Tom Luther

The September Project: Day 169

2012-03-02T04:51:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite groups, and one that has had a huge influence on not only my writing but my philosophical/spiritual approach to music is The Art Ensemble of Chicago. This was a band that was very firmly rooted in the tradition and heart of jazz but also was one of the most forward looking groups out there, along with musicians like Anthony Braxton, Leo Smith, Henry Threadgil, as well as others.

They expressed this attitude first in the music, but also in a simple phrase that appeared on many of their albums and posters and such. "Ancient to the Future" was their call to arms. Its a really great idea, far reaching and simple enough to grasp. Like any truly spiritual practice, it expresses clearly an extension towards both heaven and earth at the same time.

I have been thinking about this since I did the Pythagoras post yesterday, and am continuing today, using the Pythagorean tetrachords to build something in a jazz language. I combined this foundation with a modern technique of something called "row rotation", where a short series of pitches falls back on itself, sort of like a carousel that stops in sequence, at different spots with each rotation. Not enough time to fully explain now, but maybe another post. For the moment, a quick peek over the shoulders of the giants Roscoe Mitchell, Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Famadou Don Moye, and Malachi Favors Maghostut, collectively known as The Art Ensemble of Chicago.

The September Project: Day 168

2012-03-01T05:21:00.001-08:00

Today's post was inspired by some music that was playing at yoga class last night, and uses what is considered the earliest documented musical scale.

The mathematician Pythagoras is mostly known for the theorem that we all learned way back when( A2+B2=C2) that refers to the particular proportional relationships of a right triangle. He was also the first to document basic harmonic principles of music. A student of his, Nicomachus, documented much of this in "The Manual of Harmonics", the very first book on music theory and harmony. The really, really cool thing about this is that music, and the arts in general, was considered an integral part of science and the unraveling of the mysteries surrounding the order of the universe. Sadly, science and art have become more and more estranged since then, and I think, to our detriment.

Regardless, the scale used to build today's piece is one derived from two four note constructions first documented by Pythagoras, known to the nerd community as "Pythagorean Tetrachords".

You are now more enlightened or more annoyed, possibly both.

You're welcome.

The September Project: Day 167

2012-02-29T17:00:00.001-08:00

This tune today is inspired by one of my favorite Thelonious Monk compositions, called "Ugly Beauty", from the "Underground" album. The two specific things that I find so engaging about Monk's piece are the overall mood and the technical aspects of the harmony, which support the mood.

"Ugly Beauty" is a sublime work of melancholy and reflection, as if Monk was thinking about past loves(although he was with his wife Nellie since high school), or perhaps simply feeling the past creep in, as it does for all of us sometimes, and thinking about what was with a mixture of affection for the times and sadness for the reality of their passing. The easy swing in three feels like a very natural relaxed gait, with maybe more in common with clouds floating by than anything else. Monk's harmony is highly functional, but peppered with well chosen substitutes that balance the functionality with splashes of color, none of which leap out as a garish pastel, but more sparkle and entice like a Chagal painting.

The irony of all this is that I never intended to do this. It just happened, as a lot of what I do does, and it is in hindsight that I see where I've come from, and feel grateful for having had that experience, and feel slightly saddened at its passing.

The September Project: Day 166

2012-02-28T05:29:00.002-08:00

The mantra of the day is "permanent non permanence".

All silliness aside, today's post got me thinking about how a specific musical idea can be both fixed and variable at the same time. Obviously, working in an improvised format is a big part, but I think that it is also the attitude that you bring to it. As a composer, being willing to allow for variation of you ideas, and thinking of each performance as a sketch for further development. As an improviser, really focusing an the essentials of the written idea, and improvising in such a way as to stay tied very closely to that idea, so you can build on it that much more effectively.

Expand this whole notion and apply to individual pieces of music, and think about how each can be a variation on the last, and a precursor to another( I touched on this briefly during "Derivatives Week").

This is why I love what I do. Being a musician is part philosopher, part priest, part athlete, and part nerd.
I wouldn't want it any other way.

The September Project: Day 165

2012-02-27T15:11:00.002-08:00

Bob Moog, father of a lot of this madness

The really fun, interesting, and frustrating thing about this new Algorithm project is its dependance on synthesizers, sequencers, and all manner of electronic doo-dads. Its fun because it is a whole world of new sounds and instruments, and its interesting because these definitely require, at least at times, a different performance technique and approach, and finally, its frustrating because each time you are a test pilot. There are times when you have no idea what the crap is going to happen, and when it does, no idea why. That said, beyond figuring all that out, the dance of trying to coordinate all this stuff and run it at once is both daunting and exhilarating. Believe me, I never though once during my formative training that a particular technique for me to work on was how to click a mouse to alter a sequencer, or to change midi channels on the fly during a performance.

In a strange way, I guess now I know how a harpsichordist felt when first playing Cristofori's brandy new pianoforte( what? pedals? it goes loud and soft? WTF?)

Always forward, never straight...

The September Project: Day 164

2012-02-26T11:22:00.001-08:00

Lullabye(ish)

The September Project: Day 163

2012-02-25T18:09:00.001-08:00

Came bounding out of my studio all excited and blathered at my bride about this piece. It's probably the closest I've gotten thus far to melding jazz and ambient worlds, and its making me more and more excited about this Algorithm project.

I'm not writing any more because I added a Liszt etude to my practice today and my hands and brain hurt. That is not a brag as much as it is a statement of my stupidity.

I really don't know what the hell I'm thinking sometimes......

The September Project: Day 162

2012-02-24T05:06:00.000-08:00

Another sketch for the Algorithm group. This is something that walks a line in between ambient textures and jazz related sounds. I say jazz related because that is really about as far as it goes. The form is fairly vague, and the improvisational style is based on the modal approach of the mid/late 1960s. However, it still clearly sits in the world of ambient/electronic music, so I'll stick with jazz related(not that it matters, if Stanley Crouch wants to have a hissy about it that's his problem, though I flatter myself at this point, as I doubt he knows or cares.....)

I digress......

Gonna put this one on the program for our inaugural gig on April 7 at Rock City.

The September Project: Day 161

2012-02-23T05:17:00.000-08:00

15 years ago, at Cornwalls in Kenmore Square, I had the best first date ever, and the last.

This is for you lovey! Vous et nul autre!

The September Project: Day 160

2012-02-22T04:35:00.000-08:00

Today I'm fooling with connecting fairly unrelated chords. For those unfamiliar, in what is called "tonal music"(music governed by harmonic relationships), the basic method for creating a series of chords relies on the idea of "progression". What this means is that the chords follow one another based on specific relationships established by the "harmonic series", which is an acoustic/psycho-acoustic phenomenon first observed by Pythagoras. In short, there is a built in template that certain chords will fit in and certain chords don't. In tonal music, you use mostly the chords that fit in, and slowly shift the template to get to the chords that don't.

Today, I am focusing on mostly chords that kinda fit in the template. The idea is to push the relationships just a little farther without abandoning them entirely. Its an approach in composer world that is sometimes referred to as "coloristic".

A sidenote: I intend this tune to be more up tempo, but not having the time to flesh it out more we are settling for the ballad version today.

The September Project: Day 159

2012-02-21T18:28:00.000-08:00

Today I worked with ensemble color. How to use the traditional jazz quintet instrumentation in a coloristic way to support melody and add dimension to a work. Nothing pisses me off faster than when I hear the octave or unison doubled cop out(yeah I know Miles did it as well as a bunch of others, so why the shit do we have to continue?), except perhaps when I do it in my own arrangements. Sometimes I do think this kind of treatment works, but it really ought not to be a default. I think there are more interesting approaches to use the instruments to make a piece live a little more and have a more expansive sound.

Anyway, the thing I tried today was to add things in one at a time. Piano, trumpet, then tenor. The second time out, the same thing happens, but the horns switch parts. Its simple stuff like that where you can really hear a difference. The tone of an instrument is such a huge part of music( why else would we choose a specific interest) so why not use it more to our advantage. Combine this idea with something like inverted counterpoint or canon and you could have some really cool stuff happening.

The September Project: Day 158

2012-02-20T15:37:00.000-08:00

The nice thing about getting something finished is that it frees you up to get on with other stuff.

I think this is why this blog works for me. Once I have something done, I tend to ignore it in favor of the next thing in the pipeline. It is an odd habit, but one that I am OK with. Call it in the moment or whatever, its how I work.

Its a strange thing, because I don't often remember the specifics about what I've done. The stuff comes out, is documented, and from that point on I really don't give a crap( sort of...).

Must be all the cartoons.......

The September Project: Day 157

2012-02-19T14:47:00.000-08:00

Today is something of a milestone. Not for this blog, but certainly for me musically. Today I finished my first CD.

