RighteousGIRLS – gathering blue

gathering blue, the debut album by New York-based RighteousGIRLS — flutist Gina Izzo and pianist Erika Dohi — features works by nine new music and jazz composers. This album seems less a collection of disparate works and more a cohesive experience, as the occasional interlude and the postlude help to thread each piece together.

 

The duo collaborates with other musicians on this disc, incorporating the sound of steel pan, trumpet, and drums. These partnerships further expand the sonic experience of the album.

 

The music itself is interesting to the ears; most of the works on this recording were either commissioned or adapted by the duo. Among the pieces there is improvisation, an open-form work, overdubbing, and prepared piano, all of which bring fresh sounds to the listener and variety to the overall album.


This is an adventurous album that succeeds. Learn more about RighteousGIRLS at their website www.RighteousGIRLS.com or Twitter @RighteousGIRLS.

 

RighteousGIRLS
gathering blue

New Focus Recordings

 

GIRLS – Pascal Le Boeuf
Accumulated Gestures (feat. Justin Brown) – Vijay Iyer
Anzu (feat. Ambrose Akinmusire) – Ambrose Akinmusire
Robe Threader (Interlude) – Pascal Le Boeuf
… nobody move… – Randy Woolf
non-poem 1 – Jonathan Ragonese
KARakurENAI (feat. Andy Akiho) – Andy Akiho
gathering blue (Interlude) – Pascal Le Boeuf
etca’rtnE – Pascal Le Boeuf and Mike Perdue
Entr’acte – Mike Perdue
For Milton – Christian Carey
Edge – Dave Molk

…Out Of The Blue (Postlude) – Pascal Le Boeuf

Osner – Unbound

In this collection, Elise Osner presents us with a lovely collection of music for Native American flute that she composed herself; she states in her liner notes that this music is “often received as a gift rather than created.” She further explains that much of the music has come from the beach or the mountains. Osner performs on three different instruments: an E flute made of cherry wood, a D flute made of cedar wood, and an F-sharp flute made of padauk wood.

The pieces are peaceful, and some of them feature nature sounds. The impressions of nature are apparent throughout the album, including the ocean and its creatures, meadows, birds, and dragonflies. Overall, this is an enchanting album that would make an excellent addition to your collection.

Unbound

Elise Osner, Native American flutes

Unbinding
The Spirit’s Call
Whale Song
Meadow Music
The Willow’s Song
With Eagles
Waterfall #1
E Flute Improvisation
Duet with Warbler
Damselfly
Waterfall and Waves
Song of the Peace Pact
#17
Walking by Water
Blessing Song
Unbound

Bevani – Sacred Songs Within

This album by Bevani, who describes herself as a classical crossover artist, features twelve perfectly pleasant tracks. Bevani is based in Seattle and teaches lessons as well as plays around town. The tracks on this album are all played with synthesized backing, which was arranged by Bevani and Jeremy Gordon. There is a consistency about the album that adds to its relaxing feel. This is an excellent collection for yoga, meditation, or general relaxation.  Learn more about Bevani at her website, www.bevani.com.

Sacred Songs Within

Bevani (Beverly Brossmann), flute

Ave Maria – Gounod
Largo from Concerto No. 4 – (Winter)
On Wings of Song
The Swan
Meditation from Thais
The Last Rose of Summer
The Girl with Flaxen Hair
Ave Maria (Schubert)
Si Bheag Si Mhor
Morceau de Concours
Dance of the Blessed Spirits
Greensleeves

Massey – The Elements

Angela Massey, who works as an orchestral musician, solo artist, chamber musician, and instructor, is currently based in New York City. On this album, The Elements, Massey has chosen to include works that relate to the classical elements of earth, water, wind, and fire. The works are generally modern, and many American composers are featured. There are some works from the standard repertoire as well as some that might be less familiar to the listener.

Of particular interest are Dorff’s April Whirlwind and Clarke’s Orange Dawn, which are well-served by Massey’s capable technique and consistent tone quality. The ensemble between Massey and Sargsyan, the pianist, is quite good. As most of the works on this recording include piano, the listener has ample opportunity to enjoy this pairing.

