Tell The Truth & Run Fast

Blunt Object, featuring Ben Dietschi (tsx), Tom Van Seters (piano) and Robin Jessome (tbn).

Tell The Truth & Run Fast

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[Original post]

Tell The Truth & Run Fast (11:50)

Composed by Robin Jessome.

This is an extended-ish work for large jazz ensemble. Consisting of 2 (and a half) sections. The first being the intense and fractured saxophone feature; starting at 5:15, a piano solo over a new sub-section (which may be further developed in the future); and then at 8:00, a very slow and dark dirge-like trombone feature.

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Soloists:

Ben Dietschi (tenor sax)

Tom Van Seters (piano)

Robin Jessome (trombone)

Others:

Alexis Marsh (clarinet), Gordon Hyland (tenor sax), Natalie Robinson/Ryan Brouwer (trumpet), Heather Segger (trombone), Holly Dronyk (tuba), Mark Godfrey (bass), Mark Segger (drums).

Recorded in Toronto, April 20 2009.

I'm digging this, Robin. Quite a bit. I'm probably at the end of the sax solo as I write. The sax soloist is good--nice tone, though not the kind of ideas that really stick to my bones. In terms of the recording, I felt the figures with muted trumpet need to come up in the mix if you ever remix this--maybe it was just recorded to stereo, though. More as I get further...

The piano player is doing some nice things now. I'd rather listen to someone thinking as opposed to playing fast, and that's how he started out.

How old are these players?

That's a great trombone solo! I even heard a bit of James Pankow in there. ;) Do you have your own studio, so if I wanted to hire you to lay down a solo on a project I could just send you a stereo mix and you could record yourself?

But what happened to the end of the piece? Is it not finished? It seemed to end with the 'bone solo, never going back to an ensemble section--I felt like it had been cut off prematurely.

I'm digging this, Robin. Quite a bit. I'm probably at the end of the sax solo as I write. The sax soloist is good--nice tone, though not the kind of ideas that really stick to my bones. In terms of the recording, I felt the figures with muted trumpet need to come up in the mix if you ever remix this--maybe it was just recorded to stereo, though. More as I get further...

The piano player is doing some nice things now. I'd rather listen to someone thinking as opposed to playing fast, and that's how he started out.

How old are these players?

Players are mostly fellow grad students here, ages 24-30 give or take. Recorded live, in stereo.

That's a great trombone solo! I even heard a bit of James Pankow in there. ;) Do you have your own studio, so if I wanted to hire you to lay down a solo on a project I could just send you a stereo mix and you could record yourself?

But what happened to the end of the piece? Is it not finished? It seemed to end with the 'bone solo, never going back to an ensemble section--I felt like it had been cut off prematurely.

Thanks a lot for listening and the kind words. I know what you mean by the ending feeling a bit abrupt...I'm realizing that myself as I hear it. BUT, in performance, there was no break between this and the next tune. So, it's essentially part of a larger suite where the segue helps alleviate the sense of non-finality.

I do have some home studio gear, and would be happy to try and lay down some sounds for you! Lemme know!

Thanks again for listening.

Very nice. Great players too. Your music always reminds me of Carla Bley... Any other notable influences?

Don't really have much to say since my knowledge of jazz is sort of limited, just thought I would register my appreciation.

I can personally detect nothing wrong with the PDF you provided, but if you are having difficulties of any sort with PDF generation, you might want to try PrimoPDF.

Yeah, this piece is definitely cooool. :P

I got a real "Pink Panther" vibe from some parts. The part that most impressed me was around C and D, with the muted trumpet. Very nice. I also REALLY liked the bit at H with the the the "blurred" brass chords.

I get a real "retro" feel from this for some reason? Almost like a noir jazz film. Anyway, a really enjoyable listen all around. Maybe the piece would be even better if there were more tuttis? Especially if you used the ensemble brass sound more? And/or the muted trumpet.

Since my comments got deleted with the approval notice...

Robin, I really liked your use of the material, and the fact that you did a lot with a little; you didn't feel the need to 'throw in the kitchen sink' harmonically. Your use of sharply defined harmonic material was refreshing and clever.

Wow, much enjoyed the listen!

M

Many thanks to all who listened! I appreciate the support!

Very nice. Great players too. Your music always reminds me of Carla Bley... Any other notable influences?

I can personally detect nothing wrong with the PDF you provided, but if you are having difficulties of any sort with PDF generation, you might want to try PrimoPDF.

Influences: a lot of Mingus, Monk, Ornette. Some Kenny Wheeler, Maria Schneider and a lot of Carla Bley and Tom Waits. Dunno which ones shine through, but your comment about it sounding like Carla made my day ;) Not that would ever presume to be trying to sound like her...