This has been something that has gone on for about 3 years now. My group and I first went in to the studio in December of 2009, again the following year, and yet again last December and culminating with today's final session. Since that first session, the band's personnel has changed(several times), new tunes added, the approach changed, and the sound more distinct. As I look back, this is exactly the way it should have happened. I think those early recordings, while good unto themselves, did not tell the whole story, and would not be something that I would ultimately like to release. The tracks from this last session, are most definitely it.

I'm really lucky to have to group that I have. Mike, our trumpet player, has been in the group from the get go, and is really the reason I started this group. I first met Mike at the First Sunday Jam at the Waldo Theater Annex in Waldoboro, Maine. Shortly after, I went to a concert that he put on and thought to myself that I would like to do the same. I followed his example and he was the first one I asked, and to my great benefit, he was interested. He has been a leader, and source of wisdom, a great set of ears, and above all, a realist. When I find myself spinning into the "fantastical delusions of Tom", Mike has been there to pull me back in, with a quiet piece of advice, a raised eyebrow, or a frank assessment.

Gideon, our tenor player, is the silent pillar. As quiet as he can be, his playing is explosive, intelligent, searching, with an intensity that always seems set on "11". He is truly composing in the moment, and his solos have turned tunes completely around, and given them dimensions and depth that I had not considered when writing these things. He is a fountain of creativity, and it is really difficult to not get caught up in it, and who wouldn't want to anyway?

Noah, our bass player, is both an adventurer and a pragmatist. His sense of groove is about the most solid I've ever heard, and about as varied. He is also a perfectionist, and takes a lot of pride in doing the best he can all the time. He is a great listener, and has an uncanny ability to change his approach almost instantly as soloists change. Noah is change and he is stability at the same time.

Jacob, our drummer and brother of Gideon, is a man of boundless energy. He has a real knack for catching the intention of a tune and breathing life into it from his drum kit. The joy he experiences from music is obvious and pervasive, and his versatility as a drummer opens new avenues with every rehearsal and every performance.

Bruce, who has filled a dual role of tenor/soprano saxophone and recording engineer, has been a real anchor and a wealth of experience, as well as enlightenment. He has a vast experience in music and technology, and has seen and done so much, but has never seemed to loose his idealism, and is probably one of the most positive individuals I know. Even under a tight schedule, he makes shit happen( he said today that he was going to lay out on one tune, but then proceeded to play his ass off on it...the big fibber)

This group is truly a case of the right individuals and the right time. It has been a great pleasure to work with these guys, and I am really proud of the document that we have made, and am looking forward to working as much with these guys as I can.

Thanks guys! You are the best!

The recording, "Everything is Blue" by the Tom Luther Quintet is scheduled for release in April 2012. Stay tuned for more details!

The September Project: Day 156

2012-02-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

So here is the final work for Derivatives Week. I used the four note pitch collection from yesterday in two ways. It serves as a ground, or bass part, and also is used as an improvisational device, both at pitch and transposed. The approach focuses more on the particular intervals of the collection( the distance between the notes) rather than the more traditional linear approach to improvisation. This work is something that will be performed by my group Algorithm in the very near future.

Working with this material today got me thinking about using a different approach to composition and improvisation, and I think it is one that I will focus on with Algorithm. What I am thinking is to use simple and somewhat broad ideas to govern what we do in the group, rather than the traditional musical architecture of melody, harmony, and rhythm. For example, when I recorded this piece, my idea was to focus on playing as little as possible, and trying to hear just the right spot to place a note. I think there is a huge potential for creative activity as well as learning in an approach like this. It's the kind of thing that throws you out of your normal patterns, which I think leads to a better understanding of yourself, albeit by way of some hair pulling and teeth gnashing.

But what would art be without a little teeth gnashing?

The September Project: Day 155

2012-02-17T05:11:00.000-08:00

Today, I took the basic four note pitch collection from yesterday, and built a ground bass from it and set free counterpoint on top, also based( although more loosely)on the four note cell.

The September Project: Day 154

2012-02-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

Using the viola counter line from yesterday, and the same root, but different quality of chord. Similar descending harmonic movement.

The September Project: Day 153

2012-02-15T04:59:00.000-08:00

Using the same starting chord as yesterday, with inverted voice leading( moving downwards instead of upwards).

The September Project: Day 152

2012-02-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

Variation using the melodic material from yesterday, arranged for jazz trio.

The September Project: Day 151

2012-02-13T18:15:00.000-08:00

Day 2 of Derivatives Week. Reversed the chord progression form yesterday and went in a "jam band" direction. Kinda reminds me of Zappa's "Chunga's Revenge".

The September Project: Day 150

2012-02-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking of adding some "challenge weeks" to this project. That is, bring another element or goal to the project and work with it for 1 week. So then, welcome to "Derivatives Week". For the next week, each post will be based on an element of elements from the previous day. Today's is based on both linear and modal elements from yesterday. However, as you will hear, the end result is quite different, and that is the fun part for me.

Away we go!

The September Project: Day 149

2012-02-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

I got some inspiration yoga class this morning. Not from any epiphanies from the postures and core work, but directly from the music my teacher was playing. Amanda always picks very cool, interesting, and appropriate music for the sessions( truth be told, I find it difficult sometimes to find that point of focus, because I will hear something in the music and become distracted by it).

She played some stuff this morning that I had not heard before. It was a kind of Indian/US pop music hybrid, something of a "singer songwriter goes to Mumbai" deal. The third track was what struck me. While I was working through a plank/cobra sequence I began to hear a very familiar song, played in a very unfamiliar way. The song was "Deep Blue Sea", which is a traditional American folk blues song. Here it was, with the tempo stretched out, sung like a quiet ballad, with altered lyrics, but it was "Deep Blue Sea" without a doubt.

I love hearing stuff like this, because it reaffirms my belief that all music carries the same messages, and it is language and context that are adapted by the artists to communicate with their audience. In that spirit, I've taken yesterday's post( done while watching smoke rise from my neighbor's chimney) and adapted its message to a jazz language. Two different tunes with the same roots and same spirit.

The September Project: Day 148

2012-02-10T04:51:00.000-08:00

Watching the smoke from my neighbors chimney this morning.

I used to do stuff like this at school. I'd camp out in a practice room and look out the window and try to "play the people" that were walking by. I'd try to capture the rhythm of their walk, the attitude of their carriage, and grab anything that I could to inspire me. I think working like this really opens up your creativity since it stretches ( literally) your ideas of form. Smoke doesn't give a crap about AABA or Sonata form or whatever. It has its own flow and its own life to it. I too often forget to do this sort of thing, so I take this as a reminder to get back in the habit.

The September Project: Day 147

2012-02-09T16:06:00.000-08:00

So here again, another thing in seven.

Meaning, the meter of the piece I wrote today is seven, which I seem to be doing a lot of. I'm honestly not surprised, because for awhile now it has been a goal of mine to become more comfortable in the so-called "odd" meters. I often listen to guys like Steve Coleman and Dave Holland move through these kinds of meters with such ease, and with such a natural flow that it never sounds like its anything out of the ordinary until you sit there and count it out.

Back up just a second. For those unfamiliar with the jargon, the basic rhythmic language of music are called beats( not to be confused with the pop music newspeak that refers to rhythmic patterns). Beats are contained in larger units called measures. Measures then are contained in phrases, then in sections of music, but these are beyond the scope of the discussion. We will stick to beats and measures. Measures will generally have a constant number of beats in them. Most often, measures will have either four beats contained in them, or three. In such cases, we would refer to the music as "being in four" or "being in three" respectively. A more basic way of thinking about this is in terms of duple meter( divisible by two) or triple meter(divisible by three). Generally speaking, a meter that is not divisible by either is considered an "odd" meter. Right off the bat you can include 5, 7, and 11. 9 is sometimes included depending on who you talk to. And depending on who you talk to, none of these are odd.

The above really only refers to the music of Western Europe. Central Europe, Asia, the Middle and Far East, Africa, and other parts of the world are perfectly at home with what we in the West consider as "odd". I would hazard a guess that we are in a minority where that is concerned, and its too bad. As I've practiced these meters, I find them each to be unique and have their own distinct character. Of course, its an uphill battle. I didn't grow up hearing these meters like some kid in Istanbul, so I have a much more difficult time with it. Its unfortunate that this kind of practice, like improvisation, is missing from our basic musical education. We really need to follow the example of some of these other cultures, but I'm not sure were ready to come down of our high horses yet. As long as the folks making the decisions about education remain convinced that European Art music is the pinnacle of all music, it ain't gonna happen.

Too bad, really.....

