Hello All,

Those of you from outside the East Coast of the US are probably very aware widespread destruction that Hurricane Irene has caused us. The devastation of communities from North Carolina to Canada has been incredible, and major areas of the Northeast–like Long Island, Westchester County (NY), Connecticut, Boston-area, Vermont–who are not used to such storms were hit very hard. I want to say right now that I’m extremely thankful for the precautions taken by Mayor Bloomberg of NYC and the great work by the FDNY, NYPD, and the various other offices and the great number of volunteers. NYC was spared the brunt of storm, but even so without such a plan or infrastructure in place, many more lives would’ve been lost and damage would have been more widespread. Again, thank you. And although many of my fellow New Yorkers may have been upset with the inconvenience of shutting down the MTA and the airports, if they would just look a few miles in every direction towards New Jersey and Long Island and even to the surrounding counties, I believe that they may start to consider themselves pretty damn lucky.

We’ve had some extreme weather this year in NYC: heat, tornadoes, earthquake, hurricane…this has caused some of my more religious-minded fellow Americans to speculate that these weather patterns are not due to global climate change, but to Divine design to punish NYC for its ‘evil’ ways…hmmm…if I were more of that thinking, I would probably chalk it up to the omnipresent spirit of George Gershwin commenting on the rewrite of Porgy and Bess…but I digress…

Well, onto the good news!

This week begins my time as the Con Edison/Exploring the Metropolis Resident Composer for the borough of Queens. The best part about this residency is that I get to use the wonderful facilities at Flushing Town Hall, which is in the center of a vibrant community.

Now, the idea of my project is to research and create source material to compose a new large-scale piece entitled Roots Music. This piece will combine traditional Chinese instruments, traditional Irish instruments, European classical instruments, and a solo jazz saxophone (performed by yours truly:)) Flushing is a perfect location to begin researching the traditional music and instruments of China since it has the largest Chinese population in NYC. The schools, shops, restaurants (yes, restaurants!) and community centers will provide incredible access into the culture.

The commission for this piece came from Benoit Granier, who is a composer and director of the TIMI Modern Music Ensemble, in residence at the Beijing Central Conservatory. Roots Music will have its premiere on St. Patrick’s Day, March 2012 at the Beijing Irish Modern Music Festival.

My thought is to base the piece on traditional melodies (or create my own that ‘sound’ like traditional melodies) and styles from all of these cultural genres. I also plan to take this ‘source material’ and use it as a basis to compose a series of new pieces for varied instrumentation over the next year. I expect to use some of these smaller pieces as part of my final residency concert at Flushing Town Hall, which will take place in February 2012.

Many of you remember that I started working with Dr. Granier in 2009, a collaboration that led to performances at the 2009 Musicacoustica Festival in Beijing. In April 2011, we collaborated again for a series of concerts in Boston (Northeastern University and Berklee College of Music), NYC (at (le) Poisson Rouge), and in New Jersey (Rutgers University). During this tour, TIMI performed the new version of my work Gymnopaedia. Here is the video of the premiere at Northeastern University, as part of the TransCultural Exchange International Conference on the Arts:

I’m excited to begin researching and preparing Roots Music, and the other smaller works which will be generated from it.

Well, that’s all for now. I do promise you that I’ll write the 4th (and probably final) blog on volume sometime in the next week or so.

Thank you all again for your support!

Demetrius

 

 

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It is my lovely pleasure to introduce you to the newest member of my ‘family’:

This is my ‘new’ early 1965 (Serial Number 122xxx, for those who keep score of such things) Selmer Mark VI tenor saxophone.

I finally came to the decision to get a Mark VI; it was a tough decision. I had my Selmer Series II tenor (when I got it, it was still referred to as a Super Action 80 Series II, and it was the newest top-line model; my soprano and alto are also Series II’s)–a really great horn, mind you–since my Freshman year at New England Conservatory. This was to be become the instrument that I used the most in my professional life, the one I toured with, the one that I used on-stage with Ray Charles, Aretha Frankin, the Funk Brothers, and dozens of other top acts. I was/am a tenor player, and this was my voice; this horn has been a part of me and that voice since the late 80′s.

There did come a point, however, that I felt that I had taken that horn as far as it could go. I spent some years trying to expand it’s harmonic spectrum with various alterations and equipment, including a series of different mouthpieces and even a solid silver neck. All gave me glimpses of what I wanted, but it was still vague…still ethereal…

If I were just doing classical/orchestral/Broadway/big band playing, it would be perfect; since I work in very modern jazz and experimental improvisation and focus on exploring the color spectrum, I needed something that would give me freedom to do so.

