Travelling in-curves-songbook

Arrangements, Leadsheets & Notes

4


Jennifer Giles: score editor Patrick McDonagh: text expeditor

Trevor Gould: artwork Katherine Knight: photography

For more information, please contact:

email: [email protected] website: TravellingInCurves.com

The music, text, design, and images present in this publication are protected by copyright law. Any duplication or transmission, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, is an infringement of copyright. Copyright © 2008 Robert McFadden. International

Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved.

5

Contents

In Memorandum 7

Introduction

9

Arrangements & Leadsheets

11

SOUVENIRS (DEUX/TROIS) 12

SECOND THOUGHTS 14

SWIMMING TO THE MOON 18

SIMPLE PLEASURES 20

ESCALERAS AZULES 22

THE GUCCI EFFECT 26

AS IF (THIS COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE) 34

TONGUES WILL WAG 36

MISHA 38

PAS DES TOUS

40

Notes

LIKELY STORIES 45

BIOGRAPHY MUSUCIANS BIOGRAPHIES

49 51

7

In Memoriam It was with great sadness that all of us involved in the Travelling in Curves

project learned of the death of our friend and colleague Alun Davies in February

2008.

Alun’s involvement with the music in this portfolio goes far beyond that singular

bass sound you hear on the CD. The very notion of making a CD grew from

recordings of arrangement sketches swapped between the two of us to

supplement the improvisational approach of our rehearsals and gigs. As Zakari

Frantz (alto sax), Jennifer Giles (piano), and Mike Essoudry (drums) added their

individual, contrasting voices to the fray, Alun’s attentiveness ensured these

tunes maintained the simplicity, directness and intimacy we both heard at the

heart of the music and recognized in the best moments of our playing together.

Those fortunate enough to have collaborated with Alun were deeply impressed

by the uncompromising personal dedication and directness which he brought to

every project he undertook. Travelling in Curves documents a special

production sensibility applied to an unusual set of musical and performance

challenges. It is also a testament to an immensely gratifying, provocative and

generous relationship - professional and personal - with a dear friend warmly

remembered.

Robert McFadden Chelsea, Quebec April 2008

9

Introduction

It might be best to think of the leadsheets in this portfolio as a set of musical

proposals. The “instructions” provided at the top left of each page - for example,

“frankly” for Souvenirs (deux/trios) - might be better regarded as questions or

challenges than guidelines. The obtusiveness of these “instructions” is also

intended to serve as a reminder to have fun with the pieces.

My emphasis in composing these tunes was on the exploration and emotional

weight rather than technical aspects such as tempo or style. Numerous choices

were made in relation to conventions and clichés found in various musical

genres. My aim was to set up a creative tension with these genres as opposed

to producing work in a particular style. For this reason, the question of how to

play off of – rather than in - familiar styles is fundamental to these pieces.

All of these tunes have received widely varying interpretations. Some, I am quite

sure, have never been played exactly as presented here. Hopefully you will find

new ways of hearing and expressing the music in this portfolio while going about

the process of adapting the tunes to your particular voice.

Robert McFadden Mississauga, Ontario February 2009

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Arrangements & Leadsheets

12

SOUVENIRS (DEUX/TROIS) frankly

arrangement by Robert McFadden

INTRO ||: BASS INTRO :|| GUITAR COMP | * / * |

HEAD ||: GUITAR

MELODY :|| SAX DOUBLE | * / * |

SOLO 1 ||: GUITAR SOLO :|| * / * | * / * |

SOLO 2 ||: SAX SOLO :|| * / * | * / * |

SOLO 3 ||: BASS SOLO :|| BASS/SAX DUET | * / * |

TAIL ||: SAX MELODY :|| GUITAR GHOST | GUITAR DOUBLE |

END | E7 F7 | E7 | E7 F7 | 3 E7 |

13

SOUVENIRS (DEUX/TROIS)

frankly music by Robert McFadden

Copyright © 2006 Robert McFadden International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved.