The September Project: Day 146

2012-02-08T17:05:00.000-08:00

Another crack at building a piece around sonic concerns, once again using my pal Droopy the Dragon. Working with this kind of method reminds me of John Zorn's ideas about cartoon music. Not that this is approaches that, or what Zorn does, but similarly it creates a new avenue for architecture. When you introduce another element, like a cartoon, or the story of Droopy the Dragon, form becomes dictated by concerns other than purely musical ones. When it gets really interesting is when you then remove those "outside" elements and start applying the resulting form on its own. Two records worth checking out that demonstrate what I'm talking about are John Zorn's "Spillane", and "Naked City" by the band of the same name, which is also a Zorn Project.

The September Project: Day 145

2012-02-07T04:53:00.000-08:00

Today's piece resulted from something that came to me while I was bringing in firewood. Sometimes things come to you seemingly out of the blue, and sometimes you have to work for them. Regardless, it always an adventure to see what can happen once you get a hold of an idea, which is why I like writing in the first place. Its not really the final product, but how you get there( I am notorious for forgetting "older" material, I seem more interested in the next thing).

What I take away from today's post is more questions about the real differences between "modal" jazz and jazz based on chord changes. I am becoming of the opinion that the two are a lot closer that most people realize. The quick and dirty difference is that in jazz that uses chord changes, you generate scales( and modes) from the chord changes. In modal jazz, you generate chords from the mode( a particular scale, there are seven standard and a host of others).

This thing I did today falls in between those, which has led to my questioning of the difference. I really don't alter my playing throughout the piece, despite the fact that it clearly moves from a modal concept at the beginning to a chord change section at the end. I think maybe it is less of a stylistic concept and more of a perspective. How do you view this musical world, and how will you approach it.

This is all reminding me that I need to read George Russell's book about the lydian chromatic concept.

The September Project: Day 144

2012-02-06T17:55:00.000-08:00

Based on the opening of Herbie's solo on "Prince of Darkness", from Miles' "Sorcerer" album.

The September Project: Day 143

2012-02-05T14:35:00.000-08:00

The same source material as yesterday, interpreted with a jazz voice. My personal philosophy is that the all music is equal, and carries the same messages. The only difference is that of language.

Err...kinda like people.

The September Project: Day 142

2012-02-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

An awful lot of stuff has been said about me. A lot of it has been silly. One of the comments that I found most amusing was from the father of a friend of mine. I had just performed a solo piano improvisation that was fairly frenetic and exuberant. John's dad said, "It's like he was angry at the piano".

Back in the mid nineties, my composer friends and I ran a new music series at Paine Hall at Harvard University. By new music, I mean modern. As such, there could sometimes be more people on stage than in the audience, but mostly we did pretty well( it helped for a few of us to be roaming in university circles). Suffice to say, most of the audience were musicians, and the music was what could be called "musician's music".

That meant that no one else wanted to listen to it.

Modern music of this kind has a difficulty connecting with the average listener. Even those aficionados of European Classical music come away scratching their heads and the best you can hope for is a comment like, "well that was interesting". Read: "that was a load of shit and I don't ever want to hear that again". I think the problem has two main contributors, the composers and the audience.

The composers have got so far ahead of themselves sometimes, and so wrapped up with their "mad skills" that they forget that in order to communicate they need to make themselves comprehensible. I find that many of the practitioners of the modern and avante garde are so desperate to hear something new that they make themselves deaf in the process( this was what drove me out of that scene). Then they will bemoan the fact that the audience is ignorant and doesn't "get it" and yada yada yada. Really? If you run into a room full of people and start trying to talk to someone in a made up language, do you really expect them to understand you? If you answer yes you may want to refer back to my earlier post on the subject of delusional behavior.

Now the irony here is that, yes, the audience is ignorant. But not in the way you might think. Their ignorance stems from the unfortunate notion( reinforced by most "music appreciation" classes, music "critics", and bullshit artists who write album liner notes)that they must understand the music before they hear it. They have been fed the idea that music must be explained to them beforehand. Sorry Charlie, but any music that has to be explained is probably completely ineffective and uncommunicative. See above and lather-rinse-repeat.

OK Mr Know-It-All, what's the solution?

Composers: Take a page out of James Joyce or Picasso or Stravinsky. These three were able to communicate very effectively while pushing the envelope of their craft. Yes, they did meet resistance, but their art has outlasted a lot of this resistance and they have established new precedents and new borders, and a mighty fine example for the rest of us. Understand that you need to create a bridge for your listeners to walk across, don't yank it out from under them and then blame them because they are pissed that you dumped them into the chasm.

Audience: Forget the idea that you need to understand music. The only people that "need" to understand music are pin-dick theory professors who are so obsessive compulsive that they air their filing cabinets out overnight. Music is primarily a viceral, instinctual, emotional experience. Trust your instincts, but give whatever you are listening to a fair, full listen. Don't let anyone tell you what you are hearing. You wouldn't allow someone to tell you how to live your life, so don't do it with music either. Give yourself up to the music, even if your first impression is that you hate it. Try to find something to listen to. Then, if you still have the same feeling, fine, now you know, but because you stuck it out all the way through, you'll have a pretty good idea why.

Got it? OK then, back to the world at large.

Patriots -24, Giants - 21.

The September Project: Day 141

2012-02-03T05:25:00.000-08:00

Music composition, at its most basic, is about manipulating sound. You will find arguments, often heated, on this subject, as there are many musicians and listeners alike that will insist that some organizations of sound are "not music". I've found it really difficult to find a truly rational argument to support this, and ultimately, I think its a silly argument, and find that folks who get too caught up in what is and what isn't really just have some kind of agenda to have everything their own way( here again is another slippery slope).

Anyway, Brian Eno and David Byrne produced a great record back in the '80s called "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts", which is truly a musical and sonic spectacle. In a lot of ways it has set precedent for a lot of the modern sound, with particular regard to the use of "sampled" material. In their case it was not rhythm tracks but vocal tracks, some sung, but mostly spoken. Spoken word adds a really unique element to a piece of music, and it is very illuminating when you work with these kinds of clips.

My piece today uses some of these methods, and is a bit silly, but why can't music be silly?

The September Project: Day 140

2012-02-02T05:14:00.000-08:00

A funny thing happened while working on today's post and applying the linear approach I mentioned yesterday. I was working with a particular line, and its harmonic implications, and managed to develop the rhythmic structure and overall harmonic architecture for today's piece. All very well and good. However, the more I worked with it, the less the original line fit in, and in fact, I abandoned it in favor of the ascending line that you will hear. Not exactly what I intended but I'll take it.

My guess is that my ear drove right on ahead, hearing implications in the harmony developed from the original line that actually led somewhere else. I'm thinking that scientists go through this( actually, Kepler leaps to mind). You start out with a hypothesis, and wind up proving something else entirely, something derivative, and still separate.

This all reminds me of something John Cage( the father of the American Avante Garde) said. He commented that he didn't think of his music as experimental because the experiment had already happened, while writing the music. In that sense, I think all of us are experimenting, and the really cool thing, as the events of today show, is that even the experiment can become its own experiment.

Feel free to recurs among yourselves.....

The September Project: Day 139

2012-02-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

In the arts, as much as anywhere else, it is far to easy to become set in your ways, and comfortable with the way you do things. The danger here is pretty obvious. You wind up just being ok with the way things are, never explore any further, and never demand any more from yourself. To me, this is the absolute death of the human spirit, and none to good for our condition as a species either. Think about if we all bought into the so called "pleasure principle", that is, only doing what is easiest and most enjoyable. If we keep going the way we are, at least in this country, and we are going to find out.

Ok, off the soapbox.

I've noticed recently a particular kind of harmonic writing has been pretty prevalent in my work. There's nothing wrong with it. I like it as a matter of fact, and it works for what I do. It's just that I see it happening a lot. Maybe more than I would like. Maybe more like a habit.


Charles Darwin, author of "The Origin of Species"

Not to say that I am abandoning my methods, actually, I am intending to add to them. This morning, I was recalling something one of my composition teachers told me. He said to not worry about harmony, because the melody or melodies with make that themselves. For those who are not musicians, this means two things. First, any given melody will suggest certain harmonies based on its movement. Certain intervals and combinations of intervals push the ear in a certain direction. Second, the combination of melodies will do the same thing. In fact, a neat trick is to present a melody just on its own, that has very definite and "hearable" harmonic implications, then to repeat that melody with added lines to it that suggest something different.


Thomas Merton, author of "Seven Story Mountain"

Anyway, what I am working with today is more of a linear approach, as opposed to the more vertical approach that I referred to before. I think its always good to evaluate and re-evaluate, or even re-invent what you do. Art, like the human species, does not benefit nor does it grow by standing still. My honest belief is that if nothing else, we are here to be better than we were yesterday. Call it divinity or evolution, but it amounts to the same thing.

The September Project: Day 138

2012-01-31T12:51:00.000-08:00

I commented yesterday how the internet is a lovely warehouse of source material, and it truly is. It also seems to be a repository of delusion sometimes.

