DOCSLIB.ORG

Proquest Dissertations

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Proquest Dissertations MUSIC FOR SOLO SAXOPHONE PERFORMANCE PAUL NEWMAN A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN MUSIC YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO APRIL 2010 Library and Archives Bibliothgque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'Sdition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-62285-8 Our file Notre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-62285-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada Abstract This thesis is an account of my project to develop music for solo saxophone performance. Topics discussed include the techniques used to write this music, my approach to using it as a basis for improvisation, and some of the practice techniques I used in learning to play it. I also attempt to explain the influences, both musical and extra-musical, that have shaped this music. A recording of all eight pieces discussed in the thesis is included. iv Acknowledgements The music on In My Life represents a snapshot of my musical life as of the summer of2009. As music is an ongoing thing, I don't know where it will go in the future but I can look at my past and see where the present came from. I am eternally grateful to all those who helped me and are helping me in my journey. I would like in particular to thank David Mott, without whose lessons this music would be nowhere near as good. I would like to thank Timothy and Peggy Gianotti for literary advice and hospitality; Michael Coghlan for fixing my punctuation and helping me to clarify my writing; Mark Zurawinski and Tim Smith for unlocking the mysteries of the computer; Kyle Brenders, Rob Clutton, Dave Fish, Michael Herring, Germaine Liu, Aaron Lumley, Michael Morse, Scott Thomson and John Wilson for playing my music; Thomas Silvani and Dave Clark for recording it; and all the members of the Association of Improvising Musicians Toronto for being your own great selves. I have been blessed to work with and know you all. v Table of Contents Abstract iv Acknowledgements v List of figures Improvisation and Composition 1 The Twelve Tone Row in Improvised Music 7 The Solo Music 18 The Pieces: "Like Water" 23 "Celebration" - 26 "Now Her Name is Ocho Brenders" 30 "Ant Farm" : - 34 "Car Pound Inquiry" 37 "Elk Gesture" 38 "The Third Language" 40 "Shelter" 42 Notes 46 Discography 47 Bibliography 50 Scores 52 vi List of Figures Fig. 1: Twelve tone row, four versions 12 Fig. 2: Eighth note grouping exercise for twelve tone row 13 Fig. 3: Twelve tone row in all transpositions exercise 14 Fig. 4: Matrix, prime row for solo music 17 Fig. 5: Rhythmic sequence for "Celebration" 18 Fig. 6: Melody for "Like Water" 23 Fig. 7: Row repetition in "Celebration" 27 Fig. 8: Error in melody of "Celebration" 28 Fig. 9: Overtone series 31 Fig. 10: Overtones used in "Now Her Name is Ocho Brenders" 31 Fig. 11: "Ant Farm," A section '. 35 Fig. 12: "Ant Farm," B section 35 Fig. 13: "Elk Gesture," A section.. 39 Fig. 14: "Elk Gesture," beginning of B section 39 Fig. 15: Beginning of melody for "Shelter". 43 vii Improvisation and Composition My principal interest in music is improvisation; all the music I write is intended to facilitate it. For me, then, composition is at the service of improvisation. And this raises the question, what is the difference between composition and improvisation? According to The Oxford Dictionary of Current English, to compose means "To create a work of art, especially music or poetry."1 To improvise means "To invent and perform music, drama or poetry on the spur of the moment." More detailed definitions are given by Ed Sarath in A New Look at Improvisation. Composition is "The discontinuous process of creation and iteration (usually through notation) of musical ideas."3 Improvisation is "The spontaneous creation and performance of musical materials in a realtime format, where the reworking of ideas is not possible."4 More poetically, the great jazz saxophonist and composer Steve Lacy was once asked to give a fifteen-second explanation of the difference between improvisation and composition. He replied, "The main difference is that in composition you have all the time you need to think about what you are going to say in fifteen seconds, whereas when you improvise you only have fifteen seconds to say what you want to say."5 I like to say that improvisation is composition without an eraser, but I think the important difference is in a word found in two of the three definitions of improvisation: performance. Improvisation happens in a performance; composition happens before the performance. The composition can be played 1 many times; the improvisation only happens once. Accordingly, I will use the