hitting brooklyn’s hot spots first
Here it is, y’all! The Debut of a new project Travis Reuter and I started!
steps in the snow
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you “Steps in the Snow” a improvised duo recording featuring London based pianist Katya Sourikova. This album was recorded in 2006, and was a very spur-of-the-moment session where we simply set up a bunch of mics, hit record and played spontaneously for an hour. Wholla! We called it an album. This is also the first inaugural release on the new “Weave Records” Label, also based in London. Last year I recorded again with Katya but this time in a quartet setting. Stay tuned for that release, also on Weave Records. You can buy this album on CD Baby by clicking Here. Or iTunes by clicking Here.
Here is what Katya has to say about the album:
Steps was recorded live, in a single take. There are no edits. Should we simply say the pieces are free improvisations? Some people have found it impressive, and somewhat surprising, that free improvisation could sound so accessible and harmonious. We have not set out to break any common assumptions or prove any points. To those less familiar with improvised musical forms, we think that the album is a gentle reminder that it’s not all fast, furious and sonically challenging.
Steps is a spontaneous collision of two musical minds and personalities. Nothing was pre-planned or discussed beforehand. There are moments of true musical telepathy that both slightly spooked and delighted us at the time. As is the nature of these sorts of musical encounters, the magic is in the moment. The process of unravelling each sonic thread takes you through unexpected twists and turns. It’s a real delight to find that your musical partner, if not following you every step of the way, is there to meet you at the next corner. We lost ourselves in the momentous magic of it all. Happily, the result was captured here in this recording.
a piece for player piano
It’s inspiring to ponder how situations, environments and new communities of people have on one’s creative output. I arrived in Banff with all sorts of goals and expectations, but I quickly put most of them off on the sidelines once I realized how many new things I could really take advantage of – things that normally I don’t have access to, like amazing classical musicians and digital pianos! Once of these mini-projects I took on was to write a piece for a digital ‘player’ piano, a Yamaha Disklavier built in 1988 – the thing even has a 3.5″ floppy disk drive built into it!
With this new undertaking, I quickly did a ton of research. I remember as a kid seeing some white baby grand piano in a hotel lobby playing ‘The Entertainer” or something similar, never dreaming that I would be programming a piece for it one day. I studied the works of Conlon Nancarrow (see previous post) and Steve Reich in particular in order to gain some perspective, and then I began to hash out some ideas.
Now that I got the hang of it, I plan to write another something for this instrument…
And as always, let me know your thoughts!
the sound of midnight minnewanka
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
During my time at the Banff Centre a bunch of fellow artists-in-residence took a midnight trip to Lake Minnewanka, a glacier-fed mountainous valley in order to get a closer look at the stars. Luckily I had my sound recorder with me and was fortunate enough to capture the innocent sound of water rolling agaist the base of the mountains. It was one of those spectacular moments in nature that instilled a great sense of peace in all of us. Eventhough it was rather cold outside, the more I listened the warmer I felt.
a taste of nancarrow
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
About six months ago guitarist and composer Travis Reuter introduced me to the work of player-piano composer Conlon Nancarrow. Immediately I was intrigued with the rhythmic complexity of his works and began to research his methods. Just recently I came up with a little sample-based arrangement of one of his etudés for player piano. I love the way that this piece feels so dark, and yet is so grooving with a feel of improvisation-like freedom!
**Update: Check out Kyle Gann’s Blog “Post Classic” for a special mention of this post!
a string trio
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Once in a while I get the urge to do something completely different in music for the sake of learning something new. This is a short chamber piece I wrote in 2006 for two violins and cello. At the time, I was inspired by the wind ensemble composer Mark Camphouse’s work “Watchman, Tell Us Of The Night” which is a stunning composition inspired by child abuse. I decided to use his moods as a starting point for my composition, and wholla! My first piece entirely for strings in two short movements.
A thousand thank yous:
Jeremy Harman – Cello
Jesse Irons – Violin
Shaw Pong Liu – Violin
