Hello All,

As many–if not all–of you know, my 43rd birthday was on January 14…an interesting age. You know, I remember vividly an interview with Paul McCartney in 1985. He had just released Give My Regards To Broadstreet, and was musing about his age, which was 43..almost as a ‘when did *this* happen’ vibe to it. I don’t know if I have this vibe about me–I am, however, hopeful that my career has more of an upward trajectory from this point on than McCartney’s has…

Regardless, this past week has been…eventful…so I want to share it with you.

The main thing I was to accomplish this January was to begin my new CD, with the first recording session being January 12…well, due to unforeseen circumstances, the content of that recording session had to be changed last-minute, like the night before (everything was booked…). Because of this, the entire CD concept had to change–I ended up recording pieces that I wasn’t planning on, so the content will be very different–and many of the pieces that I planned on recording this spring will no longer be on it because they no longer fit with what I had to record Thursday…

…make sense?

On top of that, now, instead of having to spread the recording out over the spring, I will have everything done in the studio by this coming Friday, January 20! The logistics of the ‘new’ project now make this possible. Many of this is due to the flexibility of the wonderful pianists (and great friends!) Elaine Kwon and Jed Distler for helping save this project last moment. So what will be on it, you ask…? Well, I’m not going to say just yet (don’t want to jinx this…again!), but I will say that I am now looking for a new title for the CD…maybe I’ll hold a competition or something…maybe…

Well, onto all of the other crazy good news this week:

Firstly, I got word from the Rome-based ensemble Piccola Academia degli Specchi that they will perform my composition for chamber ensemble Love Letters in the Ether (for flute, soprano saxophone, violin, cello, and piano 4-hands), which was written for them in 2010. This is great news; from what I have heard from the ensemble and other sources, it is very difficult to get funding in Italy to perform non-Italian composers, so we are all delighted! The concert will be held April 4th in Rome, and my great friend Bill Susman will also be represented on the concert!

Secondly, I was contacted by Parma Recordings. Parma is the record company that took over Capstone Records, the company with whom I released my first two CDs. We have been in discussion about re-releasing these two CDs, and I just received word that the first, When Wind Comes To Sparse Bamboo, will be released this March, both for purchase and also into the catalog of the Naxos Online Music Library. I’m delighted, needless to say.

And thirdly, I was put in contact towards the end of last week with Woomyung Choe, the Music Director of the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra in New Jersey. He is commissioning me to compose a new concerto for saxophone and full symphony orchestra for their 2012-13 season opener in September…yes, you heard right, for SEPTEMBER…he said that he wants a big piece that can be as long as 25 minutes…I guess I won’t be doing much else this summer, will I…? Not only am I writing it, I’m also the soloist. This is great for so many reasons, probably the main one being that I have been wanting for years to write a big piece for saxophone and orchestra that I could play, but like any major work, why write it if you’ve got no where yet to do it? My teacher Chinary Ung told me this. Hundreds of symphonies and operas are sitting gathering dust on composer’s shelves…well, I am honored and delighted to finally have an opportunity–at 43–to compose a large orchestral work that will actually get played.

So…that was *my* week…never boring…let’s see what this week brings with the final two recording sessions for the CD.

Of course, I still have to finish composing Roots Music for the Beijing Irish Modern Music Festival in March, but as I always say: “one major crisis at a time…”

Until soon,

Demetrius

All things must pass…

Here I sit, writing the final blog of my Flushing Town Hall composer residency, looking out the window of the ‘jail cell’ (the room which was actually a jail cell, now the green room of the performance hall) looking out the window over hustling and bustling Flushing with its Chinese restaurants and Korean markets. I can’t barely believe that this three month period has passed…tempus fugit…

It has been a wonderful experience. Director Ellen Kodadek and the rest of the Flushing Town Hall staff have been kind and gracious with their space and time. The composition residency, sponsored by Exploring the Metropolis in collaboration with Con Edison, is a fantastic program which I can’t praise enough.

And I even have lots to show for my time beyond an enhanced palate for Chinese cuisine…

The smallest of my three composition projects was Soho Sophisticate for solo saxophone, which was premiered on November 20th as part of a collaborative concert between me, Benoit Granier, and Paul Miller/DJ Spooky in Soho. This work will get a second showing on my December 4th concert at the Cornelia Street Cafe.

