D.A.N.C.E.  is my take on a “dance suite” – with the words in the acronym providing an apt description for the character of the music throughout the piece. The visceral and primal first movement features repetitive melodic figures, heavy articulation of the beat, and some references to John Coltrane’s Giant Steps. The second movement uses Muhammad Ali’s famous quotation as a jumping off point.  Great athletes are often described in similar terms as dancers (graceful, agile, light on their feet, etc.), and they also demonstrate excellent strength and power. This short movement juxtaposes and at times superimposes these qualities. The third movement represents one of my own personal experiences, in which a group of balloons were released in remembrance of lost loved ones. I remember focusing on the balloon that I released, as it broke away from the group, darting in different directions, but continually maintaining its distance from the pack, before fading out of sight. The final movement references the tango – although it is fused with energy from angular bebop improvisations. This movement is a tertiary reading – an arrangement of pianist Geoffrey Burleson’s (GB) solo piano improvisation on Frank Zappa’s (FZ) Bebop Tango. Burleson’s interpretation is complemented by, and sometimes taken over by the winds.

performed live at the College of the Holy Cross, February 2019
Alice Jones, flute/piccolo; Laura Armstrong, clarinet/bass clarinet; Matthew Jaskot, piano

Dense, Angular, Nuanced, Cosmic Energy

Soliloquy for solo harp

Caricatures is a piece comprised of six miniature movements that are centered around people I know, all of whom share two things in common:  they were or are a roommate of mine and our first meeting was via Craig’s List.  These portrayals focus on one particular personality trait that is possibly quite overblown.  So thanks, AW, DJ, GM, JH, KL and KM for the inspiration!    

The six movements are entitled:
I.	Lethargic - (slow and contemplative)
II.	Quirky (rhythmic and syncopated)
III.	Unkempt (fast and messy)
IV.	Exuberant (fast and jazzy)
V.	Snarky (short and gestural)
VI.	The New One (slow and spacious)



Caricatures - (of my Craigs List Roomates)

Matt Sharrock and Brian Calhoon - percussion

from 2/4/14 @ Holy Cross in Worcester, MA

Movements:  I - On the Road, II.  Unfamiliar Surroundings, III.  Playing With Legos

The titles of the piece and the subsequent movements are references to those moments when one’s meandering mind may be shut off from the world so to speak, wandering as a result of monotony, paranoia, reflection, etc.  Across the three movements, the music progresses from the noises of drums and wood to a pitched marimba and vibraphone duo.  On The Road, serves as an introduction to the piece.  The limited musical materials are derived from the opening gesture – two rhythms, the first heard 3 times and the second concluding the phrase.  These ideas are manipulated and combined in different ways to create an exciting and energetic soundscape.  Unfamiliar Surroundings combines the metallic noise of cymbals with pitch produced by vibraphone.  A clear rhythmic motive gives way to a more expansive and ethereal section where harmonies in the vibraphone are blurred by the sustain pedal.  Playing with Legos refers to the chaconne-like construction of the movement that includes blocks of musical material that are piled atop the opening marimba line.  A contrasting middle section harkens back to the textures and the timbres of the prior movements, as previously used instruments are sprinkled in.  Brilliant passages in the highest register of the marimba give way to the vibraphone’s irregular statement of the opening theme.  After the vibraphone and bongos trade musical ideas, a truncated version of the opening returns and fades away.   

Away From It All - I.  On the Road

This piece was commissioned by the Xelana Duo (Ana Garcia Caraballos - alto sax, Alex Davis, bassoon) as part of the 2017 Connecticut Summerfest and premiered on June 25, 2017 at the Hartt School of Music

In some ways, this piece is an elegy, a memorial for two young lives that were lost tragically.  It is also a reflection of my personal struggle with each situation; at times wondering what could have been, at times longing for what was, and at all times, questioning why. 

The title references breath, an obvious and important aspect of playing a woodwind instrument.  The performers are challenged with long phrases and continuous passages that require strong breath control.  To all, breathing is both a subconscious and conscious activity, and both states are explored in the piece, as there are musical gestures that can be associated with gasping for breath, shortness of breath, heavy breathing, easy breathing at regular intervals, etc.  This duality is also represented in the way that the instruments are used, at times exploring their similar sonic qualities, and at other times, highlighting their many differences.  Throughout the work, the numbers 5 and 7, representing May and July, provide the rhythmic material on both the structural and detailed level.  

for Brayden (5-17-14) and Jesse (7-2-16)

Breathe, in these Moments, Just Let go

The inspiration for Reinvention is twofold.  First, the piece draws on Bach’s Invention in A minor, BWV 74, originally composed for keyboard, for its source material.  Second, it is partially an homage to classically trained jazz pianist Donal Fox, who often times uses a Bach invention as if it was the head of a jazz improvisation, first performing it in its original form before spinning out his own improvisations.  At some moments in this piece, excerpts from Bach’s original emerge almost note for note, altered only by the timbres of the alto saxophone and bassoon.  However, for the majority of the piece, Bach’s material is filtered through various lenses:  minimalist vamps, syncopated repeated notes, jazzy gestures, and funky bass.  At its essence, the piece is propelled by a driving pulse, that contributes to the high energy experience.