You can nose around the net and happen upon numerous videos of individuals who, in whatever manic or chemical induced state, have posted video of themselves doing the most inane, foolish, and just stupid stuff. You have to wonder what they were thinking. Do they think that they look cool? They'll get more dates? Discovered by CBS? Right, they'll be beating down the door for some mullet sporting schmuck playing the autoharp and singing about a theater in Detroit. Not in this reality. This is simple delusion.

Now, I do realize that I could very well be one of these delusional types( though I prefer to think of myself as a delusion). However, being that I can ask myself this question, and even have some doubt about it really tells me that I probably am not. But, perhaps I am oversimplifying things. So, as a public service, I give you "Tom's Delusional Awareness Test".

1) Are you going to
     A) Injure yourself
     B) Do something really dumb/nasty
     C) Both

2) Will you document this on video?

3) If you post this video online, will it get you
     A) More chicks/guys
     B) lots of money
     C) Indicted
     D) either a record deal or on the Howard Stern show
     E) All of the above

Affirmative answers to all these questions is a clear indication of a delusional state, and you should either be removed from society for your own projection or given some kind of grant to continue to entertain the rest of us mundanes.

Vocals for todays post provided by "Worst Church Singer Ever". Don't say you weren't warned.

The September Project: Day 137

2012-01-30T18:47:00.000-08:00

The internet is just a lovely place to get source material. There is so much stuff, from the sublime to the absurd( mostly the latter)that can easily become fodder for a snotty person such as myself.

For today's post, I nicked some audio from as old Reebok ad series called "Terry Tate Office Linebacker". Basically an office hires this linebacker to beat the daylights out of violators of policy.

Oh, the fun he would have where I work.......

The September Project: Day 136

2012-01-29T16:04:00.000-08:00

Stravinsky, Picasso, and Joyce were all able to create such magnificent and forward looking art because they were masters, absolute masters of the fundamentals of their respective crafts.

Each of these artists were so capable that they could create in older forms, genuinely, which enabled them to push at the edges of their art and point the way for the rest of us.

This is the lesson that all the great masters have for us. Its about the fundamentals.

The September Project: Day 135

2012-01-28T14:49:00.000-08:00

Something that happened in yoga today has me thinking about what is important, what we think is important, and what we miss when we think something is unimportant. This probably started last night, when I was overdosing on Carl Sagan's "Cosmos". Dr. Sagan was talking about how we as humans think that certain things in the ecosystem of our planet are unimportant and how devastatingly wrong that is, and it really struck a chord, especially considering how we as a species tend to mismanage(my opinion) our affairs, usually out of blind prejudice and ignorance.

This morning, at the beginning of yoga, we were sitting as we always do, and my teacher made the statement "engage all your posture muscles". So here I am suddenly stupefied and enlightened all at once. Posture muscles. Somewhere in the back of my reptilian brain a light goes on and I think, "yeah, that's right, I need to use my muscles to sit". Sitting is actually an active posture, and I think its probably fair to say that most of us view it as a relaxed and non active posture. After all, we just sitting right?

Or are we?

The September Project: Day 134

2012-01-27T09:16:00.000-08:00

Today, playing with modal switches, moving from minor to major on the same chord. While this sort of thing is much more common these days, it was actually used quite a bit during the Baroque period, in particular by Johann Sebastien Bach( there's that name again..hmm). The most common usage was something called the "Picardy Third", which was a fancy way of saying, "I'm taking a piece that is in a minor key and dramatically ending it on a major chord".

What I have going today, while the same technique, is built into the structure, rather than using it as an ending, or as we say in the composition biz, "cadence". I thought it was interesting that it wound up sounding like something off of King Crimson's "Lizard" album.

I can cope with that.

The September Project: Day 133

2012-01-26T18:01:00.000-08:00

I think that one of the most important pieces for either a pianist or composer to study is the Prelude is C Major from the "Well Tempered Clavier Volume 1". This is a deceptively simple work, demanding more interpretative prowess than technical. It's harmonic structure tells more in its relatively short form than all the textbooks on harmony can tell you, without either the jargon or the pencil necked grad student boring the daylights out of you( similar experiences can be had by way of Monk's "Ask Me Now" or Mingus' "Remember Rockefeller at Attica").

In Bach's day, the harmonic practice had a particular set of conventions, based mostly on close relations to the harmonic series, and means of leading voices( vocal or instrumental) by way of consistent and direct means. Generally things like parallel movement, abrupt movement, large leaps and such were scrupulously avoided, as they were considered poor craft and jarring to the ear. Nontheless, I thought it would be fun to try and apply some of Bach's formal concepts for this prelude to my own updated harmonic and esthetic sense.

The result I think has more in common with Bach than not, despite the differences in harmonic language and style. What links our worlds is the use of common tones as a means of connecting chords together. In my world these tones are a little more distant relative to the scheme of the harmonic series, but they are distinct enough for the series of chords to be contiguous, despite the fact that many of the chords are technically not part of the home key. Funny thing is that one can see the same kind of activity in Bach's work. He moves far from the home key, in small but decisive steps, and finds his way back again. This is really the level of craft that I aspire to, which is why I think that the Prelude in C major is such an important work, and a key component to realizing that goal.

The September Project: Day 132

2012-01-25T15:41:00.000-08:00

I am not a TV watcher in the sense of anything on any network currently or from the last 10 years or so. However, in my formative years I was like many of my generation, and lately, have become a bit nostalgic for the theme music of many of these programs. Not to wax "old guys", but they really don't write them like the used to. A few of the faves:

1) Sanford and Son - Quincy Jones( well, duh)
2) What's Happening - also the legendary Mr Q
3) Fat Albert - Herbie Hancock
4) Batman - Neil Hefti( composer also of "Little Darlins" and arranger for the Basie band)
5) Hawaii 5-0( 1968 please) - Morton Stevens
6) Taxi - Bob James
7) Battlestar Galactica(2003) - Bear McCreary( yes, here is the exception)

Woke up this morning and felt a Fender Rhodes thing coming on, so here is what my theme to "Taxi" might sound like....

The September Project: Day 131

2012-01-24T19:04:00.000-08:00

Lament(for Johannes Kepler)

The September Project: Day 130

2012-01-23T17:05:00.000-08:00

One of the things that is most challenging for an improviser is to keep a specific melodic point of reference going throughout an improvisation, whether it is a solo or an entire work. The best improvisers do this, and it is something that any practitioner should aspire to. One musician who is truly astonishing at this was Thelonious Monk.

In any given Monk solo, you can hear the melody. Whats so startling is that often, Monk is not actually playing the melody, but you can still hear it. Confused? What is happening is that Monk has gotten so far inside the melody that he has broken down and distilled its essence, and is able to reform it into a different series of pitches, that says the same thing. Its a lot like using a number of different words with similar meaning, or more accurately, rephrasing sentences. Its a tricky and subtle approach, and only comes from being able to hear the original melody while you improvise( Monk criticized Miles Davis early solos on "Round Midnight" saying that Miles wasn't really hearing the line yet). Its also an approach which to my ear is very obvious when not used.

Jazz has, like all other music, a specific kind of harmonic language. Its used to build compositions and as a framework for improvisation. As a consequence, there are certain kinds of chord patterns that occur over and over. For example, the standards "I Got Rhythm" and "Evidence" have very similar chord structures. In fact, this particular form is called "Rhythm Changes" due to its origins in the Gershwin tune "I Got Rhythm". Monk's composition "Evidence" uses this same chord structure, as do probably hundreds of other jazz works. Now, a mediocre player will take several of these tunes that use these chords, and play pretty much the same thing over those chords. He/she reaches into his/her bag of tricks and bores some hapless audience to tears spewing the same old nonsense over every tune( I am reaching into other areas right now but do bear with me). A good player understands that each of these tunes is its own, and doesn't forget the melody after it is played, but keeps it in mind throughout the solo. This is one of the things that is at the heart of a good improvisation, that is the story. The melody is the main character, and the improvisation tells its story. No character, no story, who cares.

My opinion, this is what is killing jazz( among other things). Too much bragging, not enough story. Its an unfortunate consequence of the results oriented and self-centered culture that we've managed to devolve into.

I promise not to be grumpy tomorrow....

The September Project: Day 129

2012-01-22T16:47:00.000-08:00

The space between....

The September Project: Day 128

2012-01-21T12:43:00.000-08:00

Bald - No
Vegan - Yes
Christian - No
Musician - Yes
Skinny - Oh my no
Works in Electro Acoustic Environment - Yes
Gets paid lots to do that - Nope

Ok, so I guess I'm not Moby.....just as well, because if I was him then who would be me then?