While it started out as a transcription and a side project for my residency concert in Februrary, Autumn Yearning has become a major piece in its own right, potentially dwarfing even Roots Music in length, clocking in at a whopping 14 minutes! This work, for clarinet, viola, and piano, is positioned to be the title track of my next CD which I hope to release by (wait for it…) autumn (of course) of 2012. Explorations and negotiations are being made into labels and distribution, and I plan to have this piece recorded soon after its February 18 premiere. More on this later…

The main focus of my residency was the research and creation of Roots Music, the work which will be premiered as part of the Beijing Irish Modern Music Festival in March, 2012. I spent much of time meeting with traditional musicians and researching everything from the traditional music of China and Ireland to individual instruments, including spending much time mastering the Chinese dizi flute. My goal was not to complete the composition, but to have all of the preliminary work finished to begin the composing process during the winter break from my college teaching. This I have accomplished to the fullest extent my choosing all of my source material for the work, and also by mapping out the entire structure of the piece (which I completed today!).

Since the piece is about the primordial musical connection that flows between all cultures, I have taken traditional/popular music from Ireland, China, and the US as source material for the piece. I can’t give away too much about the process or structure or final product, but I can give you these three videos that may get your musical taste buds a-salivating…

How’s that for starters?

Now, the work begins on constructing the piece for it to be sent off to China for early January.

The honor of the Flushing Town hall residency gave me the time, the space, and the opportunity to research and create all of this music. I am truly indebted to Con Edison and Exploring the Metropolis and can only hope that this wonderful program thrives to support other composers for years to come.

Until soon,

Demetrius

ps–I never did encounter any of the supposed ghosts that haunt Flushing Town Hall, and especially this jail cell in which I’m working in now…well, maybe as I pack up for the day I’ll get lucky…

Greetings All,

As I begin to write this, it has occurred to me that I have reached the half-way point of my residency here at Flushing Town Hall. I am looking back on seven weeks of excellent experiences, both creative and social, and am pleased with the progress on my project(s); I am also looking ahead and thinking “I better step it up here…running out of time…more composing and less leisurely lunches of noodles and dumplings…”

Even so, the residency has been wonderful not just for composing, but also for other creative/artistic work, like practicing. Practicing is big…the one major advantage that this residency has is that I can practice ‘loudly’…I am not constrained by the noise ordinance codes of New York City apartments (where, truth be told, I have mastered the art of practicing as quietly as possible…) and can ‘wail’ to my heart’s content. As my many solo/chamber concerts approach over the horizon, I am very lucky to have this…

That being said, I did spend a lot of this weekend beginning to prepare for the above-mentioned concerts. The one with the most logistical issues is the Best Buddies Carnegie Hall Concert on November 10. I mean, even though last year’s concert had me both playing unaccompanied jazz and conducting the New York Chamber Vituosi and soloists, it was logistically easier than what potentially was in store for this year.

Conducting tenor Enrique Pina and The New York Chamber Virtuosi, Puccini; Carnegie Hall, October 6, 2010 Photo by Akabueze Kamau

You see, I have learned with age and experience to make things as easy as possible when it comes to performance logistics, mainly in regards to what instruments I am playing. Now…on this upcoming Best Buddies concert, I had composed a new work, Around Monk-night, and arranged Piazzolla’s Libertango (for me and Elaine); both for tenor sax. The wild card on this concert was the live debut of the William Susman OCTET, in which I am both the (only) reed player and also music director.

Bill is great. He is a wonderful composer and a close friend and I am always delighted to work with him. We have had many interesting and unique collaborations over the years, many of which I have played multiple instruments on. One of the pros and cons of being a multi-wind soloist is that sometimes folks want everything, and many times I am surrounded on-stage by many feet of plumbing. For Bill, I have used flute, alto flute, clarinet, and soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones (many at the same time). Other composers have also had me bring out the big guns (baritone sax and bass clarinet) as well (but don’t give Bill any ideas; he’s said about some of his pieces in the past “wouldn’t this sound great on bari…?” ) For this concert, I had no idea which instruments Bill would have me on, and I was a tad concerned with playing very intense ensemble music on one (or six…) instruments and switching to another instrument quickly to be the featured soloist. The big ‘S’ on my chest is a tad more faded than it was when I was 25…or more likely, I now realize the pitfalls of such situations…

Now, not knowing the program logistics added to my uneasiness. Would I have to play solo on jazz tenor sax and then immediately have to sit down and sound like a classical flutist? Or, would the ensemble be first and I would have to solo on a cold horn (not to mention a dry reed…)? How much time would there be (if any!) to warm-up whatever I was playing where and when?

