Category: Recording Review

Vienna Art Orchestra – From No Time To Rag Time

by Emil Garcia

The Vienna Art Orchestra was a phenomenal ensemble led by saxophonist, arranger and composer Mathias Ruegg. The original lineup changed over the years, eventually to form a group made up of a jazz big band, with added percussion and woodwind instruments found in the symphonic orchestra. From No Time To Rag Time was the first record I ever heard of them, and right away my first impression was that it is highly virtuosic and advanced music. I was amazed by the level of musicianship from all the players, the complexity of the solos and the interesting orchestration and arrangements.

The opening track, titled Variations about n 508-10 (4g) is a quirky cacophony of sounds that tips the hat on different genres. The piece opens with a fast and complicated line featuring a soprano singer, a xylophone and a woodwind instrument (possibly a clarinet) all playing in unison. The opening phrase leads to a more straightforward section that starts with a canon played by the oboe (imitating a typical jazz walking bass line) then the vocalist enters, and then the trumpet plays a short solo while the percussion provides a steady swing beat. The band goes back to the opening phrase and again is followed by the B section with the walking bass line and trumpet solo. It then repeats back to the first phrase, but this time the drum set plays hits and fills that come unexpectedly, bringing in the band to a chaotic section with a lot of playing by various instruments in full swing mode. Suddenly, the band stops and the piano plays a complex and lengthy solo, with heavy dissonances throughout. After the piano solo the band comes in again, and the saxophone takes the next solo while the ensemble provides support. The piece ends with the vocalist and the trumpet trading lines. We can recognize the influence of jazz and the sound of the swing big bands flirting with classical music, postmodernism aesthetics, atonality and free jazz.

The next track is a slower, cool jazzy tune called Variations About Keep Your Heart Right. 5 of the 8 tracks in this album have the word “Variations” in it, which makes me wonder if indeed they are variations on previous compositions either by the bandleader or by other composers. The saxophones are featured predominantly and there are also memorable vocal lines in unison with the band. After the first dual saxophone solos, the band returns to the opening theme but then shifts gears to a faster tempo, setting up the mood for a cool trombone solo. Following the t-bone comes another saxophone solo, this time longer and without accompaniment, and then the big band kicks in at the same bright tempo as before. Finally, the coda has ensemble hits that are punched by the drum set and has an interesting blend of the different ensemble sections and timbres of the orchestra.

The 3rd track, Variations About Silence, features the soprano, exploring more of the free jazz aesthetics are. Next, the tune Un Poco Loco has more of a latin feel, with lively beats using cowbells and latin percussion and horn lines that have swing phrasing but also a bit of a Spanish flavor. The whole piece is played with a steady upbeat tempo, which is a nice break from the mostly swung rhythm of the previous tracks.

As with many jazz records, this album includes a lyrical jazz ballad called Variations About a Liberate Proposal. The drummer plays with brushes and adds nice effects on the cymbals while the percussionist enhances the tune with different effects using an array of instruments, including gongs, bells, chimes, jingles, maracas and other toys. But the saxophone is the main protagonist here, playing the main themes and lengthy solos while the band lays down the accompaniment. At the very end, the tempo is sped up and the piece ends with complicated phrases played by the saxophone and sung by the soprano in unison, a common trait used throughout the album.

From No Time To Rag Time is an interesting blend of contrasting schools and genres that in my opinion works well in exploring something new, sort of like the Third Stream concept does. This is a record that takes time to digest and thoroughly appreciate its nuances. It is a great piece of art and certainly one of my favorite big band crossover experiments.