following definition for the purposes of this thesis: I can repeat a composition. I can't repeat an improvisation. I write the composition down, and then improvise on it during a performance. The act of composition serves to set up a system within which I will improvise. One of my first experiences with collective improvisation was at a workshop given by Marilyn Crispell in the summer of 1988. During the workshop, she put together a composition made almost entirely out of a verbal narrative. I remember one section where she specified certain scales to be played, but essentially she gave us a story to tell and let us tell it through collective improvisation. It was, at the time, a unique playing experience for me -a half hour long piece where you didn't play any prewritten material but rather decided what to do by listening. And yet it was clearly Marilyn Crispell's composition, with a known beginning, middle and end. The recipe was supplied, but the ingredients left unspecified. I think that this was the beginning of my awareness that it is possible to be both a composer and an improviser at the same time. At that time, the improvised music scene in Toronto was very small. This changed with the arrival in the late 1990s of clarinetist Ronda Rindone and saxophonist Maury Coles. Ronda started an improvised music series (called the Improviser's Series) on Saturday nights at the Idler Pub on Davenport Road; Mauiy started the Improviser's Pool on Monday nights at the Cameron House on Queen Street West. Both lasted about two years during 1997, 98 and 99. At the 2 Improviser's Pool, names were drawn to determine who would play with whom. The music was always completely improvised. The Idler series presented already existing groups whose music was focused on improvisation. I played at both the Idler series and at the Improviser's Pool. Both were influential in my musical life. At the Idler I met and first heard many of the musicians who I still play with today, Dave Clark being a particular example. At the Improviser's Pool I played within a community of musicians every Monday night for two years. Colin Fisher, Jason Hammer, Thomas Krakoviak and Gordon Allen were there every week; other faces were new every time and some came for weeks or months before moving on to other things. The experience has influenced the direction of my musical life ever since, and it taught me a lot about what improvised music could be. At the time, I decided there were two truisms about collective free improvisation. First, three is the ideal number of musicians for free improvisation. With three imaginations at work there is no shortage of new ideas to keep the music moving forward; neither is there too much information to process. Three is a good balance of space, communication and variety. Two or four is great as well, but by the time you have more than five in the band, musical interaction can be getting difficult, as the amount of information that needs to be processed has become quite large. I think this is why so many free improvisation groups are trios.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Temporal Disunity and Structural Unity in the Music of John Coltrane 1965-67
    Listening in Double Time: Temporal Disunity and Structural Unity in the Music of John Coltrane 1965-67 Marc Howard Medwin A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Music. Chapel Hill 2008 Approved by: David Garcia Allen Anderson Mark Katz Philip Vandermeer Stefan Litwin ©2008 Marc Howard Medwin ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT MARC MEDWIN: Listening in Double Time: Temporal Disunity and Structural Unity in the Music of John Coltrane 1965-67 (Under the direction of David F. Garcia). The music of John Coltrane’s last group—his 1965-67 quintet—has been misrepresented, ignored and reviled by critics, scholars and fans, primarily because it is a music built on a fundamental and very audible disunity that renders a new kind of structural unity. Many of those who study Coltrane’s music have thus far attempted to approach all elements in his last works comparatively, using harmonic and melodic models as is customary regarding more conventional jazz structures. This approach is incomplete and misleading, given the music’s conceptual underpinnings. The present study is meant to provide an analytical model with which listeners and scholars might come to terms with this music’s more radical elements. I use Coltrane’s own observations concerning his final music, Jonathan Kramer’s temporal perception theory, and Evan Parker’s perspectives on atomism and laminarity in mid 1960s British improvised music to analyze and contextualize the symbiotically related temporal disunity and resultant structural unity that typify Coltrane’s 1965-67 works.
