Dave Morgan: Home
Welcome to the web home of Dave Morgan and Being Time Records. You will find information about performances, compositions, and recordings on this site.
"THE WAY OF THE SLY MAN" HITS THE AIRWAVES
John Simna will play the new CD "The Way of the Sly Man" in its entirety on his WCLV 104.9 jazz program on Saturday night/Sunday morning (July 11). I will be on the air with him to talk about the recording. If you don't live in the Cleveland area you can hear the broadcast on the web via wclv.com.
Thanks to Jim Wilke for debuting the CD on his great syndicated show "Jazz After Hours" on PRI (Public Radio International) on July 3.
Thanks to Shelly Masar for playing the CD on her morning show on WEFT 90.1 in Champaign, IL.
YOU ARE LISTENING TO EXCERPTS FROM "THE WAY OF THE SLY MAN."
BEING TIME RECORDS RELEASES "THE WAY OF SLY MAN"
Thanks to a grant from Chamber Music America, we have created a brand new 80-minute piece entitled The Way of the Sly Man, a large-scale work based on the ideas of G.I. Gurdjieff. We premiered this work on the weekend of October 9-11, 2009. The 10-piece ensemble for this event featured Jack Schantz, Chris Anderson, Bill Hoyt, Howie Smith, John Klayman, Tom Reed, Dan Wall, Bob Fraser, Nate Douds, and Dave Morgan. Special guest artists on the recording include percussionist Jamey Haddad, drummer Val Kent, and vibist Ron Busch. The music draws on a variety of influences, including American jazz and pop, the music of Gurdjieff/DeHartmann, and the sacred and secular musics of the Middle East, India, and Africa.
The New Works: Creation and Presentation Program, now in its ninth year, supports composer/performer-led ensembles in the creation and presentation of original composition within the jazz idiom. New Works: Creation and Presentation is part of the Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project, made possible with generous funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Chamber Music America, the national service organization for the ensemble music profession, was founded in 1977 to promote artistic excellence and the economic stability of the field, and to ensure that chamber music, in its broadest sense, is a vital part of American life. With a membership of over 8,000, including ensembles, individual musicians, presenters, artists' managers, educators, music businesses, and advocates of ensemble music, CMA welcomes and represents a wide range of musical styles and traditions. In addition to its funding programs, CMA provides members with consulting services, access to health and instrumnet insurance, conferences, seminars and several publications, including Chamber Music magazine, and a website, http://www. chamber-music.org
BASCOM LITTLE FOUNDATION GRANT
The Bascom-Little Foundation of Cleveland has awarded us a generous grant to help us record "The Way of the Sly Man."
THE ART OF THE DUO
In a much needed break from the large-ensemble format, I'll be presented a concerts of duets at Butler North on the Youngstown State University campus on Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 8 P.M. Joining me for this performance will be the guitarist Teddy Pentelas, the trombonist Chris Anderson, the pianist Joe Augustine, and the saxophonist Howie Smith.
PACKARD BAND TO PREMIERE "PAN AMERCIAN"
The Packard Band on Warren, OH has commissioned a new piece for concert band. "Pan American" will be premiered in October 10, 2010 at the Packard Music Hall. I will be conducting the piece.
THE SURPRISE OF BEING--LIVE AT BIRDLAND THE CLEVELAND JAZZ ORCHESTRA FEATURING JOE LOVANO
This is a great CD documenting a week at Birdland in NYC. I did all of the arrangements for this project, which included compositions by Joe Lovano, Judi Silvano, and me. Thanks to everyone who made this project possible! To purchase, go to http://clevelandjazz.org While you are there, check out all of the exciting upcoming events with our new leader Sean Jones.
RUSSELL SCHMIDT--SEASON OF CHANGE
This is a very satisfying trio recording by Russ on piano, Jim Rupp on drums, and me on bass.
SUPERIMPOSITION IN THE IMPROVISATIONS OF HERBIE HANCOCK
It has come to my attention that my article for the Annual Review of Jazz Studies is available in a .pdf format thanks to our good friends at Google. (I guess this is good thing.) Here's the link:
http://books.google.com/books?id=lKsu7XejoPkC&pg=PA69&dq=superimposition+Herbie+Hancock#v=onepage&q=superimposition Herbie Hancock&f=false
"THREE VIGNETTES"
My "Three Vignettes" as recorded by the Beethoven Academy Orchestra conducted by Piotr Borkowski and saxophone virtuoso Greg Banaszak has recently been released on Romances for Saxophone and Orchestra on the Centaur Label. This is a beautiful CD! Greg will be performing this work with the Korean Chamber Symphony in March.
PACKARD SUITE
I am currently working on a piece for the Packard Band of Warren Ohio. It will be premiered in Fall 2010.
JELLY FISHING
This new work for tuba, clarinet, and piano will be premiered by Brian Kiser.
THE ART OF SEVEN
My latest piece for wind ensemble, The Art of Seven, was commissioned by Robert Boudreau and the American Wind Symphony Orchestra. It explores many of the ideas, textures, and techniques I am captivated by at this point in my musical life. As with all of my music, I ignore the invisible walls between classical and popular music; high and low art; and the intellectual, emotional, and physical. I have no “system” I follow when I compose. I improvise to come up with raw materials that capture my imagination, then listen deeply to this material, and try to stay out of the way and allow the ideas to develop organically. The one-movement work is divided into three main sections, each characterized by an underlying rhythmic framework, or “groove.” Section I is in 7/8 time. Variety is created by subdividing the seven beats per measure in various ways, such as 2+2+3 or 3+2+2. Section II is essentially an A minor blues in 13/4 time, with the thirteen beats subdivided seven (2+2+3) plus six (2+2+2). Section III is in 4/4 time and is based on the popular 3:2 rumba clave. In all three sections the underlying rhythmic structure is delineated most clearly by the frame drummer. Slow, lyrical interludes between the three main sections serve to develop the melodic and harmonic ideas introduced in the main sections. The frame drum does not play during these sections. The “Seven” in the title of this piece refers to the Law of Seven from the philosophical system of G.I. Gurdjieff. In the Law of Seven, the diatonic scale that underlies all tonal music, with its uneven series of whole steps and half steps, serves as a simile to the orderly discontinuity in every progression o f things, from our individual awakening to the structure of cosmos. The Art of Seven is published by the C.F. Peters Corp. The AWSO under musical director Robert Boudreau also commissioned an arrangement of Persichetti's "The Hollow Men." In 2007 they performed and recorded "Reflections and Meditations" which was composed for my colleague and friend Robert Fitzer.
THE SECRET OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER
Panoramicos, the wonderful Cleveland-based Chamber ensemble led by Mary Kay Ferguson recently performed this work that can be heard on their first CD. Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Panoramicos-Chamber-Music-Winds-Strings/dp/B000CAJDP6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1259123927&sr=8-1
