Essays on "The Vivificationists"

A new recording, titled The Vivicationists, is now for sale here and here.

Below are essays, first mine and then David Tolley's, which are also included as part of the accompanying PDF booklet you can get here.

Below this essay are David’s original notes for the release of our recording, The Vivificationists. Given the profound effect David had on my life as a musician, and coupled with the fact that he is no longer with us, I feel justified in adding a few personal remarks. For a more complete account of David’s philosophies of art making, musical and otherwise, I highly recommend his website http://davidtolley.net/ Also highly recommended are John Whiteoak’s Playing Ad Lib: Improvisatory Music in Australia 1836-1970 (Currency Press Limited, 1999) and the edited volume Experimental Music: Audio Explorations in Australia (UNSW Press, 2009). While neither volume discusses David’s work at length, they provide a fascinating background and context for the work of many Australian artists and musicians, his included.

David had the ability to conjure interesting performances out of musicians. He possessed both an open attitude to music making and a well-formed idea of what he thought made good music. These qualities made for some of the most thought-provoking and transformative musical experiences I have ever had both as a listener and performer.

When, in 2013, I began improvising with David I already had a reasonably clear idea of the kinds musical materials I was most concerned with; I had already spent a significant amount of time exploring polyrhythm and various intervallic constructions for use in my musical improvisations.

When many music theorists discuss how improvisers “connect”, they often invoke the notion of a shared musical vocabulary. Like spoken language in everyday life, a mutually shared language allows agents to recognise commonalities and thus helps create a sense collectivity. This is the model often used to describe Jazz ensembles, where each player’s knowledge of a particular part of the jazz tradition is regarded as a prerequisite for improvising together.

As soon as David and I began playing together, however, it was clear that our musical materials were starkly different. That’s not to say that our improvisations didn’t “work” - we were both very excited to continue working on musical improvisation together - but that our mode of musically connecting was not through a shared musical vocabulary. Instead, our connection developed through an understanding that improvisation might also constitute a mode of being.

Improvisation, in a broad sense, is closely related to the notion of flexibility. Good improvisers find ways to “work around” problems. It’s what good interviewees do when asked unexpected questions, conversationalists do when surrounded by people from extremely diverse backgrounds, what sports people do when the game-plan becomes obsolete, and is evident anytime the under-resourced cobble together bits and pieces to form a tool that gets the job done.

An improvisational mode of being creates a shared space in which collectivity is created whilst also preserving difference. This balance is achieved through flexibility, or “open-ness”, on behalf of the performers in regards to differences within the group.  This is what David showed me. Within this shared space David and I were able to maintain our respective musical languages, recognise differences between them, and allow those differences to exist as part of our work together. In contrast to the jazz group model discussed above, where, difference beyond a certain point of the jazz tradition is treated as an obstacle to playing together, the differences between David and my musical language were not simply incommensurable, but were productive precisely in their incommensurability. There was strength in difference.

Improvised-music ensembles provide excellent opportunities to study how differences between individuals are balanced with group identity. The improvised-music group has the potential to demonstrate that difference, eccentricity, and even inadequacy, may be productive given certain circumstances. I’d argue that an improvisational mode of being is a crucial step to produce such circumstances.

I feel that improvised music can demonstrate that difference need not be feared and eradicated but, with the aid of improvisation, can be productive in a way we never thought would be possible, or that we hadn’t even imagined could exist. It’s what David showed me, and one of the things I’ll remember most about playing with him.

I miss David, his music, his art, his advice, and his thoughtfulness, immensely. Receiving the thumb drive containing these recordings just days after his death was a potent reminder of the brevity of life. I hope these recordings serve both as a reminder of David’s greatness, but also as a demonstration of some of the ideas I’ve suggested here, and, ultimately, as a testament to what improvisation can teach us about ourselves and each other.

David made some artwork for this release. I have slightly modified his images so as to include our essays.