The final work on this album, Schnyder’s The Four Elements, does a nice job of summing up the overarching theme of earth, water, wind, and fire.

The Elements

Angela Massey, flute
Vahan Sargsyan, piano

Joseph Schwantner – Black Anemones

Jean-Michel Damase – Paysages

  1. Andantino
  2. Allegro
  • Allegro moderato
  1. Allegretto moderato
  2. Molto moderato
  3. Allegro giocoso
  • Vivace energico
  • Allegretto tranquillo
  1. Andante

Katherine Hoover – Reflections

Robert Beaser – The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water

Shulamit Ran – East Wind

Daniel Dorff – April Whirlwind

Ian Clarke – Orange Dawn

Daniel Schnyder – The Four Elements

  1. Earth/Gaia
  2. Kyklos Aquae
  • Aulos

Il Fuoco/’Feuertanz’

Bledsoe – Ghost Icebreaker

Ghost Icebreaker is a collaboration between flutist Helen Bledsoe (of Ensemble Musikfabrik based in Cologne) and St. Petersburg pianist Alexey Lapin. This album is remarkable in that it features both instruments in free improvisation. However, this is not jazz improvisation as many might expect.

There are some surreal moments on this recording, which are partially created through expertly-executed extended techniques and a variety of tone colors by Bledsoe. It is apparent that she and Lapin are long-time collaborators (for a decade, in fact), as it is easy to hear the conversation between them during these interactive improvisations.

Overall, this is a fascinating album, full of interesting, contemporary sounds in the context of the traditional flute/piano duo. The improvisational aspect of this recording highlights an additional layer of creativity. Learn more about Bledsoe and her work at helenbledsoe.com.

Ghost Icebreaker
CD LR 704
Leo Records

Helen Bledsoe, flute
Alexey Lapin, piano

Snow
The Rising Star of the Falling Sky
Settlement
Ghost Icebreaker
White Oranges
December (One Man’s Day Is Another Man’s Dusk)
Into Thin Air

Music by Helen Bledsoe and Alexey Lapin

Noteworthy Duo – As In Dreams

On this recording, Noteworthy Duo (Lisa Schroeder, flute and Michael Anthony Nigro, guitar) present a handful of Latin American works. Of special interest is the José Luis Merlin work, Agua de Trapiche, which was commissioned by the pair. For this piece, Merlin took inspiration from a small town in Argentina where he has pleasant childhood memories. There are four movements, each depicting different forms of water in Trapiche. With scenes ranging from a lake to a still pool of water to rain to the Rio Grande, this is a really lovely work.

The variety of different traditional Latin rhythms, ranging from slow to quick, found on this recording is also engaging. The contrast between the various movements of the works as well as the works themselves means that this recording is over well before the listener is ready.

Noteworthy Duo plays with precision and sensitivity. Schroeder’s phrasing and ability to create a long, lyrical line is especially impressive. Their decision to end with a work for guitar and alto flute leaves the listener with a calm, serene mood; the title of this recording seems particularly apt.

As In Dreams…
NDM002

Noteworthy Duo
Lisa Schroeder, flute
Michael Anthony Nigro, guitar

José Luis Merlin – Agua de Trapiche
I. Lago de La Florida
II. El Remanso
III. Danza de la lluvia
IV. Rio Grande

Ernesto Cordero – Fantasia Mulata

Christopher Caliendo – Tristeza

Celso Machado – From Musiques Populaires Brésiliennes
Pé de moleque
Sambossa

Jorge Cardoso – Brota un lament sentido

Máximo Diego Pujol – Suite Buenos Aires
I. Pompeya
II. Palermo
III. San Telmo
IV. Microcentro

Ariel Ramirez, arr. José Luis Merlin – Alfonsina y el mar

McBirnie – Find Your Place

Canadian jazz flutist Bill McBirnie has released a new album which is organized as an organ trio. The unmistakable sound of the Hammond B3 organ is combined with flute and drums to present a variety of jazz tunes.