15

SECOND THOUGHTS

mood swing music by Robert McFadden

(page 1 of 3)


16

SECOND THOUGHTS (continued)

rippling

(page 2 of 3)


17

SECOND THOUGHTS (continued)

rippling

(page 3 of 3)


18

SWIMMING TO THE MOON

rippling


INTRO ||: GUITAR :|| PIANO COMP | * / * |

HEAD ||: GUITAR

MELODY :|| SAX DOUBLE | * / * |

SOLO 1

||: SAX SOLO :|| * / * | * / * |

SOLO 2

||: GUITAR SOLO :|| * / * | * / * |

SOLO 3

||: PIANO SOLO :|| * / * | GUITAR GHOST |

TAIL | SAX MELODY | PIANO GHOST | * / * |

END

19


rippling music by Robert McFadden


20

SIMPLE PLEASURES

apocalypso arrangement by Robert McFadden

INTRO

G6 G#6 A6

| FREE 14/4||: PIANO RIFF :||: GUITAR RIFF

:||: DRUM RIFF

:||

Xx Xx

| ARCO SOLO

| SAX SOLO | SAX

MELODY |

GUITAR DOUBLE

|

HEAD

| GUITAR MELODY

| * / * | SAX

DOUBLE | * / * |

SOLOS

| SAX SOLO | GUITAR SOLO |

BREAK

Xx 2x G6 G#6 A6 * / *

| DRUM SOLO

| PUNCTUATED PIANO RIFF

||: BASS RIFF

:||: GUITAR DOUBLE

:||

| SAX

MELODY |

GUITAR DOUBLE

|

HEAD

| GUITAR MELODY

| PIANO DOUBLE | SAX

DOUBLE | * / * |

END

| * / * | * / * ||

21

SIMPLE PLEASURES

apocalypso music by Robert McFadden


22

ESCALERAS ALZULES soaked in remorse arrangement by Robert McFadden

LEAD-IN

| GUITAR |

HEAD

| GUITAR MELODY

| BRUSHES | * / * | * / * |

SOLO

| GUITAR SOLO

| * / * | ARCO

MELODY |

GUITAR SOLO

|

TAIL

| PIZZ

MELODY | * / * |

GUITAR MELODY

| */ *

(minus 2 bars) |

END 3x

||: Am7 G7 | Dm7 D#7 E7 :||

23

ESCALERAS AZULES soaked in remorse music by Robert McFadden

(page 1 of 3)


24

ESCALERAS AZULES (continued) soaked in remorse music by Robert McFadden

(page 2 of 3)


25

ESCALERAS AZULES (continued) soaked in remorse music by Robert McFadden

(page 3 of 3)


26

THE GUCCI EFFECT leisurely swivel arrangement by Robert McFadden

INTRO ||:

:||:

:||

| FREE

CYMBALS |

ARCO IN Em13

||: GUITAR RIFF

:||: BASS

DOUBLE :||

SOLOS

| SAX SOLO | GUITAR SOLO |

HEAD

||:

:||

| PIANO &

SAX | * / * |

PIANO/SAX & GUITAR

| * / * |

BREAK

||:

:||:

:||

||: ARCO SOLO

:||: * / * :||

TAIL

| SAX & GUITAR ONLY

| PIANO

DOUBLE SAX

| * / * | SAX

MELODY ||

27

THE GUCCI EFFECT leisurely swivel (120 bpm) music by Robert McFadden

(page 1 of 7) Copyright © 2006 Robert McFadden

International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved.

28

THE GUCCI EFFECT (continued) HEAD

(page 2 of 7)


29

THE GUCCI EFFECT (continued)

(page 3 of 7)


30


(page 4 of 7)


31

THE GUCCI EFFECT (continued) TAIL

(page 5 of 7)


32


(page 6 of 7)


33


(page 7 of 7)


34

AS IF (THIS COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE) stumbling with grace arrangement by Robert McFadden

HEAD

| GUITAR MELODY | PIANO DOUBLE | SAX

MELODY |

GUITAR &

PIANO |

SOLO 1

| SAX SOLO | * / * | GUITAR SOLO

| SAX SOLO

|

SOLO 2

| GUITAR SOLO | * / * | GUITAR SOLO

|

SAX SOLO

|

BREAK

(IN ¼ TIME)

