The zipper was difficult to use, but he managed. His large hooves were clumsy. And amazingly, after they were securely around his waist, he opened his slender mouth and…well it was a strange and beautiful sound. As he galloped off the ocean roared, and I returned once again to my chair.

And the stallion put on my pants and began to sing.

Altramar Medieval Ensemble's recording of the Andalusi muwashshah "ma li-l-muwallah" by Ibn Zuhr (12th c) from their album "Iberian Garden, vol. 1"

Ma lil-muwallah

Broken, for solo alto saxophone, was written in 2013 and commissioned by Alex Sellers. The piece was premiered at Kent State University on March 1, 2014, and will be performed at the 2014 NASA conference at the University of Illinois. 

Broken is a very different piece for me in that it was inspired by an image, specifically the image of a light bulb exploding in slow motion.  

The image you see was taken by Alex Sellers, who is also the performer on the recording. 

Broken

WEON (MonoNeon x Kriswontwo) is an experimental duo with bassist MonoNeon and producer Kriswontwo. "Neon The Won" is WEON's second project since their first release in 2013. 

On this new release they invited some friends to be part of the sound. The project features David "Fuze" Fiuczynski (guitarist for Hiromi, Screaming Headless Torsos, Jack Dejohnette, Meshell Ndegeocello), Jerome Flood (drummer for August Alsina), Lance Lucas (keyboard wizard has worked with Virgil Donati, Anthony Crawford, etc), Amber Baker (drummer/solo artist) and Mojcksn (singer/lyricist from the family group Jcksn Avenue, has worked with PJ Morton and etc). 

Some of MonoNeon’s inspiration for creating the new music came from his fascination with neon light installations art by Dan Flavin and Peter Kennedy and microtonality/quarter-tone sounds which can be heard on “Neon Eggs & Ham”. 

The sonic side of things is handled by Kriswontwo. Everything from pitching MonoNeon's live-bass to drum programming, synths & arrangements. This is what makes this project one of a kind. It's a collaboration of a bassplayer & a producer/engineer. Both these artists are completely free-minded, which means there are no limits to which frequencies this duo can vibe on.

Bass: MonoNeon 
Production: Kriswontwo 
Guitar: David "Fuze" Fiuczynski (featured on "Jungle Juice") 
Drums: Jerome Flood (featured on "Neon Eggs & Ham") 
Drums: Amber Baker (featured on "Jimimitch") 
Keyboards: Lance Lucas (featured on "Jimimitch") 
Singer/lyricist: Mojcksn (featured on "Black, White, Then Neon") 

Mastering: Boe Larsen (Mill Factory Studios) 
Artwork: Mikkel Schrøder Dysted (misterflyinghips.com)

Free Download

6. WEON - Neon Eggs & Ham (feat. Jerome Flood)

Program note:
"The Pit" is an opera that follows a lost man who at the outset of each act, climbs up from a pit to arrive at three different versions of reality. The first, is the back streets of a city at night, the second is a circus of robots, and the third, is the halls of the overlords, the powerful creatures pulling the strings of reality.

The music of the overture prefaces the first act, and is tragic in tone. There are three main parts, the climbing music, the city music, and the return of the opening clarinet theme. It opens with the clarinet presenting a fragmented melody that is extended and developed for the first large section of the overture. The second section is ushered in by the basses and represents the city. It has a pulsing sardonic quality. The strings are tense and the woodwinds laugh. Jokes are told in the clarinet and bassoon. This gives way to a tragic theme led by the low brass. After a brief pause, the work ends with a return to the opening clarinet material accompanied by the first violins.

Overture to "The Pit"
Daniel Zajicek, composer
Houston Civic Symphony
Brian Runnels, conductor

Friday, November 15, 2024 - Houston Christian University

Overture to The Pit

The Judy Collins classic song as recorded by Opie Bellas, with my arrangement.  Oboe: James Gorton.  Cello: Joseph Bishkoff.  Piano:  Moricz   
From Opie's album "Live For Life."

My Father (Collins)  Opie Bellas, arranged by Moricz

For the 1930 effort to kill adoption to Daylight Savings Time, here is a rare exploitation  Victor recording of the Richard A. Whiting song WHEN IT'S DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME IN OSH KOSH by Ted Weems' Orchestra

08 Daylight Savings Time Weems

The musical inspiration for this piece comes from my fascination with the murals of the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, China. The artwork famously depicts musicians performing while dancing and flying though the air. One image – that of a woman playing pipa behind her back – is so iconic that many Chinese dancers train in order to recreate her graceful pose. Behind the Back alludes to the ceremonial atmosphere of the Mogao murals while imagining the sort of music provided by the acrobatic women depicted within – a music which incorporates passages suggestive of dance and aerial maneuvers. Also present are oblique references to Jimi Hendrix, a consummate virtuoso who was known to play guitar with the instrument slung behind his back. At all times, the virtuosity and lyricism of the pipa is the focal point.

Recording: Ying-Chun Chen, pipa

Behind the Back was commissioned by The Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra and premiered by Su Yun-Han on June 26, 2016, at the National Theater of Taiwan in Taipei.

Behind the Back (2016)

Fine

Tim McCormack -  Apparatus

I have often thought of myself as a collector, or perhaps more accurately a hoarder, of sounds. These sounds come from a number of sources including household items, children’s toys, musical instruments, and environmental recordings. The act of manipulating these sounds and placing them in a musical context is a process that relies both on compositional strategies and software tools that I have developed. This work represents one possible result when left to my own devices.

When Left To His Own Devices

Daniel Zajicek is a composer and video artist. Most interested in beauty and the bizarre, his musical output consists of solo, chamber, choral, electronic, video, installation, operatic, orchestral, and theater music. Performances of his music have taken place throughout the United States, the Czech Republic, and the Far East-most notably at the International Computer Music Conference, the SEAMUS national conference, Diverse Works Flikerlounge, Society of Composers Inc., Imagine II, Florida Electro-acoustic Music Festival, Most Significant Bytes, Lewis University Bytes concert series, the NewTown Pasadena/SCREAM Sounding Images program, MusicAcoustic 2005: Mix (Beijing), the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Musica Nova, and the Mckinney Repertory Theater. He has been the recipient of the Bertha Mallard Scolarship for Music Composition, the Richard and Candice Faulk Composition Scholarship, the Merrill Ellis Memorial Composition Scholarship, and as a pianist, Daniel was given a scholarship from the National Federation of Music Clubs. Additional honors for his music have come from the Missouri State Music Teachers National Association, the National Guild of Piano Teachers, and ASCAP.
 
Video works by Daniel have been shown at Newtown’s Pop-Up films, Diverse Works Flickerlounge, 4D DREAM-a-thon, Sounding Images, and Most Significant Bytes, among others. His video Self Portrait is released on the first installment of Buffet DVD (buffetdvd.com).
 
Daniel holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (BM Composition & BM Piano Performance), the University of North Texas (MM Composition), and Rice University (DMA Composition). He has taught music technology and music theory at Rice University, The Art Institute of Houston, and Collin County Community College. While at the University of North Texas, he served as audio/visual specialist for the College of Music and helped oversee the construction and operation of the College of Music Computer Lab Recording Studio.

Overture to The Pit

danielzajicek