PITCH BLACK
Music forSaxophones by Jacob TV
Innova 693
Pitch Black
PRISM Quartet:Timothy McAllister, soprano saxophone; Zachary Shemon, alto saxophone;
Matthew Levy, tenorsaxophone; Taimur Sullivan, baritone saxophone
Billie
Taimur Sullivan,alto saxophone
PostnuclearWinterscenario No.10 forsaxophone quartet (1991/2001): 11.42
PRISM Quartet:Timothy McAllister, soprano saxophone; Zachary Shemon, alto saxophone;
Matthew Levy, tenorsaxophone; Taimur Sullivan, baritone saxophone
Grab It!
Matthew Levy, tenorsaxophone
The Garden OfLove for soprano saxophone andghettoblaster (2003): 7.14
Timothy McAllister,soprano saxophone
Jesus Is Coming
PRISM Quartet:Timothy McAllister, soprano saxophone; Zachary Shemon, alto saxophone;
Matthew Levy, tenorsaxophone; Taimur Sullivan, baritone saxophone
TOTAL PLAYING TIME:60.44
PITCH BLACK
was written for theAurelia Quartet. The
ghettoblasterreproduces the voice of trumpet
player Chet Bakerfrom one of his last interviews
before his tragicdeath in 1988, when he fell from
a hotel room windowin Amsterdam. Baker talks
about his past as adrug addict, his life in prison
(ÒIt was pitch blackin there, you know.Ó), his first
audition withCharlie Parker (ÒÉ among 40 other
trumpet players—orwere there 60?Ó), and playing
without drums (ÒÉmore coolÉ Ó). These spoken
ÒmelodiesÓ form themusical themes in Pitch Black,
an ode to a greatmusician.
Yeah I was lockedup in Ô62
It was pitchblack in there you know
And you couldnÕtsee anything
cominÕ out of thesunlight
My eyes got usedto the darkness
I looked around
and then I sawÉoh I sawÉ
forty trumpetplayers!
in there!
Yeah no no
All the trumpetplayers in LA you know
I saw Dizzy &Miles & Oh I guess
Lee Morgan andall those guys you know
40, 40 trumpetplayers
No no I mean 60!
I managed tosurvive
and really thatÕsaÉ
Yeah I was lockedup
It was pitchblack in there you know
People areÉ Hhhbut
I got through it
I have thefeeling here that uuh
Ôs much morefreedom
Uuhh
People are not souptight
about pettythings
A permanent 24hour party going on all year
Without drums
And reallywithout drums
I would call thatmore cool, without drums
Well that was it!
BILLIE
commissioned by andis dedicated to American
saxophonist ConnieFrigo with support from the
Netherland-AmericaFoundation. The soundtrack
features recordingsof Billie HolidayÕs voice from
several interviewsduring her life.
I was scared todeath
at that time youknow
IÕm always scared—Youare?
I was in thewings haha
and I couldnÕtcontrol my knees
IÕm always scared—Youare?
Well, you cancall it thatÉ
I uh waited untilthe last minute
and said I wasnÕtgonna go onÉ
I had everychance I got and still gettinÕÉ
dare to sing!?—IÕmalways scared
but anyway, Iwent back and I did 16 songs
and I like to doa little tune
they make me cry,they make me happy
I walked out youknow and then
bend this notebend that note—boot
two kinds ofblues:
thereÕs happyblues and thereÕs sad blues
IÕve been veryhappy, been very happy
the blues to meis like being very sad, very sick,
going to thechurch.
they was talkinÕjazz, hihi, at that time you
know—cook!
dare to sing—IÕmalways scared
they was talkinÕjazz, hihi, at that time you know
bend this notebend that note—boot
dare to sing,dare to sing hahaha, when I got
through it
can you sing andI said sure I sing all the time
I always knew Icould sing Ôcause I always did sing,
but uh
so I sang, andeverybody loved me and
I made about a 40dollars in tips and I got the job!