McBirnie, who is based in Toronto, has built a solid career as a jazz flutist. He has a string of awards to his credit, including the Jazz Flute Soloist, Masterclass, and Big Band competitions of the National Flute Association; he has also won a series of accolades in his native Canada. His calendar of gigs listed on his website shows that he’s performing at an impressive pace. In addition to contributing to the woodwinds column of the Canadian Musician magazine, he also serves as the resident jazz flute specialist at Sir James Galway’s official website. McBirnie has combined his classical training (which includes study with teachers such as Samuel Baron and Robert Aitken) with jazz performance. In a recent interview with Isaac Davis Junior (http://blogs.juniorscave.com/2014/04/03/bill-mcbirnie-of-the-bill-mcbirnie-trio-2/), he states that he has cultivated a “generic” style that he can adjust to fit any musical situation. This flexibility serves him well on this album, which features a variety of jazz styles.

This album includes tunes ranging from bossa nova to swing to bebop styles. McBirnie’s solid technical capabilities and imaginative improvisation both shine. The Hammond organ, expertly performed on this album by Bernie Senensky, provides an excellent complement to the flute sound. While it might not be the combination you would expect to hear on a flute album, the sounds work very well together. McBirnie has released five other albums over the past fifteen years which are all available at CDBaby and iTunes.

Learn more about Bill McBirnie at his website: www.extremeflute.com.

The Bill McBirnie Trio
Bill McBirnie, flute
Bernie Senensky – Hammond B3 organ
Anthony Michelli – drums
Find Your Place

So In Love
Yes Indeed!
Sister Sadie
Oh! Darling
Minority
Jeannine
Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good To You
Yes Or No
Soy Califa
Rhythm-A-Ning
Find Your Place

Councell-Vargas – Gran Danzón

Martha Councell-Vargas, Assistant Professor of Flute at Western Michigan University, has assembled an album of charming Latin American music for flute. Most of these works combine European forms with Latin-inspired sounds. She was motivated by her first trip to Central America in 1996 and the charanga tradition made popular by the dance orchestras in Cuba.

Andres Sas was a Peruvian composer with Belgian-French origins. His Sonatina Fantasia combines a traditional European sonatina form with traditional Peruvian pentatonic melodies. The tone colors Councell-Vargas creates in the third movement in particular are lovely.

Transparencias by Mexican composer Eduardo Gamboa was originally written for flute and strings and dedicated to Tadeu Coelho. This version has been arranged for flute and piano. This work is inspired by traditional Mexican folk music and features different types of Latin American rhythms. It’s fascinating to trace the different rhythmic patterns as they move between the flute and piano. 

Christopher Caliendo’s Sonata No. 7 for Flute and Piano (subtitled “The Jazz Sonata”) also uses a traditional European multi-movement sonatina form but incorporates jazz. In this way it resembles the Sas.

However, instead of focusing on Peruvian melodies, this piece incorporates jazz sounds of North America. Highly rhythmic sections contrast with beautifully-executed melodies.

Paquito D’Rivera’s Gran Danzón, “The Bel-Air Concerto,” again combines European form (in this case, concerto form) with Latin American sounds (in this case, the national dance of Cuba, danzón). This is the chamber version, which includes flute, piano, and percussion.

Overall, this is a fun, energetic album. The playing is excellent and the tone colors are truly enchanting. Learn more about Martha Councell-Vargas and her work at her website, www.marthacouncell.com.