( - 7 BARS)

| PIANO & BASS | SAX |

TAIL

|

GUITAR (SAX @ 9TH

BAR)

| PIANO COMP | SAX

MELODY |

SAX SOLO

||

35

AS IF (THIS COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE)

stumbling with grace music by Robert McFadden


37

TONGUES WILL WAG

furtively music by Robert McFadden


38

MISHA tripodic


INTRO (1/2 time)

| GUITAR MELODY | SAX SOLO | (TRADES) | SAX SOLO |

HEAD (1/1 time)

GUITAR MELODY SAX DOUBLE * / *

SOLOS

||:

:||

||: GUITAR SOLO :|| SAX SOLO |

||:

:||

||: DRUM /BASS :|| GUITAR SAX | DRUM /BASS |

TAIL

(1/2 time)

| GTR & SAX MELODY | (TRADES) | GUITAR & SAX |

39

MISHA

tripodic music by Robert McFadden


41

PAS DES TOUS

un pas à la fois music by Robert McFadden


43

Notes

45

Likely Stories My first shot at telling the stories behind the tunes on Travelling in Curves appeared in the playing instructions to musicians provided on the written leadsheets. The following are adaptations of the conversations these leadsheet instructions prompted.

Souvenirs (deux/trois) frankly

You are Frank Sinatra admiring the sun shimmering on the swimming pool. You climb the ladder, execute a perfect double flip and realize the pool has been drained. How would you express your reaction in jazz?

Second Thoughts mood swing

Darth Vader, the Tasmanian Devil and Archbishop Desmond Tutu walk into a bar. “Obedience! Obedience! Obedience!”, orders Vader. “Blorp! Schnorfle! Druel!”, tornadoes the Tasmanian Devil. Archbishop Desmond Tutu beams, winks and twinkles the sax solo to this tune. “What is this?”, replies the bartender, “A joke?”.

Swimming to the Moon rippling

Six hours after buying the classic Westfalia, one hour after its transmission blew, and forty minutes after grinding onto our destination - the hillside campsite facing the highway and railroad tracks - it began to rain. We called it quits when the mechanic said the new part would take a week. We stopped in the park we’d planned to visit. A botanist suggested an off-season camp by the river where a cabin might be available. Miles from the highway. We were swimming in the bay as the moon rose.

Simple Pleasures apocalypse

As a long-time practitioner of the Cat in the Hat School of Improvisation, I have an answer for everything. If you asked me to write you a simple tune and I came back with something in five parts with four time signatures, you can bet it would not be called Excruciating Frustrations. An apocalypso, this tune was inspired by steel drums, screeching tires, and everything in between.

46

Escaleras Azules soaked in remorse

Bandoleons, wavering strings and clenched roses are entirely optional to the tango. Crashing waves of desire and a bottomless depths of despair are not. A litre or two of fatalism never hurt either. Entry to a tango hall always involves a stairway. These stairways are inevitably blue.

The Gucci Effect leisurely swivel (120 bpm)

The first part of this tune to be written was that rising bass figure you hear where the sax first comes in. Initially, that was all there was. I made a recording and played it incessantly. The rest of the tune came after driving down rue Notre- Dame and having everything snap into background noise. Everything - except for one woman walking up the sidewalk, her sunglasses flashing and her shoulder bag Gucci. If you have spent five minutes in Montreal, you will have seen her. The pace of her step was the sole movement on the street in sync with my music.

As If (This Could Make a Difference) with turnarounds

Fill a paper boat with your heart’s desire. Fit passion as its engine – stoke its fires with your doubt. Fix it on a channel to the deepest waters. Find favor and fortune in the thunderheads’ swell.

Tongues Will Wag furtively

Big fat noses where they don’t belong, Yakkity yakking all day long. So annoying. Awful taste. Cloying two-faced mongers sporting Big fat noses where they don’t belong. Yikkity yakking all day long. Ain’t that dismal? You agree? Such abysmal knee-jerk nasty Jibberty-jabber. What can be said? Party with matches! Smoke in your bed! Burn down the house to a smouldering slag, Wherever there’s fire, tongues will wag.

