a r t i s t : John Rapson
t i t l e : Dances and Orations
d a t e : 1996
l a b e l : Music & Arts
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : Apr/2006
t r a c k s : 15
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 83,3 MB
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Anthony Braxton - alto & soprano saxes, flute, clarinet,
contrabass clarinet
John Rapson - trombone, transcriptions, arrangements,
compositions
Bobby Bradford - cornet
Bill Roper - tuba
Wayne Peet - piano, keyboards, sampling, sequencing
Alex Cline - drums, percussion, overtone singing
Recorded (duet) January 14 and (quintet) July 21, 22, 24 1994
I have been working with the materials for this album for some
time. That they have become an homage to my friends and
teachers was unforeseen and a delight to watch as it
unraveled. The founding concept was to produce compositions
directly out of improvisations instead of the more standard
practice of writing compositions with space for improvisation.
This is not a revolutionary concept, I realize, but one with a
new spin that "stands on the shoulders of other' (as Tom Soule
would have said.) One hoped-for-result was a series of works
that would be vital and earthy because their origins were
spontaneously and communally produced. Another, seemingly
converse, hoped-for-result was something crafted and succinct
from the reflective interaction made possible by recording and
sampling, editing and mixing. This album is one of a host of
experiments that plans with the available technology to
"remember' in a way that formerly could be accommodated only
by "freezing" sound in notated manuscript on a page.
In January of 1994, I went to Connecticut to record a series
of short improvisatory duets with Anthony. There were no
pre-set parameters (other than our earlier shared history and
interests) and we spent just under an hour in the studio,
which I recorded with a stereo mike and a DAT machine. Said
A.B. "well Mr. Rapson, I look forward to seeing what can be
done with this music." ("Me too." I thought.) I spent the
following spring choosing fragments to keep, some to
transcribe and orchestrate, others to overdub. In a few cases,
I chose to construct derivative compositions that borrowed
motifs or textures from the improvisations without keeping
their original form. Suffice to say, there was both joy and
trepidation in figuring out what to leave out, what to include
and then, after choosing, what to do with the material I kept.
In July, roughly six months after the "germinating" session, I
went to L.A. with my compositions/inklings/orchestrations in
tow. Wayne and I spent about a week in his studio strategizing
the next recording session and preparing samples/tapes. In
some cases. he pre-recorded his own performances so that he
would be free to engineer later. We then spent three days in a
different studio with Bobby, Bill and Alex laying down tracks
of composed fragments and new improvisations. Much of what was
recorded was disembodied for the players and left to their
imaginations to envision the final outworking. As Bobbv said,
"you're trying to catch a butterfly here." I was "spent" by
the time we finished and mired in the morass of incomplete
material, wondering what I'd gotten us all into.
I didn't listen to the rough mixes for two months, tellin
myself that I just needed distance. Come October I gingerly
began to filter through the tapes, deciding anew what to keep
and what to trash. Each decision seemed laden with the weight
of discerning what was inviolable and what was incomplete. But
somewhere in the midst of wrestling with the tapes, it dawned
on me that I had turned a corner without knowing and this
"thing" had begun to breathe, to show me the way it wanted to
go. I returned to California in January of 1995, a year after
starting, anxious to assemble and mix the master with Wayne.
We subsequently made a few minor adjustments the following
summer whereupon the "thing" took on its own wings. I felt
more like a midwife than a parent.
I am grateful for the individual beauty and trust each of the
musicians brought to the recording. I count it a great fortune
to have had the chance to play with my heroes in the company
of such long-standing friends. Their contributions are
interwoven into every aspect of the product and represent the
respectable legacy of communal composition that Duke Ellington
fashioned. The inklings for this project emerged during the
time I spent at Wesleyan University, stoked and fanned by
banterings with Jon Barlow and Anthony Braxton. I am indebted
to David Nelson and Peter Nathan at University of Iowa for
helping me to realize thost inklings.
John Rapson
Iowa City. September 1995
For kibutzing, cajoling and carousing... thanks to Noriko,
Rob, Karen, Michael, Beth, Sam, Hannah, Clam & Cleo
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01-fanfare and spectacle [05:49]
02-the next cycle from the corridor [02:45]
03-hold the fort [02:52]
04-shaking the dreams from a bedspread [03:57]
05-waltz of the affinities [02:26]
06-soule lessons- a-afflatus- closing ones eyes to see [02:50]
07-soule lessons- b-asquint- shooting to the left [01:38]
08-soule lessons- c-abjuration- never own anything [04:50]
09-the rumbolz ramble and march [04:57]
10-mo scatters the morning [05:32]
11-libation- john carter amongst the ancestors [03:32]
12-scamper, bob and weave [04:45]
13-the proffered kiss [01:59]
14-better than truth, bigger than life [05:47]
15-oblation- albert testifies, hildegard plays [07:38]
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61:17 min