    [Show full text]
  • Neglected Jazz Figures of the 1950S and Early 1960S New World NW 275
    Introspection: Neglected Jazz Figures of the 1950s and early 1960s New World NW 275 In the contemporary world of platinum albums and music stations that have adopted limited programming (such as choosing from the Top Forty), even the most acclaimed jazz geniuses—the Armstrongs, Ellingtons, and Parkers—are neglected in terms of the amount of their music that gets heard. Acknowledgment by critics and historians works against neglect, of course, but is no guarantee that a musician will be heard either, just as a few records issued under someone’s name are not truly synonymous with attention. In this album we are concerned with musicians who have found it difficult—occasionally impossible—to record and publicly perform their own music. These six men, who by no means exhaust the legion of the neglected, are linked by the individuality and high quality of their conceptions, as well as by the tenaciousness of their struggle to maintain those conceptions in a world that at best has remained indifferent. Such perseverance in a hostile environment suggests the familiar melodramatic narrative of the suffering artist, and indeed these men have endured a disproportionate share of misfortunes and horrors. That four of the six are now dead indicates the severity of the struggle; the enduring strength of their music, however, is proof that none of these artists was ultimately defeated. Selecting the fifties and sixties as the focus for our investigation is hardly mandatory, for we might look back to earlier years and consider such players as Joe Smith (1902-1937), the supremely lyrical trumpeter who contributed so much to the music of Bessie Smith and Fletcher Henderson; or Dick Wilson (1911-1941), the promising tenor saxophonist featured with Andy Kirk’s Clouds of Joy; or Frankie Newton (1906-1954), whose unique muted-trumpet sound was overlooked during the swing era and whose leftist politics contributed to further neglect.
    [Show full text]
  • Peter Johnston 2011
    The London School Of Improvised Economics - Peter Johnston 2011 This excerpt from my dissertation was included in the reader for the course MUS 211: Music Cultures of the City at Ryerson University. Introduction The following reading is a reduction of a chapter from my dissertation, which is titled Fields of Production and Streams of Conscious: Negotiating the Musical and Social Practices of Improvised Music in London, England. The object of my research for this work was a group of musicians living in London who self-identified as improvisers, and who are part of a distinct music scene that emerged in the mid-1960s based on the idea of free improvisation. Most of this research was conducted between Sept 2006 and June 2007, during which time I lived in London and conducted interviews with both older individuals who were involved in the creation of this scene, and with younger improvisers who are building on the formative work of the previous generation. This chapter addresses the practical aspects of how improvised music is produced in London, and follows a more theoretical analysis in the previous chapters of why the music sounds like it does. Before moving on to the main content, it will be helpful to give a brief explanation of two of the key terms that occur throughout this chapter: “free improvisation” and the “improvised music field.” “Free improvisation” refers to the creation of musical performances without any pre- determined materials, such as form, tonality, melody, or rhythmic feel. This practice emerged out of developments in jazz in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly in the work of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor, who began performing music without using the song-forms, harmonic progressions, and steady rhythms that characterized jazz until that time.
    [Show full text]
  • Printcatalog Realdeal 3 DO
    DISCAHOLIC auction #3 2021 OLD SCHOOL: NO JOKE! This is the 3rd list of Discaholic Auctions. Free Jazz, improvised music, jazz, experimental music, sound poetry and much more. CREATIVE MUSIC the way we need it. The way we want it! Thank you all for making the previous auctions great! The network of discaholics, collectors and related is getting extended and we are happy about that and hoping for it to be spreading even more. Let´s share, let´s make the connections, let´s collect, let´s trim our (vinyl)gardens! This specific auction is named: OLD SCHOOL: NO JOKE! Rare vinyls and more. Carefully chosen vinyls, put together by Discaholic and Ayler- completist Mats Gustafsson in collaboration with fellow Discaholic and Sun Ra- completist Björn Thorstensson. After over 33 years of trading rare records with each other, we will be offering some of the rarest and most unusual records available. For this auction we have invited electronic and conceptual-music-wizard – and Ornette Coleman-completist – Christof Kurzmann to contribute with some great objects! Our auction-lists are inspired by the great auctioneer and jazz enthusiast Roberto Castelli and his amazing auction catalogues “Jazz and Improvised Music Auction List” from waaaaay back! And most definitely inspired by our discaholic friends Johan at Tiliqua-records and Brad at Vinylvault. The Discaholic network is expanding – outer space is no limit. http://www.tiliqua-records.com/ https://vinylvault.online/ We have also invited some musicians, presenters and collectors to contribute with some records and printed materials. Among others we have Joe Mcphee who has contributed with unique posters and records directly from his archive.
