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“… when you look at Maria's resume: she studied composition with Bob Brookmeyer, and spent three years as Gil Evans' musical assistant. From Brookmeyer, she learned how to create large-scale musical structures that add up to more than just a string of solos; from Evans, she learned how to blend instrumental colors with a Ravel-like precision and clarity.
Working with these two masters of big-band writing inspired Maria to develop a completely original sound of her own. “l think my music has a strong element of fantasy in it,’ she says, explaining that the inspirations for her compositions are as likely as not to be visual: dreams, paintings, memories. ‘lf I don't have a dramatic plane to put myself on,’ she adds, ‘I’m at a complete loss for coming up with notes.
Actually, I think of my pieces as little personalities. They're like my kids. After I finish a piece, it takes a while for me to forget the struggle of composing it. Then, all of a sudden, it becomes something separate from me, and the band takes control of it, and shapes and develops it, and it has its own life.’”
- Terry Teachout
“Schneider’s characteristic voice is … a rich fabric of sound that is alert to nuance but still capable of great power.”
- Richard Cook and Brian Morton, The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, 6th Ed.
“When I first started helping Gil Evans out in a deeper way than copying, it was a little terrifying at first. I felt, who am I to be doing this? …
Then one day I realized that this thing about studying music the right way ,,, the only right way in music is your own way that you do with belief and conviction, and when you stick to it, it becomes your voice.
Gil had all sorts of ways to do things that are not in the books, and they all had a very consistent logic. It was a little bit of a parallel universe that went by its own mathematical rules.”
- Paraphrased from Maria Schneider interview with author Stephanie Stein Crease, Gil Evans: Out of the Cool, His Life and Music[pp. 314-315]
“The music itself defies standard definitions of jazz. The inner musical lines reflect her own inner voices. The music is full of characteristic “Schneiderisms”: undulating waves of piano to forte to piano, especially in the brass, and highly textured orchestrations evoking visual imagery and musical colors. It is very personal music.” [Emphasis mine.]
- Eugene Marlow
“I think my music has started to more deeply reflect the world of music that I've enjoyed listening to in recent years. The rhythmic, harmonic and melodic flavors in my work are undoubtedly influenced by my love of Spanish, flamenco, and Brazilian music. Jazz is still at my core, but the intricacy and development one would find in classical music is more present. Even I become hard pressed to define my music."
- Maria Schneider
A new recording by composer-arranger-bandleader Maria Schneider is always and event and the recent issue of Data Lords, her double CD on Artistshare [AS 0176] is a spectacular one from so many perspectives:
[1] the package itself is beautiful to behold AND to hold; tactically the beautiful paper used to print the cover art, tray plate and insert booklet feels so good to the touch;
[2] the insert booklet is loaded with pictures of the musicians so one can actually “see” the people who made this music on these recordings;
[3] the tile of each song is explained as to its thematic derivation and meaning by Maria;
[4] the soloists of each piece are clearly identified [sometimes one gets the feeling that Duke Ellington is looking over Maria’s shoulder as she composers certain tunes with the sound of a particular band member in mind];
[5] and, of course, there’s the sound of the music itself which is not only a personal expression of Maria’s growth and development as an artist, but also an expression of her artistic values, hence the title - Data Lords.
In previous posts about Maria’s music, I noted:
“When writing about the music of Maria Schneider, the “texture” of her music is often stressed as that quality which makes it so unique and so appealing.
But what is a musical definition of “texture” which joins with melody, harmony and rhythm [meter] as a fourth building block used to create a musical composition?
Ironically, of the four basic musical atoms, the most indefinable yet the one we first notice is – “texture.”
“Texture” is the word that is used to refer to the actual sound of the music. This encompasses the instruments with which it is played; its tonal colors; its dynamics; its sparseness or its complexity.
Texture involves anything to do with the sound experience and it is the word that is used to describe the overall impression that a piece of music creates in our emotional imagination.
Often our first and most lasting impression of a composition is usually based on that work’s texture, even though we are not aware of it. Generally, we receive strong musical impressions from the physical sound of any music and these then determine our emotional reaction to the work.
Beyond the texture or sound of her music and the lasting physical and emotional impact it can create, Ms. Schneider’s music is also heavily rhythmic – the most visceral and fundamental of all the musical elements.
Music takes place in time and like many great composers, Ms. Schneider uses rhythms and the relationships between rhythms to express many moods and musical
thoughts.
She uses rhythm to provide a primal, instinctive kind of foundation for the other musical thoughts [themes and motifs] to build upon.
This combination of powerful, repetitive rhythmic phrases and the manner in which she textures the sound of her music over them provides many of Ms. Schneider’s compositions with a magisterial quality.
Another of Ms. Schneider’s great skills as a composer is that she never seems to be at a loss for the new rhythms that she needs to create musical interest in her work.
She is a master at using the creative tension between unchanging meter and constantly changing rhythms and these rhythmic variations help to produce a vitality in her music.