47

Misha tripodic

Misha was the three-legged Bassett Hound pattering around the first time drummer Anthony Seaberg and I jammed together. The first riff we played that evening developed into the theme of this tune. Misha’s distinctive gate lopes through the melody. If you listen closely, you’ll hear some tail wagging too.

Pas des tous un pas à la fois

The title of this tune almost sounds like a French phrase meaning “Everyone’s step”. I made it up to go with three real phrases that occasionally overtake my thoughts:

• “Un pas à la fois” (“One step at a time”)

• “Pas de deux” (a dance figure for two)

• “Pas du tout” (“Not at all”) This is their collective theme song.

49

Biography

Robert McFadden has been writing and performing music since the late 1970’s.

Originally trained as a visual artist, Robert developed his music as part of a

multidisciplinary practice including installation, digital media, and performance

art.

Early projects give a clue to the diversity in Robert’s approach: Sounds on

Wednesdays (1978), a free improvisation series hosted by the National Gallery

of Canada; The Post Barbie Band (1978 - 81), a cocktail of musicians, artists

and programmers performing in clubs and art galleries; and People in the

Speakers (1986 – 90), a karaoke/movement ensemble championed by Gay

Delorme (Frank Zappa, k.d. laing) as “seriously bent; way hip”.

Constructing Nature and The Edge of the World - musical performances

playing off Broadway, roots, jazz and minimalist genres - were presented in the

late 80’s and early 90’s at The Western Front (Vancouver), Globe Theatre

(Regina), A Space (Toronto) and The Slade (London, England). For Those Who

Stand For, a virtual reality soundscape produced at the Banff Centre for the Arts,

was recognized in 1992 at Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria).

In 1993 Robert began work on ventures in sound production, digital animation

and software development for companies such as Softimage, Microsoft and Avid

Technologies with clients including Industrial Light and Magic, Mainframe

Entertainment and Disney. In 2004, a two-week hiatus taken to consider ideas

about jazz improvisation grew into a four year full-time process of listening,

studying, jamming, composing and recording. Travelling in Curves documents

recent developments in this exploration.

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Musician Biographies

Zakari Frantz (saxophone)

Zakari has quickly earned a reputation as a versatile and lyrical reed player sharing the stage artists such as Femi Anikulapo Kuti, Dele Sosimi and Joe Sealy. Over the past year Zakari has played to great acclaim with the Soul Jazz Orchestra in Europe, across Canada, and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Zakari is a graduate of Boise State University where he studied saxophone with Brent Jensen.

Jennifer Giles (piano)

Trained as a classical pianist with degrees from McGill University (Montreal), Jennifer teaches ear training, music theory and keyboard classes (Concordia University, Carleton University). Jennifer’s playing focuses on free improvisation with groups including Radar and Rakestar.

Alun Davies (bass)

Classically trained, Jaco-inspired and fuelled on the sounds of North Africa and India, Alun’s reputation as a sideman, session player, engineer, composer and producer grew though work in R&B, fusion, world beat, hip-hop and rap with artists including Juno Award winners Maestro Wes Fresh, 2 Rude, and Glenn Lewis. In 2005, Alun returned to the bass full-time, playing with Ropeadope recording artists Antizario until his death in February 2008.

Mike Essoudry (drums)

Rooted in popular music - rock and jazz – Mike brings a unique blend of groove/riff based playing to groups exploring the frontiers of folk (Megan Jerome Trio), country (Three Jimmies), and free improvisation (Parade, Fly Poem). A composer and percussionist, Mike has a Masters in Jazz Drumset from McGill University (Montreal).

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SOUVENIRS (DEUX/TROIS)

SECOND THOUGHTS


SIMPLE PLEASURES

ESCALERAS AZULES

THE GUCCI EFFECT

AS IF (THIS COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE)

TONGUES WILL WAG

MISHA

PAS DES TOUS

Travelling in-curves-songbook

Entertainment & Humor

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