    [Show full text]
  • WXU Und Hat Hut – Stets Auf Der Suche Nach Neuem Werner X
    r 2017 te /1 in 8 W ANALOGUE AUDIO SWITZERLAND ASSOCIATION Verein zur Erhaltung und Förderung der analogen Musikwiedergabe Das Avantgarde-Label «Hat Hut» Wenig bekannte Violinvirtuosen und Klavierkonzerte Schöne klassische und moderne Tonarme e ill R Aus der WXU und Hat Hut – stets auf der Suche nach Neuem Werner X. Uehlinger, Modern Jazz und Contemporary Music Von Urs Mühlemann Seit 42 Jahren schon gibt es das Basler Plattenlabel «Hat Hut». In dieser Zeit hat sich die Musikindust- rie grundlegend verändert. Label-Gründer Werner X. Uehlinger, Jahrgang 1935, Träger des Kulturprei- ses 1999 der Stadt Basel, hält allen Stürmen stand – und veröffentlicht mit sicherem Gespür immer wieder aussergewöhnliche Aufnahmen. «Seit 1975, ein Ohr in die Zukunft»: Dieses Motto steht als Signatur in allen E-Mails von Werner X. Uehlinger (auch als ‚WXU‘ bekannt). Den Gründer des unabhängigen Schweizer Labels «Hat Hut», das u.a. 1990 von der progressiven New Yorker Zeitschrift «Village Voice» unter die fünf weltbesten Labels gewählt wurde und internationale Wertschätzung nicht nur in Avantgarde-Kreisen geniesst, lernte ich vor mehr als 40 Jahren persönlich kennen. Wir verloren uns aus den Augen, aber ich stiess im Laufe meiner musikalischen Entwicklung immer wieder auf ‚WXU‘ und seine exquisiten Produkte. Nun hat er – als quasi Ein-Mann-Betrieb – sein Lebenswerk in die Hände von «Outhere» gelegt; das Unterneh- men vereint verschiedene Labels für klassische und für zeitgenössische Musik unter einem Dach. Das war für mich eine Gelegenheit, wieder Kontakt aufzunehmen. Wir trafen uns im Februar und im Mai 2017 zu längeren Gesprächen und tauschten uns auch schriftlich und telefonisch aus.