The September Project: Day 127

2012-01-20T13:42:00.000-08:00

Fun with suspended harmony. This whole thing is basically a big ole dominant pedal. For the unfamiliar, what I am saying is that it is a preparation for the home chord. Most of the time in tonal music, you start on the home chord, move away, get to what is known as a "dominant" function is to set up the home chord, then land back home. Think of the dominant as the last turn you make before you pull into your driveway. Carrying that metaphor to today's post, I am circling the block several times before I pull in. Make sense?

I do this because sometimes prolonging the anticipation is much more potent than simply going right for it. In fact, I think most of the time it is(at least as far as art is concerned), because it is that anticipation which fires the imagination, generates longing, and increases the effect of the final resolution. Of course, this can be detrimental if overdone, as it may cause either boredom or frustration, so it is important to maintain balance and honesty. I say honesty since many composers, myself included, can get so caught up in "their cool method" that they forget or choose to ignore how it sounds. It's times like these when one has to admit that cool though the method is, the result is dull as dishwater, or something like that. I leave you with an extremely silly quote to underscore my point, from "The Meaning of Life", the last film of Monty Python.

"What's wrong with a kiss, boy? Hmm? Why not start her off with a nice kiss? You don't have to go leaping straight for the clitoris like a bull at a gate. Give her a kiss, boy."

The September Project: Day 126

2012-01-19T17:11:00.000-08:00

Ambient
Eno
Layering
nuff said.....

The September Project: Day 125

2012-01-18T04:30:00.000-08:00

One of the coolest things in the arts, in my opinion, is how personality manifests itself. For my own discipline, it pretty much translates to how a person speaks, albeit through their instrument. I first really studied this when I was first learning improvisation with Anthony Davis. He had me checking out people like Monk, Bud Powell, Bird, Mingus, and a host of others. I was heavy into Bud Powell and really started to understand how a truly unique player is instantly recognizable. It wasn't anything I could particularly put into words, but I knew Bud when I heard him. Its very much like recognizing the sound of a person's voice, but not necessarily by the tone, but by inflection, phrasing, diction, etcetera.

Here is what separates good players from the hacks.

A good player will have distinct influences, yet still sound unique, and have an approach that is recognizably their own. A hack will simply sound like someone else. An important distinction here is to exclude the students from this moniker, in no way should a student feel that they are a hack because they sound like Bird. That's what they are supposed to do. If you still sound just like Bird 5 years later, then its probably time to rethink it. Anyway, the best players will grow to a point where they are unique, and these are rare. Most of us will roll along with our influences showing and that is cool, because we can't all be Bird, and why should we anyway? The irony is that the less we really try to sound like someone else, and the more we accept who it is we are, the closer we get to that beguiling place where Bird, Bud, Mingus, Monk, and the others got to. So here's to all of us as we are.

The September Project: Day 124

2012-01-17T17:36:00.000-08:00

Working on the rhythmic elements of this tune today, I immediately thought of Mal Waldron. Waldron was a wonderful pianist and composer who worked with Charles Mingus, Eric Dophy, Steve Lacy, Coltrane, and many others. What I was immediately thinking of was a video I saw a few years back of him with an absolutely monsterous band recorded at the Village Vanguard in NYC. The band was Waldron, with Charlie Rouse on tenor, Woody Shaw on trumpet, Reggie Workman on bass, and Ed Blackwell on drums. For the first tune they laid down the baddest groove I ever heard. It was this laid back, meditative and funky all at the same time drone that was so hypnotic. I don't presume to come anywhere near that for this post, but, nonetheless, taking that kind of approach was a good reminder to me that sometimes, simplicity is the key. There are just three chords to this thing, and the melodic material is very close, very tight, minor blues stuff. This is the kind of a tune to let evolve each time, utterly in the moment, so needless to say its going to be a blast when I roll out an arrangement for the quintet.

Tunes built from this kind of approach are especially susceptible to the "ravages of documentation", meaning, they will never sound as good on recording as they will live. A quick example was the difference between how it felt to me to experience this music playing it versus listening back later. Not exactly the best example because what clouds the issue is that those two experiences are never, ever on par. The performance always feels better. However, I experienced the same thing after the Mehldau show two weeks ago. Driving back from NJ, I popped his "Day is Done" CD into the player, and immediately thought, "It's not the same". There is no substitute for live performance, and no media, be it CD, vinyl, mp3, or whatever new format they come up with, will ever capture the spirit of the music. When you go and experience a live concert, you are getting the soul of the music, and frankly, I think its a great thing that it only truly comes out in performance. It preserves the uniqueness of the event and is an appropriate reminder of the uniqueness of our lives.

The September Project: Day 123

2012-01-16T15:54:00.000-08:00

Its really interesting where inspiration can come from, and more so where it leads. I began tonight fiddling around with one of my preferred toys that I use for the Algorithm group( a doodad called Akkord if you want to know...a fairly complex synth/sequencer that will create its own little variations). I had a nice little thing happening, and when I began to write the piano part, I found that the first bit was now unnecessary and actually more of a hindrance than anything else.

Think about that for a minute.

This one piece of stuff led directly to the piano part that in turn made it obsolete. Man that is cold.

Now I anthropomorphize but you get my point. How is it that something that was a catalyst becomes not needed? That just can't work because, obviously, it was needed. So how then do you seperate? In spirit is it still part? Is it gone? I'm certain that I am over thinking this but its a curious thing, and I like thinking about stuff like this.

If nothing else, it keeps me humble because they mystery of this wonderful art still remains.

The September Project: Day 122

2012-01-15T14:42:00.000-08:00

It is, as we say in these parts, wicked cold. Wind chill is somewhere around -15 F. The wood stove is going pretty much all the time, to both the delight of the cat and the chagrin of whichever of us is lucky enough to wake up and notice the fire dying. That poor slob is the one spontaneously elected to feed the hungry beast( err, the stove not the cat, although we do feed him as well).

Nonetheless, I got the bright idea to record the fire today. Not without precedent, last year I recorded a blizzard, and a few months back got some takes from our stream out back. This was a little different. In neither of the previous cases was I ever in danger of setting myself on fire or melting my pricey little field recorder( I do need to write to the makers and compliment them on this unit's heat resistance). I, and the recorder both toughed it out for about 20 seconds or so until discretion played the better part, and we bailed.

The base sounds of today's post are the fire sounds. The primary is a simple loop of those 20 seconds. There are two others, both pitch adjusted and mixed in and out against a fourth track, which is a recording of some of our wood. I made this during one of the last stacking sessions, and had found this particular log that had a particularly resonant tone. Nuff said.

The rest speaks for itself, and listeners who listen through to the end can get a much greater appreciation of the artist's sufferings. Alas.

The September Project: Day 121

2012-01-14T13:08:00.000-08:00

More sketches for the "Algorithm" group.

The September Project: Day 120

2012-01-13T11:46:00.000-08:00

One of the many great things about playing with other people is the amount you can learn from them. This is not necessarily being tutored or told something new, although it certainly can be, but rather more like osmosis. By listening and responding, you pick up a ton of little things simple by association( of course, this can also apply to bad habits, but that is not what I want to talk about).

One of the things that you learn the most is intuition, the lovely little intangible that makes a good group great. I got to see the Brad Mehldau Trio at the Vanguard last week, and it was a wonderful and illuminating experience that underscored to me the importance of playing with other musicians. This group was clearly very skilled technically, but even more strong in their sense of one another, their intuition and musical instincts. As proof to myself I counted along with them while they were trading( for those that don't know this is a traditional practice of "relaying" solos, usually in four bar groups). Even I though I knew my beat was steady and I knew that they were trading fours, the subtlety of their playing as a group made it impossible to count it out and stay with them. Nonetheless, they all stayed together. They were bending the time and inflecting it as a group, and this only ever comes from playing together a lot, and for a long time.

This is just one specific example of that benefit of playing with other musicians. Like I said, so much is intangible, but you know it when you hear it. Needless to say I came out of that show totally psyched to practice more and play more with my group, and build on that intuition.

The September Project: Day 119

2012-01-12T04:02:00.000-08:00

I wish I could have gone on with this a little bit more. This kind of writing affords a great opportunity to use context as a compositional tool more so than other styles, because things usually take longer to develop. Using a layered approach, one can change the listener's initial idea of what is going on, simply by altering harmony slowly over time, or by distorting rhythm slowly over time. It's almost like you start with a blue screen and slowly adjust the tint so it becomes purple, and your audience is thinking, "hey, didn't that thing used to be blue?".

Anyway, this is a more of a sketch for something I'd like to fool more with, but truth be told, it does start in one key and over the two minutes, move to another, albeit not distant, and certainly related.

The September Project: Day 118

2012-01-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite recordings is "In A Silent Way" by Miles Davis. It is a record that sometimes gets overlooked in favor of the seminal "Bitches Brew", but in my view is just as strong an album and equally inventive and inspiring. The tune "In A Silent Way" was written by one of Miles' keyboard players at the time, Joe Zawinul. Zawinul might be better known for his work with Wayne Shorter and Jaco in the band "Weather Report", but this tune is a beautiful little piece of simplicity. I remember hearing Zawinul talk about how he wrote it on a napkin in a cafe in Vienna and being just knocked out by it. Its still one of my favorite pieces of music, and today I am drawing on that as inspiration and blending it with a little Art Ensemble of Chicago style backgrounds.