And I’ll be honest here…I had no desire to carry my entire woodwind arsenal through the subways of NYC…this would be not only a logistical nightmare, but I’d probably in all seriousness strain a shoulder or back muscle; not good before a solo performance…I also probably wouldn’t attend the reception because I would have nowhere to put them all…

Well, this week we got the new music from Bill. Alto sax…only. “That’s it?” I mused. “No contra-alto clarinet, piccolo, or Egyptian nai flute?”

So I thought “well, that’s easy…I can do this on two horns: alto for the ensemble music, and tenor for my solo stuff…” But then “wait a minute; why am I bothering to make this even that difficult?” I mused…I muse a lot…”why don’t I just rewrite everything for alto and be done with it, and I won’t have to carry two horns through the subway? One horn, easy, done, goodbye.”

And that’s what I did. Even though I conceived of both the composition and the arrangement for tenor, I adapted them this weekend for alto. Admittedly, the pitch level is a little different than what I originally wanted, but that’s OK. Alto is my ‘touring horn’ because it’s the most flexible for the most situations…my ‘go to’ horn. It’s really funny, I have been using the same basic alto set-up for about 25 years; it’s easy, it’s simple, it works…the mouthpiece is nothing fancy or super expensive, just a store bought Meyer 5. Nice and flexible, all-purpose.

Everyone should be happy.

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The other task I undertook this weekend was to begin exploring the Uilleann (Irish) Pipes for my composition Roots Music. As of now, the exact line-up of Irish musicians for next March’s Beijing concert is still a tad up in the air, but I was guaranteed a piper…this pleases me, I really wanted a piper.

These pipes are really amazingly beautiful. It must be remembered that every culture at one time or another had some form of bagpipes, although the Scottish (Highland) pipes are far the most famous, and by far the loudest…The Irish pipes a much softer, and also extremely flexible and also, as I just found out, completely chromatic.

Here’s a little bit on the Irish pipes from the website http://www.cranfordpub.com/articles/Bagpipes.htm

The full set of Uillean pipes were designed as a mini-orchestra, complete with melody, chordal accompaniment and drones. A lever allows the drones to be switched on or off as desired, and the regulator work is an individual style-choice, ranging from rhythmic hits to full chords. Because the fingering proceeds from a closed system, a wide variety of style and ornamentation is possible, giving the player much discretion in how he/she interprets the music. Laments and slow airs are especially effective and demonstrate the mature player’s mastery of technique. A multitude of fingering options coupled with effects produced by lifting the chanter ‘off the knee’ allow a broad range of personal expression, a quality which is expected of the advanced player.

I will spend a considerable amount of time exploring this instrument since it will be, along with me, a major soloist for Roots Music. The fact that it does have a two-octave chromatic scale gives me a tremendous amount of flexibility–I was actually under the impression that is was primarily a mixolydian instrument like the Highland pipes. You learn something new and exciting everyday…

Speaking of which, I want to leave you with this incredible recording of the great Irish piper Seamus Ennis. As I said, this is an amazing instrument that I’m enjoying getting to know:

Until soon,

Demetrius

2011 Composer-in-Residence Demetrius Spaneas

We chatted over email with 2011 Composer-in-Residence Demetrius Spaneas. Demetrius talks about his inspirations for cultural diplomacy, memorable travel adventures, and upcoming projects.

You’ve traveled the world as a cultural diplomat. When did your interest in musical diplomacy begin? And how did you come to work with the US Department of State?

Coming of age and beginning to mature artistically at the end of the Cold War made me passionately interested in Eastern European and Central Asian cultures. The possibility of contact with countries and cultures that had been off-limits for so long had a huge impact on the direction of my creative work. Studying the traditional music of these cultures while in my 20s – beginning in the Balkans and moving eastward – I sought out teachers and traditional musicians to learn from and perform with. In my own work as composer and improviser, I began to adapt this traditional music and combine it with Western European and American forms. This blending and adaptation continues to be my main creative focus. I continually seek traditional musicians to improvise with, and together we create a dialogue using our own musical languages, finding common ground and understanding within melodies and phrases. In my work, musical dialogue leads directly to cultural understanding.