Esperanza Spalding – Festival de Jazz de Vitoria-Gasteiz 2012

by Bladimir Taveras

Born in Portland, Oregon, the great Esperanza Spalding a female bassist and singer performs in ” Festival de jazz de Vitoria – Gasteiz”  located in Vitoria, Spain. Esperanza Spalding plays upright bass and also electric bass. She is one of the female bassist that I’ve witness who has mastered the bass. First song of the festival is titled, ” hold on me”. The beginning of the piece begins with Spalding singing great melodies and lyrics with also responding with her upright. Her communications with musicians show how great discipline they have to work with her singing and not playing over her. She ends the first piece with a long voice line which surprised the audience with her great voice. Spalding has great Melisma skills with her voice which leads her voice to what ever shes playing on the bass. Her second piece “smile like that” it’s more of a modern jazz piece which starts out with a Bossa style and leads into a modern jazzy pop tune, like Herbie Hancock. The piece sounds very dissonant on the solo. Soloing on dissonant changes can be difficult for a musician to lose focus on the changes. Her winds section really take their solos to a new level. And the best part is, the bass just follows along with whats happening. Jeff Lee Johnson is the guitar and he sounds very versatile the way he switches from a jazz sound to a heavy rock sound. Every time he changes the sound, he also changes the melodic style of his performance and solos. The third piece is titled, ” Cinnamon Tree” and she grabs her electric bass which for me is just amazing. Her tone on the electric bass is incredible and just for a fact, finding a great tone on the electric is sometimes complicated. Her bass sounds as if she were to use the neck pickup, but shes adding a lot of rhythmic elements that sound like she was influenced by Jaco a bit. On the ending solo, Jeff Lee Johnson takes a solo and he pulls out his blues sound which could influenced by B.B King or other blues guitarist. This piece mostly focuses on Johnson’s guitar solo throughout the end. Spalding’s wind players are also versatile in which they do chorus lines while the solos are happening. Her fourth piece is titled, “Black Gold” which starts with a gospel style. This piece features Spalding and her trumpet player Igmar Thomas on voice. Her fifth piece “Radio Song” could be compared to soul bands like James Brown but incorporated with jazz. On that same piece, Spalding announces all of her musicians that performed on this festival which are, Jef Lee Johnson – guitar, Leo Genovese – piano, keyboards, Jeff Galindo – trombone, Corey King – trombone, Daniel Blake – tenor sax, Aaron Burnett – tenor sax, Tia Fuller – alto sax, Igmar Thomas – trumpet, Lyndon Rochelle – drums, and Chris Turner – vocals. Esperanza Spalding has been one of the female bass players to play seriously and professional. Her communication throughout her instrument is something that other players could take into consideration and use it for their performance as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Js_PDyH71g

Nick Vasallo – “The Moment Before Death Sretches on Forever, Like an Ocean of Time…”

by Emil Garcia

Nick Vasallo is a young up and coming  composer from California. He has written choral works, chamber music and pieces that experiment with electric guitars, bass and drumset that blends influences from classical music and death metal. “The Moment Before Death Stretches…” is a piece for chamber orchestra that calls for a variety of instruments, some of which use extended techniques, making good use of the timbral palette. The orchestration calls for: percussion (vibraphone, cymbals, concert toms) piano, strings (violin and cello) brass (trombone, baritone sax) woodwinds (oboe, flute) electric guitar, synthesizer and vocals.

The video starts with a stopwatch which serves as a guide for the musicians. There is no conductor, but each player has written cues indicating what and when to play. At the beginning we hear a very low pitch being played on the contrabass with a bow. Then, the percussionist also uses a bow to rub a key from the vibraphone, producing a piercing, high pitched sound. She adds cymbal effects while the contrabass keeps repeating the same note. The mass of sound starts intensifying and getting more and more dense with the addition of strings and what sounds like throat singing or a didgeridoo at a soft volume, possibly played on a synth or from a laptop computer. Afterwards, the pianist plays by herself, repeating the same pitch the contrabass was playing but creating a very cool effect that sounds sort of like a reverb. This is achieved by pressing some of the piano keys halfway, creating sympathetic resonance. All of this makes it sound even more ominous, anticipating the huge sound that’s about to arrive. The pianist plays in unison with the percussionist with one hand and with the other rubs a screwdriver against the piano strings. Then, a throbbing, steady and low pitched sound makes an appearance and introduces more string instruments which start playing along with the electronic low end sound. The ensemble starts building up, playing faster and louder, with the percussion pounding on the concert toms until the music erupts in loud, steady, slow attacks. In this section we hear brass, strings, percussion and piano along with the electronic low end. This part reminds me of the suspenseful feeling used by many composers in movie trailers.

