YEAR OF THE DRAGON - CD
Summer of 2011 I had my usual few weeks tour in Maine. Steve Maclean (with whom I worked with on a jingle 17 years before) invited me to spend a a day on a project, but he didn't yet know what that would be until a couple weeks before - it ended up being Chris Cutler's CD project (which at that time was simply a series of cool, amazing drum pieces, and his poetry ready to be sung).
Sqeezed in between gigs, we had a day and a half to put down most of the recordings. My following visit to Maine - Jan 2012 - we finished another tune and tweaked one during one day.
Steve stretched my mind during these sessions inviting me to create and respond to what Chris and he had put down. It certainly isn't for everyone, but I DO want to suggest this: Listen - knowing that it's not like anything you normally listen to - and instead of multi-tasking (like I am doing now as I type this!), simply listen ...with it up loud. As I suggest to kids who are trying new foods - take TWO bites, because the first one might not taste good, but the second time it might just be a bit more palatable, and then you might even like it the next time. LOL.
Steve Maclean. based in Maine, Professor at Berklee School of Music in Boston.
Chris Cutler Wiki-pedia describes Chris' genres as: Avant-rock, cyber jazz, experimental, free improvisation
CUTLER, CHRIS and STEVE MACLEAN: The Year of the Dragon
A collection of 5 songs and 4 instrumental pieces that explore equally - and simultaneously - spontaneous performance values, close compositional detail and extensive processing. Made out on the rocky coast of Maine with just a TV eye keeping tabs on a world skidding to hell in a handcart, all the basic work was done by MacLean and Cutler with Julie Thompson (voice) added later - alongside additional parts played by Frank Gross (bassoon), Michael Bierylo (laptop, samples, circuits) and Titus Abbot (bass clarinet and saxophone). These are complex, focused pieces, some highly rhythm-rooted - mostly at rapid bpm rates - generally wide open with a close receptivity to timbral nuance and non-linearity.
Available on Itunes Search: Year of the Dragon Chris Culter
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