they made me cry,they made me happy
blues, againblues, again blues
a little, alittle a little too much
so I walk so Italk
and my voice istoo loud when IÕm out in the crowd
so that peopleare apt to stare
I canÕt hear theband at all! uh h h
know know know dothey know—do they care?
that itÕs onlythat IÕm lonely and low as can be
and the tunes arenot always the best—I request
and my voice istoo loud—I canÕt hear the band
at all!
but what else canyou do, at the end of a love
affair ?
so I smoke and Ijoke uh hh a litt—a litt—a little
too much
and I laugh, andthe smile on my face isnÕt really a
smile at all!
and the smile onmy face, on my face
face face face—adadadada—forthe trees
face face face—forthe sun into the rock
and now a littletune specially written for me:
strange fruit,strange fruit
I never hadbrothers or sisters, cousins or uncles—
all I had was mymom
my mom and I hada pretty rough time when we
were in Baltimore
all we had wasone preacher, he used to come every
Sunday.
to an an to an anc no t no t no s no t
Jesus Christ no!like Jesus no!
like no Jesuscook like no some cook like no Jesus
cook
Jesus Christ,they want me out of Chicago or uh
Foxton, he said
Oh man it took me10 years!
And I said: I canÕtgo out there, thereÕs too many
peopleÉ
POSTNUCLEARWINTERSCENARIO No.10 waswritten
on January 23, 1991,shortly after the first Gulf
War broke out.During those days, I felt speechless
and unable tocompose. In the media, meteorologists
predictedapocalyptical consequences for
the climate and theenvironment, similar to
the effects of anuclear war. They referred to a
Òpostnuclearwinterscenario.Ó I decided to express
my speechlessness inmusic. In only a few hours
time I had writtenPostnuclear Winterscenario No.1
for solo piano. Itis probably the simplest music I
ever wrote. Allmusical material was reduced to a
minimum. The melodyconsists of one single note,
an E, which isrepeated endlessly. The harmonic
accompanimentconsists of only four different notes:
B, A, G, F#. Thereare no real rhythmical, melodical,
or harmonicaldevelopments in Postnuclear
Winterscenario. Themain means of expression are
in the repetitionand the delivery. Kees Wieringa
performed No. 1 innumerous performances around
the world, includingin Iraq, on the ruins of
Babylon. Musicianslater asked me to arrange
other ÔscenariosÕbased on the first one, so I wrote
variations forstring quartet, choir, percussion, one
and two electricguitars, saxophone quartet, and,
finally, in 2005,for symphony orchestra. Each
scenario isdifferent, but they all have the same
theme in common:speechlessness about war and
devastation.
GRAB IT!
was composed forArno Bornkamp. In my view,
the saxophone hashad a major effect on recent
American musichistory. Growing up in the 60s
with blues, jazz,and rock, American music had a
strong impact on me.In Grab It! I tried toexplore
the no-manÕs-landbetween language and music.
I believe thatlanguage is one of the origins of
music. The moreemotional the spoken word, the
more it starts ÒsingingÓand becomes Òmusic.Ó In
writing this piece,I became interested in how the
roots of someAfrican-American music can be found
in English as it isspoken in America. I selected
voice samples froman old American documentary
about juveniledelinquency, called Scared Straight,
in which mensentenced to life in prison play an
important role.Their world, on the fringe of society,
with itsheartbreaking verbal assaults, moved me
deeply. The roughvitality of these shouting men
formed a perfectunity with the harsh and powerful
sound of the tenorsaxophone. Grab It! is akind of
duet, a ÔduelÕ ifyou like, for tenor and ghettoblaster
soundtrack. Thetenor competes with a flood of
syllables, words andsentences, demanding great
endurance from theperformer. The meaning of the
lyrics becomesgradually clear during the piece, as
well as thehopelessness of the prisonersÕ situation.
