Hello everyone! Keeping cool? .....me neither.
I've begun mixing for my debut trio album (to feature Ben Shepherd and Cameron Hicks) with engineer John Aspinall, and I'm pleased with the results so far. I've picked takes, and we've got a great rough mix on "Dirty Sugar". Tonight we will apply that general mix to some other tracks and start picking through the details and nuances of each song. This is my first top-to-bottom, self-produced, full-length (and other hyphenated phrases) project, and I am already having a blast putting it together. Make sure to check back here for updates on the album.
For about six months, I have been a part of an incredibly fun band, Orkestar MÉZÉ. Headed by pianist/keyboardist/composer Milen Kirov, Orkestar MÉZÉ is LA's only Balkan Brass Gypsy Funk Band, delivering infectiously groovy tunes from Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia and Romania with a healthy dose of funk. We had a great gig a few weeks ago at the Bootleg Theater, the crowd was digging it, and some video was captured...check these out!
Orkestar MÉZÉ at the Bootleg Theater 1
Orkestar MÉZÉ at the Bootleg Theater 2
Orkestar MÉZÉ at the Bootleg Theater 3 (yes, that's Ben Shepherd on the electric bass)
One more video of the band at CalArts this Spring:
Orkestar MÉZÉ playing "Sandokan" at the Wild Beast
There is a recording being planned for Orkestar MÉZÉ; more details as I get them. Until then, I'll post any gigs we have here. Bring out your inner peasant!
Michael Mull Octet
Friday, July 16, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
A few gigs and a project
Happy 4th of July weekend to you all. I'm playing a quartet gig at a party tonight with Milen Kirov, a great composer/keyboardist. We're playing some killer Bulgarian and Macedonian funk jams, ornaments and odd time signatures, but always funky. If any of you are going to be in the South Bay tomorrow morning (Saturday), come check out the Alex Smith Trio featuring Alex Smith on drums, Emilio Terranova on bass, and myself on saxophones. Yes, this is JAZZ THUNDER under the leadership of Alex!
Close friends of mine know that I have been a long-time fan of Meshuggah, a metal band whose music centers around intricate, "over-the-barline" rhythms set over a deep groove. Meshuggah holds various points of interest for me, but I am finally getting to a little project of transcribing some of the incredible guitar solos by lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal. I've only got one down so far, but several more planned for the coming weeks. His solos are both frantic and skillfully constructed, and each solo yeilds a different, highly creative approach, something not often found in the rock/metal world. I will post some pdf files here for reference and (hopefully) discussion once I've compiled a few solos. In the meantime, if you haven't checked out Meshuggah yet, DO IT!
Close friends of mine know that I have been a long-time fan of Meshuggah, a metal band whose music centers around intricate, "over-the-barline" rhythms set over a deep groove. Meshuggah holds various points of interest for me, but I am finally getting to a little project of transcribing some of the incredible guitar solos by lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal. I've only got one down so far, but several more planned for the coming weeks. His solos are both frantic and skillfully constructed, and each solo yeilds a different, highly creative approach, something not often found in the rock/metal world. I will post some pdf files here for reference and (hopefully) discussion once I've compiled a few solos. In the meantime, if you haven't checked out Meshuggah yet, DO IT!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Music vs. Title Survey
A Happy Father's Day to all you awesome pops out there!
I was talking about composition with my friend Steve Blum a month or two back, and the topic of titles came up. Turns out, Steve often starts with a title, whereas I rarely produce a title until near the end of the composition process. Everyone approaches composition a different way, and that includes the use of a title. I thought it would be interesting and enlightening to send off emails to some of my favorite composers in the jazz world asking them about this topic, and compile the answers here for y'all. I'd like to thank everyone listed for their time and great responses!
The question was:
"When you write a piece of music, what usually comes first, the music or the title?"
Here are the answers I received:
"Usually the music comes first in my case. The best titles for me do come when I'm at the beginning of the writing process however and am still feeling that initial inspiration. It's harder after the tune is complete to go back and find a title that fits the initial feeling for me."
--- Donny McCaslin, saxophone
"I almost always conceive the music first and titles comes later."
--- Edward Simon, piano
"Without hesitation the music comes first. Some titles come soon after finishing work on a tune, but many don't happen until I'm forced to come up with names of tunes for a record. I'll occasionally come up with a title I like separate from writing music. Then I'll add it to a list of potential tune titles that I'll reference if I'm not coming up with anything for a particular tune. Just like a lot of things, it either comes easily or it takes a while."
