Sounds |
| This page is going to very long! A substantial portion of my life seems to be defined with my sounds. I have organized these sounds according to various categories. |
Compositions
Arrangements
Transcriptions
Organ Performances
Piano Solo Performances
Electronic Music
Other Performances
|
| Compositions |
| I have composed music since I was around ten years old. Luckily for everyone out there, I have not included any of these early compositions on this page! All of the wind ensemble pieces were composed for the Caltech Occidental Wind Orchestra, Directed by Glenn Price since 2016 and by Bill Bing before that. I am conducting most of these. "The Grand Tour" was composed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launch of JPL's Voyager Mission. Each movement corresponds to one of Voyager's desitantions. I am the organ solist for my "Concerto for Organ and Concert Band" which I composed for our concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall (though this recording was made at Caltech.) I am also the soloist on "Theme and Perturbations" in which I play all the solo parts. Bill asked me to write this so I could show off a bit. It was originally written with piano accompaniment and I later scored the band parts. "Star Life" is a collaboration with John Brugman (who wrote the narration) and Mike Werner (who developed a slide show of images from the Spitzer Space Telescope to be shown along with the piece). Bill asked me to arrange George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm" for the concert band to perform during our 2011 trip to China. The result was "Rhythm Fantasy", which is original enough that I classify it as a composition rather than an arrangement. The recording here is from a live concert at Occidental College a few weeks before the trip. The "Prelude and Fugue" is the oldest composition on this page. I wrote during the summer between high school and Caltech - back in 1971! "Suite 343" is a grand jazz suite in three movements, each featuring a different soloist. On this recording, I play all the solos - alto sax, trumpet, and jazz organ. The "Psalm 23" was a commission from Moshe Rothblum, the rabbi at Adat Ariel Synagogue. He is also a composer and asked me to arrange this tune for soloist and choir. |
|
| Arrangements |
| I have done extensive arranging for many different ensembles. I have, for example, a book of over 100 arrangements for party band, a book of 75 arraignments for Dixieland band, and somewhere around 30 pieces for brass quintet. Here are a few examples. "Emily, Emily" is the shepherds' chorus from the opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" by Mennoti. I wrote the two organ suites for my own use and these are recordings made on my home instrument, a Rodgers 945. The "Jewish Dances" were written for brass quintet but this recording is made on synthesizers (see the electronic section below.) The video from 2016 Caltech Commencement shows some of the arranging I have done for organ, brass, and percussion. The "Ode to Joy" was a particular challenge. I had to use and existing ultra-short setting for choir and wevae the brass and organ around it in some way that made sense. This was also Bill Bing's very last performance as Director of Bands at Caltech. Also included are selections from the 2018 Caltech Commencement, under the direction of our current conductor, Glenn Price. The "Gaudeamus Igitur" can be considered a completely new composition of mine – a setting the old traditional melody. |
|
| Transcriptions |
| I have always worked to improve my composition skills by transcribing what I consider to be great works of music (you may have different opinions). "Southland" is from the landmark album "Tutti's Trumpets" that featured every great LA area trumpet from the 60s. I am playing third trumpet in this recording. "Sliphorn Jive" is a very early Glenn Miller composition that I have never found in sheet music. The two vocal numbers are both from Andrews Sisters recordings. My daughter, Erica, recreated the Andrews Sisters as her high school senior project. I did all the transcribing and recording. To add some interest, "Beat Me Daddy" is the practice version I gave Erica and her friends. I play all the vocal tracks on alto sax. My son, Elliot, is playing both trumpet and drums on these recordings. I have a whole web page devoted to my work with the music of Raymond Scott. Check it out. This recording is from a concert of my transcriptions performed by the U. S. Military Academy (West Point) Chamber Winds. |
|
| Organ Performances |
| Though I play many instruments, I always consider myself to be an organist. It is the only instrument on which I have had substantial formal training. I also enjoy designing organs (see my organ design page.) I picked up "theater organ" playing along the way.The first two pieces under "theater organ" were recorded on my own large custom instrument. The Kawai DX1500 was their first generation digital organ (see the section on electronic music below.) The "Prelude in Gm" is also performed on the DX-1500, using its synthesizer controls. "Throop Institute" (pronounce "troop") is the original name for Caltech. I play the "Throop Institute March" at every Caltech commencement. Since I have played many magnificent cathedral organs around the world, it made sense to include one selection played on the Peterson Beer Bottle Organ. The Peterson organ company built this instrument to celebrate their 50th anniversary and displayed it at the big annual music show in Anaheim (NAMM). It consists of a single rank of beer bottles that are filled with an inert liquid for stable tuning. They recorded my performance of the tune below (quite appropriate) and even feature it on their web site! |
|
| Piano Solo Performances |
| Though I have never had a piano lesson in my life, somehow I always end up playing piano in bands. This affords me an opportunity to play an occasional solo or even a short solo concert. I am no classical pianist. All of my piano work is in jazz and jazz-related styles. |
|
| Electronic Music |
| My father, Ralph, is considered the father of the digital organ. He invented and successfully marketed the first real-time digital electronic musical instruments and can be blamed for the explosion of those little digital keyboards that have taken over the music world. I was lucky enough to work with him on electronic musical instrument design while I was in college at Caltech. The Kawai K5 Synthesizer is one of our proudest achievements. It was the utmost in programmable additive synthesis. I did many recordings using three K5s and a computer sequencer. These are some examples. |
|
| Other Performances |
Jazz Band
Ja-Da (Lead Alto Sax and Piccolo, Big Band Theory)
Dazzle (Lead Tenor and Piccolo Solo, Caltech Thursday Jazz Band conducted by Paul Lopez)
Dixieland Band
Your Feet's Too Big (Piano and Vocal, The Night Blooming Jazzmen)
Farewell to Storeyville (Piano, The Hot Frogs Jumping Jazzband))
With Small Jazz Ensembles
The Jitterbug Waltz (by Fats Waller, The Night Blooming Jazzmen rhythm section)
Anitra's Dance (The Ka-Band) |
| |
