03/14/2015 Continuous Resonance Solo Improvisation

Continuous Resonance Solo Project
Date: 03/14/2015
Instrument: Tenor saxophone / construction crew and machinery
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

This morning a road crew began working on the road outside my house. There were very few cars or people out this morning and the neighborhood was incredibly quiet before their arrival. The workers came unannounced and within about 10 minutes began busting up the road and paving new cement. The entire process from arrival to leaving took place within about a 30 minute period.

The image accompanying today’s post by Ibrahim Mahama

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03/12/2015 Continuous Resonance Solo Improvisation

Continuous Resonance Solo Project
Date: 03/12/2015
Instrument: Tenor saxophone / piano
Location: Practice Room B at South Whidbey High School (Langley, WA)

Notes:

Today’s improvisation is a continuation of a current theme in my work, which includes a reliance on a very select number of pitches to capture a mood. I recorded this piece between teaching my students this afternoon. I was a in a very melancholic mood and worked to capture this through singing and playing into the reverberant strings of an old upright piano. I used quarter tone fingerings with a three-note motive, and explored the oscillation of my sound in the horn and the piano.

The image Untitled, Hamburg, 2008 accompanying today’s post by Dirk Stewen

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03/08/2015 Continuous Resonance Solo Improvisation

Continuous Resonance Solo Project
Date: 03/08/2015
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

I recorded this improvisation towards the end of a short practice session. During this piece I explored singing a simple melodic framework: 3-5-3-1, alongside an improvised harmonic accompaniment.

The image “Landscape” (2009) accompanying today’s post by David Ratcliff


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03/07/2015 Continuous Resonance Solo Improvisation

Continuous Resonance Solo Project
Date: 03/07/2015
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

This morning I further explored the decay of my practice space. I have 2 remaining weeks to live in this house, and I feel in mourning today to be moving on from my home on the island. This improvisation explores an inner search–a yearning to understand the life changes I am currently facing. The piece focuses on three pitches: Ab, Bb, Eb. They are interpreted freely, as tiny contained units of energy.

The image “Growup” (1955) accompanying today’s post by David Smith.


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