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Possible Universes

by Leap of Faith Orchestra

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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery, weighs in on Leap of Faith Orchestra Possible Universes!!: "This could be the best Leap of Faith release so far, which is pretty amazing considering that I’ve reviewed some two dozen plus discs so far"!!

    Here's the whole review:
    LEAP OF FAITH ORCHESTRA With PEK/GLYNIS LOMON/ANDRIA NICODEMOU/SYD SMART/ et al - Possible Universes (Evil Clown 9144; USA) It seemed hard to believe at first, but Dave PEK, leader of Leap of Faith, has continued to expand his long running ensemble by adding personnel and keeping his various ensembles playing live in & around Boston (and occasionally in New York), as well as recording them in his home/studio. Word is that PEK’s Evil Clown label has passed the point of 100 releases, many in the past few years.
    The Leap of Faith Orchestra has played their first few gigs in the past year and this disc captured one on May 28th of this year (2017). There are some 24 musicians involved including a few longtime cohorts like Eric Zinman (piano), Jonathan LaMaster (violin) and Syd Smart (drums). What is even more impressive is that Mr. PEK has learned how to organize/lead this massive ensemble so that it doesn’t sound consistently like chaos. The core members of Leap of Faith, PEK on multi-reeds, Glynis Lomon on cello and Yuri Zbitnov on drums are often at the center with various layers of strings, reeds, brass, guitars, basses and percussion surrounding them. It is hard to believe that there are so many musicians involved since certain sections are stripped down to silence of spaciousness. Unlike some of the other more out-there excursions by Leap of Faith, this one is more balanced and unfolds in a most organic and magical way. Everyone takes their time and sounds completely focused. I know that Mr. PEK has been employing a timer or clock to help keeps things more balanced and the results are indeed phenomenal. This could be the best Leap of Faith release so far, which is pretty amazing considering that I’ve reviewed some two dozen plus discs so far. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
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    Leap of Faith Orchestra Performs Possible Universes by PEK
    Karl Ackermann, AllAboutJazz
    .
    Possible Universes is the latest release from the multi-faceted Leap of Faith collective. In the orchestra formation, the group has released some half-dozen recordings but the "full" orchestra is a biannual occurrence where the normally fifteen-piece ensemble grows. On this album, the collaborative expands to twenty-four musicians and, as always, the long-time anchors are composer and reed player PEK (David Peck) and cellist Glynis Lomon.
    .
    As is often the circumstance in Leap of Faith Orchestra recordings, the album consists of one very long (almost eighty minutes) title track. The highly capable improvisers engaged by PEK are participating in the composer's unique method of Frame Notation where (as he describes in the liner notes) ..,"written English descriptions of the overall sonority desired and simple graphic symbols are given durations for each player on their part along with direction on when to play and when not to play." The notation looks more like playoff brackets but within are the only directions that the composer chooses to offer—the mechanics of "who" and "when." What is not within the brackets are melodic or rhythmic data, placing Possible Universes in an often frenzied situation as the improvisations develop within controlled blocks of time and space.
    .
    Along with strings and three basses, a large assortment of percussion instruments, and two tubas, the orchestra utilizes an assortment of non-conventional devices such as bullroarers, claves, flex-a-tones, slide whistles, wind sirens, crank sirens, bells, Tibetan bowls, ratchets and a tube-o-phone. Even in the midst of scores of instruments, the piece utilizes silence as a much-needed balance. The Leap of Faith catalog has grown at a rapid pace in recent years; remarkable in that the collective and the enormous orchestra stay largely intact through these always complex works. Possible Universes works in a surprisingly paradoxical way, allowing structure and freedom to coexist, while constantly challenging the ear. It's not quite like anything else.
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    Notes by PEK
    .
    Possible Universes is my third Graphic Score for large improvising orchestra since 2015. These very special full orchestra events occur only twice a year. For each performance I prepare a graphic score specifically for that event which is simultaneously a Density and Sonority map prescribing the improvised development of the work.
    .
    The scores use a device call Frame Notation where written English descriptions of the overall sonority desired and simple graphic symbols are given durations for each player on their part along with direction on when to play and when not to play. The directions are put in little boxes called frames which are arranged on a timeline and are simple enough to be immediately understood by the performers. The players track the elapsed time on a very large sports clock. There is no melodic, harmonic or rhythmic information specified.
    .
    This system allows me to compose detailed Events without having to notate pitches or rhythms which would require significant rehearsal to accurately achieve. Skilled improvisers, like the ones I have recruited, can easily follow these instructions to create a highly structured improvisation without the need for specific rehearsal even when the ensemble is quite large as it is here. This allows enormous freedom and decision making for each performer and means that we do not have to rehearse these pieces prior to performance.
    .
    All of the other contemporaneous Evil Clown performances and recordings by all of the ensembles - Leap of Faith, String Theory, Turbulence, Mekaniks, Metal Chaos Ensemble and the Sub-Units - are preparation for these full Leap of Faith Orchestra performances. The performances by these sub-ensembles stand by themselves as improvisation records as well as getting us ready to improvise in a full orchestra setting.
    ... more
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about

