D. Tymoczko (b. 1969), composer and music theorist, teaches at Princeton. His book, A Geometry of Music was highly praised, and he is author of the first music theory article ever published by Science magazine. The CD presents music inspired equally by Bach, jazz greats Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker, rock star Chuck Berry, and Bob Dylan. The music has an exploratory, improvised character. I Cannot Follow was inspired by a 16th cent. madrigal whose title words are addressed to a dead lover. Cyclical motifs and jazzy rock edge ostinatos (continuously repeated musical phrases or rhythms) abound. For the Rube Goldberg Variations, Tymoczko uses a prepared piano altered by bits of eraser, alligator clips, and felt; as the work progresses, these are gradually removed to reapproach standard piano sound. The piece symbolizes moving parts whose ultimate end is not yet visible. The final mvmt is inspired by the Biblical Creation story and T’s experience of fatherhood. S Sensation Something is more polished, and mildly lyrical, but’ biting harmonies and instrumental confrontations dominate.

I Cannot Follow. 1. Structures of Loss (3:58). Vaguely mechanical brass and string percussive piano explore twisted melodies.
2. Respite (5:06). Overhearing separate conversations in a bar scene. Quietly jazzy.
3. I Cannot follow (6:50). Rapid, jazzy riffs, pushing forward without pause.
4. Rube Goldberg Variations. To a Leaf (4:49)
5. Stravinsky Fountain (4:58). Stiff robotic mvmt, combined with New 6. Orleans brass band funeral music and Paris jazz of the 1920s.
6. Homage (4:33). Syncopated piano rhythms and high pitches falling to meet those falling ones bracket brass and string soundscapes. Construction crew at work in all instrumental lines.
7. Father Makes the World (4:19). Dissonant sounds of construction again. Quieter, calmer final quarter.
8. S Sensation Something (16:38). Lyrical opening, biting, jazzy confrontational middle, return to quieter, but dissonant sounds for the last half.