Cultural diplomacy is really an outgrowth of this process. Becoming interested in the cultures and music naturally led to an interest in the individual artists. People want to communicate. They want someone to listen to what they have to say. Cultural diplomacy, for lack of a better word, gives people an opportunity to create dialogue. Diplomacy is really dialogue. Stimulating conversation is the key to any type of collaborative process, be it political or artistic. I want to help people be heard and give their ideas a voice. This is what any individual really wants.

I started making cultural diplomacy the focus of my career in the mid-2000s, mostly due to connections with musicians/artists through social media sites, especially MySpace. It was through this networking that led to many opportunities overseas, including a 15-country Eurasian tour while living in St. Petersburg, Russia for one year. It was at this time that I started working with the US Embassies – first as a lecturer and performer on American music and culture in Russia, then at other locations in the former Soviet Union, where they helped support my collaborations with local cultural organizations.

As an active concert performer and lecturer abroad, what do you choose to highlight?

All of it. My career has evolved me into a composite musician: composer, performer, and educator.  I can’t do one without the other. And now I am expected to do all, usually at the same time!  Leonard Bernstein said that when he was with composers he was a conductor, and when he was with conductors he was a composer. My situation is similar (of course, I still actually want to grow up and BE Leonard Bernstein…).

What have been your most memorable moments in your travels?

Well, there are two parts to this. The first has been the uneasy and somewhat dangerous situations I have been in – political settings and natural disasters. In Uzbekistan, I was trailed all over the country by the NSS (former KGB) and barred from lecturing and performing at many locations. They also threatened teachers, students, and journalists with arrest if they were to work with me. The official line was fear of me starting a “democracy riot.” I’m glad they think that an American jazz musician can have such a societal impact! They even threatened The Samarqand College of Music with arrest of the entire faculty and school shut down if I stepped foot on the campus. In terms of natural disasters – ice storms at 12,000 feet in the Pamir Mountains, no water or electricity, flash flooding, my plane crashing on the runway (yes, that happened).

But…the other side of this has been seeing not only the great impact my presence has had on locals, but their immense kindness and hospitality toward a foreigner. People are people. And many in the former Soviet Union – most especially the Islamic countries – are kind, courteous, and treat strangers as guests. They want to talk to you and know everything about you. They know what you’ve accomplished by going to the opposite side of the world to visit them, and they are incredibly grateful. This kindness and willingness to share and communicate is what keeps me going.

How does being a composer in NYC differ from the other cities and countries you’ve worked in?

New York is magnificent. Simple. The resources of music and musicians are better here than anywhere else in the world. This is especially true as a composer. There are many, many musicians and ensembles who are interested in exploring new music. And these are wonderful musicians who could play anything they wanted, but they choose what’s new and relevant.  No other city has this, anywhere.

One of your upcoming projects is “Roots Music,” which incorporates Irish, Chinese, European classical and jazz musical traditions. Please explain how you conceived of this amazing mix.

I didn’t! The piece is a commission from the Beijing-based TIMI Modern Music Ensemble and their director Benoit Granier. I have collaborated with this ensemble in recent years as both performer and composer here in NYC, Boston, and Beijing. The ensemble one of the few new music ensembles in China. And as far as I know, they are the only ensemble dedicated to both new classical music and traditional Chinese music. For that purpose, the ensemble mixes western classical and traditional Chinese instruments. In “Roots Music,” I will combine these two styles with American jazz – meaning me as “jazz” saxophone soloist – along with traditional Irish musicians who will be in Beijing collaborating with TIMI for the Beijing Irish Modern Music Festival in March 2012 (yes, it exists…).  My idea for the piece is to take traditional/folk music from each culture (such as Blues and Spirituals from America) and blend them into a large concert piece.  The work will not be a pastiche of styles, but a true blend in which they complement each other. The term “roots music” means music indigenous to a specific group or culture. Much of our roots music is very similar in the deepest layer. It is another way in which we are all connected.

For your Con Edison Musicians’ Residency at Flushing Town Hall, what do you hope to accomplish?