---Steve Cardenas, guitar
"For me a mood will come to me when composing and usually a title will follow. Other times a composition will surface at roughly the same time an event of notice occurs in my life."
--- John Fumo, trumpet
"The title either comes first or during the process....it usually helps me maintain a direction in the writing."
--- John Hollenbeck, drums
"Almost exclusively, the music happens first but sometimes on rare occasions a word or image will spark something to happen. I remember reading about Mathew Sheppard and that was one of those rare moments where I started working on lyrics and the music followed."
--- Alphonso Johnson, bass
"I don't think I've ever written a tune to fit with a title, although that might change with a few potential commissions coming up. What I do have is a list of potenital titles for tunes that I can match with new pieces, but only after I've written the music. So I guess technically sometime I do have the title before the music, but it's usually correlation rather than causation."
--- Gary Fukushima, piano
"The music almost always comes first. The only exceptions are when I come up with what I think is a clever title and I need to write a tune as an excuse to use it, but that usually doesn't work. I don't often write tunes based on specific places or events - they are mostly just explorations of musical ideas, so titles are sometimes hard to come by."
--- Ben Monder, guitar
"The music comes first."
--- Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz, bass
"For me, it's usually the music first but occasionally a title will inspire the direction. 'Boxer Rebellion', inspired by our 2 dogs, is an example of a 'title first' composition of mine. More often, I will have a person in mind, which I find more inspiring. This was the case with 'Message From Art' (Art Blakey), 'Kind of Bill' (Bill Evans), 'Bella Luce' (Conte Candoli) and 'For Gillian' (my wife). 'Sixth Sense' was inspired by an exercise on the drum set and 'Native Land' is a homage to planet earth. In each of those tunes, the music came first."
--- Joe LaBarbera, drums
"The very first thing that comes to mind is who is the music for, then sometimes the title comes first and the music is written but often what i write is concieved for a group or individuals and then the title is added, so I would say...maybe its 30 percent title first, and 70 percent music, then title. That said, I do keep a bag or lists of titles for every occasion."
--- Vinny Golia, multi-woodwinds
"It's very rare that I have a title before I write. Most often, I have to think of a title at the last minute when a recording is about to be released! Usually I start composing with a mood in mind, but since music is expressive in a way for me that's beyond words, often it's hard for me to think of a specific title that accurately captures that mood."
--- Chris Potter, saxophone
"To me, the title is important - it conveys a feeling and intention about the music before a listener even hears the first note. I often write the title BEFORE I discover the musical ideas. It is one of the many parameters that I use to get started writing, and can bring a sense of unity and focus to a composition.
"The relationship between a title and the composition can be very abstract and hard to define, or it can be more literal and even programmatic. But there are many compositions that first attract a performer's or listener's attention because of an effective title. If I complete a composition without a title, it can be difficult to find a title that is 'as good as' the music, and sometimes feels like a compromise (which is disappointing...). The goal is to complete a composition that tells one focused story, and the title can be very helpful in communicating that story."
--- David Roitstein, piano
"It is not a matter of a title or the music coming first, as both processes happen, as well as co-created titles and pieces that come together simultaneously.
"Some examples would be pieces of mine such as 'Frozen Ropes', 'Drifter', and 'Ceilings' where an entire piece had been completed and needed to be titled. Therefore, whatever popped into my mind--that evidently reflected current circumstances or situations I was immersed in--became the titles.
"Another avenue of construction is exemplified by pieces such as 'Dresden Moods', 'A Tree Frog Tonality', and 'Hydrofoil', where the titles came first and informed the content of the musical composition amply--in these particular cases, an historical event and its aftermath, the inspiration of nature's fine non-human musicians, and a dedication to the spirit of the late Fred Hopkins.
"Lastly the co-created dynamic where a title arises as the music is written. An example of this amongst my works would be 'Nature, Time, Patience'. I realized around half-way through composing the commissioned work, that the aforementioned three elements were going to be essential to the success of the piece, so I simply titled it that."
--- John Lindberg, bass
"When I write music the music always comes first. It starts as a small impulse and melody is almost always the generator. Melody contains so many elements in microcosm (it implies harmony, form, phrases, meter, etc.) and it also has a forward momentum through its storytelling. I just need to get my self out of the way and find what is contained or implied by that first impulse (more and more I'm convinced it contains all the information including the ultimate length of a piece). The title comes much later for me. I think the process would be less abstract and more stilted if I had word associations from the beginning."