In her use of melody, Ms. Schneider’s approach to composing, arranging and orchestrating appears to have much in common with the Classical composers of the late 18th and early 19th century [Mozart and Beethoven as examples] in that she relies on a series of measured and balanced musical phrases as the mainstay of much of her work.
And like these Classical composers, Ms. Schneider is also careful not to let one musical element overwhelm the others: balance between elements is as important as balance within any one of them.
Ms. Schneider obviously places a high value on melody in her writing as her themes have a way of finding themselves into one’s subconscious and staying as in – “I can’t get this tune out of my head.”
This is in large part because many of Ms. Schneider’s melodies are actually easily remembered short phrases, generally four or eight bars in length and these are often heard in combination with other similar phrases to fashion something akin to a musical mosaic with individual pieces joining together to create a musical whole.
Ms. Schneider crafts little melodic devices that are wonderful examples of the composer’s art. And she has learned over the years to base her compositions out of the fewest possible melodic building blocks because if there are too many melodies, or for that matter, too many rhythms and too many different chords in a piece, the listener can get confused and eventually bored.
And on the subject of chords, the building blocks of harmony, here Ms. Schneider’s approach is one involving multi-part harmony and is more akin to modern composers such as Debussy, Bartok and Stravinsky than to those of the Classical period.
With all this going on in her compositions, is it any wonder, then, that even Maria is “.. hard pressed to define my music[?]"
But while she may still be hard-pressed to “define her music,” she is certainly very articulate at explaining the sources, causes and influences for the music on Data Lords.
Much of the background as to what is associated with the Data Lords theme is detailed in the following media release from the always commendable Ann Braithwaite of Braithwaite & Katz Communications and I’ll let you read them verbatim while sharing some additional observations about the music on the new recording.
This duality is still prevalent in her music - “I think my music has started to more deeply reflect the world of music that I've enjoyed listening to in recent years. … Jazz is still at my core, but the intricacy and development one would find in classical music is more present. - but with one major change in its point of emphasis: her music is more deeply reflective of the technological world around her.
And to substitute further in one of her opening quotations to this piece - The rhythmic, harmonic and melodic flavors in my work are undoubtedly influenced by … - her deep distrust and dislike of powerful social networking and file sharing platforms that mine the personal information they collect and use it to enhance corporate profitability; especially those who refuse to responsibly reward artists for their content.
At this point in her career, the overall texture of Maria’s music has become embedded with thematic-riven motifs. Her music is not music for its own sake but music that is about something - in this case - the overarchingly corrupt world that’s been created during the past two decades [has it really been only twenty years?] by the masters who control the bulk of communication technology and the information it generates.
Perhaps one way to best describe what Maria has composed for Data Lords is to think of it as a form of Program Music - music intended to evoke images and convey the impression of events.
“Data Lords is a new double-album by Grammy Award-winning composer and bandleader Maria Schneider. Inspired by conflicting relationships between the digital and natural worlds, the recording features Schneider's acclaimed orchestra of 18 world-class musicians.
“Maria Schneider to release new double album, Data Lords, with her acclaimed jazz orchestra
Available July 24, 2020, the recording is fan-funded through ArtistShare
Data Lords is a new double-album by Grammy Award-winning composer and bandleader Maria Schneider. Inspired by conflicting relationships between the digital and natural worlds, the recording features Schneider's acclaimed orchestra of 18 world-class musicians.
"No one can deny the great impact that the data-hungry digital world has had on our lives. As big data companies clamor for our attention, I know that I'm not alone in struggling to find space – to keep connected with my inner world, the natural world, and just the simpler things in life," says Schneider. "Just as I feel myself ping ponging between a digital world and the real world, the same dichotomy is showing up in my music. In order to truly represent my creative output from the last few years, it felt natural to make a two- album release reflecting these two polar extremes." [Emphasis mine.]
The music on the first CD has at its core, electric guitar (played by Ben Monder). The title track "Data Lords" was the first to be written and was commissioned by the Library of Congress Da Capo Fund, with support from the Reva and David Logan Foundation. Four more titles – "A World Lost,""Don't Be Evil,""CQ CQ, Is Anybody There?" and "Sputnik"– complete the first volume, all of which evoke different aspects of our world under the control of the data lords.
"A World Lost" longs for a simpler time when we were all more connected to the earth and each other. Its mournful sound comes through the dark tones of Ben Monder (guitar) and Rich Perry (tenor). "Don't Be Evil" was commissioned directly through ArtistShare by David & Ginger Komar and premiered at the Newport Jazz Festival on August 6th, 2017. This piece musically mocks Google for their absurd inspirational motto, where from the beginning, they set their ethical standards at rock bottom. Powerful solos are delivered by Jay Anderson (bass), Ben Monder (guitar), Ryan Keberle (trombone), and Frank Kimbrough (piano).
"CQ CQ, Is Anybody There?" looks back at ham radio and Morse code (the first electronic binary language) used to communicate around the world. Schneider points out that ham radio, unlike the internet, includes accountability, a code of ethics and no commercialism. All of Schneider's rhythms in this piece spell out Morse code messages like power, greed, SOS and CQ (is anybody there). Donny McCaslin's tenor rises out of a world of Morse/ham chatter as a human voice looking for connection, but what he encounters is artificial intelligence in the form of Greg Gisbert's electrified trumpet.
