This song originated on a 3 day hike in Gong-ga Mountain, Western Sichuan, near Kangding, Tibetan Autonomous Region. Gong-ga is a sacred mountain for the locals, and features beautiful landscapes, flowing river valleys, yak herds led by horse-riding shepherds, and an elevation of 3-4000 meters. While freezing in my tent wearing all the clothes I brought (3 socks, 2 underwear, 2 pants, 3 sweaters, vest, gloves and hat and -0 sleeping bag), I heard the wild sounds of the rushing river and the whistling wind, and this melody came to me, and I quickly hummed it into my cellphone voice memos. When I returned I wrote it down, and set about the task of finding a unique harmonic structure that would fit the feeling I experienced on that long journey hiking up and down the valley along the river – rapid weather changes from foggy to sunny to rainy to freezing wind, landscapes lush to rocky to dry to snowy, from being alone without nobody around, to being surrounded by a yak herd of hundreds, and the surprise of seeing a lone flashlight moving in the far distance as we cooked around the fire, a hiker who had crossed from the other side of the valley, 50km away. I added various Tibetan instruments like the Dungchen (long horn), Tingsha bells, as well as a singing bowl I bought in a Buddhist temple in Thailand.

Vicissitudes

Back From Gong-ga

Back From Gong - Ga

"Cultivation" is about how one improves oneself through hard work, and the cyclical process of learning and growth, sometimes feeling like whenever we make progress and take two steps forward, the next day we feel like we took one step back.  Then we reach a point where we come back to where we started from, but we see that place from the new and different perspective gained from what we experienced to get back there again, as in the Rainer Maria Rilke poem:

I live my life in growing orbits 
which move out over the things of the world.	
Perhaps I can never achieve the final trajectory,
but that will be my endeavor. 

I am circling around God, around the ancient tower, 
And I have been circling for a thousand years, 
And I still don’t know if I am a falcon, or a storm, 
Or a great song.

Personnel:
Elad Sobol, USA: Alto Sax, EWI, Sound Design 
Gaston Bertrand, Mauritius: 5-string electric bass 
Yufeng “Seven” Liao, China: Guitar 
Anthony Gutierrez, Venezuela: Drums
Kris Yunker, USA: Hammond B3 Organ 
Jonathan Weber, USA: Sound Design 
Composed & arranged by Elad Sobol copyright 2022

Cultivation

Jazz-leaning but far from traditional. I'm more interested in exploring sonic and emotional possibilities, telling stories, and finding expressive avenues by any means necessary, than upholding traditions, though I firmly believe in learning and listening to as much as possible in order to grow ones understanding of music. I have a wide range of influences and I'm not afraid of mixing it all up in the endeavor of finding something new.

This past year I’ve gone through tremendous changes, and that’s what Vicissitudes is all about. It’s a concept album that takes one through a journey – every song is about drastic changes, displaying a different angle of life, and telling my personal story. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Professor of Music, Assistant Big Band Conductor, Jazz Department, Sichuan Conservatory, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, 2015-present: Jazz History, Pop Music Analysis, student jazz ensembles. UCSC Music 2006, SJSU Music Education 2010. Peace Corps RPCV China, 2013-2015. Alto & Bari Sax, Flute, EWI, Composing, Arranging. Sponsored by: Legere, Oleg, Omeibaige.