--- Larry Koonse, guitar
I was talking about composition with my friend Steve Blum a month or two back, and the topic of titles came up. Turns out, Steve often starts with a title, whereas I rarely produce a title until near the end of the composition process. Everyone approaches composition a different way, and that includes the use of a title. I thought it would be interesting and enlightening to send off emails to some of my favorite composers in the jazz world asking them about this topic, and compile the answers here for y'all. I'd like to thank everyone listed for their time and great responses!
The question was:
"When you write a piece of music, what usually comes first, the music or the title?"
Here are the answers I received:
"Usually the music comes first in my case. The best titles for me do come when I'm at the beginning of the writing process however and am still feeling that initial inspiration. It's harder after the tune is complete to go back and find a title that fits the initial feeling for me."
--- Donny McCaslin, saxophone
"I almost always conceive the music first and titles comes later."
--- Edward Simon, piano
"Without hesitation the music comes first. Some titles come soon after finishing work on a tune, but many don't happen until I'm forced to come up with names of tunes for a record. I'll occasionally come up with a title I like separate from writing music. Then I'll add it to a list of potential tune titles that I'll reference if I'm not coming up with anything for a particular tune. Just like a lot of things, it either comes easily or it takes a while."
---Steve Cardenas, guitar
"For me a mood will come to me when composing and usually a title will follow. Other times a composition will surface at roughly the same time an event of notice occurs in my life."
--- John Fumo, trumpet
"The title either comes first or during the process....it usually helps me maintain a direction in the writing."
--- John Hollenbeck, drums
"Almost exclusively, the music happens first but sometimes on rare occasions a word or image will spark something to happen. I remember reading about Mathew Sheppard and that was one of those rare moments where I started working on lyrics and the music followed."
--- Alphonso Johnson, bass
"I don't think I've ever written a tune to fit with a title, although that might change with a few potential commissions coming up. What I do have is a list of potenital titles for tunes that I can match with new pieces, but only after I've written the music. So I guess technically sometime I do have the title before the music, but it's usually correlation rather than causation."
--- Gary Fukushima, piano
"The music almost always comes first. The only exceptions are when I come up with what I think is a clever title and I need to write a tune as an excuse to use it, but that usually doesn't work. I don't often write tunes based on specific places or events - they are mostly just explorations of musical ideas, so titles are sometimes hard to come by."
--- Ben Monder, guitar
"The music comes first."
--- Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz, bass
"For me, it's usually the music first but occasionally a title will inspire the direction. 'Boxer Rebellion', inspired by our 2 dogs, is an example of a 'title first' composition of mine. More often, I will have a person in mind, which I find more inspiring. This was the case with 'Message From Art' (Art Blakey), 'Kind of Bill' (Bill Evans), 'Bella Luce' (Conte Candoli) and 'For Gillian' (my wife). 'Sixth Sense' was inspired by an exercise on the drum set and 'Native Land' is a homage to planet earth. In each of those tunes, the music came first."
--- Joe LaBarbera, drums
"The very first thing that comes to mind is who is the music for, then sometimes the title comes first and the music is written but often what i write is concieved for a group or individuals and then the title is added, so I would say...maybe its 30 percent title first, and 70 percent music, then title. That said, I do keep a bag or lists of titles for every occasion."
--- Vinny Golia, multi-woodwinds
"It's very rare that I have a title before I write. Most often, I have to think of a title at the last minute when a recording is about to be released! Usually I start composing with a mood in mind, but since music is expressive in a way for me that's beyond words, often it's hard for me to think of a specific title that accurately captures that mood."
--- Chris Potter, saxophone
"To me, the title is important - it conveys a feeling and intention about the music before a listener even hears the first note. I often write the title BEFORE I discover the musical ideas. It is one of the many parameters that I use to get started writing, and can bring a sense of unity and focus to a composition.
"The relationship between a title and the composition can be very abstract and hard to define, or it can be more literal and even programmatic. But there are many compositions that first attract a performer's or listener's attention because of an effective title. If I complete a composition without a title, it can be difficult to find a title that is 'as good as' the music, and sometimes feels like a compromise (which is disappointing...). The goal is to complete a composition that tells one focused story, and the title can be very helpful in communicating that story."
--- David Roitstein, piano
"It is not a matter of a title or the music coming first, as both processes happen, as well as co-created titles and pieces that come together simultaneously.
"Some examples would be pieces of mine such as 'Frozen Ropes', 'Drifter', and 'Ceilings' where an entire piece had been completed and needed to be titled. Therefore, whatever popped into my mind--that evidently reflected current circumstances or situations I was immersed in--became the titles.
