Madras Rainbows
(2008) clarinet, electric guitar, cello - 17'
Ocian
(2006) alto saxophone, violin, piano - 10'
The title refers to a quote by Merriweather Lewis upon seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time. I liked the historical spelling. (Live performance in Appleton, Wisconsin – Jesse Dochnahl, alto saxophone; Sam Martin, violin and Aaron Ewell, piano)
Slow Stars
(2005) clarinet, wine glasses, vibraphone, celesta, piano, violin, cello - 10'
This is piece is really an homage to my good friend and past teacher Kurt Doles. He wrote the pair of works, "Shadows Rising" and "Shadows Falling" that I could not get out of my head. I loved the instrumentation ideas so much that I borrowed some of it here, hopefully doing justice to what he taught me.
Imanaka
(2003) alto saxophone, marimba, Fender rhodes - 12'
The name 'imanaka' comes from an aesthetic concept that the composer Somei Satoh borrowed from the Shinto tradition and I borrowed it from him. He gives a very nice explanation of the concept:
“…in the Shinto religion, there is the term ‘imanaka’ which is not just the present moment which lies between the stretch of past eternity and future immortality, but also the manifestation of the moment of all time which is multi-layered and multi-dimensional…I would like it if the listener could abandon all previous conceptions of time and experience a new sense of time presented in this music as if eternal time can be lived in a single moment.” (Live performance in Eugene, Oregon – Dylan Dwyer, alto saxophone)