#three (2015)
for piano, percussion (vibraphone, partial drum set, one player), upright bass
Premiere:
Jan 2015, Taplin Auditorium, Princeton, NJ
Recording:
Apr 2015
Juri Seo (piano), Clair Warnaar (percussion), Sean McClowry (bass)
Andres Villalta (recording engineer)
Program note:
I have always been drawn to the spontaneous beauty and easygoing virtuosity of jazz (despite my meager experience as a jazz pianist). In #three, little jazzy snippets take surprising turns: from espressivo to scherzo, from Romantic piano flourishes to clamorous rock beats. The collage-like progressions resulted from my struggle to compose piano licks while my husband Mark was drumming away rock grooves in the basement. Somehow, everything worked out in the end. I love such moments, when conflicts dissolve in one giant musical stockpot.
#three was written in the winter of 2014-2015 for the members of American Modern Ensemble.