Pritsker / Jarvis Duo

The duo formation of electric guitar and drums may have been unusual in the past, but it is less so today. That does not mean that what is stylistically expected is written in stone, or somehow codified into formula, not by any means. And when you pair composer-guitarist Gene Pritsker with composer-drummer Peter Jarvis, and set them loose on a series of compositions, you should expect the unexpected, the unpredictable.

And that is most definitely and happily what you get on their duo CD simply entitled Pritsker / Jarvis Duo (Composers Concordance 032). This is free-wheeling improvisation-composition in an open-form rock context. We experience a series of six compositional frameworks by six composers--Peter Jarvis, Gene Pritsker, David Saperstein, Joseph Pehrson, Jessica Wells (with the addition of Daniel Palkowski on keys and Dan Cooper on bass for her work), and Daniel Palkowski.

Each one is different. each one has its own center, sometimes extended in a sort of prog rock realm, sometimes with the spice of avant, sometimes frankly experimental but generally straightforward and seeking to create dialogic interactions that give equal weight to the drums in a melodic-periodistic way.

I will forbear a detailed description of each, mainly because they speak for themselves far more eloquently than any brief and telescopic prose would here.

It is music that grabs your interest right away but then should be heard repeatedly to get fully on the wavelengths involved.

Gene and Peter turn in carefully considered and vibrantly interesting performances. The idea that "anything goes" is operative. In the end, this is music of fascination--groundbreaking, and
memorable--with each piece exploring its own turf and giving us a coherent approach, but every one of them rather unique.

The album gives you serious fun, daring fare, lots to ponder. Anyone of a progressive mind will appreciate it, I do believe. Kudos!

Sound Liberation, Days

Gene Pritsker's Sound Liberation holds in a kind of stylistic liquid suspension rap, hip hop, r&b, rock and modern composed classical elements. The new album Days (Composers Concordance 0013) continues the development we've heard in the earlier albums (type the group's name in the index window box above to access the other reviews). The voice of Chanda Rule is back, thankfully, because she is really good. And Gene's song-compositions are ever-strong. There is no flagging.

So we have songs adapted from Gene's operas, mostly Money but also The Varieties of Religious Experience, we have the single cuts Sound Liberation came out with a while back, "Days" being especially haunting.

It's rap that gives you a streetwise view of life in the rough--well rhythmed, worded and articulated by Gene himself and David Gotay (who also plays cello here!). It's hip hop in all you imagine. Gene adds heft with his guitar and there is a small string ensemble and other classical-associated instruments that give you another world yet it's all the same world, at least where Sound Liberation is concerned.

It all hangs together in ways you remember as you listen a few times. It's not just that things are combined that don't ordinarily come together, it is that they do so with a musical result that grabs you and does not let go.

It's probably their very best. Pritsker and Sound Liberation go where nobody else goes before, like Star Trek only we ARE in space now, in a very personal space, all of us, seeking community. You can find it in this music. Check it out!

Sound Liberation, "Need" and "Breath" from the Album "Days"

When a composer gets into R&B/Rock/Pop you expect something interesting. And with Gene Pritsker's Sound Liberation you get it. The singles "Need" and "Breath" from the upcoming album Days (Composer's Concordance) give you something of substance. Chanda Rule has a very appealing and original voice and she is out front on both songs. The songs in turn have nice twists and turns you'd expect from Gene. And the arrangements have grit and musicality, with some especially good cello writing.

So what else to say except this is nice music that you should give a listen to. I wish Sound Liberation all success on this one!

New Recording of Gene Pritsker's Chamber and Electronic Music

Composer, guitarist, musical iconoclast. Gene Pritsker has one constant about him. No two. First he cannot be pegged. Modern concert music, classical-style classical, rock, hip hop. . . he can and will go wherever the spirit moves within a work and in his overall oeuvre. The second is that whatever he does, he does it with distinction.

The newest recording devoted to his works is the second such volume in the Composer's Concordance series, namely The International Street Cannibals Present. . . the Chamber and Electronic works of Gene Pritsker (Composers Concordance Records). It covers much ground, from the somewhat conventional piece for string quartet, "Credit System of Truth", to a chamber work combining bass clarinet, cello and electric guitar ("Poem #1"), to purely electronic/electro-acoustic music ("inside"). (See my other blogsite at www.gapplegatemusicreview.blogspot.com for a review of the first volume. See this site for additional coverage of various other Pritsker releases.)

Some of this music has a kind of 20th century expressionist sound to it and/or a sort of New Americana point of view. The electronic pieces are the more unconventional, using a variety of sampled and electronic sounds to create a vibrant mini-universe.

