Wayne Horvitz
One of my favorite musicians. Thought I'd cull together some stuff I think about him today and that I've written previously over on the AAJ site.
The guy is into a lot of different projects with a pretty disparate sound for each, so there's something in his catalog for everyone's tastes.
For those unfamiliar with his work, Wayne Horvitz is a keyboard player and composer. He now lives up in the Pacific Northwest, but he was a part of the New York scene back in the day along with Frisell and Zorn and Previte, etc.
Here is his website, which has some full tracks from each of his projects to stream...
http://www.waynehorvitz.net/
And here's his myspace page (as Sweeter Than the Day)...
http://www.myspace.com/sweeterthanthedayofficial
And here's the emu page...
http://www.emusic.com/artist/Wayne-Horvitz-MP3-Download/10560534.html
Two of earlier albums that I own are from that period...
Wayne Horvitz's The President: Bring Yr Camera and The Miracle Mile
Early stuff from his career. Both of these are heavy in 80's experimental electronica, falling into a similar category with what Bill Frisell, Bobby Previte, and Zorn were doing around that time. Both were put out on the Nonesuch label, if that helps give you a sense of what's what. Like much of his later music, many of Horvitz's songs gives the impression of soundtracks to a movie you just can't put your finger on. Both albums have a quality of chaotic electronics with layers of sighing horns and woodwinds floating over the surface; the first track on Miracle Mile is a particularly good illustration of this.
I liked both of these albums very much, and it's a sound I typically don't care for in my jazz. I guess they both hit me in my sweet spot, because I still listen to both almost fifteen years after I first puchased them.
The guy is into a lot of different projects with a pretty disparate sound for each, so there's something in his catalog for everyone's tastes.
For those unfamiliar with his work, Wayne Horvitz is a keyboard player and composer. He now lives up in the Pacific Northwest, but he was a part of the New York scene back in the day along with Frisell and Zorn and Previte, etc.
Here is his website, which has some full tracks from each of his projects to stream...
http://www.waynehorvitz.net/
And here's his myspace page (as Sweeter Than the Day)...
http://www.myspace.com/sweeterthanthedayofficial
And here's the emu page...
http://www.emusic.com/artist/Wayne-Horvitz-MP3-Download/10560534.html
Two of earlier albums that I own are from that period...
Wayne Horvitz's The President: Bring Yr Camera and The Miracle Mile
Early stuff from his career. Both of these are heavy in 80's experimental electronica, falling into a similar category with what Bill Frisell, Bobby Previte, and Zorn were doing around that time. Both were put out on the Nonesuch label, if that helps give you a sense of what's what. Like much of his later music, many of Horvitz's songs gives the impression of soundtracks to a movie you just can't put your finger on. Both albums have a quality of chaotic electronics with layers of sighing horns and woodwinds floating over the surface; the first track on Miracle Mile is a particularly good illustration of this.
I liked both of these albums very much, and it's a sound I typically don't care for in my jazz. I guess they both hit me in my sweet spot, because I still listen to both almost fifteen years after I first puchased them.
Comments
4+1 Ensemble (with Reggie Watts, Eyvind Kang, Julian Priester, Tucker Martine) - A somber album that takes some of the unusual orchestration that was so successful on Bill Frisell's "Quartet" album. Moving away from the heavy electronica in his earlier albums in the direction of the chamber music he becomes involved with more currently. Of everything I've ever heard, this is probably my favorite album.
There's something about this album, some ineffable emotion that could never be crystallized into a cogent post. But certain songs on that album, when I'm listening to them, I find myself saying, hey, I've thought that before, or That's the kind of thing that would come out of my own mouth. Which is strange, because it's music, a series of notes, not words, but there's something about the collision between how that album sounds and how I'm wired that whenever I put that cd into the stereo, it's like I'm doing something important. That's the best I can do to describe it; when I have this album on, I feel like whatever I'm doing, whether it's just sitting and listening or writing or driving or cooking, whatever it is, it's important. And he has so many different projects going on. It's one of the things I also appreciate about Bill Frisell. Both he and Horvitz have these compelling sounds, and by branching off into so many different projects, we get this wonderful opportunity to hear their sound reflected through so many varied facets. It's pretty damn cool.
Wayne Horvitz Gravitas Quartet - "Way Out East"
Wayne Horvitz - piano
Ron Miles - trumpet
Peggy Lee - cello
Sara Schoenbeck - bassoon
A quiet, introspective album with some dissonant moments. Speaking for myself, it's a perfect first album of the morning, especially, as the album cover so astutely suggests, if the snow if falling. Ron Miles on trumpet is a big plus. He's become one of those musicians, for me, that makes an album an automatic buy, especially if he's matched with odder instruments like he is here (though I'm a big fan of his trio work, too). The song samples I've checked out on various sites give a pretty accurate representation of what the entire album sounds like, so you don't have to worry about getting ambushed by odd song changes after the first thirty seconds of each track. I'm very happy with this purchase; no buyer's remorse.