.... The part that most impressed me was around C and D, with the muted trumpet. Very nice. I also REALLY liked the bit at H with the the the "blurred" brass chords.

...Maybe the piece would be even better if there were more tuttis? Especially if you used the ensemble brass sound more? And/or the muted trumpet.

Thanks! I wasn't sure how well the muted trumpet echoes would come across...especially with the weird way of notating it. I like the way it turned out though. Same with "H" ... I'm lucky to have such musically sensible players....a lot of this stuff would NEVER work without their input.

Which, leads into the "tutti" comment. I tend not to write much "ensemble stuff", I prefer how letting one player float above a texture. Personality of the individual plays a HUGE role in everything I write, while the "ensemble" is usually supportive of that personality.

Perhaps, when revising the piano solo section, I'll work in some more ensemble stuff.

Robin, I really liked your use of the material, and the fact that you did a lot with a little; you didn't feel the need to 'throw in the kitchen sink' harmonically. Your use of sharply defined harmonic material was refreshing and clever.

I've never been one for really dense and complicated harmony. (Thank you Carla and Tom). I love exploring dark sonorities, developing my material rhythmically as opposed to harmonically/melodically.

Thank you!

Thanks again to all who listened.... re: the pdf thing, I just hate how it looks all blocky when you're zoomed out enough to see the whole thing. *shrug* One would expect, this day-in-age, to get smooth lines in yr pdf. GAH! :whistling:

Very cool stuff. My favorite part was your trombone solo, that was epic.

Very cool stuff. My favorite part was your trombone solo, that was epic.

Why, thank you! :D:blush:

What I love about this is the rhythmic drive - the stop start syncopation and how all the solos and comping BREATHES so well. So much going on but in such a relaxed taut manner - as if i were hearing a Martha Graham dance being reinterpreted by Gregory Hines. Love the interjections of the horns too - provides excellent support and punctuates the offbeat syncopations without getting in the way - that is hard!

Now the piano solo - a little thin and rhythmically less interesting than before. No it is a GOOD solo but it doesn't wind down or keep up the momentum convincingly until the bass and percussion comes in - seems the pianist then feels freer and more secure with that "net". I do agree this section needs a little more fleshing out - more time is needed to come down from the first section.

Oh I love the horns mf decrescendo to p coming in again - nice ongoing structural device. I wonder as a bridge to or from the piano solo you could play with that more. Have a series of pitches from the horns fading in and out until the piano is heard alone but with a more florid piano line or if coming from the piano solo the trombone solo starts as the horns finish - that is the solo elides the end of the prior section.

It is funny you play the trombone like a trumpet! Quite unusual tone - hard to describe except like a mellow dark red wine with just hint of berry aroma.

Love the ending!

I wonder how you'd feel about have a reprise of the beginning where the sax, trombone and piano all have solos but shorter and swapped - eg lines are started by one instrument and finished by another - percussion could have a small solo to drive it home at the end.

Anyway excellent piece and it is complete Robin. My suggestions are more if you want to extend the piece. When I have the time i will go to you for writing for this ensemble and style. I just have so many other projects to finish!!!!

I did not know I liked jazz, but I really ike this piece. Very good for lifestyle commercials also I think

First of all, thanks again for the kind words and for taking the time to listen!

...

Now the piano solo - a little thin and rhythmically less interesting than before. No it is a GOOD solo but it doesn't wind down or keep up the momentum convincingly until the bass and percussion comes in - seems the pianist then feels freer and more secure with that "net". I do agree this section needs a little more fleshing out - more time is needed to come down from the first section.

It's a tough thing, having to maintain the energy, and bring it somewhere when the composer has just whisked the carpet out from under you. A different player may have handled it better/differently - and with more rehearsal, I expect some familiarity with that's expected will help strengthen the transition. And, fleshing out IS just what that chunk needs - I REALLY like the bass line, and will definitely be developing something along with that. I have a tendency to abandon great ideas to quickly.

It is funny you play the trombone like a trumpet! Quite unusual tone - hard to describe except like a mellow dark red wine with just hint of berry aroma.

Love the ending!

I'm going to take the "wine" comparison as a huge compliment. I'm particularly fond of my sound, and worked hard to get it. I've gotten to the point where I can be quite flexible with it...not necessarily trying to be "like a trumpet" (?)...

I'm glad you like the ending.... :D

I wonder how you'd feel about have a reprise of the beginning where the sax, trombone and piano all have solos but shorter and swapped - eg lines are started by one instrument and finished by another - percussion could have a small solo to drive it home at the end.

I don't know. I haven't been able to conceive of a suitable way of bringing the piece to a well-grounded conclusion. Part of me doesn't like the idea of returning to previous material/textures... I dunno...