The next section begins with the piano playing fast repeated notes in octaves for a brief moment and then comes to a halt. The electric guitar makes an entrance by itself, and then more of the vibraphone bowing before we hear delicate singing by female vocalists with the strings playing long notes, getting louder and doing glissando up the instrument. Suddenly, the throbbing low end sound is played again by the brass on the same pitch, while a flute plays fast flurries and the percussionist plays fast, loud and aggressively on the concert toms. The ensemble stops suddenly, leaving only a faint sound lingering, only to begin again on a loud tutti but this time on a different pitch. At this point, the shift in pitch feels like we have arrived to a climactic resolution, with the brass providing the low end and the piano playing rapid notes in octaves, while the strings play tremolos and trills and the soprano sings high notes with vibrato technique. I would compare this section to a fermata at the end of a concerto. This part is cut off abruptly, giving us a nice contrast, and the piece ends with a sort of codetta that has very soft singing by the alto, along with violin and cello holding long notes for a few seconds until the piece comes to an end.

The piece has no formal bar lines, melodies or motifs, or even a clear structural scheme. Rather it is more of an experiment on timbre, sound combinations and pure expression.

In the attached link we can see a performance recorded by Wild Rumpus, a chamber ensemble that focuses on music from living composers.

For more information, check out the websites of the ensemble and the composer:

www.nickvasallo.com

www.wildrumpus.org

The website where I originally found this music is:

www.newmusicusa.org

 

Random Access Memories Review

by Jesus Morel

Daft Punk is an electronic music French duo who have been making music since the 1990’s. Daft Punk is most known for their influence in shaping electronic dance music, and their early work such as “Homework,” “Discovery,” and “Human After All.” This leads fans to already have an impression of their musical style despite the musical risks they may have already taken, but when they released “Random Access Memories” their sound became incredibly different, and to me the album was refreshing. The overall genre of the album is still electronic but the subgenres vary greatly, as the duo is not afraid to fuse different influences together to evoke different emotions. The band also focuses on instrumentation greatly rather than some synthesizer heavy tracks. Although it can be interpreted in many ways, this album feels like a statement that we should return to our roots, because music in general has lost a lot of what makes music special.

I admire this album because it is like a melting pot of different musical eras to create a perfect representation of Daft Punk’s disco and electronical influences. This album explores a different focus of music, a shift that goes from EDM and sample heavy songs to the production of music and what gives music a feeling of satisfaction. Random Access Memories was meant to convey the message of reflection, and how to evolve yet stay true to yourself as a musician. Musically these songs have orchestras, live instruments, varying vocals and techniques, and collaborations to make a culmination of their entire careers and yet move forward. An interesting song I heard was “Giorgio by Moroder” because this song is set up in the structure of an interview. Giorgio Moroder is one of the biggest influences for Daft Punk and they made a very interesting decision to showcase the interview as a component of the song. The purpose of the interview being a part of the song was to show the beginnings of a struggling musician. The song also portrays how no matter the living conditions or odds stacked against oneself if you stay true to music you could make something influential and add to its history.

I think the reason Daft Punk turned to its influences is because of how rapidly the world of mainstream music has been changing, but it is uncertain if these changes are for the better or worse. This album could be considered a reaction to its environment because albums, and vinyls are dying just like the cassette was dying. I noticed this because the first song I heard, besides the radio hit “Get Lucky,” was “Instant Crush” which is a phenomenal song. Outside of the album the song loses a lot of context. After hearing the Random Access Memories I felt like every song relates to one other and amplifies each other’s meaning, therefore Daft Punk wasn’t just making a collection of songs; they were making a story, a statement and proposition. Daft Punk wants a focus on the quality of whole albums, instead of one mainstream, pop focused song driving the album. An entire album Daft Punk creates now includes more soul and substance than others, who put songs put together with the purpose of selling hit singles. An example of this would be “Within,” “Touch,” Instant Crush,” and “Beyond” sharing themes of unlocking doors, reflecting on oneself, and the musical description of the emotions that make you human.

Overall this album definitely still reflects Daft Punk even though many would prefer their more EDM based style. Despite the use of live instrumentation and focus on production, Daft Punk still has many elements that indicate their style like the robotic vocals, slow build ups, and still very much funky sound present their music.  I urge anyone who wants a vintage sound in the modern era to check this album out.