In jail, suicide isnot uncommon: ÒHe tied one end
around the pipe, andhe hung himself. So he went
out the back doorrapped up in a green sheet with
a tag on his toeÉYou lose everything!Ó In a way,
death row is ametaphor for life. However, the piece
is not just sad, butcan also be understood as a
memento vivere. Lifeis worth living: Grab it!
Speak it upÉ .Isaid speak it up Mickey Mouse,
speak up!
Grab it mother Isaid
I still hear Ômring
Grab itmotherfucker, grab it!
Fifty gimme
And I want you tohave that say now when you walk
out that doorgoing down here Ôcause IÕll be squatinÕ
on you
ItÕs a no—leitÕs a no—le
Motherfuckerpunch
Oh man, ha ha haha
See this
Nobody
WhatÕs yournumber?
For ever
54 936 life andfrom motherfucking now on
Any time when yougo
I—how—keep—youlose
Take off
I still hear Ômring
How motherfuckingtough could i have been
You take that
You get a kickout of that?
Do you get a kickout of that?!
WonÕt you tell mewhat you think?
Drugs hu hu hu hu
Get your shoes
I bite yourfucking nose off
Tell me donÕtwaste my time tell me
WhatÕs yournumber?
Grab itmotherfucker grab it!
Get the fuck outÉget up and get off the stage
whileÉ
54 936 life andfrom motherfucking now on
His motherfuckingmanhood might just been tested
Reprise: grab it!Mother I said (etc.)
WhatÕs yournumber?!
Just rememberthis:
I personally donÕtgive a fat rat ass
What you do whenyou leave here today;
You loseeverything
He went out thebackdoor wrapped up in a green
sheet
With a tag on histoe
Tied one endaround the pipe
And he hunghimself
And when theystuck his dumb ass in the ground
To give him thatlittle wooden graveyard marker
So he wasprobably the one that keeps the party
goinÕ
Just standing onthe corner, put lipstick on your lips
Smoke a littlereefer, drink a little wine
I got a veryserious problem, IÕve seen it a thousand
times
You gonna walkaround this joint—or any joint you
might be in
You loseeverything..and for you tough
motherfuckerslike you
Tie one endaround the pipe
I will tell IÉ
Every man you seebehind me is doing over 25 years
or life
Every man you seebehind me, heÕs got all the
respect in theworld
WhatÕs yournumber?
It stops righthere my life stops this is it
Never nevernever, alright, you should stay cool,
you too!
Tie one endaround the pipe
And for you toughmotherfuckers like you: you lose
everything!
Grab itmotherfucker grab it!
54 9 3 6 lifewhatÕs your number
I said up!!
Based on a poem byWilliam Blake, THE GARDEN
OF LOVE,
in March 2002 andlater adapted for soprano
saxophone.
I went to theGarden of Love.
And saw what Inever had seen:
A chapel wasbuilt in the midst,
Where I used toplay on the green.
And the gates ofthis chapel were shut,
And Thou shaltnot writ over the door;
So I turnÕd tothe Garden of Love,
That so manysweet flowers bore.
And I saw it wasfilled with graves,
And tomb-stoneswhere flowers should be:
And priests inblack gowns, were walking their
rounds,
And binding withbriars, my joys and desires.
—William Blake
JESUS IS COMING,
ghettoblaster, wasoriginally scored for recorder
quartet. However, itbecame clear that, even
amplified, theseinstruments were not suitable for
the piece. I neededmore expression, so in 2004 I
arranged it for saxophonequartet.
The soundtrack isbased on street sounds, like voice
samples from a veryangry evangelist in Times
Square and a smallSalvation Army choir. For some
people, in theseconfusing times, itÕs about time
that Jesus is comingÉ
The rhythmical patternsare based on baby talk by
Welmoed, an18-month-old girl next door.
Jesus! Jesus!
youÕve gotÉJesus!