The main goal of my residency is to research and explore the music and traditions that I will incorporate into “Roots Music.” Needless to say, Chinese culture is very important to the makeup of Flushing, which makes it a perfect place to immerse myself into Chinese music and culture. I have been researching Chinese music and poetry styles, as well as mastering the Chinese dizi flute (I have a large collection of world music flutes). I have begun to meet with and play with local traditional musicians and educators, and will be exploring collaborations with them as well.

I am also composing another work for classical instruments (clarinet, viola, and piano) entitled “Autumn Yearning” that is based on the traditional Chinese music that I have researched. This piece, along with other works, including a possible collaboration with Chinese musicians, will be performed at my Con Edison Residency concert on February 18, 2012.

Any more travel plans?

Well, I will be in China for the premiere of “Roots Music” in March. I also have a premiere in Italy of my work “Love Letters in the Ether.”  It’s being scheduled for the spring by the Rome-based new music ensemble Piccola Accademia degli Specchi.  A concert or two in Russia is also in the works for 2012.

What’s next?

In November, I will appear as soloist and will also have a premiere in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall.  My work for solo saxophone - played by me – is called “Around Monk-night” and is an improvised-sounding toccata based on Thelonius Monk’s famous “‘Round Midnight.”  This event will be a benefit concert created by pianist Elaine Kwon for the charity Best Buddies. In December, I will be performing a solo/duo concert of my music for Composers Collaborative’s Serial Underground concert series at the Cornelia Street Cafe. I will be joined by CCi’s Artistic Director, the great pianist Jed Distler, for the premiere of two works that evening, ”The Love We Made” and “Giuffre Sketches,” the latter a tribute to my former teacher, the late Jimmy Giuffre.

To keep up with Demetrius, check out his website and blog.

Please visit Exploring the Metropolis

Hello All,

As I watch the Red Sox battle for their post-season lives, I am sending out a little preview to my upcoming weekend.

I seem to be going back to my roots on Saturday. When I was just a young’un, I was completely turned on by the Beatles Rubber Soul album. Much to my parents’ chagrin, this album was what made me really decide to become a musician. Although I’ve left rock music behind in a past life, the music still moves me on many, many levels.

So, on Saturday I will join the very well-known Beatles tribute band Mostly Moptop for a special performance celebrating the life and music of John Lennon at the Dix Hills Performing Arts Center at Five Towns College.

This concert holds special meaning for me. There were three events that defined the 1980s: John Lennon’s death, the Challenger disaster, and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. I’m delighted that I can contribute to a concert honoring John Lennon, one of my musical heroes. And, coincidentally, Five Towns College–where I teach–is home to the John Lennon Center for Music and Technology.

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Many of you will remember my 2007 Balkan tour which took me to Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece. In Bulgaria I was the guest and featured artist of the AmBul Festival of American and Bulgarian Music which takes place annual in the capitol Sofia. I was approached this year by the Festival’s artistic director Geoffrey Dean to appear in a film clip discussing American composer Steve Reich who is celebrating his 75th birthday this year and who is the focus of this year’s Festival.

So…the film clip, which was shot with the help of the Audio/Visual Dept. at Five Towns College, is of me discussing Reich, his importance as a composer, and his influence on me as a composer–I am basically ‘riffing’ in front of the camera, and having fun doing it. I also play a short selection from my favorite of his compositions, Desert Music.

The reason I chose Desert Music is that it was really the first piece I had heard by a major–and LIVING–American composer. It was my freshman year at New England Conservatory, and both the faculty and student composers were constantly discussing Desert Music; the recording (album…LP…) with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting had been recently released…the buzz was a-buzzing…I had to hear it…

…so I bought it. It spoke to me in ways that classical music hadn’t really before. It may have been the repetitive nature that evokes primal nature and jazz/rock music, but I could relate to it. It has had–and continues to have–its influence on my work.

I hope you enjoy it.