If you are going to steal...steal from the best.

The September Project: Day 117

2012-01-10T13:44:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I find it helpful to work in a more abstract way. For me this means using and balancing sound, which, of course is basically what one does in any composition, but today we are eliminating the standard notions of melody and harmony. Rhythmic and sonic elements are the focus, and stated and varied according to what feels right.

I like using this approach from time to time because it makes my focus a little more broad, and is good training for those times when I over think something, or gnash my teeth over a particular pitch or rhythm. Laying back and focusing on broad issues of sound tends to bring overall form more to the fore, and ultimately directs what should happen in the details. Its kind of like what Michelangelo said about in making sculpture, he simply carved away the unnecessary bits from a block of marble. Or something.

Either that or this is just something for robots to dance to.....

The September Project: Day 116

2012-01-09T17:43:00.000-08:00

mist....

The September Project: Day 115

2012-01-08T15:05:00.000-08:00

Fiddling and pottering today. Started with one idea and immediately derailed into this Bear McCreary inspired madness. If you are unfamiliar with this guy, he did the soundtrack for the recent redux of "Battlestar Galactica". Great score, as well as a great series.

An interesting aside, however, in Dirk Benedict(the "Starbuck" from the original series) posting some lame crap about how that character was now a woman and how bad it is.

Me, I have no issue with hot chicks in spaceships battling robots, so Dirk can shove it.

The September Project: Day 114

2012-01-07T12:33:00.000-08:00

An experiment using scat singing for today. Scat singing was made popular by Louis Armstrong and perfected by Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillepse. The particular syllables used are typically made up and nonsensical, although more often than not they will imitate then particular inflections of wind instruments( which is truly ironic since many wind players really try to develop a more "vocal" sound on their horns). Anyway, scat singing opens the opportunity for improvisation for the singer. Instead of just standing there looking pretty and indulging the "lookit me" show, an accomplished scat singer can take solo, trade choruses, and be involved in every part of the performance that the instrumentalists are. Ultimately, this makes them a better musician. Too many singers out there can't or don't read, don't count, and have no understanding of harmony, and consequently, the relationships of the pitches they sing to the underlying chord. Conversely, not enough instrumentalists sing. An unfortunately consequence is that their performances become entirely mechanical and rooted in the habits of their technique. The best instrumentalists could sing a solo as well as play it, and are ultimately "singing" through their instruments.

While it may seem so, my point here is not to bash any particular group of musicians, except perhaps, the ones who do not aspire to move beyond where they are and settle for what is either easiest or what they think will gain them the most attention. This is an abuse of the art and ultimately dilutes the artists value of it, but also trains the audiences to accept this bullshit, because they don't get to hear anything else.

This is what happens to me when I go to NYC. Not that there isn't bullshit there, but it sure ain't at the top level. As well, audiences are used to hearing the real deal, and do not put up with some of the mediocrity that you hear elsewhere. Some of the buskers you hear on the subway would smoke the "better" players in other areas.

But, here I am on a rant.

Today is a post that comes out of my own vocal studies. I would not call myself a vocalist yet, but training myself to hear better and vocalize sounds before playing has done me a world of good, and has become an important part of my practice as a musician.

The September Project: Day 113

2012-01-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

Another experiment with layering, inspired by Willem de Kooning. For this, I took the dry(non-reverberated) master mix from yesterday, and used it to created a 100% reverberated track, and a track that is reduced in frequency by 2 octaves. I think I am starting to see why visual artists work in series and wondering why more composers don't.

The September Project: Day 112

2012-01-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

Today's post was inspired by the work of Willem de Kooning(1904 - 1997). I was fortunate to be able to go to the retrospective put on by MOMA in New York City. While perusing the exposition, I came across some works of his done in the mid-1940s which had a really unique feature. de Kooning deliberately left his edits visible. He would layer charcoal and paint, leaving the charcoal edit marks behind. The effect was really neat, creating secondary motion amid what was described as de Kooning's "dissonant" colors. What I found so engaging was getting a little peek into his work process, while still being able to view the final product. In a work like his "Pink Lady" you can clearly see de Kooning working with different angles for the limbs of his subject, leaving one to wonder how and why he came top his final decision, or, even to consider that it was his intention to leave the edit marks as an inticement to the viewer to choose which one they preferred.

This is what I love about the arts. A real master like de Kooning will engage the imagination of the viewer, often times without them even realizing it. Cool stuff.

So, today's post is three different takes of the same basic idea, played simultaneously and mixed judiciously to create a conglomerate final take.

The September Project: Day 111

2012-01-04T07:22:00.000-08:00

Nice to be away from all my electronic toys and doo-dads. While these things are really nice to work with, and in themselves create different paths of creative opportunity, it is still good to simply work at my main instrument in an acoustic enviornment. This combined with the time contraint of the project( as well as the train schedule into NYC today) really directed my work today into a particular kind of harmonic and contextual exploration.

So what we have today is an effort to move away from the kinds of chords I've been using a lot towards ones I don't use a lot, and trying to create links between seemingly unrelated chords( at least in the strictly tonal world)using lines build from tones common to both chords.

Ironically, this is lesson one from Arnold Scheonberg's "Harmonielehrer", a monumental treatise on traditional harmony.

I don't really have a point here, other than rediscovering the value of deliberately removing oneself from familiar territory opens up new creative possibilities, and at the same time, tends to bring you back to the basic fundamentals.

Now then, I have a date with a diesel fume infused mustard pretzel in Manhattan.

The September Project: Day 110

2012-01-03T08:08:00.000-08:00

Going remote this week, on location in New Jersey, visiting with family and catching up with friends and banging around Manhattan. Been having a grand old time with my most excellent nephew's most excellent dog, Geisha.

Geisha is a sweet slobbery Rhodesian Ridgeback/Pit Bull mix, with a penchant for finding the weak links in the "overfeed the dog/play with the dog" food chain.

That would be me.

Today's post is certainly inspired by watching Juan curled up with Geisha while we watched "The Odd Couple" last night. Ironic? I don't think so.....

The September Project: Day 109

2012-01-02T06:20:00.001-08:00

Another challenge day, simply because I had not gotten my act together and set my gear back up after a gig. So today I put a piece together using purely midi language at the computer( think of it as a fancier way of writing music on score paper).

Its a good exercise, as it forces you to use your inner ear exclusively, which means you then transcribe what you hear in you mind onto the page, or in this case, onto the midi control page. Apparently towards the end of his life, Bach would work like this on his canons, always away from the keyboard. Pretty startling I think. Imagine being able to hear and transcribe complex harmony, and add to that the complexity of canon and fugue. I have a long way to go, but its the simpler stuff like this that starts it.

The September Project: Day 108

2012-01-01T16:29:00.000-08:00

The first Sunday of every month is earmarked for the "Jazz at the Annex" jazz jam. I started going to this event back in 2008 and find it to be a rare and wonderful thing.

The room has a great vibe, the people there are into jazz and enjoy just listening, or sketching or even knitting for the 2 to 2 1/2 hours of the event. The musicians are great. No attitude, no BS. Everyone from beginners to experienced are welcomed and given a chance to do their thing. We've been fortunate to develop a strong core of players who come down regularly, and we seem to be attracting more. This thing runs the way a jam should. No holds barred, anything goes, but also no pressure.

Thats what I had to get over at first, and I'm sure that others have had a similar experience. When I first came down, I was a bit freaked out, and concerned about keeping up. What I realized was that as much as this was a performance, it was also a laboratory. Any number of times we have taken tunes totally out, and brought them back in. This is encouraged and happens on a regular basis. There are no mistakes at the Annex, only opportunity.

Todays post features some of the musicians of the Annex Jam:

Mike Whitehead - Flugehorn
Tom Luther - Piano
Paul Rice - Bass
Jason Dean - Drums

The Annex Jam happens the first Sunday of every month at the Waldo Theater Annex, on School Street in Waldoboro, Maine.

For deets: Jazz at the Annex on Facebook

The September Project: Day 107

2011-12-31T13:59:00.000-08:00

The Japanese have a really cool New Years practice. They have two celebrations. One is for the old year, and the second, exactly a week later, ushers in the new year. I really like the mutual acknowledgement and equal treatment given to both the old and new, allowing for reflection on each in their own context.

So, on this New Year's eve, here is a piece in seven, a presumed lucky number, and here's hoping for good fortune for all of us this next year, and hoping that this last gave us all things to remember.

