Re: New Guitar/Cello/Koto trio

["Charlie Milkey" <pilotcp@gmail.com>]

you definitly have to record that. I really want to hear it!

Charlie

On 9/10/06, Krispen Hartung <khartung@cableone.net> wrote:
>
>
> I can't wait to talk about the new ambient/experimental/free improv trio 
>I'm
> playing in now.  It is with two women that I met, and who played at the
> Boise Experimental Music festival, both music students/graduates.  The
> instrumentation is me on guitar, Gretchen on Koto (a really cool sounding
> Japanese instrument -
> http://home.san.rr.com/koto/instru.htm), and Jesse on
> cello.  We had our first rehearsal last week and our first gig is on 
>October
> 8.
>
> The instrumentation and contrast of the different instruments is really
> interesting, and I was wondering if anyone else on the list had played 
>with
> a koto player - because I'd like to hear what has been done to leverage 
>some
> ideas.  I found one reference to such a trio, with Henry Kaiser (guitar),
> Miya Masaoka (koto), and Danielle DeGruttola (cello), and the CD is 
>called
> Seance by Vex Records...but I can't find the thing for sale anywere.  Any
> clues?   Gretchen lived in Japan for 10 years and knows a fair amount 
>about
> the music and instrument.  At our first jam session, I didn't do any
> looping, because I wanted to just focus on the sound of my guitar and 
>how it
> worked with the cello and koto.  I used my nylon string, but 
>surprisingly,
> both of them requested that I play my jazz electric next time, because 
>they
> think the contrast of acoustic instruments with my electric will be more
> unique.
>
> Our basic approach for playing is that Gretchen can tune the Koto to any
> scale....we start with a traditional Japanese harmonic structure (D Eb G 
>A
> Bb D) and play with that...and then after that point, she tunes it to
> various modes (mixolydian, lydian, pentatonic, etc), and we play modally
> over a tonal center, which is great for me with my jazz background.  You 
>can
> do some great things with the koto, such as scraping the plectra over the
> strings, bending the strings for other tones, etc. The fun one is where 
>she
> tunes the koto to the chromatic scale and we play atonally...the three 
>of us
> end up sounding like we're playing a 12 tone piece, though there are no 
>rows
> or permutations involved.
>
> Next rehearsal I'll be bringing my notebook system and looping. My plan 
>is
> to loop some ambient textures of basic melodic motifs based on the 
>tuning of
> the koto..and then we'll improvise over that...afterwhich I'll continue
> manipulating the loops to evolve with the performance. It should be fun. 
> I
> hope to record the Oct. 8 performance.
>
> Kris
>
>
> 
>**************************************************************************
> Krispen Hartung / Improvisational Looping Guitar
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