Gran Danzón
Blue Griffin Recording
Martha Councell-Vargas, flute
Richard Steinbach, piano
Olman Piedra, percussion

Andres Sas         Sonatina – Fantasia
I.    Fantasia
II.    Elegia
III.    Danza

Eduardo Gamboa     Transparencias
I.     Torito
II.    Arrullo
III.    Rompe
IV.    Jarabe

Christopher Caliendo    Flute Sonata No. 7 “The Jazz Sonata”
I.    Andante un poco allegretto
II.    Andante rapsodia
III.    Moderato con fuoco

Paquito D’Rivera    Gran Danzón

Guzman – Meditation for Performers

This recently-released CD by inspirational artist Viviana Guzman helps performers focus their internal dialogue in a positive, healthy way. This recording is helpful for musicians who are in the beginning stages of their development, professional performers, and everyone in between. It would be useful for those who have stage fright or those who just want to be more present and experience a greater enjoyment of the moment. Guzman’s background includes seemingly-insurmountable childhood health challenges, which resulted in her growing up in body casts and wheelchairs and left her insecure about stage performance. She eventually defied medical predictions and was able to walk, and she also overcame her performance anxiety; this success leaves her particularly well-qualified to help others overcome their performing fears, as well.

Each track is approximately 15 minutes and features subtle background sounds from nature. One track is more obviously geared towards performers imagining an upcoming performance. The others are more general but still have strong connections to issues we face in performance. Some of my favorite phrases that recur throughout the first track remind us that we have “prepared our music” and “practiced diligently.” This helps to reaffirm the connection between adequate practice and successful performance. It reminds us to trust the hard work we have done and that a positive performance experience isn’t just related to chance.

I will recommend this recording to my students. I think it will be helpful to them, especially those who are new to performing and are a bit apprehensive about it. In addition, I have found my own thoughts to be better focused after listening multiple times.  Learn more about Viviana Guzman’s work at her website, www.viviana.org. Meditation for Performers

Meditation for Performers: Guided Meditation and Affirmations
Syren Records 10440

Viviana Guzman
1.  Meditation for Performers
2.  Affirming Confidence
3. I Am Positive Affirmation

Reading a New Piece

Where to start when taking a look at a piece for the first time? Obviously there are as many approaches as there are musicians, and different pieces call for different attention. For an example, let’s take a look at the Duos for Flute and Clarinet by Robert Muczynski. (I’ll be performing this with my clarinetist colleague in October.)

First, I do a quick flip through the score. I look for really big picture things like how many movements it has, the general tempo markings, whether each movement tends to look more lyrical or more technical, and so forth. This gives me an idea of the overall road map and usually alerts me to sections that will require more work than others. (Sometimes I’m wrong but I have to start somewhere.)

I focus on rhythm first. In my mind, I have a much stronger grasp on the piece if I have the rhythm scaffolding established, and then I can go back and fill in pitches. If I focus on pitches instead, it takes me much longer to get a piece worked up. It is true that I can’t always separate the pitches out but my main focus is the rhythm. To learn the rhythm, I count, tap it out, sing a syllable, conduct while counting or singing, or a combination of these. I usually am not playing my flute at this point. I go ahead and mark the spots where I am not able to immediately count it accurately. (If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to avoid practicing mistakes.) I’ll focus in on those spots, incorporate them back into the larger context, and continue my rhythm work. I look for the patterns, which saves a lot of mental energy; I can just apply those already-learned rhythms when they reappear. I continue this analysis until I feel like the scaffolding of the piece is there.

Then, while still not playing flute, I take a look at the dynamic shaping, the phrases, the range, and whether those things coordinate or work against each other in some way. Often, when I’m a little further in the learning process, I will create a dynamic chart, where I map out the dynamics alone to see the big picture. This is especially helpful when working on the pacing of a piece.

After all of that is done, I pick up a flute and start playing pitches. I was never strong in ear training class, so I can’t always hear pitches in my head with complete accuracy; doing so isn’t efficient for me, so I use the flute to create those pitches. If I’ve gotten the rhythm relatively stable, the only things that might trip me up as I play through are awkward fingerings. If that’s the case, I work on those in tiny groupings until the unevenness is worked out. (I’m sure I have a blog post about that somewhere...) However, I am generally free to work on just pitches because I’ve established the rhythm already.

If I tried to work on everything all at once and move measure by measure, I would make very little progress. For me, dividing out the musical elements allows me to work efficiently and learn more music in less time.

 

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