    [Show full text]
  • Cool Trombone Lover
    NOVEMBER 2013 - ISSUE 139 YOUR FREE GUIDE TO THE NYC JAZZ SCENE NYCJAZZRECORD.COM ROSWELL RUDD COOL TROMBONE LOVER MICHEL • DAVE • GEORGE • RELATIVE • EVENT CAMILO KING FREEMAN PITCH CALENDAR “BEST JAZZ CLUBS OF THE YEAR 2012” SMOKE JAZZ & SUPPER CLUB • HARLEM, NEW YORK CITY FEATURED ARTISTS / 7:00, 9:00 & 10:30pm ONE NIGHT ONLY / 7:00, 9:00 & 10:30pm RESIDENCIES / 7:00, 9:00 & 10:30pm Fri & Sat, Nov 1 & 2 Wed, Nov 6 Sundays, Nov 3 & 17 GARY BARTZ QUARTET PLUS MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ QUINTET Michael Rodriguez (tp) ● Chris Cheek (ts) SaRon Crenshaw Band SPECIAL GUEST VINCENT HERRING Jeb Patton (p) ● Kiyoshi Kitagawa (b) Sundays, Nov 10 & 24 Gary Bartz (as) ● Vincent Herring (as) Obed Calvaire (d) Vivian Sessoms Sullivan Fortner (p) ● James King (b) ● Greg Bandy (d) Wed, Nov 13 Mondays, Nov 4 & 18 Fri & Sat, Nov 8 & 9 JACK WALRATH QUINTET Jason Marshall Big Band BILL STEWART QUARTET Jack Walrath (tp) ● Alex Foster (ts) Mondays, Nov 11 & 25 Chris Cheek (ts) ● Kevin Hays (p) George Burton (p) ● tba (b) ● Donald Edwards (d) Captain Black Big Band Doug Weiss (b) ● Bill Stewart (d) Wed, Nov 20 Tuesdays, Nov 5, 12, 19, & 26 Fri & Sat, Nov 15 & 16 BOB SANDS QUARTET Mike LeDonne’s Groover Quartet “OUT AND ABOUT” CD RELEASE LOUIS HAYES Bob Sands (ts) ● Joel Weiskopf (p) Thursdays, Nov 7, 14, 21 & 28 & THE JAZZ COMMUNICATORS Gregg August (b) ● Donald Edwards (d) Gregory Generet Abraham Burton (ts) ● Steve Nelson (vibes) Kris Bowers (p) ● Dezron Douglas (b) ● Louis Hayes (d) Wed, Nov 27 RAY MARCHICA QUARTET LATE NIGHT RESIDENCIES / 11:30 - Fri & Sat, Nov 22 & 23 FEATURING RODNEY JONES Mon The Smoke Jam Session Chase Baird (ts) ● Rodney Jones (guitar) CYRUS CHESTNUT TRIO Tue Cyrus Chestnut (p) ● Curtis Lundy (b) ● Victor Lewis (d) Mike LeDonne (organ) ● Ray Marchica (d) Milton Suggs Quartet Wed Brianna Thomas Quartet Fri & Sat, Nov 29 & 30 STEVE DAVIS SEXTET JAZZ BRUNCH / 11:30am, 1:00 & 2:30pm Thu Nickel and Dime OPS “THE MUSIC OF J.J.
    [Show full text]
  • Information VICTO Cd074-075-076 Cecil Taylor Marilyn Crispell Paul Plimley / John Oswald «Complicité» Cd 074 PAUL PLIMLEY / JOHN OSWALD 1
    Information VICTO cd074-075-076 Cecil Taylor Marilyn Crispell Paul Plimley / John Oswald «Complicité» cd 074 PAUL PLIMLEY / JOHN OSWALD 1. WON (John Oswald-SOCAN) . .10’09” 2. TO (Plimley/Oswald) . .6’43” 3. TOON (Plimley/Oswald) . .5’11” 4. FREE (Plimley/Oswald) . .10’11” p SOCIÉTÉ RADIO-CANADA 5. FOREMOST (Paul Plimley-SOCAN) . .9’14” c Les Éditions Victoriaville et Les Disques VICTO, SOCAN 2001 cd 075 MARILYN CRISPELL Of Trees, Limbs and Springs 1. PRAYER (Mitchell Weiss-BMI) . .5’33” Three pianists-Cecil Taylor, Marilyn Crispell 2. TRIPLOS PART I (Marilyn Crispell-BMI) . .14’36” and Paul Plimley-and an alto saxist-John 3. GESTURE WITHOUT PLOT (Annette Peacock-PRS/MCPS) . .9’24” Oswald-gathered to play, in a triple-header 4. PARIS (Mitchell Weiss-BMI) . .9’38” that meandered blissfully and chaotically, and 5. TRIPLOS PART II.a (Marilyn Crispell-BMI) . .6’15” showed us a vision of measured abandon. 6. SILENCE (Marilyn Crispell-BMI) . .2’40” Freedom rang out, amidst floating bits of 7. TRIPLOS PART II.b (Marilyn Crispell-BMI) . .3’49” structure and melody, and it also stretched out 8. NOT (Anders Jormin-STIM) . .1’27” over three hours (which seemed like less, a 9. TRIPLOS PART II.c (Marilyn Crispell-BMI) . .5’06” sign that music is working, and time is being artfully subverted). And it’s a very good thing, cd 076 indeed, that it is now captured for posterity on CECIL TAYLOR a recording. The occasion turned out, through CONCERT DÉDIÉ À JIMMY McDONALD serendipitous circumstances, to be festive, and 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Myra Melford & Snowy Egret Language of Dreams
