Compositions at the improvised music series? What!
Hi friends!
Over the past few years, improvisation has been my primary focus as a band leader. In particular, I've been interested in long-form suite-style improvisation--basically making up music on the fly that has a beginning, middle and end, ideally with some serious mood and texture changes.
While I still plan to practice this art frequently, I'm excited to be getting back into writing some good old fashioned tunes this year... And then infusing them with the art of improvisation.
Tommy Carroll Trio at Elastic Arts Thursday 1/30
It's fitting then that I'll be sharing some of my compositions next Thursday January 30th at the Elastic Arts Improvised Music Series.
The Improvised Music Series has been running for more than 20 years. Though it's best known for fully improvised highly experimental music, this long-standing weekly event showcases everything from conventional jazz composition through human-computer duets. The IMS has hosted an international range of artists, and I'm proud to be a part of it.
The Tommy Carroll Trio features Marcos Rios on guitar and Lyn Rye on bass. My goal with this group and its songbook (which I plan to expand for a larger ensemble in the near future) is to combine the dexterity of jazz improvisation with the textural expansiveness of rock music. You could consider at intimate encounter with a vast sonic landscape.
I've always composed to encourage improvisation, and now that I've spent so much time experimenting with the different sides of freeform improvisation, I'm excited to infuse the scripted parts of my music with some of the emotions I've discovered while going far out.
If you've never been to Elastic Arts, it's a cool loft space with a BYOB policy. It's up a single large flight of stairs off the street by a Family Dollar and a little food / liquor mart. If the stairs or anything pertaining to general life logistics prohibits you from attending in person, the show will also be streamed on Elastic's Youtube channel.
Get full show and venue details here (tickets are $15 at the door).
Hope to see you soon,
Tommy