Keep in mind also, this was performed as part of an uninterrupted set, with interlude which led into the next piece...a suite, if you will. Perhaps I'll clean up that one and lay it on you...

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I did not know I liked jazz, but I really ike this piece. Very good for lifestyle commercials also I think

Thank you for listening, I'm glad you've found some jazz you like! Time to explore... ...lifestyle commercials, I hope not....but then again. :hmmm:

Cool robin. What I meant by you play like a trumpet is the opening of the trombone solo sounded like a trumpet in its low register but with a much rounder tone. And the piano solo was good - pardon the typo "No", I meant "Now". But only the piano solo needs fleshing out the bass line agree is excellent.

Wow, great group of performers! Great rhythm section - if possibly a little drum heavy for the size of the ensemble, but still great performances all around and the recording quality sounds very good...say

When you "In stereo" do you mean there was a stereo pair of microphones, or a whole array of them and they were mixed down to stereo?

Because if it was just a stereo pair, I'm going to have to talk to whoever recorded it and get exact specs for how they positioned it...!

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Okay so the music! Very nice! Enjoyed it a lot. Not much else to say really. I'd buy a copy so that definitely says something lol

I also agree though with the 'premature' ending. Okay, as an Attaca I probably works well, but as a self-contained work, I think you should have a return to the C section.

Personally I'd put in the return to the C section and then have a note saying "Optional attaca from end of rehearsal mark J to next piece".

Also, you should check out Tim Davies. He's an Aussie in LA with a big band who is writing kind of similar music and also makes use of a bit of electronic mixing (dj for performances) to get some nice echo effects etc which I think could also work really nicely with some of the stuff you're writing.

Thanks for posting!

Chris

Wow, great group of performers! Great rhythm section - if possibly a little drum heavy for the size of the ensemble, but still great performances all around and the recording quality sounds very good...say

When you "In stereo" do you mean there was a stereo pair of microphones, or a whole array of them and they were mixed down to stereo?

Because if it was just a stereo pair, I'm going to have to talk to whoever recorded it and get exact specs for how they positioned it...!

Drum heavy could have to do with the room - it's a concert hall, great for sting quartets or solo oboe works...but large ensembles sound funny, the drums especially... also, Mark can lean to the 'bombastic' side sometimes... ;)

The recording was done with a straight up stereo pair, in a near-coincident positioning... [see the photo below - they were directly in front of the drums with the piano/bass to the left, horns to the centre/right. All the other mics were only for sound reinforcement if/when needed]

...I also agree though with the 'premature' ending. Okay, as an Attaca I probably works well, but as a self-contained work, I think you should have a return to the C section.

I'm starting to agree that something from the original texture should return...tie it all together. We'll see.

Thanks for listening; and thanks for the suggestion, I'll be sure to check out Tim Davies.

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@ CO - I get you now! ;)

Awesome piece, I just think the fff at the end could go for much longer considering how long you spent building up to it. And if it went for longer, that would quite possibly make for a satisfactory ending.

I love the title too.:)

Awesome piece, I just think the fff at the end could go for much longer considering how long you spent building up to it. And if it went for longer, that would quite possibly make for a satisfactory ending.

I love the title too.:)

Oops!

Thanks for listening!

I think the proportions of the ending are okay....the focus is on the long, slow build; I wouldn't want the final intensity-level to outstay its welcome.

Glad you like the title!

:thumbsup: :)

That was fantastic.

I don't really know much about jazz, so i hope those three words mean something =)

Also, a fantastic effort from the musicians playing the piece. Great job!

That was fantastic.

I don't really know much about jazz, so i hope those three words mean something =)

Also, a fantastic effort from the musicians playing the piece. Great job!

Thanks for listening. Your words mean a lot - they mean more than if they were coming from an experienced jazz listener... I'm glad you liked it! :)

they mean more than if they were coming from an experienced jazz listener...:)

...What if i lie and say i am an experience jazz listener. Would that make you feel better? :toothygrin:

...What if i lie and say i am an experience jazz listener. Would that make you feel better? :toothygrin:

No, it would make me feel worse!

...read it closer ;)

No, it would make me feel worse!

...read it closer ;)

Duuurh. Sorry, it appears i have lost my brain. :thumbsup:

Just listened to it again, very nice. Do you mind if i put it on my ipod?

(Sorry if this is taking the forum off onto a kind of tangent :blush:)

Duuurh. Sorry, it appears i have lost my brain. :thumbsup:

Just listened to it again, very nice. Do you mind if i put it on my ipod?

(Sorry if this is taking the forum off onto a kind of tangent :blush:)

Don't worry... ;)

And, by all means, put it on your iPod.