    Saturday, November 19, 2016, 8pm Zellerbach Hall Myra Melford & Snowy Egret Language of Dreams Conceived and composed by Myra Melford Myra Melford’s Snowy Egret Myra Melford, piano, melodica, and sampler Ron Miles, cornet Liberty Ellman, guitar Stomu Takeishi, acoustic bass guitar Tyshawn Sorey, drums David Szlasa, video artist and lighting design Oguri, dancer and choreography Sofia Rei, narrator/spoken text Hans Wendl, artistic direction and production Texts excerpted from Eduardo Galeano’s Memory of Fire (Memoria del Fuego ) trilogy: Genesis (1982) Faces and Masks (1984) Century of the Wind (1986) Copyright 1982, 1984, 1986 respectively by Eduardo Galeano. Translation copyright 1985, 1987, 1988 by Cedric Belfrage. Published in Spanish by Siglo XXI Editores, México, and in English by Nation Books. By permission of Susan Bergholz Literary Services, New York, NY and Lamy, NM. All rights reserved. e creation and presentation of Language of Dreams was made possible by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, and a University of California Faculty Research Grant. Jazz residency and education activities generously underwritten by the Thatcher-Meyerson Family. n e s i o B s e l y M Myra Melford (far right) with Snowy Egret Language of Dreams I Prelude e Promised Land Snow e Kitchen II e Virgin of Guadalupe A Musical Evening For Love of Fruit/Ching Ching III Language IV Times of Sleep and Fate Little Pockets/Everybody Pays Taxes Market e First Protest V Night of Sorrow Day of the Dead e Strawberry VI Reprise – e Virgin of Guadalupe This performance will last approximately 75 minutes and will be performed without intermission.
    [Show full text]
  • Some Notes on John Zorn's Cobra
    Some Notes on John Zorn’s Cobra Author(s): JOHN BRACKETT Source: American Music, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Spring 2010), pp. 44-75 Published by: University of Illinois Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/americanmusic.28.1.0044 . Accessed: 10/12/2013 15:16 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. University of Illinois Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Music. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 198.40.30.166 on Tue, 10 Dec 2013 15:16:53 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions JOHN BRACKETT Some Notes on John Zorn’s Cobra The year 2009 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of John Zorn’s cele- brated game piece for improvisers, Cobra. Without a doubt, Cobra is Zorn’s most popular and well-known composition and one that has enjoyed remarkable success and innumerable performances all over the world since its premiere in late 1984 at the New York City club, Roulette. Some noteworthy performances of Cobra include those played by a group of jazz journalists and critics, an all-women performance, and a hip-hop ver- sion as well!1 At the same time, Cobra is routinely played by students in colleges and universities all over the world, ensuring that the work will continue to grow and evolve in the years to come.
