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Neil Welch

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Photo credit: Peter Daniels 

Photo credit: Peter Daniels 

March 26, 2018
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February 23, 2018
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Mixing in February for new album, scored for solo saxophone and large ensemble

February 23, 2018

Over the past two years I've worked like a mad dog to compose and re-compose a large ensemble piece entitled Concepcion Picciotto. This work is scored for saxophone section, string trio, rhythm section and mezzo soprano voice. I began work on this piece weeks after the passing of the peace activist Concepcion Picciotto, who held a 30+ year protest in front of the White House in advocation for nuclear disarmament. The work explores lengthy passages that reflect the seasons on her vigil--the beating sun, rain, accosting and imprisonment from police. It's my hope that this work will be performed again and again honor of a truly extraordinary person. 

The second half of the record is a piece for solo saxophone called Puhpohwee. Here is an artistic statement from a performance a while back:

"There is a word, 'Puhpohwee,' which in the Potawatomi Native American language translates as 'the force which causes mushrooms to push up through the Earth overnight." In some cultures language serves to illuminate the world rather than simply describe it. These languages express old things, old feelings and archaic values of the land. This solo composition is my reflection on the nature of indigenous language and its influence over our perception of the world. Through this composition I hope to give the listener a richer view of my own world, a view which might otherwise not be possible with my native tongue."

I'll be in the studio in the next few weeks finishing up work on this new record, which will be released later in 2018.

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03/23/2016 (Continuous Resonance Solo Saxophone Project)

February 11, 2018

Neil Welch Continuous Resonance Solo Project 2016

Date: 03/23/2016

Location: Practice Room C at South Whidbey High School. Langley, WA (Whidbey Island)

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Notes:

During this improvisation I maintained a triple-tonguing technique focused around a single pitch center of Eb (quarter step sharp), with deviations in quarter steps above and below. I also interjected additional pitch material into the strains of continuous Eb, most notably the lower octave pitch near the middle of the improvisation. The room captured the resonant overtones nicely, creating overlays of the fifth above the fundamental Eb.

The image Nebulous 55 accompanying the post today by Eric Baum.

Tags continuous resonance
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03/22/2016 (Continuous Resonance Solo Saxophone Project)

February 11, 2018
 

Neil Welch Continuous Resonance Solo Project 2016

Date: 03/22/2016

Location: Choir Room at Chielf Sealth International High School. Seattle, WA

Instrument: Tenor saxophone / Piano

Notes:

I recorded this aggressive improvisation in the choir room at Chief Sealth International High School between teaching my afternoon students. I was interested in exploring the intersection of overtone-heavy upper register pitches, buzzing difference tones in the ear and moments of punctuation created by sustain within the belly of the baby grand piano in the room. I recorded this piece with my mic set up in the center of the piano (with the lid open) and the sustain pedal down throughout and the improvisation. The mutliphonic at the conclusion of the piece used the following common fingering:

(LH) 1,2,3 / (RH) 1,2, LC

The image, Let’s Walk to the Middle of the Ocean, accompanying the post today by Mark Bradford (2015).

Tags continuous resonance
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