Evil Clown 9144:
Somerville Armory
28 May 2017

credits

released May 29, 2017

PEK - saxophones, clarinets, double reeds (1,2)
Glynis Lomen - cello, aquasonic, voice (1,2)
Yuri Zbitnov - drums, percussion (1,2)
Andria Nicodemou - vibes, percussion (1,2)
Mimi Rabson - violin (1,2)
Matt Scutchfield - violin (1)
Jonathan LaMaster - violin (1)
Dan O'Brien - flutes, clarinets, saxophones (1)
Zach Bartolomei - clarinets, saxophones, melodica (1)
Bob Moores - trumpet (1)
Steve Provizer - trumpet, baritone horn (1)
Forbes Graham - trumpet (1)
Kat Dobbins - trombone (1)
Dave Harris - trombone, tuba (1)
John Baylies - tuba (1)
Eric Zinman - piano (1)
Grant Beale - guitar (1)
Chris Florio - guitar synth (1)
Tony Leva - bass (1,2)
Silvain Castellano - bass (1)
Kit Demos - bass (1)
Syd Smart - drums, percussion (1,2)
Kevin Dacey - drums, percussion (1)
Joe Hartigan - drums, percussion (1)

Ensemble Auxiliary Instruments:
bullroarers, claves, melodicas, flex-a-tones, slide whistles, wind sirens,
crank sirens, bells, tibetan bowls, rachets, tube-o-phone
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------YouTube:
Possible Universes: youtu.be/jyA-5uq9Oq8
Possible Worlds: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyvljlaNn6s
------Evil Clown album page
www.evilclown.rocks/lofo-possible-universes.html
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Leap of Faith Orchestra performs The Photon Epoch by PEK
Evil Clown Album Page: www.evilclown.rocks/lofo-the-photon-epoch.html
bandcamp: leapoffaith1.bandcamp.com/album/the-photon-epoch
YouTube: youtu.be/rF2zhgAKqQI
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Leap of Faith Orchestra performs Cosmological Horizons by PEK
Evil Clown Album Page: www.evilclown.rocks/lofo-cosmological-horizons.html
bandcamp: leapoffaith1.bandcamp.com/album/cosmological-horizons
YouTube: youtu.be/WAKPbZw8McQ
Review: www.allaboutjazz.com/cosmological-horizons-leap-of-faith-orchestra-evil-clown-review-by-karl-ackermann.php
Review: www.squidsear.com/cgi-bin/news/newsView.cgi?newsID=2111
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Leap of Faith Orchestra performs SuperClusters by PEK
Evil Clown Album Page: www.evilclown.rocks/lofo-superclusters.html
bandcamp: leapoffaith1.bandcamp.com/album/leap-of-faith-orchestra-superclusters
YouTube: youtu.be/T2e8NgYNMvg
Review: www.allaboutjazz.com/superclusters-pek-evil-clown-review-by-karl-ackermann.php
Review: www.squidsear.com/cgi-bin/news/newsView.cgi?newsID=2036
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Leap of Faith Orchestra performs Possible Universes by PEK
Evil Clown Album Page: www.evilclown.rocks/lofo-possible-universes.html
bandcamp: leapoffaith1.bandcamp.com/album/possible-universes
Squidco: www.squidco.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=24776&Store_Code=S&search=leap+of+faith&offset=&filter_cat=0&PowerSearch_Begin_Only=0&sort=&range_low=&range_high=
YouTube: youtu.be/jyA-5uq9Oq8
Review: www.allaboutjazz.com/possible-universes-pek-evil-clown-review-by-karl-ackermann.php
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Leap of Faith Orchestra performs Supernovae by PEK
Evil Clown Album Page: www.evilclown.rocks/lofo-supernovae.html
bandcamp: leapoffaith1.bandcamp.com/album/supernovae
YouTube: youtu.be/VsyWSyFbvxw
Review: www.allaboutjazz.com/supernovae-leap-of-faith-evil-clown-review-by-karl-ackermann.php
Review: www.freejazzblog.org/2017/01/leap-of-faith-orchestra-supernovae-evil.html
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Leap of Faith Orchestra performs The Expanding Universe by PEK
Nave Gallery, Clarendon Presbyterian Church - Somerville, MA - 6/4/2016
Evil Clown Album Page: www.giantevilclown.com/lofo-expanding-universe.html
bandcamp: leapoffaith1.bandcamp.com/album/the-expanding-universe
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yos6g3GkJVQ
Review: www.allaboutjazz.com/the-expanding-universe-leap-of-faith-orchestra-evil-clown-review-by-karl-ackermann.php
Review: gapplegatemusicreview.blogspot.com/2016/08/leap-of-faith-orchestra-expanding.html
Review: www.jazzrightnow.com/2017/01/09/review-leap-of-faith-orchestra-the-expanding-universe/

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Leap Of Faith Boston, Massachusetts

Leap of Faith is a long-term collaboration active from 1993 to 2001 and resuming in 2015 between Glynis Lomon (cello, voice) and PEK (clarinets, saxes, double reeds, voice) with various other regulars (Mark McGrain trombone, Craig Schildhauer bass, Yuri Zbitnov drums, James Coleman theremin, Steve Norton saxes, clarinets) + many guests. Pure improv with little or no planning prior to performance ... more

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