My first piece ever to record and mix in my keyboard--a Triton Extreme (88 key). And yeah, I named a blues tune after one of my favorite alcoholic beverages. So sue me. :-P Actually, if you're going to sue me, it should be over these awful solos and crappy-sounding trumpet and saxophone patches. >< The ending could use some work, too. I think I'll revamp this in time. But for now, enjoy...I hope...
This arrangement was commissioned of me by one of my fraternity brothers--a very talented trombonist and now serving in the U.S. Army. He requested a trombone quartet arrangement of the piece, with a bit of jazz influence (which is good, considering that there's at least SOME jazz influence in pretty much all my music!). This recording was made using the Vienna Symphonic Library's Opus 1, from their Horizon Series of samples, mixed in GigaStudio. I'm still learning the finer points of that software.
I made this using loops from GarageBand as a project for my Computers In Music class from a couple years ago. I rather like the way it turned out.
Here is a minimalist piece for two pianos and synthesizer. It was inspired a bit by the piece "Phrygian Gates" by minimalist landmark composer John Adams, as well as by jazz--which is a very prevalent influence in pretty much all my music.
A vocal piece, set to a Spanish poem by Jorge Manrique. It is for alto voice, piano, and originally cello but substituted with a bass clarinet for this recording. The text of the piece is from "Dos canciones" by 15th-century Spanish poet Jorge Manrique's, and reads:
desgrado, pena y dolor,
parto yo, triste amador,
de amores desamparado,
de amores, que no de amor.
Y el coraz�n, enemigo
de lo que mi vida quiere,
ni halla vida ni muere
ni queda ni va conmigo;
sin ventura, desdichado,
sin consuelo, sin favor,
parto yo, triste amador,
de amores desamparado,
de amores, que no de amor.
discontent, sorrow and pain,
I depart, a sad lover,
forsaken by all my loves,
by my loves, but not by love.
And my own heart, enemy
of what my life desires,
neither finds life nor dies,
nor remains, nor goes with me;
without furtune, wretched,
without comfort, without favor,
I depart, a sad lover,
forsaken by all my loves,
by my loves, but not by love.
This piece was a joint composition project between myself and another composer and friend from my school, Joey Love. The piece, which calls for three performers on one grand piano (with the use of a bass drum at one point), is supposed to represent the four stages in the life of a star (nebula, star, super nova, and black hole), and is a highly experimental piece (at least for us!). There's a small commentary that can be found here. Again, thanks to my friend Mitty for hosting this on his site.
