Friedman, Bruce / O.P.T.I.O.N.S.
| Album: | O.P.T.I.O.N.S. | Collection: | Jazz | |
| Artist: | Friedman, Bruce | Added: | Aug 2009 | |
| Label: | PfMENTUM | |||
A-File Activity
| Add Date: | 2009-11-29 | Pull Date: | 2010-01-31 | Charts: | Jazz |
|---|
| Week Ending: | Jan 24 | Jan 17 | Jan 10 | Dec 27 | Dec 20 | Dec 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airplays: | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Recent Airplay
| 1. | Jan 22, 2010: | Memory Select
Mct-4 With Duos [excerpt] |
4. | Dec 22, 2009: | Memory Select
Monochromatic Textures (Mct-1) |
|
| 2. | Jan 13, 2010: | Customary Surprise
Mct-3 With Solos |
5. | Dec 18, 2009: | Memory Select, Friday edition
Mct-2 With Solos |
|
| 3. | Jan 05, 2010: | Memory Select
MCT-2 With Solos |
6. | Dec 08, 2009: | Memory Select
Mct-2 With Solos |
Album Review
Wedge
Reviewed 2009-11-26
Reviewed 2009-11-26
Really cerebral. Orchestra-tuning-up sounds. All acoustic instruments with occasional electronics lightly added. Quite abstract but filled with warm sounds (acoustic instruments).
It's based on graphical notation. Technical details: The first track, which is the most bombastic, is the structural template. The other tracks overlay solos (or duets, on track 4).
The mini-orchestra consists of L.A. musicians:
Lynn Johnston (clarinets)
Ellen Burr (flutes)
Eric Shar (euphonium)
Bruce Friedman (trumpet)
Michael Intriere (cello)
Andrea Lieberherr (violin)
Emily Beezhold (synth)
Jeremy Drake (electric guitar)
Rich West (drums, percussion)
... and if you must know, OPTIONS stands for Optional Parameters To Improvise Organized Nascent Sounds.
1- Scattery, disjoint horn and string bits. Clearly there's organization here, but it's a complex piece, difficult to penetrate at first.
2- Opens with a sliiiiide, then a calmer type of disjoint improv. There's lots of activity, but the overall feel is more crawling. An electronics drone adds a building tension at one point. Builds to a crescendo.
3- A low-level piece, and the longest, at 19 minutes. Trombone solo early on, with snare drum, provides some of the most coherent passages yet. Then, a lush forest of instrument sounds, percolating but again less aggressive than on Track 1. A nice feeling of getting lost in a forest of music. Quieter passage after just after the midway point, builds back into louder, raspy sounds and a dramatic ending.
4- A very slow crawl. Languid. About halfway, it speeds up a bit: lighter mood but quiet.
It's based on graphical notation. Technical details: The first track, which is the most bombastic, is the structural template. The other tracks overlay solos (or duets, on track 4).
The mini-orchestra consists of L.A. musicians:
Lynn Johnston (clarinets)
Ellen Burr (flutes)
Eric Shar (euphonium)
Bruce Friedman (trumpet)
Michael Intriere (cello)
Andrea Lieberherr (violin)
Emily Beezhold (synth)
Jeremy Drake (electric guitar)
Rich West (drums, percussion)
... and if you must know, OPTIONS stands for Optional Parameters To Improvise Organized Nascent Sounds.
1- Scattery, disjoint horn and string bits. Clearly there's organization here, but it's a complex piece, difficult to penetrate at first.
2- Opens with a sliiiiide, then a calmer type of disjoint improv. There's lots of activity, but the overall feel is more crawling. An electronics drone adds a building tension at one point. Builds to a crescendo.
3- A low-level piece, and the longest, at 19 minutes. Trombone solo early on, with snare drum, provides some of the most coherent passages yet. Then, a lush forest of instrument sounds, percolating but again less aggressive than on Track 1. A nice feeling of getting lost in a forest of music. Quieter passage after just after the midway point, builds back into louder, raspy sounds and a dramatic ending.
4- A very slow crawl. Languid. About halfway, it speeds up a bit: lighter mood but quiet.
Track Listing
| 1. | Monochromatic Textures (Mct-1) | 3. | Mct-3 With Solos | |||
| 2. | Mct-2 With Solos | 4. | Mct-4 With Duos |