Sonata for House Band is intended to be a marriage of contemporary classical and popular music styles and aesthetics. Composed in a mobile form, many possible combinations of varying stylistic material exist, giving the performers power to choose routes and pairings that allow them to confront the audience in whatever manner they choose. Overall, the piece loosely follows the organizational scheme of classical sonata form; an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation comprise the three main sections of the piece.

The exposition states the initial musical ideas through various juxtaposed cells of material. There are five possible cells the performers can choose from, from which the performers choose three. The development uses these same three musical styles as a backdrop for several improvised solos, and the recapitulation features a return of the initial material reorganized into a sound collage. Walls of noise separate these sections and serve as transitions that allow the performers to improvise and prepare for the next section, while also emphasizing the concept that all music is just sound.

This particular recording is comprised of cells A1, B2, and A3, and is performed by Ben Ehrlich (drums), Sean Torres (guitar), and Travis Udall (bass).

Sonata For House Band

Refraction: the fact or phenomenon of light, radio waves, etc. being deflected in passing obliquely through the interface between one medium and another or through a medium of varying density.

The musical DNA of this piece is grounded and constant throughout. The material itself does not change, yet the manner in which it is explored and the transformations it undergoes all encompass the concept of this piece. The initial tone is stretched into a cluster sonority that later informs all aspects of the proceeding material including the rhythmic, noise, and harmonic aspects of the piece. Each section is conceptually a new medium the original material passes through. My hope is that the listener is able to discern the expansive alterations as they occur and recall past events that may have evolved into greater significance, essentially following the material through this journey of refraction.

Refraction (saxophone quartet)

This song, written as a sort of apology letter to an old friend, is one of my first excursions into the singer-songwriter genre. Heavy musical influences include jazz, a style made familiar to me by my father and whose harmonic language I find most expressive, as well as contemporary broadway, whose combination of popular music forms and theatre never cease to touch my heart in a profoundly beautiful manner. 

Recorded live by the composer: April 22, 2018

To an old friend—

evan o adams (2020)
solo violin with distortion

about the "one in one" project: 
during the period of social distancing, self-isolation & self-quarantine due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in march 2020, i challenged andrew noseworthy & myself to write a 1 minute solo for each other in 1 hour. afterwards, i extended the invitation to anyone who wanted to try by posting the challenge idea (to write a 1min violin solo in 1hr) to my social media. i was overwhelmed with the response to this project, and will be recording each piece for an upcoming release while in self-quarantine this spring.

Sonata For House Band

Evan O. Adams

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