The September Project: Day 106

2011-12-30T12:05:00.000-08:00

Today I am wondering what is it that makes us decide on a certain tack when we create. I mean beyond when one has a specific idea for something. What is it, on those days when we just seem to come up with stuff, that pushes our creativity in one direction or another?

Today for instance, I was out with the dog for our morning constitutional( read: poop) and I was hearing a cello pizzicato line with a woody percussion sound. As you will hear, neither of those things is in today's post, or is remotely close even. The only thing I can recall is staring up the recording software and suddenly feeling like I would do something techno/industrial. The strange part is that I didn't forget about the first idea I had. In fact, up until that moment it was my clear intention to work with those ideas, but then this other thing strolls in like some old friend demanding that you go to the pub with them and leave the housework for another time.

I kinda like it when my ideas invite me out for drinks.

The September Project: Day 105

2011-12-29T17:12:00.000-08:00

The economics of economy part 3....

So here is another interpretation of the same material I used yesterday. Call it a study in context. Or Frank, I don't care......

The September Project : Day 104

2011-12-28T17:32:00.000-08:00

Today's bit came out of a conversation with a buddy of mine. It actually started last night, when he sent me a message relating how funny he found my post from the previous day, because, he had not 3 minutes prior, been saying the same thing to his bride, who is involved in a similar daily art project.

The discussion today revolved around how artists tend to want to build everything to the height of their powers, and continue to find where that edge is. I think what I took away from that conversation was two things, first, the wisdom of dealing with the reality of the situation. You're not gonna write Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony or paint "Starry Night" every day. Second, and I believe more important, to use the limitation of time and the apparent creative restrictions to your advantage. The quick answer I fiddled with today was to keep everything simple, and to try to make a complex out of a whole lot of simple. And, it kinda works. There are definitely points of weakness that could be executed better( a certain rickety modulation of pitch leaps to mind), but regardless, what I took away from it was how to economize my creative process, at least in part, in response to an economy of time. This, for me at this moment, opens up a lot more creative avenues than I might have thought.

More grist for the mill then.....

The September Project: Day 103

2011-12-27T14:58:00.000-08:00

So springing right from yesterday, here is a tune that uses single note passages within larger textures. For those not familiar with the jargon, these kinds of things typically fall into the category of "ostinati" or the singular "ostinato", referring to simple repeating patterns(not necessarily single note, but these are also not excluded), and "pedal points", which are really applicable to single note patterns that occur in the bass parts.

This is a basic A A B form, with the single note stuff occurring at the back end of the "A" sections. It becomes a little more prominent in the improvised sections, but you'll get the idea.

The September Project: Day 102

2011-12-26T17:10:00.000-08:00

Again with the brilliant ideas goes my bride.

Periodically, when I gripe about having committed to this project(not as often as all that mind you), she has suggested to me that I cut down on the scope of what I do or the scale, which I usually shake off, and like Ebby Laloosh, go on and throw that heater anyway(Fortunately, most of mine don't wind up leaving the yard looking like they oughta have passports on them). I digress.

Tonight was one of those cases, not because I was tired of the project, just plain tired. I didn't sleep well last night, and was dragging serious tail when I got home from work. I had a nifty idea about using a kind of rondo form in a jazz context, with some reasonable sketches in the ass book, when she says to me "For god's sake will you just simplify it for tonight? Just write one poignant note and call it done. You can do that you know!".

And I said, "hmmmmmm", and thought, "well, if one note is good enough for Antonio Carlos Jobin(One Note Samba) that its good enough for me.

The September Project: Day 101

2011-12-25T11:49:00.000-08:00

Christmas as viewed through the lens of the early 20th century French symbolists.....

The September Project: Day 100

2011-12-24T14:41:00.000-08:00

What defines an artist, more than the final result, is the process used to achieve this result. Integral to that process, and more often than not only known to the artist, are the options and paths not taken. The end result pretty clearly indicates the final decisions made by an artist. It shows everything from the particular media used, scale, context, all the way to form and methods of presentation(singular work, work in several parts, etc). All these were conscious decisions made by the artist. Along with this were decisions to not do something else. Most of the time, aside from alternate takes on recordings and published sketchbooks, audiences don't get to see what didn't go into making a work of art.

"Why would you want to?", it could be argued. Clearly, the artists decided that the best means of communication was the one that resulted in the final work. I suppose thats true, but speaking for myself, I think a lot of times there are a multiplicity of approaches that will yield an acceptable final project that communicates what I want it to. Which one I choose will depend on my mood, the particular application(live performance, soundtrack, purely electronic realization), or simply an almost arbitrary setting based on the dominant esthetic in my mind at the time(jazz, ambient, so called "classical", etc).

I tend to think this is not unusual, and that many works of art have many potential outcomes, but most of the time we as an audience get to experience only one. I heard an interview with Duke Ellington once where he sat at the piano and played three or four different harmonic settings he had considered for "Sophisticated Ladies". More of an exception rather than the rule, which I think is unfortunate, because I think what really defines an artist are the decisions to not do something.

So then, for today we have three options built from the same melody. Which one is the final cut is up to you.

The September Project: Day 99

2011-12-23T16:45:00.000-08:00

One of the things great pitchers do is set up the batter(conversely, this is also what great batters do, but regardless). A great pitcher will feed a batter a steady diet of fastballs that look tantalizing enough to swing at, and once that batter has caught up and thinks he has the timing down to drive a ball out, the pitcher will drop in a change-up or a slow breaking ball that will have the batter swinging out of his shoes, and if done right, shortly thereafter sit his ass down on the bench and sulk.

This is also a foundation of art. Of course, as artists our goals are for the most part not competitive, at least not with the audience. However, the idea of setting up an expectation, and then deliberately not fulfilling it is one of the most powerful tools one can use. It creates excitement and interest, and because the expectation is unfulfilled, it leaves behind a sense of wonder and (hopefully) and desire to hear what happens next. A classic( if not banal) example would be a mystery story that drops false clues along the way to challenge the insight of the reader. Composers can do the same thing. Consider the crescendo and build that suddenly drops away into a solo passage. You hear this kind of thing all the time. It is a simple and effective little tool that can generate a lot of creative possibilities.

As a point of order, Pedro Martinez had one of the best change-ups in the game.

The September Project: Day 98

2011-12-22T04:01:00.001-08:00

About two years ago, in one of my "New Jersey" moments, I was popping off about how if one more person wished me I happy solstice I was going to punch them in the mouth. So, of course, my co-workers all got together and made the most darling little Solstice card, figuring that A) there were too many of them to effectively punch in the mouth, B) that I wouldn't anyway, since they were used to my periodic and inconsequential ravings, and C) it would be just plain fun to lean on the button, if for no other reason, for every time I had paid them the same courtesy. So then, this is for you guys, in particular, Erika, Fran, and Syd.....thanks for the laughs!

The September Project: Day 97

2011-12-21T16:46:00.000-08:00

So this program I watched a week or so back, called "The Music Instinct", brought up a distinction between music and noise. As I recall the salient point was that music had a particular and deliberate organization, whereas noise didn't. I'm not sure what to make of that. It suggests that music must have intentional organization. So is unintentional organization, such as the kind that happens in improvised music a disqualifier? They also referred to the randomness of noise. Here again, if sound is all subject to the harmonic series(long conversation for another time), is it really random anymore?

I don't have any answers to these questions, but I tend to think that its an eye of the beholder kinda thing. One person's noise can be another persons music. I tend to be a bit wary of absolutes, since we seem to disprove more of them than we prove.

Flat earth anyone?

The September Project: Day 96

2011-12-20T16:03:00.000-08:00

If I haven't mentioned it before, I really like ambient music. This wasn't always the case, and especially when I was still in school and more enamored with technical skill and sonic density. At that time, I had no patience for what I considered "beginners music" or "music to drool by". Fortunately, age has brought with it a certain wisdom and a patience to see beyond the superficial.

My first experiences with ambient music was through George Winston( really, "new age", but I am not going to split hairs over marketing jargon) and the great duo recordings of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno. I dug this stuff throughout high school, but eschewed it during my college years in favor of the heavier avante garde. Now, it seems I come full circle, and find myself drawn in again, particularly to the "Apollo" soundtracks of Eno and the otherworldly jazz tinged sound of Jon Hassell.

The turning point for me was probably hanging around with Steve Drury, I met Steve when I was a coffee jerk in Boston. Steve was(and is I presume) piano faculty at New England Conservatory. An absolutely brilliant pianist, and a huge fan of new music. I was fortunate enough to study, albeit briefly, with him, and one of the works we covered was Suite #10, "Ka". This work, while probably strange sounding to most at first, really borders on ambient in tone and temperament, and it was during the time I worked on it that I remember Steve paraphrasing John Cage, saying, "listen to the silence and hear what is there".

