to that very idea.

game audio

“Dawn” was an interactive video game with a story line similar to the movie “Hero” but never made it to release.  I worked on the interactive music and sound desig.  The picture here is a working animatic draft at the time to get the idea.

Eye In The Sky – a bonus track

There’s a bonus track to Community Immunity; it’s a tune called “Eye In The Sky” and is part of the ‘director’s cut’ if you will.

Curtis Macdonald – Alto Sax
Jeremy Viner – Tenor Sax
Michal Vaňouček – Piano
Chris Tordini – Bass
Greg Ritchie – Drums

© 2011 Curtis Robert Macdonald (SOCAN)
Published by CMACSOUND (SOCAN)

the joker

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Last year I showed you all an excerpt of a piece I created for recorderist Terri Hron (to see the previous post, click here).  Well, I am happy to say that her album “bird on a wire” has  just been released throughout Europe, Canada and the U.S.,  It’s really a great example of several artistic collaborations on many levels.  The album’s music is comprised of several composers Terri commissioned for this project, and the audio production is of the highest, warmest quality possible – something that is difficult to achieve when electronics and real-time processing are so widely (or should I say wisely?) utilized.  This is a really unique and special album that I  am happy to be apart of and encourage you all to seek out.

Terri Hron – Recorder
Dan Porter – Engineering
Curtis Macdonald – Composition