The Alto Quartet’s “flatness” of identical instruments was chosen to more readily facilitate compositional and physical processes, in contrast to the harmony/counterpoint-oriented makeup of traditional ensembles. Several works from the series in particular extend the site of performance from the instrument to the musician’s body. Not only do instability of the altered reeds and extended techniques employed result in varying degrees of indeterminacy, the performer's endurance, inconsistency in embouchure and saliva flow also become part of the processes. Study II [Scream], influenced by the intricate splicing work of early musique concrète and structural films, organizes screams through the saxophone by specifying exact rhythms and the approximate register of the noise spectra. Study IV [Flutter] is entirely flutter-tongued. Study III [Saliva] uses a pool of saliva in the mouthpiece to break up the reed’s normal mode of vibration, inducing multiple layers of bubbling rhythms and shifting overtone content. In Work, the reeds of the saxophones are crippled with various cuts, no longer producing predictable tones but a range of colored noise and tones with intermittent response. The sheer effort and physicality of performance, with their usually undesirable byproducts such as the sounds of breath and saliva, are here brought to the surface.
The other works each focus on particular compositional issues: for four alto saxophones (4.98) is concerned with ensemble synchronization—the first part consists of a series of staggered chords where each voice is played slightly before or after the given pulse; the second is entirely made up of unsynchronized swells that recall the dynamic envelope of backwards tape. Horizontal–Vertical attempts to create a suspended sense of time (i.e. a vertical one), where dense polyphony built from a small gamut of gestures and pitch/rhythmic units becomes “harmony” over time. for four alto saxophones (7.98) part II mixes bursts of static improvisation with short tones in fixed rhythmic cycles.
—J.F. July 2004 New York City
credits
released September 1, 2004
Alto Saxophones: James Fei, Chris Jonas, Jackson Moore (all tracks);
Anthony Braxton (track 6), Jeff Hudgins (tracks 1, 4, 5, 7),
Randy McKean (track 2), Seth Misterka (track 3).
Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5 & 7 recorded on July 21, 2001 at Sorcerer Sound (New York) by Jon Rosenberg. Track 3 recorded live at World Music Hall, Wesleyan University on April 22, 1998 and track 6 recorded live in New York at Greenwich House Music School on October 2, 1998; both engineered by James Fei. The flac download is 16 bit/44khz.
This music has everything I need: acoustic instruments, a slow build, layers of atypical harmonies and rhythms being added each pass through, subtle melodies and combinations. Excellent work! Little James
A collection of tracks from the singer and multi-disciplinary artist's 111 collaboration series, featuring KMRU, Laraaji, and others. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 25, 2024