In sum the Chamber and Electronic Music goes in a number of different directions. But it ultimately succeeds in giving the listener a well-performed cross-section of the composer's work in the smaller ensemble mode, and a tantalizing glimpse of the purely electronic side of the Pritsker opus. Those unfamiliar with Gene's music might do better to start with the first volume of the series (which covers several of his works and those of other new composers) or his Innova recording of "The Varieties of Religious Experience Suite." Those who know Gene P's music will not be disappointed in this one. Nor will those who favor the chamber mode of expression, I would think.

Gene Pritsker and Sound Liberation's First

Anyone who reads this blog knows that there have been a number of review postings on composer-performer Gene Pritsker and his ensemble Sound Liberation. Today a look at the first Sound Liberation release from a few years back (self titled, no label listed).

It's not quite as excellent as the later releases. That's understandable. Gene and the band were finding their voice. Actually they had found it, a most unusual combination of hip hop, bebop, rock shred, show tunes, punk, funk and classical (both quotations and resituations of the standard and not-so-standard repertoire), and original contemporary compositional elements. There's also some very nice guitar work here. So they had found their voice, but were in a process of extending that unique combinatorial ethos and further developing the songwriting.

The resituations are well thought-out. The combinations are well integrated into a fresh and invigoratingly singular context. The end result is something very compelling. I would recommend starting with the VRE Suite, then for contrast, the second Sound Liberation disk. Finally, check this one out as the basis for the later things. Sound Liberation's view, MUSIC FIRST. Then, if you like, slap some labels on it. I totally agree with that!

Gene Pritsker, Sound Liberation, "Open Up Your Ears," 2008

Gene Pritsker, composer, guitarist and leader-founder of the Sound Liberation Ensemble. He is in the advance guard of musical genre conflationists out there. His Varieties of Religious Experience Suite was reviewed on these pages several months ago. We return to Gene and his 2008 album with Sound Liberation, Open Up Your Ears and Get Some (Col Legno 20902).

Now this one is not quite at the level of VRE. Part of the reason for that is that it is divided into 13 separate pieces, each one an entity into itself. There is of course nothing at all wrong with that. But one tends to get on the wavelength of each piece separately, which of course is the idea of a series of short "songs." The cumulative effect, for me anyway, was a good one. But the epic aspect of a longer work puts a singular impression on the listener. This one gives you a multiple set of universes.

Sound Liberation covers considerable ground here, in ways that captivate and intrigue. In the course of the album there are liberal slices of standard classical repertoire refitted into a contemporary rock-hip-hop context. There's an operatic tenor, some raps from Gene and others in the group, hip-hop stylings combined with just about everything, and ambitiously interesting r&b-pop-art songs sung enchantingly by (I believe) Ninni Lindh, with background accompaniment that for example might feature a string quartet, then a rap-against-choral passage out of a kind of baroque sensibility, some very cool guitar soloing, and then on from there.

The thing about the genre synthesizing, and it's true of anybody working with these sorts of things, is that not all artist-ensembles can handle every style with world-class excellence. In this case, the raps, while convincing, are not at the level of Snoop, Lupe Fiasco or Twista, say. The rhythmic punch, vocal tone control and stringing of rap wording are not quite at that level. But hey, who else is even trying to do this?

What you end up with on Open Up Your Ears is a far ranging and musically substantial album with moments that come together in a sublime new hybrid, and other moments that find Pritsker and the band working towards something that they are on the verge of nailing. The former outcomes are more frequent than the latter. And in the end this is some startlingly original music. I am very encouraged when I hear music like this. Cool, Gene. Keep on going!

Gene Pritsker's Sound Liberation Ensemble

We can be thankful that we do not live in a homogenized musical world right now. In many ways anything goes. If you look for it you can find innovative hybrids sporting just about any combination of stylistic traits you can imagine.

Gene Pritsker's Sound Liberation is a great example of this, in particular his new recording Varieties of Religious Experience Suite (VRE Suite) (Innova 235). It's Pritsker on electric guitar plus a second electric guitarist, cello, contrabass and drums. It's an instrumental suite from his opera William James - Varieties of Religious Experience.

Beyond these basic particularities are where the interest lies, of course. The music combines a sort of fusion-prog rock sensibility with a new sort of minimalism, modern concert vocabulary and a two-pronged concern with both the written note and improvisation. The drums pulse in a quasi-rock way, one or more of the guitars set up ostinatos with the cello and all three get space for improvisation.

That only begins to describe the music at hand though. This is a long suite with many twists and turns and in the end Gene Pritsker's music is much more than the sum of the elements involved. It's one of the more unusual works-performances I've heard in some time. It will no doubt appeal to those who look for rock that moves deeply into the "serious" music category. Those enthusiasts of contemporary classical and improvisation will find something very different here. No matter what camp you may be a part of, this recording will stretch the boundaries of what you expect. Most importantly Pritsker does it all with an assurance and lucidity that make a case for why such hybrids can provide exciting, absorbing listening. This one does.