"Sputnik" evokes the feeling of outer space and our thousands of satellites orbiting the earth now launched by corporations in a new kind of space race. In "Sputnik" Schneider imagines a massive digital exoskeleton orbiting the earth. Its short theme rises up in variation, evoking everything from the quiet cosmos to something almost Wagnerian in power, and throughout Scott Robinson's baritone evokes his vision of space."Data Lords" looks at the moment of singularity where artificial intelligence becomes more intelligent than humans. This intense and powerful piece follows Stephen Hawking's dark prediction of AI choosing to turn on us and destroy us. Soloists are Mike Rodriguez (electrified trumpet) and Dave Pietro (alto).
Schneider writes, "I can't imagine I'm alone in often feeling desperate to get away from every device bombarding me with endless chatter, endless things – endless demands. Shutting it all down and encountering space and silence, I easily find myself again drawn to nature, people, silence, books, poetry, art, the earth and sky. From those encounters came all of the inspirations below.
"Sanzenin" is inspired by magical and meditative temple gardens, hundreds of years old, north of Kyoto, Japan. In this piece, Gary Versace (accordion) wanders through these playful gardens. "Stone Song" makes musical use of ceramicist Jack Troy's whimsical ishi no sasayaki (secret voice in the stone) pottery to imagine the world of a little stone waiting to be bumped, kicked or rolled, only to wait years or centuries to be moved again. Utilizing the most space of any piece probably ever written by Schneider, "Stone Song" showcases the brilliant art of listening in this great orchestra. Steve Wilson is featured on soprano with masterful collaboration by Gary Versace (accordion), Frank Kimbrough (piano), Jay Anderson (bass), and Johnathan Blake (drums). "Look Up" shows off the facility and brilliance of Marshall Gilkes on trombone in the form of a piece that harmonically feels as if it's rising. It reminds us to turn our gaze to the sky, the world and each other. "Braided Together" featuring Dave Pietro (alto), is filled with space, and simplicity and is based on poetry by Ted Kooser. "Bluebird" was co-commissioned by The Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, and The Center for Performing Arts at Penn State University for its premiere in April 2016. It is named after one of Schneider's favorite birds, and the piece soars through many keys and moods and features distinctly contrasting solos by Steve Wilson (alto) and Gary Versace (accordion). "The Sun Waited for Me," is chorale-like and features Donny McCaslin on tenor, with its lyrical melody played by Marshall Gilkes on trombone. Based on another Kooser poem, the piece reminds us that each day there is an expansive world awaiting our attention if we stop and invite it into our lives.
The Maria Schneider Orchestra spent four days in the studio making Data Lords. Engineered by Brian Montgomery, who also recorded Schneider's Grammy Award-winning 2015 release The Thompson Fields, Data Lords features the extraordinary artistry of Schneider's orchestra that was first recorded in 1992. The band includes reedists Steve Wilson, Dave Pietro, Rich Perry, Donny McCaslin and Scott Robinson; trumpeters Tony Kadleck, Greg Gisbert, Nadje Nordhuis and Mike Rodriguez; trombonists Keith O'Quinn, Ryan Keberle, Marshall Gilkes and George Flynn; accordionist Gary Versace, guitarist Ben Monder, pianist Frank Kimbrough, bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Johnathan Blake.
Data Lords is being made, funded and documented through ArtistShare, the world's first crowd-funding internet platform, which Schneider first used in 2003. This is her fifth ArtistShare album. Since the making of her last album, The Thompson Fields, Schneider has worked with David Bowie on a collaboration titled "Sue (Or In a Season of Crime)," and in 2019 was named an NEA Jazz Master, the nation's highest honor in jazz. In 2020, her album, Concert in the Garden, was put in the National Recording Registry, and Schneider was also elected into the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In recent years, Schneider has been increasingly outspoken about Google and big data companies, writing articles and white papers, appearing on Copyright Office roundtables and testifying before Congress. "Musicians have been the canary in the coal mine," Schneider says. "We were the first to be used and traded for data."
Obviously, given this background, there are no file sharing or online video examples of the music on Data Lords but we did find the following Library of Congress video of Maria describing the music, its origins and its significance.
Composer Maria Schneider discusses her Library of Congress commission, "Data Lords," with Larry Appelbaum of the Music Division. "Data Lords," made possible by the Reva and David Logan Foundation, was premiered at the Library by the Maria Schneider Orchestra on April 15, 2016.
Speaker Biography: Maria Schneider is an award-winning jazz composer and big band leader. She has received multiple Grammy awards, including the 2016 award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album (for "The Thompson Fields," a collaboration with David Bowie). Schneider has received commissions from the Library of Congress, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, among others. Her album, "Concert in the Garden" (2004), was the first recording to receive a Grammy after being released solely online.
For transcript and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feat...