Schadowrider Records

From the liner notes:

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Where can listening lead us when we are free of the written page?

What quality of listening is needed to improvise freely with others?

What do we need to keep and what do we need to let go as we abandon ourselves to the unknown?

Our project began with a wish to find ways to practice more sensitive listening and explore the essentials of music-making: tone, pitch, rhythm, tempo, etc. in our ensemble. A grant from the New York State Music Fund
made possible a concert series, which we called “Legacies,” plus several recording sessions. In the pieces that emerged, little or nothing was decided ahead—at most a pitch center, mode, or combination of instruments.

There is not a single phrase here that we previously played, nor one which we subsequently repeated. In a way, it was like meeting each other for a conversation, with no pre-decided topic, and talking and listening at
the same time. We found that in many cases it took awhile for the improvisation to unfold, but more often than not, some small miracle would appear and surprise us all.

Listen carefully!

—Matthew, Michael & Paul