To me that is key to ambient music. By design, it is music that is in the background, but it is also something that can be experienced up close, and becomes all the more vibrant when viewed through that lens. The best of it( Eno, Hassell) offers two different experiences, one up close, and one from a distance. It is much more of an interactive listening experience that one realizes.

It reminds me of a comment by Charles Mingus. The particulars escape me, but the jist is that the world would be a better place if bad ass music were played in elevators and supermarkets. Maybe someday.

The September Project: Day 95

2011-12-19T18:27:00.000-08:00

If there is one musician who has been singularly influential on me in more recent years, say the past ten or so, if is unmistakeably Thelonious Monk( Mingus is a close second). I've spent a lot of time listening to his music, his playing, and feel like I have only just started to get what he is about.

Monk had a very muscular style of piano playing, a very shrewd harmonic intellect, and a spicy and propellant rhythmic language. He was very forward looking(according to his manager, he preferred to be called "modern")yet had a strong sense and respect for his roots, particularly in Harlem stride pianists James P Johnson and Fats Waller. As a composer, he created distinct, sometimes labyrinthine melody lines that demanded special attention from improvisers to constantly hear the melody while they improvised(his admonishments to Miles regarding his subpar performances of "Round Midnight" are the stuff of legend). His harmonic world used the fairly commonplace II-V sequence to great effect through enharmonic variation and extremely clever use of substitutions. In less technical language, Monk used a hammer and a nail and built the Eiffel Tower.

Monk the man was a strange dude. Plagued with an as yet undiagnosed mental illness(maybe Manic Depressive or Autistic), and clearly frustrated at times that people didn't get his thing as quick as he would have liked. Mercurial to the end, he stopped playing around 1970 or so, his only reason being "I just don't feel like playing anymore". Monk died in 1982.

Monk remains one of the most misunderstood artists. I still hear people say stupid shit about him, and comment on his "childlike delight". As if he had no idea what the hell he was doing. One of my favorite Monk anecdotes was some jerkoff on the radio going on about how Monk liked to play "wrong notes". Monk, who was listening at the time called up and told this schmuck that "the piano ain't got no wrong notes!"

I think its much easier for people to say stupid shit when they don't understand something. Why not just say, "I don't get it. I like it, but I don't get it". That to me is the quickest way to start to get it. But, yammering on about wrong notes is easier I suppose.

I'm not gonna say I get Monk, but I've learned a lot from studying his music, and playing and listening. When I used to go see music at the old Knitting Factory on East Houston, I made a point of thanking the musicians for the education. Monk is gone now, but just in case he's watching.

Thanks for the education Mr Monk!

The September Project: Day 94

2011-12-18T15:13:00.000-08:00

Today's post prompted an interesting discussion between myself and my bride. As is my habit, I like to play my stuff for her prior to posting, and after hearing this one, she immediately and definitively stated "Algorithm! I can totally hear this for Algorithm".

Algorithm is the name of a new project I have with my friend Mike, who plays trumpet in my jazz group. The idea of this project is that it is a keyboard/trumpet duo with electronics, inspired by Brian Eno and Jon Hassell.

My first reaction was "no way". This is totally an improvisers piece, and while both Mike and myself do this very well, the electronics cannot, at least not to the degree as would be necessary for the tone of this work. I look at this as both a good thing and a bad thing. Its a good thing because it is just another affirmation that we as human beings still have some usefulness and we aren't just limited to putting holes in the ozone and fouling up the gene pool. Its a bad thing because it is a limitation, and now I am wondering if it is an actual and true limitation, or one that I simply created in my mind because of a preconceived bias for what I think this music is( or isn't).

One of the reasons I love my wife is that she makes me think really deeply about what I do. And the really beautiful thing is that is just the way she is. She is an explorer at heart, and doesn't see limits, only opportunities. For anytime I say. "No, it can't work", she says, "Why not?" I will then typically sputter on about this, that, and the other, and after sleeping on it realize, "Gee, she is on to something there.....I can make this work!"

So then, perhaps I can make this work......hmmmmmm.

To be continued.

The September Project: Day 93

2011-12-17T10:58:00.000-08:00

So go figure. I started out simply wanting to deal with some abstract sonic ideas, and I wound up re-scoring part of an old "Star Trek" episode.

The September Project: Day 92

2011-12-16T16:48:00.000-08:00

I spent part of last night recording demos for a new project called "algorithm". Its an electro-acoustic duo with my friend Mike, and we got to talking about Brian Eno, which led to the mention of Daniel Lanois. I had never heard of this guy, but from what Mike told me, and what I read about him later, he is, with Brian Eno, one of the preeminent persons in the producer world.

I have always viewed producers with a bit of suspicion. They have seemed to me to be classic middle managers, who don't really know their shit but are happy to tell you what to go do with it. This is probably the result of absorbing too much pablum from the pop world, and not having a firm understanding of what someone who wears the mantle of producer does for real.

The first person called a producer who began to change my opinion was the late great Tom Dowd. If you don't know who this guy is, see a film called "Tom Dowd and the Language of Music". Dowd had a hand in everything from vertical sliders on mixing boards, the atomic bomb, to "Layla". Thats a helluva resume, and not one that is built by some gearhead jerkoff obsessed with "beats". The other person is of course Brian Eno. Founder of Roxy Music, father of ambient music, and co-producer of "The Joshua Tree" along with the aforementioned Lanois. In my book, there has to be something to this producer thing if guys of this ilk are involved.

I guess my problem is that I never saw a need myself for a producer. I would show up at the studio, arrangements done, ready to lay it all down. What I forget is that your average, even above average pop musician shows up with some lyrics, maybe a melody, and perhaps some chords. Its up to the producer to finish it out. Quite a challenge when you think about it. You'd have to sus out someone else's artistic intent, and focus it into a cogent message. Helluva thing to do when the artist probably doesn't even know what they want, at least until they hear it. So my mind is different know, especially after doing todays post.

Today, I took a melody of mine, and set it to a few "prefab" things I found in my sound library. One was a prerecorded clavinet part, and other was a synthesizer patch designed for film scoring. It was a really fun and enlightening experience trying to guide these two elements into a format that would support the melodic stuff. And that, I think, is exactly what a producer does. You guide the musicians, so they naturally play and support the music. Its not autocratic( yeah, tell Dicky Betts every note he's gonna play..I dare you). Its feeling out what the strengths are a matching them to one another. I made some headway today, got some insight, and opened up a whole new work process.

To quote Ice-Cube, "I gotta say it was a good day"

The September Project: Day 91

2011-12-15T04:30:00.000-08:00

My bride got me a new moleskin the other day. I guess she figures that at the rate I'm going, I will burn through the first one fairly soon. So, I will endeavor to not disappoint.

Here is a four part canonic treatment on a melody from the assbook.I just wanted to say that.

The September Project: Day 90

2011-12-14T16:22:00.000-08:00

Holy Cow.

Three months down.

Admittedly I haven't had much energy to think about what that means, or to look back on the time spent due to the unfortunate events of the last 24 hours. If you haven't been following, my previous blogging program did not update successfully and eradicated all my posts from the last 3 months. I won't mention its name, but its initials are Word Press and I'd avoid it like herpes.

Ok then, venom is spat....onward.As I was saying, due to this event, I haven't really thought about the time passed as I have been focused on keeping this thing going. However, this is really what this effort is about. Stuff like this, and how to deal effectively with it and keep going. I've mentioned before that the challenge is in the time crunch, but also in dealing with the unexpected events that throw a wrench into things. I do remember the first post was held up by a power failure, and several times now I've had really tight schedules that have forced me to just do something at 5:30 am before my day gets rolling.

While these things are certainly difficulties, ultimately, they are the hidden rewards of this thing. This is about a process, not a result. Yes, there is a certain gratification from having a composition to show for every day, but its more gratifying to be working through not only the esthetic challenges and logistical challenges of what this project demands. This is where the real learning happens, and it is also something that, no matter what happens with software, hardware, or the power company, will not go away. The experiences begin to wear like old leather, and ultimately become a part of the method, the process, the work habit. And, as more challenges crop up, more solutions, and more opportunities.

And the best part in all this is that both my computer keyboard and mouse are still intact.

Now that's progress!

The September Project: Day 89

2011-12-13T18:13:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the new home of Tom Luther, and the September Project.

For those who might not know, The September Project was something I started back in September( go figure), and is a daily music composition blog that will be running until next September. Basically, the deal is I am writing, recording, and posting everyday from September 16 2011 until September 15 2012. Long story, and one that I will address as things roll along.

This project and my web page was originally on WordPress, which I have since dumped( more accurately, it dumped me). Basically I lost all my prior posts while trying to update their "product". Call my silly, but I am one of those people who expects that a product will actually do what its supposed to. So screw those technocrat assclowns......

Today's post is Day 89. As soon as I can, I will be posting all the music from Day 1 onward. Stay tuned.