Until soon,

Demetrius

Film clip talking about Steve Reich for 2011 AmBul Festival

Greetings All,

I wanted to share with you this lovely write up of my project Roots Music which I’ll be researching and composing as part of my Con Edison/Exploring the Metropolis Residency at Flushing Town Hall this fall.

http://exploringthemetropolis.org/2011/08/2011-composer-spotlight-demetrius-spaneas/

Here is an excerpt:
Demetrius’ passion for creating cultural connections and international artistic dialogue has brought him to his most recent project – “Roots Music” – a new ensemble work commissioned by the Beijing Central Conservatory, incorporating an amazing blend of traditional Irish, Chinese, European classical and jazz traditions. Fittingly, as a 2011 Composer-in-Residence, Demetrius will spend his fall composing “Roots Music” at Flushing Town Hall, where he plans to take advantage of its important role as a culturally rich gathering place. With the assistance of Flushing Town Hall’s staff, Demetrius plans to acquaint himself with the local Chinese schools, shops and restaurants to conduct research, get to know some local musicians, and access indigenous instruments and recordings not found elsewhere.

For the full article, please visit:
http://exploringthemetropolis.org/2011/08/2011-composer-spotlight-demetrius-spaneas/

Thank you all for your continued support!

Demetrius

Greeting All,

Well, I made it home safely and soundly. Not surprisingly, the first thing I did when I got to my neighborhood was to have some good ol’ NYC pizza…

ARTErra is a wonderful place. I think that for an artist wanting to be left to their creativity and to be able to experience as much or as little of the local culture as they wish to, ARTErra is a perfect setting. This was a new experience for me, being able to focus on one project and to be away from everyone or anything as much as I wished. The amount of work I got done was tremendous, and yet I did still get the benefit of experiencing local/rural Portuguese culture when I wished to. A win-win situation.

Time spent in this manner can be quite cathartic. I mean, there were times that I didn’t interact with anyone for days, which I think for some artists is a preferable state, but not really so much for me. I am a social creature, and I think that I need human interaction–spending too much time alone with my own thoughts can be an educational experience to say the least, if not downright disturbing…although I did learn a lot about myself and maybe also learned a little more about who I am and what I can do to improve my life…hours upon hours of silence–save for the sheep in the meadow next door–leads one to reflect and assess one’s life and actions and decisions and future plans.

[Side note: I used to have this utterly Romantic notion of living in a lighthouse somewhere on the New England coastline, barring myself away from society to create with nothing but nature as influence and companion...in retrospect, I don't think this would be a particularly good idea anymore...]

That being said, I did create a CD’s worth of music. I like this music, but the question now is what to do with it.

Herein lies my existential question, or at least existential in-so-far as the music industry is concerned:

In 2011, is it prudent, or even worth it, to create a physical CD?

As I have mentioned in the past, I believe I am a part of the last generation of musicians who need a physical ‘token’ to show others and say: “look, look what I have created”…those of us who grew up in the 70′s and 80′s remember the awesome album covers, especially the double ones, with fold-out posters and booklets and pages of liner notes and real artwork. An album was not just a collection of songs, but a unified concept. This has changed drastically over the last years, and physical album sales–not to mention surviving physical record stores–are marginal at best, and dropping every day. My college students don’t own CDs; everything is digitalized. Are record companies a dinosaur, best left wallowing in the past? Sure, you can sell CDs at live shows (which seems to be the ONLY real sales outlet for them) but you also can sell digital download cards for far less money; I mean, let’s face facts, even if you’re a major artist in a fringe genre (like contemporary classical or jazz) you’ll be lucky to break even (*very* lucky) on CD production costs, so forget any idea of profit for the rest of us. But profit is not why you do it…

Also, I just may not want to go the way of this recording. These new pieces may serve me better by being sketches for other pieces later. Some parts can be incorporated into other styles, like world music, and others may have a better life in the commercial world of television or radio advertisement. What I need to do is shelve them for a few weeks, maybe months, and decide what is best.

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Lisbon is a gorgeous city. An absolute jewel and full of life. I am happy that I spent a couple of days there to help lead me back into city life (remember that NYC and the entire country of Portugal have almost the same population) and I really enjoyed the sites, especially the Castelo de Sao Jorge and the Alfama quarter. Below are a few photos of my two days there.

Thank you all again for your interest and support. Concerts and other announcements, as well as more of my verbose musings, coming soon.

