It Is (Composition / Recording) 2022 (~ 9 minutes) Three minute sections of Cocktail Jazz with loosely prompted banter. Each of the four main vocalists hold the microphones, meandering, mixing, and mingling with the other conversationalists-all the while following their own score of timed icebreakers. The hope was to capture multiple simultaneous experiences of a relatively unengaging performance.
If this piece was to be performed again I would suggest that you treat this composition more as a set of rules for how to put together your own performance / score for the musicians. "It Is" should be taken from the perspective of audience members at any given live musical scenario. In this instance we follow cocktail party-goers existing in the same space as a performance of vamp-based wallpaper jazz. In order to put together your own performance I suggest scenarios where the music takes a background role, so as to allow the most tangential conversation. Vamps within your chosen genre should be written and given an allotted amount of time (for example: three minutes per section). Then vague conversation topics should be written down for each section of music, keeping the progression of said topics in mind during arrangement. Other cues can be given to the audience in order to further develop the plot of the performance. Microphones must be used, either in a recorded setting as the only recording devices, or in a live performance as the only amplification (outside of the necessary for digital instruments, electric guitars, etc). The microphones are to be held by all of the conversationalists, who will improvise conversation, loosely following their prompts, and switching topics as the timer dictates.
Contact me if you would like the original score (piano, vibraphone, electric bass, conversation) from this performance.
Recorded MAY 10, 2022
PIANO / CONVERSATION - TOBIAS HESS
BASS - MATTHEW AN
VIBRAPHONE - JONAH KNAPP-WILSON
PERCUSSION - MATTHEW SARGENT
CONVERSATION - MATT MACARI, TALULLAH PRATT, MADELINE MONEYPENNY, VIGILANCE BRANDON