"Another avenue of construction is exemplified by pieces such as 'Dresden Moods', 'A Tree Frog Tonality', and 'Hydrofoil', where the titles came first and informed the content of the musical composition amply--in these particular cases, an historical event and its aftermath, the inspiration of nature's fine non-human musicians, and a dedication to the spirit of the late Fred Hopkins.
"Lastly the co-created dynamic where a title arises as the music is written. An example of this amongst my works would be 'Nature, Time, Patience'. I realized around half-way through composing the commissioned work, that the aforementioned three elements were going to be essential to the success of the piece, so I simply titled it that."
--- John Lindberg, bass
"When I write music the music always comes first. It starts as a small impulse and melody is almost always the generator. Melody contains so many elements in microcosm (it implies harmony, form, phrases, meter, etc.) and it also has a forward momentum through its storytelling. I just need to get my self out of the way and find what is contained or implied by that first impulse (more and more I'm convinced it contains all the information including the ultimate length of a piece). The title comes much later for me. I think the process would be less abstract and more stilted if I had word associations from the beginning."
--- Larry Koonse, guitar
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Osby and Turner
Hello again,
I'm back from a 5-day trip to Maui with my wife. It was a fantastic trip in a beautiful place, and I'm sure I'll be writing some music reflecting on my experiences. Fish, urchins, sea turtles, hiking, volcanoes, and tons of great food!
Youtubing this morning - I thought I would share a few videos and a few thoughts. First, check this one out: Franco Ambrosetti Sextet playing "Sidewinder" by Lee Morgan. Swiss trumpeter Franco Ambrosetti is sounding great here, and surrounds himself with a killing band: Greg Osby on alto, Mark Turner on tenor, Jason Moran on piano, Lonnie Plaxico on bass, and Billy Drummond on drums.
I want to focus on the former two sidemen, Osby and Turner. In my opinion, these are two of the most important saxophonists on the current scene. Both have an amazing technical mastery of the instrument and have developed personal, beautiful tones. Their approaches to improvising on the saxophone, however, are what I feel makes them such important figures in jazz today. Nobody else sounds like Greg Osby; he has found a way to filter the often angular melodic, rhythmic and harmonic content of 20th-century classical music through the jazz tradition. Like Eric Dolphy's playing, one can always hear a deep underpinning of "the blues" in Osby's improvisations, despite the far-reaching harmonic implications and often fragmented rhythmic phrasing. Similarly, Mark Turner's even-toned explorations hold a solid footing in the "feeling" of jazz, without using old material. Turner, a Tristano/Marsh/Konitz enthusiast, is a masterful architect, building an improvisation one step at a time and treating each note with care. His expansive range, balance of wide and close intervals, and extraoardinary use of space are unlike any other player.
I find it revealing and exciting to listen to these players in the context of jazz standards. While both of these saxophonists are notable composers as well, standards serve as a more immediate reference point to the listener and help us to more easily identify some of the players stylistic nuances. This is one reason I particularly enjoy the "Sidewinder" video posted above; listeners don't often get to hear Osby or Turner play this tune!
Here are a couple more examples of these masters playing standard tunes. Enjoy!
Greg Osby playing "Jitterbug Waltz"
Mark Turner playing "All The Things You Are"
I'm back from a 5-day trip to Maui with my wife. It was a fantastic trip in a beautiful place, and I'm sure I'll be writing some music reflecting on my experiences. Fish, urchins, sea turtles, hiking, volcanoes, and tons of great food!
Youtubing this morning - I thought I would share a few videos and a few thoughts. First, check this one out: Franco Ambrosetti Sextet playing "Sidewinder" by Lee Morgan. Swiss trumpeter Franco Ambrosetti is sounding great here, and surrounds himself with a killing band: Greg Osby on alto, Mark Turner on tenor, Jason Moran on piano, Lonnie Plaxico on bass, and Billy Drummond on drums.
I want to focus on the former two sidemen, Osby and Turner. In my opinion, these are two of the most important saxophonists on the current scene. Both have an amazing technical mastery of the instrument and have developed personal, beautiful tones. Their approaches to improvising on the saxophone, however, are what I feel makes them such important figures in jazz today. Nobody else sounds like Greg Osby; he has found a way to filter the often angular melodic, rhythmic and harmonic content of 20th-century classical music through the jazz tradition. Like Eric Dolphy's playing, one can always hear a deep underpinning of "the blues" in Osby's improvisations, despite the far-reaching harmonic implications and often fragmented rhythmic phrasing. Similarly, Mark Turner's even-toned explorations hold a solid footing in the "feeling" of jazz, without using old material. Turner, a Tristano/Marsh/Konitz enthusiast, is a masterful architect, building an improvisation one step at a time and treating each note with care. His expansive range, balance of wide and close intervals, and extraoardinary use of space are unlike any other player.