Citations:
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18028-daft-punk-random-access-memories/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbyowsinski/2016/07/07/the-album-is-dying-and-good-riddance/#75a946034dbd

John Luther Adams- Music and Nature

by Amber Alyssa Milan

After hearing two known pieces, Become Ocean and Inuksuit, I immediately took an interest to John Luther Adams, not just as a composer but as an artist. The way he views music as just something more beyond then a few melodic instruments put together is what I feel is missed in today’s music.

I was happy to see a numerous amount of music he’s made and each was more unique than the other. Since the class heard his most recent piece, Become Ocean, I decided to listen to older pieces, first one being Songbirdsong. Ironically, there’s no “bird” sounds but mimics of bird’s whistling from high pitched instruments like the flute, wind chimes and a vibraphone. Having just 9 movements that last about 40 minutes, Adams creates this atmosphere where I feel like I am surrounded by birds. “There isn’t a clear narrative to the piece, but there are scenes that sound somehow familiar: a nocturnal episode in which the sharp, bright birdcalls mellow into owl hoots; a terrifying scherzo that could be a storm or a hunt; a shimmering finale sunrise (or sunset).”

While looking for more of Adams’ music, I just found out that he released a new album about 2 weeks ago called Canticles of Holy Wind. Of course with an album title like that, it came as no shock that some songs were related to wind and its sounds, whether on its own or bushing on nature such as trees. I listen to bit of all 14 songs from the album and found out that they pertain to wind, birds, and sky. The winds are actually vocalist singing. “Slow-moving, sustained chords typically painted the sky movements. These usually had no discernible pulse, only a gathering density, followed by a gentle dimming of the sound. Wind movements were animated by eddies of rippling arpeggios enveloped in placid streams of fused voices.”

He’s very philosophical when it comes to art music or the way he describes it is intriguing. For instance, in interviews he would quote questions like was it something that created the artist or the artist created something.

Art is a journey that is completely experienced differently by everyone because of the discoveries founded everyday. The environment is Mother Nature’s “art” to the world, at least to me, because of the infinite amount of things seen and unseen. Same thing with music, Adams took the sounds of nature that happens like a normal routine everyday but turned it into something more. I wouldn’t know if I can pull of composing pieces like Adam did, but visually I can see what he’s hearing, if that make sense? To me I would put his music on paper, sometimes people can understand what they hear while others need a visual presentation.

Anyway, John Luther Adams is a unique and original thinker that you don’t know about quite often. I looked forward into hearing more of his music from his new album along with anymore pieces and compositions he plans to make over the years.

References

 

Other Truths – Do Make Say Think

by James Nitis

Do Make Say Think is a Canadian band formed in the mid-nineties that is often classified as “post-rock” (nearly as imprecise a term as “post-modern”). The band’s cult following, however, recognizes their music for its unique blend of experimental rock and jazz fusion.  Their extensive discography, which includes seven LPs and two EPs, showcases a multitude of different styles and influences; from classical to acoustic folk, sporadic jamming to tight, disciplined orchestral arrangements, and drone-like minimalism to magnificent atmospheres and ambient electronica.

I would like to focus on their sixth album and a personal favorite, Other Truths. The album, released in 2009, is comprised of a meager four tracks (although lengthy when compared to the music of their contemporaries ) and runs a little over forty minutes.  Each track is titled after a word in the band’s name; which they originally co-opted from a row of motivational posters in an Elementary School.  Produced by Do Make Say Think themselves and recorded in a member’s basement, Other Truths is, in my humble opinion, the band in its most distilled form.

“Do” begins with a bright, upbeat electric guitar riff that sounds as if it was lifted off an early-2000s pop-punk album.  After guitar successfully establishes the song’s theme, the bass seizes the melody and plays a short solo before the rhythm loosens, the drums begin to syncopate, and a repetitive theme of descending guitar and vocal tones is layered over.  Toward the middle of the track,the theme from the beginning is reintroduced and slowly built up until it is a dense wall of distortion and sound.  Eventually, it fades and disappears into a contemplative mix of synths and church-like bells; a hypnotizing reinvention of the guitar theme.  The tempo slows and the sound diminishes until nearly nothing is left, leaving the listener (or at least, this listener) with a paradoxical and almost hallucinatory feeling of euphoria and emptiness.

