I hope not, because I’m really excited. You see, the Stonybrook guitar ensemble is performing Reich’s Electric Counterpoint and I’m playing the live guitar part. For those not familar with the piece I’ll explain: the piece was written for Pat Metheny, and is composed for 13 electric guitars and 2 electric basses. Pat Metheny tape recorded 14 of the parts and performed the “live” guitar part (the most difficult part I might add) live. It is rarely performed with all live musicians, and I actually believe this will be one of the first times it has ever been done.
I’ve been working night and day on it and it is finally going to happen next _____. (I guess it’s not really spam if I don’t give the date and time right?)
Hey hey Robot, good to see you. Did you catch Uncle Bonsai in NY last fall?
No, the performance is out eastern Long Island where I now reside and go to school. (I can’t seem to make that sentence grammatically correct. I need some serious sleep).
I have the “Works” 10 CD box set. Some good, some mundane, some brilliant. I remember the NPR interview where he told the story about the upset lady coming up from the audience during one of more repetitive pieces being played live for the first time and banging on the stage yelling “Stop! Stop! I confess! I confess!”
Wow, that should be cool. I used to drive people nuts at work with a cd of “Early Works”. Clapping Music, Piano Phase, It’s Gonna Rain, and Come Out. The last two were spoken phase pieces that used to irritate everyone to death but me.
Re: Reich & guitar–are you familiar with a guitarist named Steve Tibbetts? Lots of Reichian cyclic/phased work in his compositions. Unbelievable live.
I suppose I qualify as a Reich fan, although I only own a few short works on recording (I do, however, have “In C” on CD somewhere. :eek: ).
I went to see Philip Glass in concert a few years ago when he was touring with (the late lamented) Allen Ginsberg. As much as I like his music, his piano playing leaves a lot to be desired. (Ginsberg, OTOH, was fantastic, both reciting poems and singing to his own harmonium playing.)
I’ve heard of him, but never heard him. What’s good by him? I want to check him out. (too many “him”'s?)
jr8 I saw Glass perform Koyanisqaatsi last year and it was pure heaven. Incidentally, have you seen the movie The Source? It’s a documentary about the beats with music and interviews by Glass and many others. Highly recommended.
and I will be sure to let you know how it goes. I can tell you that the 3rd movement is killer on the fingers.
Did he perform on piano, or conduct an ensemble? The concert I saw was just him playing short dances on the piano. His music improves much with a little more instrumental color.
I hain’t seen The Source but will keep an eyeball out for it.
Are you familiar with the composer Scott Johnson? He does similar stuff to Reich in using repeated text snippets and building a musical line around the vocal inflections. I have a recording of his John Somebody at home. IMO Reich does it better, but I’ll leave it to you to judge.
(Come to think of it, Fatboy Slim does much the same thing too. Hmmm…this takes some thinking on…)
Good to be seen, although it’s not like I’ve been gone. I did catch the afternoon UB show back in November and it was excellent, worth a long drive on icy roads to get there. Picked up the new CD, too. Were you there?
You may be the only person in the world who listens to Uncle Bonsai and Steve Reich.
He performed on keyboard with an ensemble, made up mostly of electronic keyboards (like 5 of them), a female vocalist and some other orchestral instruments, with the movie showing behing them on a large screen.
I don’t know Scott Johnson but I’m gonna check him out. Incidentally, hip hop in general borrows a lot from minimalism.
I recently heard a band called Tortoise which was reminiscent of Reich at times.
Robot Arm, no I’m more likely the one who’s been gone. I caught the evening UB show. Definitely worth the journey.
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You may be the only person in the world who listens to Uncle Bonsai and Steve Reich**
Well, one of the few perhaps.
Moe: Depends on your mood; his albums really run the gamut intensity-wise. Northern Song is so serene, it’s practically not there half the time. It always reminded me of spending summer nights out in the pasture watching for shooting stars: all that space with an occasional unexpected flash of light/sound. The Fall of Us All, on the other hand, is like being caught in a maelstrom.
Big Map Idea is all acoustic (as is Northern Song, and contains his only released cover tune (Jimmy Page’s “Black Mountain Side”). Extremely intricate, time shifting compositions. Yr was my introduction to his music, and still a personal favorite. I’d start with any of those (although Northern Song is a bit of an acquired taste requiring a bit of patience to sink into). Exploded View always seemed like a precursor to The Fall of Us All, and is also highly recommended. [sub]pant, pant[/sub]