Personally I’d like to thank all of the musicians who played in each of the concerts of the Vivificationists, Martin Jackson and The Melbourne Jazz Co-opertative for giving David and I the opportunity to present and document this music, Bennetts Lane for hosting us, Nicholas Croggan for his assistance with this short essay, and James Savage for recording, mixing and mastering.

The VIVIFICATIONISTS

In Feb 2013, David Tolley and Marc Hannaford began a collaboration to explore the unconventional in the conventional jazz piano/bass duo. David recalls hearing some of Marc’s solo pieces and determining that he should make some improvisational music with this “extraordinarily inventive young musician”. Moreover, it was not long since he had returned to his beloved contra bass (made by Sydney residing Luthier Neville Whitehead) after an absence of several years. This project was an opportunity to make a contribution the long-standing jazz piano/bass duo tradition.

Martin Jackson and The Melbourne Jazz Co-op saw fit to feature a three night VIVIFICATION Series at Bennetts Lane, Melbourne in 2013. This recording is of the final night in the series.

Set 1 of each VIVIFICATION performance comprised TOLLEY/ HANNAFORD Duo improvisations commencing, at Tollley’s insistence, with a Hannaford solo. Set 2 featured various ensemble improvisations. These incorporated ALLAN BROWNE, completing the so-called "rhythm section", and two so-called "front-line" players: Concert #1- CAROLYN CONNORS and SCOTT McCONNACHIE, Concert #2 - TONY HICKS, and BRETT THOMPSON and Concert #3 - REN WALTERS and SCOTT TINKLER.

At various times Tolley introduces laptop material and a loop sampler triggered by the bass.

They decided to commission James Savage to record Concert #3, August 6, 2013. Track 1 – 3 of the TOLLEY/ HANNAFORD Duo were recorded in a session prior to the doors opening, Tracks 3 – 6 comprised Set 1 of the TOLLEY/ HANNAFORD Duo recorded live and Tracks 7 and 8, the live recording of the VIVIFICATIONISTS.

Recording, Engineering, Mixing, Production: James Savage

Co-production by David Tolley

Masters Thesis

I'm very happy to share with you all the final version of my Masters thesis, titled: Elliott Carter's Rhythmic Language: A Framework for Improvisation.

I suppose at this point I could pen a lengthy reflection on the process of writing, research, performance, the course itself, or perhaps it's demise, but at this stage I'll endeavour to keep things very short.

Dr. Donna Coleman is by far and away one of the most inspiring and instructive teachers I've come across. Her enthusiasm seems to know no bounds, and her piano playing is always awe-inspiring, even more so at close quarters. I actually already owned Abbey Whiteside's famous book, On Piano Playing before I started with Donna, but it was my lessons with her that transformed that book from mere descriptions to a physical sensation I then learned and continue to refine.

The thesis details my analysis of one piano piece of Carter's, 90+ (1994), and my efforts to use the rhythmic language contained therein as a basis for my own music. My discoveries along the way have profoundly changed the way I think about rhythm.

As with most theses, it seems, my thesis is pretty dry to read, but hopefully it contains some useful information for those who are interested. I also hope that it might act as guidance for those wishing to pursue a similar topic.

Finally, it seems to me that, to paraphrase a friend of mine, that 'complex' rhythms can be used for good and evil. To my mind, this means being mindful to allowing the music to breathe, have space, and create drama. In the end (and this hopefully does not come off as too shameless a plug), I hope the reader will listen to (perhaps even buy) my music as the final product of all this work. My trio release from earlier this year, Sarcophile contains recordings discussed in this thesis.

The thesis can be downloaded from:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/15184639/MH%20Carter%20as%20a%20Framework%20for%20Improv.pdf

For audio please check out:

http://www.marchannaford.com/buy

New albums + quiz/giveaway

I have two new albums out:

Ordinary Madness is a collection of three improvisations from four of Australia’s finest improvisers and special guest, renowned Brooklyn-based saxophonist, Tim Berne. This recording presents all of the music made in the studio: no edits or alterations. It also features images from Arthur Leeds Schmidt.