    [Show full text]
  • Too Many Notes: Complexity and Culture in Voyager Lewis, George E
    Too Many Notes: Complexity and Culture in Voyager Lewis, George E. Leonardo Music Journal, Volume 10, 2000, pp. 33-39 (Article) Published by The MIT Press For additional information about this article http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/lmj/summary/v010/10.1lewis.html Access Provided by University of California @ Santa Cruz at 09/27/11 9:42PM GMT W A Y S WAYS & MEANS & M E A Too Many Notes: Computers, N S Complexity and Culture in Voyager ABSTRACT The author discusses his computer music composition, Voyager, which employs a com- George E. Lewis puter-driven, interactive “virtual improvising orchestra” that ana- lyzes an improvisor’s performance in real time, generating both com- plex responses to the musician’s playing and independent behavior arising from the program’s own in- oyager [1,2] is a nonhierarchical, interactive mu- pears to stand practically alone in ternal processes. The author con- V the trenchancy and thoroughness tends that notions about the na- sical environment that privileges improvisation. In Voyager, improvisors engage in dialogue with a computer-driven, inter- of its analysis of these issues with ture and function of music are active “virtual improvising orchestra.” A computer program respect to computer music. This embedded in the structure of soft- ware-based music systems and analyzes aspects of a human improvisor’s performance in real viewpoint contrasts markedly that interactions with these sys- time, using that analysis to guide an automatic composition with Catherine M. Cameron’s [7] tems tend to reveal characteris- (or, if you will, improvisation) program that generates both rather celebratory ethnography- tics of the community of thought complex responses to the musician’s playing and indepen- at-a-distance of what she terms and culture that produced them.
    [Show full text]
  • The Avant-Garde in Jazz As Representative of Late 20Th Century American Art Music
    THE AVANT-GARDE IN JAZZ AS REPRESENTATIVE OF LATE 20TH CENTURY AMERICAN ART MUSIC By LONGINEU PARSONS A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2017 © 2017 Longineu Parsons To all of these great musicians who opened artistic doors for us to walk through, enjoy and spread peace to the planet. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my professors at the University of Florida for their help and encouragement in this endeavor. An extra special thanks to my mentor through this process, Dr. Paul Richards, whose forward-thinking approach to music made this possible. Dr. James P. Sain introduced me to new ways to think about composition; Scott Wilson showed me other ways of understanding jazz pedagogy. I also thank my colleagues at Florida A&M University for their encouragement and support of this endeavor, especially Dr. Kawachi Clemons and Professor Lindsey Sarjeant. I am fortunate to be able to call you friends. I also acknowledge my friends, relatives and business partners who helped convince me that I wasn’t insane for going back to school at my age. Above all, I thank my wife Joanna for her unwavering support throughout this process. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF EXAMPLES ...................................................................................................... 7 ABSTRACT
    [Show full text]
  • Gerry Hemingway Quartet Press Kit (W/Herb Robertson and Mark
    Gerry Hemingway Quartet Herb Robertson - trumpet Ellery Eskelin - tenor saxophone Mark Dresser- bass Gerry Hemingway – drums "Like the tightest of early jazz bands, this crew is tight enough to hang way loose. *****" John Corbett, Downbeat Magazine Gerry Hemingway, who developed and maintained a highly acclaimed quintet for over ten years, has for the past six years been concentrating his experienced bandleading talent on a quartet formation. The quartet, formed in 1997 has now toured regularly in Europe and America including a tour in the spring of 1998 with over forty performances across the entire country. “What I experienced night after night while touring the US was that there was a very diverse audience interested in uncompromising jazz, from young teenagers with hard core leanings who were drawn to the musics energy and edge, to an older generation who could relate to the rhythmic power, clearly shaped melodies and the spirit of musical creation central to jazz’s tradition that informs the majority of what we perform.” “The percussionist’s expressionism keeps an astute perspective on dimension. He can make you think that hyperactivity is accomplished with a hush. His foursome recently did what only a handful of indie jazzers do: barnstormed the U.S., drumming up business for emotional abstraction and elaborate interplay . That’s something ElIery Eskelin, Mark Dresser and Ray Anderson know all about.“ Jim Macnie Village Voice 10/98 "The Quartet played the compositions, stuffed with polyrhythms and counterpoints, with a swinging
    [Show full text]