Troy Collins, in a review on the AAJ site, sums it up nicely when he says...
I'm not a big fan of reviews. Nothing personal against them; I just don't assimilate them well into my listening experience. However, I really liked Troy's review, so here's a link to it on the AAJ site...
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=22266
Wayne Horvitz & Sweeter Than the Day - "A Walk in the Dark"
Wayne Horvitz - Piano and Keyboards
Timothy Young - Guitars
Keith Lowe - Acoustic Bass
Eric Eagle - Drums
Bouncy opening tune, and the buoyant theme carries throughout the album. Other tracks feature some fuzzy guitar fire, another (the title track) is a bluesy little groove. A wonderful effect on some songs is where the piano is featured at the outset, and the other instruments almost saunter into the tune individually, giving the impression of a song being built right there in the studio. Waltz for Woman from Tokyo is one of those prettily introspective tunes that guys like Horvitz and Frisell and all of that crew are so masterful at orchestrating.
The entire album evokes imagery of an overcast Seattle sky as the sun dips below the horizon, the city lights illuminate the clouds, and taxi cabs shuttle through the avenues fueled by nighttime electricity and late night plans. And all of it happens beneath a soft harmless rain.
Several of the songs on this album are also performed on Waynes Gravitas Quartets One Dance Alone which was recorded at the same time, different ensemble.
Overall, I really enjoy this album. For certain, I will be getting the other Sweeter than the Day (self-titled) with some emu downloads one day soon.
The song samples are representative of the entire album content, and the album is that much better than the glimpse the samples give you.
This New Generation
A compilation record from some long oop vinyl releases on the German Dossier label (Dinner at Eight and The President). Cool writing in a bunch of vignettes.
Anyway, I'm a fan too, a very nifty, often lovely, composer.
American Bandstand has been on the cusp of a monthly download since I first joined emu. The problem is that I keep finding new music from bands/musicians I'd never before heard of, so it's tough to use the downloads on a musicians for whom I already own six or seven albums by. But, yeah, for anyone who's not faced with this predicament, American Bandstand is an excellent pick.
Wayne Horvitz - "Monologue"
This album fell into a period where Wayne strips down many of the electronic sounds for a sparser feel while he's not quite made the jump to full-on piano noir tunes from his Sweeter than the Day period. The sub-title to the album is "Twenty Compositions for Dance", and some of them do have a waltz sway to them, but I'm not sure that really describes the music. This is more a soundtrack to a documentary about a warehouse district. It's music for views down darkened alleys and wandering through abandoned factories and standing on the docks at the port authority during off hours.
It's not currently on emu. My cd says it was released on Cavity Search, and I don't know if that's in the cards for emu down the road or not.
The song samples on Amazon give a pretty clear representation of the album, as much as samples typically can.
Monologue on lala
Nice album.
I keep forgetting. Last night I was searching for some full tracks for an album I'm thinking about dling off emu, and it wasn't until my fourth or fifth search query that I remembered lala. I guess it's gonna take some time getting used to.
I love This New Generation. I had The President on vinyl and was happy to get this comp on CD.
"Forever" - Wayne Horvitz
Personnel: Wayne Horvitz; Piano: Keith Lowe; Acoustic Bass: Andy Roth; Drums: Timothy Young; Guitars.
It could easily be considered a sister to his album mentioned above "A Walk in the Dark", albeit a more introspective moody sibling. I listened to it as morning became afternoon and clear skies went cloudy and the whole scene screamed Springtime; it was the perfect soundtrack to my day.
Wayne has released a bunch of his albums as FLAC, and if I thought I'd have the kind of disposable income to bump up the quality of my music purchases, I definitely would've purchased Forever in that format. The samples were noticeably improved. All the same, I don't regret buying this album in plain ol' mp3 format.
If you enjoyed Walk in the Dark, then this album will be right up your alley.
Wayne Horvitz - "One Dance Alone"
The companion piece to "Way Out East", which I prefer between the two. My itunes, however, plays the albums back to back, and I usually can't tell where one ends and the next begins. There's some beautiful takes of songs also recorded on some of the Sweeter Than the Day albums. Overall, a very nice album. No reason not to get it if you've got downloads to spare and enjoyed Way Out East. I'm glad I picked it up. I'm pretty sure I would just keep buying albums from this ensemble if they kept putting them out.
I know. That bassoon really seals the deal for me.