CHRIS PASIN'S - RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS
RANDOM ACTS TRACKS
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Chris Pasin, trumpet
Mark Kleinhaut, guitar Wayne Hawkins, piano John Menegon, bass Dave Berger, drums LIftline Moguls – 6:20 Kayte Sunrise – 8:46 OCDC: 9:10 Fragile Creature: 7:16 Smiling Eyes: 8:48 Nature of the Beast: 7:17 Om Flux: 6:08 All compositions by Chris Pasin Chris Pasin, Executive Producer Chris Pasin and Thomas Bellino, Producers Recorded at Upland Recording Studio, Kingston, NY John Menegon, Engineer Mixed and mastered at NRS Recording Studio, Catskill, NY Scott Petito, Engineer |
Random Acts of Kindness came into being in October 2014 when Thomas Bellino of Planet Arts approached me to put on a concert of my original music. I’d played with John Menegon in many situations and in Mark Kleinhaut’s quartet already. Given my concept of guitar being the second melodic instrument instead of saxophone in the classic quintet lineup, this chemistry and familiarity seemed natural. Enter, Wayne Hawkins and Dave Berger. Wayne had just moved to town from Kansas City, and John had a jam session at his house with Dave, to which I suggested Wayne be invited. We felt instantly at home playing with one another, so it seemed that the search for a band was complete.
These musicians proceeded to come to rehearse at least once a week for the following two months, such was their dedication to the music coming together. And come together it did! The concert was a success, well attended, and the band’s playing embodied the musical intentions behind these compositions. So it seemed natural to go right into the studio and record.
John Menegon’s Upland Recording Studio was a natural place to record the band and we got all of the music heard here in one session, most of which in one take! There is truly a singular voice with which the band makes music, with a conversational flow to the improvisation. This was my intention for this music and I’m very fortunate to have these musicians to play.
Some notes on each composition…
Liftline Moguls came into being first as an improvisation and naturally fell into the off meters heard. It evoked the serpentine quality of mogul skiing, hence the title.
Kayte Sunrise was a kind of impressionistic piece I wrote one morning after watching a particularly beautiful sunrise in the early stages of getting to know a special person.
OCDC stands for Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry, two musical heroes and hopefully somewhat evokes their music. This was written in the car following an outdoor concert by Cameron Brown’s Ornette-styled band and originally entitled “Cameron on the Green.”
Fragile Creature was inspired by much of the music on ECM, Kenny Wheeler, one of my musical heroes, in particular. The title came from knowing a someone who shows remarkable strength overcoming a fragile existence.
Smiling Eyes was written thirty years ago, and not played for decades. The title refers to something I noticed, that when someone really smiles because they are happy, their eyes smile too.
Nature of the Beast was one of the first tunes I wrote after resuming my trumpet career. Perhaps the title is a statement on the inevitability of that happening.
OM Flux came about after a bout of listening to Balkan and Turkish as well as Indian musics, and the two sections juxtapose the drone of the latter, with some of the rhythmic flavor of the former, without actually being in odd meter
These musicians proceeded to come to rehearse at least once a week for the following two months, such was their dedication to the music coming together. And come together it did! The concert was a success, well attended, and the band’s playing embodied the musical intentions behind these compositions. So it seemed natural to go right into the studio and record.
John Menegon’s Upland Recording Studio was a natural place to record the band and we got all of the music heard here in one session, most of which in one take! There is truly a singular voice with which the band makes music, with a conversational flow to the improvisation. This was my intention for this music and I’m very fortunate to have these musicians to play.
Some notes on each composition…
Liftline Moguls came into being first as an improvisation and naturally fell into the off meters heard. It evoked the serpentine quality of mogul skiing, hence the title.
Kayte Sunrise was a kind of impressionistic piece I wrote one morning after watching a particularly beautiful sunrise in the early stages of getting to know a special person.
OCDC stands for Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry, two musical heroes and hopefully somewhat evokes their music. This was written in the car following an outdoor concert by Cameron Brown’s Ornette-styled band and originally entitled “Cameron on the Green.”
Fragile Creature was inspired by much of the music on ECM, Kenny Wheeler, one of my musical heroes, in particular. The title came from knowing a someone who shows remarkable strength overcoming a fragile existence.
Smiling Eyes was written thirty years ago, and not played for decades. The title refers to something I noticed, that when someone really smiles because they are happy, their eyes smile too.
Nature of the Beast was one of the first tunes I wrote after resuming my trumpet career. Perhaps the title is a statement on the inevitability of that happening.
OM Flux came about after a bout of listening to Balkan and Turkish as well as Indian musics, and the two sections juxtapose the drone of the latter, with some of the rhythmic flavor of the former, without actually being in odd meter