“Make” starts off with sparse and repetitive electric guitar mingling with a jazz/swing drum pattern.  With the addition of a few unusual-sounding instruments (and at least one violin), the track slowly builds and crescendos.  There is a gentle change into tribal-sounding drumming and a powerfully narrative guitar part before the introduction of echoing, darkly religious-sounding chants (there are lyrics available online; I personally do not hear all of them in the track).  As the song progresses, it seems as if it will continue to descend into darkness. But a triumphant and almost defiant trumpet cuts through the darkness and the track takes another turn.  To me, the tension between the distorted guitars, screeching violin, and the optimistic horns creates a beautiful drama that evokes a battle between good and evil.  Perhaps the darkness wins, because the track’s apparent resolution comes amidst loud, distorted, and frenzied guitars. However, the piece continues with warm horns playing an ambiguous outro.

Make

With its jazz drum beat, slide guitar, and distinctly-flavored chords, “Say” is the track in which Do Make Say Think’s jazz influence can be most clearly heard.  Although without words, the track seems to follow a verse-chorus structure; the verse a simple, repetitive piano melody, augmented by a trailing guitar part and a prominent trumpet arpeggio, and the chorus an exuberant unison between guitar and trumpet.  The softer, minor-key bridge features the guitar, but does not last long, and gives way to a return of the chorus.  Following this last chorus, the rhythm slows into a folksy/blues outro in triple meter, with muted horns conversing with fuzzed vocals.  Finally, everything gently comes to a rest; a peaceful end to an overall comforting track.  To me, “Say” is the most hopeful piece of the album; brimming with certainty and optimism.

Say

If there is a track on Other Truths that truly suits its name, it is “Think.” Introspective and spacious, “Think” really does make the listener do just that.  Twanging, reverberating guitars exercise thoughtful restraint in a cyclical pattern, and soft vocal “oohs” float above a lightly brushed drum beat.  Steady, stable, and never really going anywhere, “Think” is the perfect portrait of a lonely soul wandering through the unknown.

Think

In its entirety, Other Truths is a beautiful journey for the listener; it is powerful but never excessive, sentimental yet never self-indulgent, and most importantly, it is resonant with the emotional whirlwind that is life.

An Instrumental Band Who Loves to Share Their Stage

by Michael Stephens

I’m a huge fan of instrumental music. A nice solid rhythm plus melodies and motifs that weave in and out of one another is paradise to me. That is why I chose to review BadBadNotGood’s IV, which released in 2016. An album that brings together hip-hop, jazz, electronic, indie and many other elements into a conveniently (sometimes lounge-y) original package. They’re a four piece band (Matthew A. Tavares, Chester Hansen, Alexander Sowinski and Leland Whitty) from Toronto, Canada where they started out experimenting with jazz fusion and interpretations of hip-hop tracks. They have also worked with many hip-hop artists like Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, Danny Brown and Ghostface Killah. How did these four white guys pull this all together and make these connections? It’s actually due to Tyler the Creator, who helped their YouTube channel go viral. Tyler, being a hip-hop artist who himself became viral because of his presence on Tumblr, was able to elevate BadBadNotGood’s status in the hip-hop world.

The collaborations on BadBadNotGood’s IV give the album a unique advantage. There are five features on this eleven track album, and each one brings a new flavor to the mix. The features in the order they appear on the album are Samuel T. Herring, Colin Stetson, Kaytranada, Mick Jenkins and Charlotte Day Wilson. “Time Moves Slowly” is the first collaboration featuring Samuel T. Herring. This track begins with a simple beat with light anticipations and accents on the snare drum; it gives the song a bit more motion. The general feel is kind of slow in tempo and muffled in timbre – typically called a slow jam. Aside from vocals, the drums tend to be a bit more prominent compared to the other instruments. The hypnotizing synth organ accompanies vocals lightly as it seems to emphasize the tensions building with Samuel’s lyrical content. He sings in a mellow and subdued tone. This is not a cheery song; the lyrics clearly point out that time can painfully drag on when alone. Samuel’s tone of voice has a slightly raspy and cracking quality to it, which evokes the pain and stress one deals with when falling in and out of love with someone who doesn’t share the same feelings.