I find it revealing and exciting to listen to these players in the context of jazz standards. While both of these saxophonists are notable composers as well, standards serve as a more immediate reference point to the listener and help us to more easily identify some of the players stylistic nuances. This is one reason I particularly enjoy the "Sidewinder" video posted above; listeners don't often get to hear Osby or Turner play this tune!
Here are a couple more examples of these masters playing standard tunes. Enjoy!
Greg Osby playing "Jitterbug Waltz"
Mark Turner playing "All The Things You Are"
Monday, May 31, 2010
Quick update and a video
Happy Memorial Day everyone. I beat the traffic today and mostly relaxed at home aside from teaching a saxophone lesson (plus some frisbee and a great meal at home with my wife).
Just some short, no-particular-order items in the Mull section of your news:
I've got a new-used Bb clarinet on the way via ebay; I've had pretty good luck on there before with instruments, so let's keep our fingers crossed please! Been catching up on quite a few things this past week, so not a whole lot new for gigs or the trio album (currently deciding who to mix with). I've spent some time reviewing my trombone quartet, first performed on my graduate recital, and started some revisions; I am planning on working on this composition a great deal and expanding it to get some more detail and narrative out of the material. I'll be starting Rosetta Stone very soon to learn Japanese. Bela Bartok's second string quartet has been playing on my ipod a lot, as well as Dave Binney's "Cities and Desire" album (a personal favorite), and a newly discovered (for me) Sam Rivers album called "Contours" (Herbie Hancock sounds unbelievable on here!).
Lastly, I came across this video today; the tiniest bit sappy, but very sweet and an extremely cool idea very successfully communicated. It's called World Builder:
Enjoy the rest of the evening, and check back soon. Cheers and Kanpai!
Just some short, no-particular-order items in the Mull section of your news:
I've got a new-used Bb clarinet on the way via ebay; I've had pretty good luck on there before with instruments, so let's keep our fingers crossed please! Been catching up on quite a few things this past week, so not a whole lot new for gigs or the trio album (currently deciding who to mix with). I've spent some time reviewing my trombone quartet, first performed on my graduate recital, and started some revisions; I am planning on working on this composition a great deal and expanding it to get some more detail and narrative out of the material. I'll be starting Rosetta Stone very soon to learn Japanese. Bela Bartok's second string quartet has been playing on my ipod a lot, as well as Dave Binney's "Cities and Desire" album (a personal favorite), and a newly discovered (for me) Sam Rivers album called "Contours" (Herbie Hancock sounds unbelievable on here!).
Lastly, I came across this video today; the tiniest bit sappy, but very sweet and an extremely cool idea very successfully communicated. It's called World Builder:
Enjoy the rest of the evening, and check back soon. Cheers and Kanpai!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Walk and Talk
From wikipedia.org:
"Walk and talk is a distinctive storytelling-technique used in film and television in which a number of characters have a conversation en route. The most basic form of walk and talk involves a walking character that is then joined by another character. On their way to their destinations, the two talk. Variations include interruptions from other characters and walk and talk relay races, in which new characters join the group and one of the original characters leaves the conversation, while the remaining characters continue the walking and talking."
I've been spending a lot of time thinking the past few days about different processes and/or means of composing for and playing with improvisational ensembles. An opportunity has arisen to start a new project with drummer Colin Woodford and bassist Emilio Terranova (and perhaps another horn or two?), and certain leanings of my good friend Colin toward the integration of language into music got me thinking: what if the driving force behind each composition and subsequent improvisation was generated by some manner of language? Pianist Jason Moran has produced some amazing work using pre-recorded voice in conjunction with his live trio (my favorite utilizes one side of a phone conversation), and Colin has put together several extremely entertaining "storytelling" pieces performed on his graduation recital this Spring at Calarts. My initial concept involves a little more distillation of the "language material", so that none of the original words or sound will actually overtly appear in the performance.
I've been toying with ideas of varied complexity: I would like most of the material to be concise in length and concept, to be developed mainly by the musicians in the group during performance. A piece could be written based upon something as simple as one word, or as complex as a paragraph from a novel or exerpt from a speech. Cool Hand Luke, anyone? For audio clips, the delivery will definitely be a focus in shaping a musical interpretation. For words written on a page, I am imagining creating grooves or textures based on the word choices, creating tone poems ("setting" the text without actually using it in performance), or a combination of both.