Demetrius

Lisbon and Castelo de Sao Jorge, view from Bairro Alto

Baixa cafes and shopping

Praca Do Comercio

View from Pavilhao dos Desportos

Av. da Liberdade

Rossio and Castelo de Sao Jorge

Lisbon, view from Castelo de Sao Jorge

Castelo de Sao Jorge

Alfama Quarter

Final meal, in Alfama cafe

Well, it’s done…

I finished it…well, I finished composing and arranging all of the music for it, anyways. The content of the CD is ‘on paper,’ now I just have to record it…which will happen back in the States, hopefully in the fall.

I was a tad worried at the end, I must admit. I was having trouble with two of the pieces: Ruthless on 2nd Avenue and Sweet Rain, which are the 5th and 6th tracks (out of 7) on the CD, respectively. The problems were different with each.

Sweet Rain I thought had a wonderfully strong beginning (if I may be as so bold to say; in many ways it’s my favorite piece of the lot) but I had no idea what to do with it after that; Ruthless on 2nd Avenue just felt kinda lame…

I’ll start with Ruthless on 2nd Avenue because I fixed it first. I liked the idea of the piece: a ‘dirty swamp funk’ influenced by tunes like Steely Dan’s Josie and Miles Davis’ Tutu (being honest here). It’s a blues with ‘altered’ harmonies and a chromatic (chordally speaking) bridge–very me. I liked the melody, too, but there was something missing…

So, I was walking down by the river (where it seems most of my better ideas for this music came from) and I was thinking about if any of the tunes on the album could be rearranged for my Jazz Orchestra at Five Towns College. This one came to mind and I started thinking about it–arranging it in my head. That’s when it hit me…”HORNS,” I exclaimed, perhaps out loud, “it needs horns!”

So, that’s what I did–added a horn section a la Tower of Power to it, playing hits and counter-lines. Of course, that means five more people on the CD ($$$$..and one more $), but that’s OK. It’s for art’s sake

Sweet Rain was really bothering me. I loved the idea of the piece: a meditative work featuring a soaring saxophone in its stratosphere. I really loved it, but after the first presentation of the melody, I was stuck. “What do I do now”, I thought, “it’s not quite meant for improvisation, but I’ve got less than 2 minutes of music”.

The worst part was that it was one of the first things I wrote here; after the first day on it, I stopped working on it because of being stuck, so it was needling me for three weeks…

The idea of what to do came to me while standing in the sunlight on Tuesday morning. It’s funny, all I was doing was standing there, and really not thinking about the piece (at least not consciously) at all. I was looking over the fields where the sheep are–the ones that wake me up at dawn with their bleating–and for some reason (and this shows you the oddity of my psyche) I thought ‘fretless electric bass’…the music on the CD is conceived with an electric bass (5-string, to be exact) in mind, but it never occurred to me to have the bass player switch instruments (embarrassingly odd for an arranger/orchestrator, I know…).

So, what I ended up doing is just using the initial melody I wrote three times. The first and third with saxophone melody, the second with fretless bass on melody. The drums/percussion intensifies as the piece evolves through the melody, and the piano stays exactly the same. It works, methinks. It really is just a show-off piece for me and my altissimo playing, but now it’s far more interesting.

I spent Wednesday listening through everything to make sure I still liked it all, and by the afternoon declared the CD complete.

Thursday I rested, really feeling the weight and intensity of the past month.

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Today, I was a guest (along with fellow resident Gil Trythall) of the Instituto Piaget in Viseu. I spent the morning giving a demonstration performance and talk on improvisation to most of the student body, and in the afternoon gave a master class on equipment and performance interpretation to the students of Henrique Portovedo, the saxophone teacher there. This is really a delightfully lovely campus, and the students and faculty were very attentive to my presentation, which I’m sure was a tad out of their more musically conservative upbringing’s realm.

The photos below are from the day.

Tomorrow is my last day at ARTErra; Sunday I travel to Lisbon for two days, then finally back to New York City on Tuesday morning. As much as I have loved this experience here at ARTErra, I honestly am ready to go home. My final blog on Lisbon will probably happen sometime after I return.

Until then,

Demetrius

The day begins

Improvising on Gershwin's "Summertime"

Lecturing on improvisation

Saxophone master class

Working with a student on the Glazunov "Concerto" (yes, I remember it )

At the end of the day, with saxophone students and faculty

I’m posting a blog that has absolutely nothing to do with music.

Or me…amazing, isn’t it? Don’t worry, I’ll get back on track with the next blog.