Each feature on IV brings a different vibe. “Confessions Pt. II”, for instance, with jazz saxophonist – Colin Stetson – is a full on instrumental with plenty of sax. The repetitive bass line, played on sax, reinforces the entire track. Stetson goes wild over this instrumental, along with the band’s saxophonist Leland Whitty. The next collaboration with Haitian-Canadian musician Kaytranada, titled “Lavender”, is a spacey, synth heavy, hip-hop instrumental. There is another version of this song with Snoop Dogg rapping over it that bears recognition though it wasn’t technically on the album. The video for this track stirred up controversy due to the mock assassination of “Ronald Klump.” There is a rapper featured on this album though: Mick Jenkins (American hip-hop artist), who raps over an R&B and hip-hop groove on “Hyssop of Love”. He’s got a steady and somewhat quick flow. There are also political references expertly laid out. The intro bars set that up immediately: “Wolves in disguise / How you supposed to see ’em with the wool in your eyes? / Sheep to the radio, we fooled and surprised.” He’s saying we’ve grown too accustomed to being blinded, that we don’t even notice what’s going on. It’s interesting to hear where genres like jazz and hip-hop intersect in this medley since both come from communities of color, African-American traditions and histories of oppression in America.

These vocal appearances on IV complement both the artists featured and the band’s instrumental talents. They seemed to have found a common ground where there’s enough excitement instrumentally but there’s also space for vocal accompaniments. The last feature, titled “In Your Eyes”, has a classic R&B feel to it. It’s a smooth groove with a catchy melody. Charlotte Day Wilson sings on this beautiful instrumental, laying a very silky performance. There is an accompanying string arrangement along with vocal harmonies.

BadBadNotGood has established quite a nice nook in the instrumental music world. Although they have both singing and rapping on a few tracks, their solo instrumental tracks are some of my favorites. “Speaking Gently” is one favorite that comes to mind. It’s got a dense hip-hop vibe but really opens up in the chorus with beautiful celestial synth sounds. Their versatility is what helps them explore elements of jazz and hip-hop in a nuanced way. It can be hard to pinpoint what they are and where they’re at, but I think that’s the fun part of their music.

Distance Future ; Minimalism at its finest

by Devin Negroni

For March, I decided to do a recording review for the album Distance Future, sung and written by French musicians Delphine Dora and Sophie Cooper. This album is the perfect blend of mystery and relaxation in the most strangest way. If i close my eyes and listen i just can not tell if i should be scared or calm. These two musicians edited together some highlights of a visit to Todmorden Unitarian Church in England. A review i read on this album from Pitchfork was that it sounds like “wordless hymns sung by ghosts” and that is probably the best words to describe this album. The voices as they sing through the church echo around sounding like ghosts echoing though halls.

This album is considered “Experimental” because the two musicians were improvising in this church and found a sound that is unlike their own from their own previous albums. The album was voted #19 for 2015’s Best Experimental Album and i can see why. It is unlike anything i have ever heard before and it brings minimalism to another level for me, i mean how much simpler can it get, walking into a church and singing through to create hauntingly beautiful echos.

Delphine Dora and Sophie Cooper are extremely underrated. It is almost impossible to find information on them online and its sad because they have a lot of talent and deserve to be in the spotlight a bit more. I think this album helped that a bit but definitely not enough and i hope i can help just a little by bringing these women into peoples attention.

The video below is one song off off of Delphine Dora and Sophie Coopers album Distance Future.It is not the best recording of this but if interested in hearing more please visit Delphine Doras bandcamp website and listen to the whole album to get a real sense of what these women can do.

Chick Corea – Three Quartets Band – Michael Brecker, Eddie Gomez, Steve Gadd

by Bladimir Taveras

Chick Corea is known as one of the greatest pianist and composer that jazz has to offer. Chick is known for his famous jazz compositions such as “Got a match?” , “Spain”, and etc. He performed a concert on April 22, 2003 at the Blue Note Club in New York City. In this performance, Chick has three great musicians right beside him which did an outstanding job. Michael Brecker – saxophone, Steve Gadd – drums and Eddie Gomez – upright bass (also a bass player I admire). Before starting the first piece, chick speaks to the audience and explains how his music career was divided between Classical music and Jazz. As a jazz performer, he also incorporates many techniques from the classical era into jazz to give it more organizations and his pieces are going to be presented as Qua

https://youtu.be/_3zJftxoSnk

rtet No. 1, Quartet No. 2, etc just like classical music.

