12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 158

Date: 06/06/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Location: A bathroom on the second floor at Benaroya Hall. Seattle, WA

Notes:

Tonight I participated in a concert with saxophone great Roscoe Mitchell, performing several renditions of his seminal composition “Nonaah." Roscoe performed a solo set tonight which nearly brought me to tears with its beauty, power and commitment to the moment. I truly felt for the first time in my life that I was inside this man’s instrument, breathing, exploring and pushing along with him. I even found that my breathing starting to coincide with his while he played, and I would become physically strained when it was clear to me that Roscoe was pushing himself to the point of discomfort. It was truly an inspirational night for me.

I recorded this improvisation during the down time before out concert. I could not find a room on the second floor that was free from the sound of musicians sound checking or warming up. It was a welcome problem to have, and I eventually found my sonic respite in a bathroom on the second floor of the performance hall. There was no compositional model to this piece, though my mind was heavily invested in the thematic development of Roscoe’s composition "Nonaah,” and this certainly influenced my train of through and artistic choices while sculpting this improvisation.

-Neil

The image “Red and Blue Composition” accompanying today’s post by Ad Reinhardt (1941)