Notes on Compositions:

Soundtrack to Human Motion Gangsterism on Canvas:The main theme of this piece is taken from a piece by Andrew Hill called Erato. I modified the theme by transposing it up a fourth and then up a fifth. The big picture is a long-form minor blues. The title is taken from a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting entitled Hollywood Africans. Within the painting is the word "GANGSTERISM". Hence the title. The title refers to the sorrow that people cause themselves when they exhibit false facades. For example, rappers who pretend to be gangsters in the studios, but in reality are just as loving as the next man is. They are only gangsters on the surface. Snake Stance: This piece refers to the stance you must take to improvise on this song. You must "weave", "dip", and "dive". As a teenager I was an aspiring herpetologist. I had a fascination with reptiles, especially snakes and alligators. Their movement was intriguing. Similar to the movement created in this piece which is basically a broken hip-hop groove. In the repeated section, the harmonic progression uses the F# as the common tone. All of the chords use the F# as a different tension. I adopted that technique after transcribing some of Henry Threadgill's music. Retrograde: I listened to Andrew Hill's recording of Smokestack backwards created this piece. When you reverse a piece of music, the harmonic resolutions don't have the same function. Where you would normally find a II-V-I, there is a I-V-II. Now you are forced to create an improvisation that you may not harmonically be used to. All of those II-V "licks" can be thrown out of the window. I think it is imperative to constantly alter your view of any subject allowing your vision to become more refined. As an exercise, take a piece of music you have written and play it backwards as an experiment. Root Progression: The first melodic statement is a modified excerpt from Alban Berg's Chamber Concerto for Piano and Violin with 13 Wind Instruments. The second melodic statement employed the technique of serialist composers. I took the alphabet and called A-a, Bb-b, B-c, C-d, etc. Then spelling her name, I had a line that comfortably fit under my fingers and was the perfect addition to the first half I wrote. MP3 tracks: gangsterism_on_canvas.mp3 | snake_stance.mp3 | retrograde.mp3 MAC users: click & hold over link and "save link as source" PC users: right click over link and "save link as..." Facing Left Thief Without Loot: The melody of this piece comes from the transcription of a Japanese friend of mine's voice. After I recorded her voice I put it into a music program I have on my computer. Then went word by word and transcribed the pitches in her voice to the corresponding note on the keyboard. This is the reason for the obtrusive rhythms. But it grooves, loosely. I heard a friend perform the same task with the Jerky Boys. Also, Hermeto Pascoal has experimented with this technique on his album Festa Dos Deuses. A classic recording. He uses lots of sounds from nature in his music. Birds, roosters, pigs, etc. Lies Are Sold: This is an experiment with a cell. The cell (a group of notes) was B,C, and D. The melody in this piece is the expansion and contraction of either side of the cell. For example, if I move up a minor third from the top note, then I move a minor third down from bottom note. Symmetry. The solo section is a two bar repeated section of the melody. Hip-Hop is a big influence in my life, so I am used to the concept of looping. While growing up, I would hear a lot of samples in rap songs by Public Enemy, Brand Nubian, De La Soul, etc. The task was to find where the samples came from. Usually you would find the original sample on an obscure record. Although, many times, the original sample would be taken from a classic jazz recording. Therefore, I loop my own music in different sections creating what is termed as "beats". The title is an answer to Greg Osby's tune "Truth Be Told" from the Friendly Fire recording. Three of the Same from Two Different: This piece is primarily played with my left hand. I am in an effort to make my left hand more proficient. The melody is comprised of intervals that are "dissonant". After each statement of the melody, I add the right hand more and more to embellish the melody. This is dedicated to my nuclear family. The title meaning my parents are two very different people and they created three sons. My brothers and I are one in the same. We look alike, think alike, and are the best of friends. Fragment of a Necklace: During one of my lessons with Muhal Richard Abrams, we looked at the Schillinger System of Musical Composition. He explained that the essential aspect of music lies within the RHYTHM. You can't move from one note to the next note without creating a rhythm. The first couple of chapters focus on rhythm. The exercise I performed with Schillinger's mathematical equations and graph paper produced this song. The rhythm was thoroughly worked out. But, the notes were picked at random. The notes are picked at random. Therefore this piece is unlike other pieces I have written. MP3 excerpts: another_one.mp3 | thief_without_loot.mp3 MAC users: click & hold over link and "save link as source" PC users: right click over link and "save link as..."