In the late 1960s and early 70s I was a devotee of rock ‘n’ roll, especially groups that took the genre into individual virtuosity and into creative extensions of the medium.  Over the last 25 years I’ve infused some elements of rock into my contemporary concert music, but have not wholeheartedly returned to my pre-music-school roots…until this piece.  When Paul Dresher asked me to write something for the ElectroAcoustic Band, in addition to being delighted to work with these exceptional musicians, I also could see the possibility of taking “Progressive Rock” as the basis of a new kind of fusion, extending rock in ways that are unique to my ear.  I decided to start with the things about Progressive Rock that were near and dear to me, such as Emerson, Lake, and Palmer’s fusion with classical music, the extended harmonies, asymmetrical meters, free forms, and contrapuntal treatments of groups like Utopia, and the spontaneity of the more improvisation -based ensembles like the Grateful Dead.   Two groups in particular were extremely important to my path into music as a life-long passion:  there are brief homages to tunes from Yes (Fragile)and the Mahavishnu Orchestra (Birds of Fire) that figure prominently in the melange of the final section.  To these re-contextualizations I’ve added harmonies that are more commonly associated with jazz, tighter control of the ensemble, more variety in repetition, further extension of harmony and texture, and my own sense of timing and flow.  And of course the ensemble itself, with its inclusion of violin, clarinet and mallets, extends the basic timbres of rock ‘n’ roll.  The result is, I hope, a wholly integrated fusion of rock, jazz, and contemporary classical idioms, textures and timbres – one that lives comfortably among all these worlds.

The title “Fusebox” seemed appropriate in several ways.  First, it captures the electricity of the medium and of this ensemble.  Second, the piece is a multi-faceted fusion of several disparate musics (“whole lotta fusion goin’ on”).  Third, these musics are fused together in several different ways, such as morphing, counterpoint, and slipping back and forth among themselves.  Finally, much of the piece is intended to go as fast as feasible, and therefore as close to the limit as the players dare.  Hence the whole thing could blow at any minute…


Fusebox (for the Paul Dresher Ensemble's EA Band)

Live Performance at the University of Kansas City-Missiouri for the UMKC Summer Composers Workshop, June 19th, 2017.  

I was delighted to play this beautiful piece by Jim Mobberley! I look forward to performing more of his music!

James Mobberley: Ripples from "Phenomena"

Fox Stevenson - Miss You (foxsky's ALL CLAWS remix)

Excellent recording by Griffin Campbell, saxophone (Baton Rouge, LA). Originally written for saxophonist John Sampen, with an equally fine  recording on AMP records, released in in 2015.

Once Again To The Light - Griffin Campbell, Saxophone

Performers and interested listeners can find score pages on my website:  www.jamesmobberleymusic.com.  Email me at:  mobberleyj@umkc.edu.  These pieces of music have been written over the last 30 years, and represent a collection of works that have not been commercially recorded, or which were recorded a number of years ago.  I teach music composition at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Once Again To The Light - Griffin Campbell, Saxophone

Jim Mobberley

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