The wikipedia definition as it pertains to film and television shakes up some ideas as well; my flavor of improvisational music is definitely coming from a conversational place, and often times could be viewed as a "journey". Individual characters conversing as they travel through space and time to get from one place to another? Sounds like quite a concept to tackle in a musical arena, but the kind of challenge I could really wrap my brain around.
If anyone has ideas and suggestions, this early stage is a most welcome time to hear them. Additionally, I would love links to great quotes, passages, movie clips, etc. that make you feel something. Keep an eye/ear/(foot?) out for Walk and Talk stuff; I'll likely be using this blog as a notebook for ideas as well as a forum for suggestions, so pass this along to anyone who might be interested.
"Walk and talk is a distinctive storytelling-technique used in film and television in which a number of characters have a conversation en route. The most basic form of walk and talk involves a walking character that is then joined by another character. On their way to their destinations, the two talk. Variations include interruptions from other characters and walk and talk relay races, in which new characters join the group and one of the original characters leaves the conversation, while the remaining characters continue the walking and talking."
I've been spending a lot of time thinking the past few days about different processes and/or means of composing for and playing with improvisational ensembles. An opportunity has arisen to start a new project with drummer Colin Woodford and bassist Emilio Terranova (and perhaps another horn or two?), and certain leanings of my good friend Colin toward the integration of language into music got me thinking: what if the driving force behind each composition and subsequent improvisation was generated by some manner of language? Pianist Jason Moran has produced some amazing work using pre-recorded voice in conjunction with his live trio (my favorite utilizes one side of a phone conversation), and Colin has put together several extremely entertaining "storytelling" pieces performed on his graduation recital this Spring at Calarts. My initial concept involves a little more distillation of the "language material", so that none of the original words or sound will actually overtly appear in the performance.
I've been toying with ideas of varied complexity: I would like most of the material to be concise in length and concept, to be developed mainly by the musicians in the group during performance. A piece could be written based upon something as simple as one word, or as complex as a paragraph from a novel or exerpt from a speech. Cool Hand Luke, anyone? For audio clips, the delivery will definitely be a focus in shaping a musical interpretation. For words written on a page, I am imagining creating grooves or textures based on the word choices, creating tone poems ("setting" the text without actually using it in performance), or a combination of both.
The wikipedia definition as it pertains to film and television shakes up some ideas as well; my flavor of improvisational music is definitely coming from a conversational place, and often times could be viewed as a "journey". Individual characters conversing as they travel through space and time to get from one place to another? Sounds like quite a concept to tackle in a musical arena, but the kind of challenge I could really wrap my brain around.
If anyone has ideas and suggestions, this early stage is a most welcome time to hear them. Additionally, I would love links to great quotes, passages, movie clips, etc. that make you feel something. Keep an eye/ear/(foot?) out for Walk and Talk stuff; I'll likely be using this blog as a notebook for ideas as well as a forum for suggestions, so pass this along to anyone who might be interested.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Master!
Well, that's it.
I received my Master of Fine Arts Degree from Calarts yesterday, and school's out for the summer...and then some. I had an incredible time these past two years, meeting some of the most inspiring musicians and people, getting to play with them, talk to them, share ideas and experiences. I formed my trio, soon to put out my debut album as a leader, with fellow students at Calarts. I played with and learned from musical legends like Charlie Haden, Wadada Leo Smith, Joe LaBarbera, Darek Oles, Swapan Chaudhuri and Morton Subotnick. While perhaps not as notorious as the aforementioned musicians, every faculty member at Calarts with whom I interacted had a distinct and positive impact on me, something I am sure very few schools could have accomplished. If you have an opportunity to spend some time at Calarts, please do so; it is a haven for the arts and there really is no other place like it.
I'm ready for a bit of rest and recovery after a harrowing but productive two years, but also excited to get to work immediately and dive into my career with complete focus. I began to realize today how much I have been waiting for this time, when I can push forward and dedicate all of my energy to my art, life, and career.
Thank you to all who have helped me up to this point, whether you know it or not. And, especially thank you to my wonderful wife Ami and my truly supportive family.
Well, that's it - for this chapter. Forward, onward, upward and all the other -wards that I can get my hands on. Good night.
