Re: New Guitar/Cello/Koto trio

[improv@peak.org]

I believe Miya Masoaka has a number of other improv discs out as well. I
saw her in a trio with Fred Frith and Larry Ochs (tenor sax player from
the ROVA sax quartet) some years ago, it was a very very cool show.

Sounds like a great trio, Kris!

> Thanks. Henry's webmaster just sent me the same link. This is great.
>
> Kris
>
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Joseph Cavanagh
>   To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
>   Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2006 6:33 PM
>   Subject: RE: New Guitar/Cello/Koto trio
>
>
>   Kristen:
>
>
>
>   All tracks of Séance, featuring Henry Kaiser et al,  are available for
> download at emusic:  http://www.emusic.com/album/10920/10920616.html
>
>   Joe Cavanagh
>   Producer of GaelSong Radio at http://www.live365.com/stations/omnicelt
>
>   -----Original Message-----
>   From: Krispen Hartung [mailto:khartung@cableone.net]
>   Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2006 5:11 PM
>   To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
>   Subject: New Guitar/Cello/Koto trio
>
>
>
>   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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