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.

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.

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.