RIP ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG

"I think a painting is more like the real world if it's made out of the real world."

-Robert Rauschenberg, 1925-2008

CHANNELING MY INNER ROMAN WARRIOR

For the last two days I've been blowing second buccina on Respighi's Pines of Rome with the Bakersfield Symphony. Buccine are ancient Roman war trumpets, see the photo above. No, that's not me - these extra brass parts are typically played on modern flugelhorns although we opted tonight for regular Bb trumpets. But the real deal looks pretty incredible, I should probably get one...

The performance was really (literally) a blast; the crescendo with all 18 brass in the fourth movement is hair-raising, stunning, especially to be right in the middle of it. This piece has always been one of my favorites, because not only is it quite possibly the loudest and most terrifying music ever written about trees, it is also (to my knowledge) the first composition to incorporate the phonograph as a musical instrument, in order to play a prerecorded nightingale song during the third movement.

That's right all you DJs, turntablism started with Ottorino Respighi, in 1924! Birds and pine trees. Show some respect.

SOMETHING FOR TUESDAY

THE "GREATER GOOD"

Is usually standing near some peaceful tree . .
And may always be found lost
When it comes to "voting"
Or reading the newspapers;
For if he wanted to study up
To be a bloody nut,
He'd choose something more sensible -
Like sticking his head in a buzzsaw.
He's got a hole at either end of him,
Both of which he respects to the point
Of never confusing their functions.
("Governments etc" please copy.)

-Kenneth Patchen, Hurrah for Anything

SOUNDS ENTICING

Stratostrophic is now available on iTunes Plus, with no DRM and a high bitrate. Just the way you like it!

MORE FREE GIUFFRE

Greetings to those of you coming over via Darcy's excellent, heartfelt post on the late Jimmy Giuffre.

Here's a link to another live concert by the great Giuffre/Bley/Swallow Trio. This one is from a 1991 performance in Montreal, a couple years after their initial reunion in 1989 but just before the seminal Fly Away Little Bird. It's a free download; thank Boromir while you're there.

MY (IDEAL) LIFE

NH3 @ LAHC

Back in Los Angeles, land of the barely moving...

As to be expected, Vinny Golia mopped the floor with us youngsters. He did, however, play a beautiful and unusually quiet extended clarinet solo on the piece I wrote for Jimmy Giuffre. Nice to hear that. According to Vinny, Giuffre played clarinet in A rather than Bb, which must have contributed to that dark, buttery sound.

Anyway, here are pictures, mostly from rehearsal. Nate taped the gig, and he may have some kind of YouTube production in the works - he's good at that sort of thing...

ANOTHER FALLEN HERO

photo by John Fago

Henry Brant, 1913-2008. Quite a long, amazing, productive life. If any composer could lay claim to the mantle of Charles Ives it was Brant.

I got to perform one of his works, Millenium 1 with the CalArts Trumpet Ensemble at the opening of REDCAT back in '03. It completely turned my head around. I immediately went out and bought every recording of his music I could find. Marvels all, though the spatial works don't always translate well to the CD medium. His recent orchestration of Ives' Concord Sonata, however, makes for an absolutely stunning recording. Crowning achievement? Probably not, but if you've never heard Brant it's a great place to begin...

ELE(JG)Y

I'm playing at the Lira Concert Series at LA Harbor College tomorrow night with LA's resident woodwind legend Vinny Golia and San Diego percussionist/composer Nathan Hubbard.

I wrote a little thing for Jimmy Giuffre, we'll see if it works:

(Click to open the readable version)