My guess was that about 5 or 6 years ago, I decided to get a Mark VI, assuming that I could find one that could give me more of what I wanted. I had starting trying other tenors (different Selmer models and other brands) as far back as the early 2000′s and had decided that nothing out-played mine. I tried all of these newer horns with fancy designs, special resonant energy rocks (seriously…), different metals, including a solid silver tenor that weighed more than my Honda Civic…nothing stood out, which is why I started to think vintage.

I then started looking at vintage horns–Kings and Conns, as well as older Selmers–nothing did it for me. I even tried a number of Mark VI’s and Balanced Actions (an older Selmer model from the 30′s and 40′s), but still nothing outplayed mine.

Then…a few months ago…I went to Rayburn Music in Boston. I was determined to try some newer horns–Selmer had a few years back released two new models called the ‘Reference’ series: one similar to a Mark VI, the other to a Balanced Action.

(You see, Selmer got a lot of bad rap in the 70′s from stopping the Mark VI and moving to a new model called the Mark VII, which had all of these new designs but was a commercial disaster–not bad instruments, I’ve played some beauties, just not a Mark VI. The Super Action 80 (released around 1980) and the forthcoming Series II (mid-late 80s) and Series III (mid-90′s) were Selmer’s move to recoup losses and reputation. The Reference horns (2000′s) were an admittance that their earlier horns in general were superior; a newer version of a classic–but they are not as good, believe me. The issue wasn’t as much the design (although it IS an issue for me–I’ll explain later) but of the fact that the brass alloy mix had changed–the brass used in the Mark VI’s was taken from artillery shells used in WWII–a very high-grade brass. Selmer eventually ran out of this brass, and also the machinery used to make the Mark VI eventually wore out. Selmer–and I admire them for this–was always into innovation, so they were constantly adapting their horns, so that no two from the same model, even close in age, would be identical–some would be radically different–the Mark VII experiment was just a matter of time. I still think that of the post-Mark VI horns, the Series II’s are the best.)

Anyways, I was convinced that as a contemporary player that I needed a contemporary horn. Emilio Lyons (the Sax Doctor!) and Jim Hobbs at Rayburn’s were going to work with me and Selmer to get me a customized Reference. I was ready to pick one out…then they gave me two Mark VI’s to try, both were fantastic, but one was just a universe above the other, and above any of the new horns I tried. It was also really expensive–I agonized over this for like 2 months–I even had dreams about this horn, so it was in my consciousness. I went back to Boston and Rayburn’s and Emilio and Jim worked with me to make purchasing this horn–which included a special Emilio overhaul that customized the horn to my hands and replaced the cork with an imported European sponge which makes the horn practically silent–possible. I am, as always, in their debt.

There are a couple of physical characteristics of this new horn that I have to talk about:

The first is the weight. Mark VI’s are light horns–my tenor probably weighs as little as my Series II alto (which is silver plated, which makes it heavier). Considering that the tenor has 1/3 more brass, this is considerable. In recent years, the idea of lighter instruments has become more and more of a factor–heavy instruments hurt…also, the lightness of the horn/brass alloy mix adds to the horn’s unique color spectrum: this makes it more difficult to control for younger players, but gives us seasoned ‘old-timers’ more ‘possibilities’…

The horn is soft and dark. Newer horns (all instruments) are so much louder and brighter–they are easy to play, loud, and in-tune. The older ones make you work to produce what you want (see my ‘old-timer’ comment above). My student’s instruments are soooooo loud and easy to play…and bright…and limited…

There is no high f# key. The high f# is a newer invention, from the 70′s. I never really used it much–mostly for alternate-fingering trills and such, since there are much more ‘fluid’ ways to play passages up there without it. I was concerned that not having this would be difficult–it’s not, provided that I remember it’s not there and not try to hit it–I’m getting better. I still am amazed that they are making horns with high g keys now…learn how to produce it the old-fashioned way…this is a rant for another blog…

So, me being me, I had to give this horn a baptism of fire: my first performance was as a soloist in DJ Spooky’s China +New York: Contemporary Asian/American Music, on Sunday, April 10, 2011 at (le) Poisson Rouge in NYC–mind you, I had owned the horn for only two days. We premiered Benoit Granier’s point[a] for myself and violinist Mari Kimura as soloists, accompanied by the TIMI Modern Music Ensemble (and computer) from Beijing.

Here are a couple of photos from the show:

Click this link to hear what it sounded like:

LPR_April_10_2011

Cool, huh?

So, that’s my story–I’m delighted with the new addition. I am a little sad about parting with my old horn, but it’s in good hands: my friend Evan Ziporyn, the wonderful reed player with Bang On A Can All-Stars, assured me of its continued play at a high level. A parent can’t ask for more than that…

’till next,

Demetrius

 

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Aeolian Windbag, his collaboration with composer Nickos Harizanos and film-maker Panayiotis Tsangas, featured at the Montpellier Film Festival, Montpellier, France, Oct. 24-Nov. 10, 2008.

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