Quartet No.1 starts off with a piano introduction which the upright bass responds to. Chick’s piano playing brings energy to the musicians as if he were playing percussive rhythm melodies. I’ve noticed his playing pushes the musicians to respond faster and come up with creative improvised solos. The first solo is started by Michael Brecker on saxophone. Brecker begins his solo playing long notes looking for an open spot to enter his solos. If any one could notice on his solo, he stopped and smiled which can be a way to express or communicate with the musicians or the crowd in Jazz. He also hits high notes which has a similar timbre to the trumpet. Brecker begins to switch over to chromatic scales and his tone starts to turn distorted. By watching Brecker, I compare him to Charlie Parker with his fast fingering. (If any one can compare to another sax player please do so)

As the saxophone softly finishes off his solo, Chick continues off and closes the solo with some melodic lines on the piano which are jazz melodic ideas but with the techniques of Baroque music. After his melodic line, piano and bass perform a Tutti together and introduce Eddie Gomez on upright bass. Gomez starts his playing high notes on the upright like as if he’s telling the crowd “it’s my turn to solo”. The upright bass is one of the instruments that is really difficult to play fast scales and to add on, there are no frets on the upright. The way Gomez solos on the upright, reminds me of Charles Mingus. Mingus played a lot of fast scales which Gomez might of inherit and played on this performance. As anyone could notice, Gomez sings what he plays on his solo. The bass and drums have a unique relationship when it comes to walking. It also sounds as if Gomez inherits a lot of Ray Brown’s walking techniques. In this performance Chick Corea gets together a quartet of creative musicians. aside from their great harmonic features, these musicians bring together chemistry that makes it seem as if they were playing together for many years or in other words, they work as a team which is really important in a ensemble.

My performance “in C”

by Juan Baez

After being in class and talking about a musical composition called “in C” it brought me all the way back when I was and my old school Queensborough Community College. The reason that this happen is because I perform this piece about three years ago and the experience was amazing. Is experience was one of the best that I have ever had because it was a new piece it was not a classical piece as I am used to play but it was a modern piece that has no measures no time signature no key signature although the piece is called “in C”. Musician was not the only performers we also had dancers moving all around the stage while we playing this amazing piece. I would like to write about the rehearsal, the instrumentation, how it sounded like, how we merge all together and my experience.

 

For the rehearsal we had to look for a spot anywhere in the Back area of the stage we were so much musicians that we needed to stand out of the stage. area of the stage and get familiar with everything around. In addition, instrumentation was very random we had one violins, one violas, 1 electric guitars, electric Bass, a piano which sustain the note C throughout the whole piece, a vibraphone, a 3 xylophone and 3 singer and a flute (me).

 

When we started rehearsing it was a little bit hard at the beginning because each person needs to start on a measure and play it until you feel you could go to the next measure. In addition, you listen to all the other musicians merging one by one and the peas sometimes playing the same notes as you and sometimes doing something completely different. When the dancer word dancing I felt that they was not moving according to the temple of how we were playing they were moving very free in the stage. This piece made me think all the fetus development. I felt this way because, everything started so smoothly and little by little different Rhythm patterns combined with different pitch starting to merge it’s like a development something that it’s growing and at the end it comes back as the beginning with the piano notifying that it has giving birth.

 

The way that we merge was so easily that you note and you know why you need to come in or when you need to change from a different Rhythm pitch pattern. They were Parts when we were performing that we were basically all of us play the same measure as an ostinato. In addition, throughout the whole piece the piano was marking the temple playing C all the way to the whole performance.
My experience in this performance was great because it was something new that I never experienced before something completely different in which you don’t need to have a conductor giving you the key to come in to play. Each one of us felt when it’s time to play and to switch the Rhythm pitch pattern and we went all through it very easy and smoothly.

please start on minute 21:47.