I received my Master of Fine Arts Degree from Calarts yesterday, and school's out for the summer...and then some. I had an incredible time these past two years, meeting some of the most inspiring musicians and people, getting to play with them, talk to them, share ideas and experiences. I formed my trio, soon to put out my debut album as a leader, with fellow students at Calarts. I played with and learned from musical legends like Charlie Haden, Wadada Leo Smith, Joe LaBarbera, Darek Oles, Swapan Chaudhuri and Morton Subotnick. While perhaps not as notorious as the aforementioned musicians, every faculty member at Calarts with whom I interacted had a distinct and positive impact on me, something I am sure very few schools could have accomplished. If you have an opportunity to spend some time at Calarts, please do so; it is a haven for the arts and there really is no other place like it.
I'm ready for a bit of rest and recovery after a harrowing but productive two years, but also excited to get to work immediately and dive into my career with complete focus. I began to realize today how much I have been waiting for this time, when I can push forward and dedicate all of my energy to my art, life, and career.
Thank you to all who have helped me up to this point, whether you know it or not. And, especially thank you to my wonderful wife Ami and my truly supportive family.
Well, that's it - for this chapter. Forward, onward, upward and all the other -wards that I can get my hands on. Good night.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Debut Album in the Works!
Greetings friends,
I settled in for a long night in the Roy O. Disney Hall at CalArts on Monday to record what will soon become my debut album. It will feature all original compositions by yours truly and be brought to life by my fantastic trio buddies, Ben Shepherd on bass and Cameron Hicks on drums. The session went smoothly and with the help of engineer John Aspinall, we were able to lay down nine tunes in the space of about five-and-a-half hours. We've been playing much of this material for half a year or more, and Ben and Cameron catch on so quickly that eyelids weren't even batted at the newer tunes. There was a great energy throughout the night (despite the fact that we finished up around 4:30 am), and I feel confident that once I get back into the studio to start picking takes and mixing, I'll be hearing some beautiful moments.
I am also excited to announce that my long-time friend and artistic/musical co-conspirator Derek Schultz will be working on the album artwork! Derek is an incredible artist in every sense of the word, excelling in painting, drawing, multi-media, music and poetry as well as a host of other mind-numbing skills, and I have been continually inspired by his work since our elementary school days of drawing comic books together. Please check out his website, www.staralchemy.org, to get a small taste of what Derek is about.
On a side note, I had the unique opportunity and pleasure to have lunch with Wadada Leo Smith and Billy Childs today, two incomparable artists who are also warm, welcoming people. I was invited to tag along with a few other students after Billy Childs gave a brief but decidedly inspiring lecture at CalArts, and experience more of these artists in a different context. As Wadada put it, what happens at the lectures is "only part of it; the rest of it happens right here." If you are unfamiliar with the work of either of these men, I urge you to do a little listening and looking and you will undoubtedly find something new.
That's it for now; I've got to get some sleep! Still reeling from the session that lasted into the wee small hours. Please keep an eye on my blog to stay updated on the creation of my debut album, and get excited about music (or, stay excited about music)! There is so much beauty out there.
I settled in for a long night in the Roy O. Disney Hall at CalArts on Monday to record what will soon become my debut album. It will feature all original compositions by yours truly and be brought to life by my fantastic trio buddies, Ben Shepherd on bass and Cameron Hicks on drums. The session went smoothly and with the help of engineer John Aspinall, we were able to lay down nine tunes in the space of about five-and-a-half hours. We've been playing much of this material for half a year or more, and Ben and Cameron catch on so quickly that eyelids weren't even batted at the newer tunes. There was a great energy throughout the night (despite the fact that we finished up around 4:30 am), and I feel confident that once I get back into the studio to start picking takes and mixing, I'll be hearing some beautiful moments.
I am also excited to announce that my long-time friend and artistic/musical co-conspirator Derek Schultz will be working on the album artwork! Derek is an incredible artist in every sense of the word, excelling in painting, drawing, multi-media, music and poetry as well as a host of other mind-numbing skills, and I have been continually inspired by his work since our elementary school days of drawing comic books together. Please check out his website, www.staralchemy.org, to get a small taste of what Derek is about.
On a side note, I had the unique opportunity and pleasure to have lunch with Wadada Leo Smith and Billy Childs today, two incomparable artists who are also warm, welcoming people. I was invited to tag along with a few other students after Billy Childs gave a brief but decidedly inspiring lecture at CalArts, and experience more of these artists in a different context. As Wadada put it, what happens at the lectures is "only part of it; the rest of it happens right here." If you are unfamiliar with the work of either of these men, I urge you to do a little listening and looking and you will undoubtedly find something new.