The fact of the matter is, I have been surrounded by pain and death very recently. Not only in my own family with my uncle/Godfather passing, but also the passing of friends and members of friend’s families. My Memorial Day post referenced my close friend Sam Parkins who passed–along with another dear friend halfway across the world–the week of Thanksgiving. I have been touched as recently as this past week by the death of people and also learning about the struggles of others who are fighting with their last will to survive.

So what I want to do today–here and now–is publicize some links and give information that may potentially make a difference in someone’s life. Much of this is Boston/Lowell, MA centric, but information is applicable anywhere.

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First and foremost, if there is any plague or pestilence ever levied upon mankind that could ever be traced to Infernal doings, it is cancer. I am at a loss to even go into my feelings towards this one, having lost so many people to it very recently, including my father who passed on Father’s Day weekend–that anniversary is coming up next week for those of you outside the US. The pain, the slow decline into oblivion…horrible…and it seems that more and more people that I know are getting it.

A friend from my high school has it. He is not winning…

There are kind and loving people who are helping by organizing a benefit to help his family pay their bills:

Skaff Family Benefit

If you are in the Greater Lowell area, please consider helping this family.

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Also in Lowell on September 23rd will be the Show Of Hope Benefit Concert

Website:

“The best laid schemes of mice and men / Go oft awry…”

This is actually one of my favorite sayings; seems appropriate most of the time.

Of course, I could also reference the Grateful Dead and say “what a long, strange trip it’s been.”

I’ve been having a difficult time with my titles. Not only the complete album title, but the titles of the individual tracks. The original working title, as you may recall, is Painting, referring to the fact that the pieces on the album were to be musical sketches or portraits of places, ideas, feelings, relationships, etc. That may or may not still be the case, but it seems that the ‘model’ I’m painting is wearing different clothes…

The original concept of the album was about relationships: to each other, to nature, to spirituality. My idea was to come to this lovely rural setting at ARTErra in Portugal to write esoteric music that communed with nature and dealt with Transcendental spirituality…

…well, that didn’t happen.

You know what happened: I started composing very intense jazz fusion music instead. I even started writing these pieces with the original titles that I had in mind, but that didn’t change how the music evolved…my esoteric titles about nature and relationships quickly became obsolete, and inappropriate…

It really didn’t hit me until a couple of days ago: I came to rural Portugal to create an album that for all intent and purpose is a love letter to New York City…

…funny, ain’t it?

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder”…another oldie but goodie…

So here I am, in the most idyllic and Arcadian of setting writing the most intense and aggressive music I have ever written.

Which leads me to my titles…once I came to grips with this fact, the titles were able to work themselves out (with a lot of help from me and a scratch pad and pencil…). My lovely Edenic titles like The River and Spring became more appropriately Broadway Boogie and Ruthless on 2nd Avenue.

[Side note: Speaking of Edenic, there's an "after the Fall" joke just begging to be told here--the implications and parallels are frightening, aren't they?]

But I’m now OK with it, really. I was feeling very unsettled about the whole project, but I’ve learned to (ahem) “Let it Be”…

The album title? I don’t know…maybe that will change, too…I need another week or so to work that one out.

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But onto my last day trip!

On Wednesday I took a trip to Porto, the major city in the north of Portugal.

In all honesty, there is a certain vibe that all ‘second cities’ have. The main cities in a country are usually bustling international centers. The second cities have learned their role, become comfortable with it, and take on an air of a big city with small city values; the quality of life is usually extremely higher, albeit a tad boring. One loves the excitement and energy of a New York City, a Moscow, an Athens, but the draw of quality of life in a Boston, St. Petersburg, or Salonika (Thessaloniki) is quite appealing, as well. It’s easier to live there…you can breathe.

Porto is beautiful, reclining on the Duoro River and basking in its charming splendor. Needless to say, this is also the center of Port production, of which I indulged at the Sandeman factory (and museum!). But, the city is just lovely to walk and relax in and take in the scenery. This was a much needed break from the intense, daily grind of my work here.

I’ll let the photos do the talking for me.

Until Soon,

Demetrius

Avenida dos Aliados and City Hall

Torre dos Clerigos

View from the Torre dos Clerigos

View from Ribeira

View from Gaia

Attention: we have found the motherload...

Typical city street

Trecking up to The Se

The Se