God says:
Love is gonna bebrought here by Christ!
God says:
They shall surelybe put to death!
Armageddon!Armageddon! Armageddon!
The filth, thescum of the earth!
God kills!
Evil and wickedand perverse!
God kills, youidiots!
Is he out of hismind?
What do youthink?
I donÕt knowÉsort ofÉ ha ha ha ha
Armageddon!
Jesus is comingJesus!
Love is gonna bebrought here by Christ!
God says: killersgo to hell!
Why did not yourmother kill you?
God says: killersgo to hell!
We all sing fromHis Glory
Why? Why? Why?
God says: Why?
Love—Evil—God
youÕve got God, youÕvegot God!
JACOB TV
Dutch Ôavant popÕcomposer Jacob TV (aka Jacob
Ter Veldhuis, 1951)started as a rock musician
and studiedcomposition and electronic music
at the GroningenConservatoire, where he was
awarded the DutchComposition Prize in 1980.
During the eightieshe made a name for himself
with melodiouscompositions, straight from the
heart and with greateffect. ÒI pepper my music
with sugar,Ó hesays. Jacob TV is preoccupied with
American media andworld events and draws raw
material from thosesources. His work possesses
an explosivestrength and raw energy combined
with extraordinarilyintricate architectural design.
TV makes superb useof electronics, incorporating
sound bytes frompolitical speeches, commercials,
interviews, talkshows, TVangelists, and what have
you—a colorfulmix of high and low culture. Long
queues at the boxoffice for the four-day Jacob TV
Festival inRotterdam in 2001 already attested to
the growingpopularity of this composer, both in the
Netherlands andabroad. His Goldrush Concerto,the
Third StringQuartet and several of hisso-called
boombox pieces like GrabIt! became hits, and
variouschoreographers have been inspired by
his music. Early inhis career, Jacob TV already
stood up to what hecalled the Ôwashed-out avant
gardeÕ, which made hima controversial figure in
certain circles. Hestrives to liberate new music
from its isolationby employing a direct—at times
provocative—idiomthat spurns Ôthe dissonantÕ,
which in TVÕs viewreflects a completely devalued
means of musicalexpression. His Ôcoming-outÕ
as a composer ofultra-tonal, mellifluous music
reached its climaxwith the video oratorio Paradiso.
In May 2007, theWhitney Museum of American Art
organized athree-day festival about his music in
New York City.
www.jacobterveldhuis.com
Liner notes byJacob ter Veldhuis
Edited by AlyssaTimin
Pitch Black,Postnuclear Winterscenario No. 10, andJesus Is Coming
produced by thePRISM Quartet.
Billie
Grab It!
The Garden ofLove produced by ClarkeRigsby.
Mastered by MatthewLevy.
Pitch Black, GrabIt!, Postnuclear Winterscenario No. 10, and Jesus Is Coming
edited and mixed byMatthew Levy.
Billie
The Garden ofLove edited and mixed byClarke Rigsby, Tempest Recording, Tempe, AZ.
Audio consultant:Julie Henn.
Design and layout:fl uxism.com.
PRISM Quartetphotograph by Cylla von Tiedemann.
Made with generoussupport from the William Penn Foundation.
Innova is supportedby an endowment from the McKnight Foundation.
Director: Philip Blackburn;Operations Manager: Chris Campbell;
Pitch Black,Postnuclear Winterscenario No. 10,
and Jesus IsComing recorded May 3, 2007
at Sine Studios,Philadelphia, PA.
Recording engineers:
Matt Teacher andMike Lawson.
Billie
at Ovation Sound,Winston-Salem, NC.
Recording engineer:Evan Richey.
Grab It!
at Sine Studios,Philadelphia, PA.
Recording engineers:
Matt Teacher andMike Lawson.
The Garden ofLove recorded May 15, 2007
at TempestRecording, Tempe, AZ.
Recording engineer:Clarke Rigsby.