As well as your truly it features: Tim Berne (alto sax), Scott Tinkler (trumpet), Philip Rex (bass), and

Simon Barker (drums)

Sarcophile (the Latin term for a Tasmania Devil) is the debut release from the Marc Hannaford trio, and contains improvisations and original compositions stemming from (American composer) Elliott Carter’s rhythmic language.

It also features Sam Pankhurst (bass) and James McLean (drums).

Ordinary Madness is being launched this Thursday, the 16th, at Uptown Jazz Cafe, 177 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, Melbourne. On the night I'll be joined by Scott Tinkler, Scott McConnachie, Phil Rex and Simon Barker. From 9pm.

For your chance to win a copy of this album simply do two things:

1. Make sure you're on my mailing list (head over to my website, scroll all the way down and enter your email).

2. Answer this question: The poet who inspired the title for Ordinary Madness was born where?

Post your answer in the comments. The first three correct answers (who are also on my mailing list) wins a free download of the album Ordinary Madness.

D-day

Digital distribution is nothing new. For at least 10 years people have been talking about the decline of physical CD sales, the death of the traditional record store, piracy, and what these things mean for musicians. Usually, the argument goes along the lines of: “digital media = greater piracy = less sales = closure of record stores = greater difficulty in getting label support.” Cue depression.

Sure, times are a-changin’, but artists, and labels, need to adapt. So rather than sit and complain, let’s figure out what opportunities are presenting by this changing landscape.

Physical CDs, in my opinion, are almost, if not already, gone. Even more so for marginal genres such as the one I operate in. That a large percentage of the audience for jazz and improvised music is of a generation that still relates to physical CDs more so than iTunes/iPods doesn’t change the fact that, if we want to broaden our audience, the time has come for artists to save money on printing CDs and use those funds for advertising and touring. For my existing audience, they are dedicated such that they will find my music no matter how it is distributed.

Recording, mixing and mastering has never been cheaper, mainly due to advances in technology, open-source programs such as Gimp make artwork easy and essentially free, and services such as Cdbaby and Bandcamp make digital releases through major distributors cheap and easy.  Now, releasing an album needs traditional major labels no longer. Notice the caveats “traditional” and “major.” Large labels are feeling the pinch as much as anyone, and it seems that their answer is to retreat into ‘pop-jazz.’ Fair enough.

Major chain, Borders’ closure on Lygon Street, Carlton, while Readings (an independent, niche store) continues to thrive right across the road, illustrates that those most concerned with commercialism might be the first to suffer; niche stores will continue to service niche genres, however small.

What about those who prefer the physical product, and/or the audio-philes? Vinyl satisfies both parties, and, though expensive to print, saves boxes of CDs clogging up your house. Download cards (available from the above-mentioned online services) take the place of CDs as a physical object that can be bought at gigs.

Which brings me to my main point: if we are willing to accept that piracy is here to stay, no matter how many times we draw people’s attention to the morality of it all, the thing that becomes most prized is the live performance. It cannot be replicated. The temporarily of music, which is even more pronounced in music involving improvisation, offers a built in guarantee against the live medium being obsolete. Even if the general public are offered more and more reasons to stay at home and watch TV/trawl Youtube/play Xbox, the live performance, extra-musical elements included, seems, at least for now, unreplaceable.

In conclusion, I envisage the priorities for musicians being live performances including touring, financially viable documentation of musical projects with a view to digital distribution and online presence. This article is not intended to be a “death-of-record-stores/labels” post; I quite happily frequent those stores that remain committed to bringing the physical product to the public, especially if the store is dedicated to provide music outside the mainstream. Rather I hope we can begin discussing how modern musicians can engage in the changing landscape of music consumption. Contemporary music invites contemporary solutions.


Edit:

Further to this are some articles I've appeared in lately:

Jazz.org.au

Jazz planet