That's it for now; I've got to get some sleep! Still reeling from the session that lasted into the wee small hours. Please keep an eye on my blog to stay updated on the creation of my debut album, and get excited about music (or, stay excited about music)! There is so much beauty out there.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
SlumGum with Strings
Hi everyone,
Countdown to my graduation with a Master's degree from California Institute of the Arts! A week from tomorrow, and I'm quite excited and quite nervous. Trying to finish up a few projects, and start some new ones, as this semester draws to a close. But there's always time for some great live music:
I just got word of a show that will be taking place next Wednesday, May 19th that I would highly recommend. One of the most creative and interesting bands in Los Angeles, Slumgum, will be playing in collaboration with a string quartet comprised of Andrew Macintosh, Melinda Rice, Yvette Holzwarth, and Chris Votek. Every musician involved is a contributing composer as well, so expect variety of the most sublime variety.
SLUMGUM + STRING QUARTET
Wednesday May 19th, 7:00-9:00pm
FREE
Pasadena Public Library
285 East Walnut St.
Pasadena, CA
View the event on facebook.com
Slumgum on myspace.com
Countdown to my graduation with a Master's degree from California Institute of the Arts! A week from tomorrow, and I'm quite excited and quite nervous. Trying to finish up a few projects, and start some new ones, as this semester draws to a close. But there's always time for some great live music:
I just got word of a show that will be taking place next Wednesday, May 19th that I would highly recommend. One of the most creative and interesting bands in Los Angeles, Slumgum, will be playing in collaboration with a string quartet comprised of Andrew Macintosh, Melinda Rice, Yvette Holzwarth, and Chris Votek. Every musician involved is a contributing composer as well, so expect variety of the most sublime variety.
SLUMGUM + STRING QUARTET
Wednesday May 19th, 7:00-9:00pm
FREE
Pasadena Public Library
285 East Walnut St.
Pasadena, CA
View the event on facebook.com
Slumgum on myspace.com
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano
I have been a fan of all of Gyorgi Ligeti's music that I have heard thus far (which, admittedly has not been a lot), particularly his orchestral work Atmospheres that involves "micro-polyphony"; a hyper-intensified form of counterpoint that involves so many independent lines that an overall sound texture is acheived and the melody of the lines is practically lost. It was a life-changing experience to hear a recording of this piece for the first time; Ligeti created sounds I would have never imagined could come from an orchestra.
Fast-forward a few years to this afternoon. I don't remember how I came to think of it, but I felt the urge to look up some Ligeti on youtube, next remembering that my composition professor at Cal State Northridge, Liviu Marinescu, had mentioned Ligeti's horn trio as being "essential". I found an amazing recording of the four-movement piece on youtube. The most amazing horn playing I've ever heard, and an intriguing composition all around. I was particularly taken by the fragile and dynamic fourth movement, and the rhythmic "groove" of the second movement, though I would urge you to hear it in full. Links posted below.
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: I. Andantino con tenerezz
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: II. Vivacissimo molto ritmico
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: III. Alla Marcia
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: IV. Lamento-Adagio
Hearing music like this is lighting a fire beneath me to do a lot more listening in this area, along with some intense score study. I will be finishing my Master's Degree in a matter of weeks, but by no means will that mean my studies have come to an end; I mean to compose much more heavily in the area of chamber music in the coming years, and I am looking forward to learning much from Ligeti and others as I learn and refine my own craft of composition and orchestration.
Fast-forward a few years to this afternoon. I don't remember how I came to think of it, but I felt the urge to look up some Ligeti on youtube, next remembering that my composition professor at Cal State Northridge, Liviu Marinescu, had mentioned Ligeti's horn trio as being "essential". I found an amazing recording of the four-movement piece on youtube. The most amazing horn playing I've ever heard, and an intriguing composition all around. I was particularly taken by the fragile and dynamic fourth movement, and the rhythmic "groove" of the second movement, though I would urge you to hear it in full. Links posted below.
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: I. Andantino con tenerezz
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: II. Vivacissimo molto ritmico
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: III. Alla Marcia
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: IV. Lamento-Adagio
Hearing music like this is lighting a fire beneath me to do a lot more listening in this area, along with some intense score study. I will be finishing my Master's Degree in a matter of weeks, but by no means will that mean my studies have come to an end; I mean to compose much more heavily in the area of chamber music in the coming years, and I am looking forward to learning much from Ligeti and others as I learn and refine my own craft of composition and orchestration.
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