This piece was composed for the Xelana Duo, and completed in January of 2018.

Reinvention

A rAy of Hope was composed in 2015 to commemorate my daughter, Ainsley Hope's, baptism.  The piece is filled with optimism and brightness, notably emitted by the uplifting oboe melody and the steady pulse in the piano.  A contrasting middle section might be considered as backward looking, a little bit darker in its content before the bright, optimistic sounds of the opening return.  

Recorded by Tracy McLaughlin Jaskot (oboe) and Matthew Jaskot (piano)

A rAy of Hope

The Color of a Rose is my introspective reflection on the cyclic and mysterious nature of life.  Our son Holden was born a month and a half after my grandmother (Rose) passed away.  In a short time span, emotions evoked from personal loss were overtaken by the joy of new life.  This piece explores how one might experience these opposite ends of the spectrum simultaneously, like Tracy and I did with our son Brayden, who was stillborn in 2014.  Musically, the pitches A, B-flat, and B play an important role throughout.  The oboe part is a free and expressive solo, colored and commented upon by the piano.

This piece was composed in 2018 for my wife Tracy, and dedicated to our three children, Brayden, who was stillborn in 2014, Ainsley Hope, born in 2015, and Holden, born in 2018.

recorded by Tracy McLaughlin Jaskot, oboe and Matthew Jaskot, piano

The Color Of A Rose

IV. Bebop Tango FZGB(from Dense, Angular, Nuanced, Cosmic Energy)

III. Ballooons Of Remembrance Glide To Infinity (from Dense, Angular, Nuanced, Cosmic Energy)

II. Float Like A Butterfly Sting Like A Bee (from Dense, Angular, Nuanced, Cosmic Energy)

I. Fist Pumps And Giant Stomps (from Dense, Angular, Nuanced, Cosmic Energy)

recorded by myself in Brooks Concert Hall, College of the Holy Cross - June 2012

composed in 2012



01 Fantasy - I.  Contemplations

02 Fantasy - II. Intensity

03 Fantasy - III.  The Wheel Goes Round

Inspired by Emily Dickinson’s poem, It sounded as if the Streets were running (below), this piece explores how perceptions of time are altered by one’s experiences. When reading Dickinson’s poem, I was immediately struck and inspired by the contrast of “running” and “still” in the first two lines. The sudden shift from “running” to “still” resonated with me personally on many levels, but also connected to my interest in blending “active” and “static” musical gestures. Throughout this work, there are clear moments that are either active or static, as well as passages that blend these ideas by simultaneously standing still and pressing forward. I relate this to the idea that at a concurrent juncture, two different peoples’ perception of time can be wildly different.  While one person might be experiencing a moment where time stands still (i.e. a tragic moment, or on the opposite end of the spectrum, a euphoric moment), another may be proceeding with their frenetic everyday life, time seemingly flying by.  

This piece is by no means a line by line reading of the poem, but instead focuses on the aforementioned opening lines. In addition, specific words from the poem such as eclipse, awe, and air, were on my mind during the compositional process, as well as imagery that the poem conjured up in my mind – that of the random business of a city street, dispersing and ramping up with the ebbs and flows of the day, all through the lens of a high above panoramic camera.

The Streets Were Running - Time Stood Still

from 9/19/19 concert at the College of the Holy Cross
Jennifer Ashe (soprano), Matthew Jaskot (piano)

This collection of songs reflects upon a personal experience of loss, grief, and healing.  The impetus for the piece was my discovery of a translation of Bawa Muhaiyadeen’s Spontaneous Song, (translated by Coleman Barks), a text that resonated deeply with me, and that I immediately connected to my wife and I holding our son Brayden, who was stillborn in 2014.  This brief moment, etched in our memory, was a ray of light in an intense period of darkness.  Excerpts of the text are set as the central movement and bookended by settings of two Emily Dickinson poems.  The first of which, A poor— torn heart—a tattered heart, is set as a lament, a cry for help, that includes moments of hope, and reflects upon the immediate aftermath of our experience.  The setting of the second poem, They say that Time assuages, explores the role of time in the process of healing, posing an antithetical view of the cliché that time heals.  In my setting, time is overwhelmingly incessant, and taunts and tantalizes as it infinitely presses forward.

 
I.  A Poor Torn Heart (Dickinson)

A poor—torn heart—
a tattered heart—
That sat it down to rest—
Nor noticed that the ebbing day
Flowed silver to the West—
Nor noticed night did soft descend—
Nor constellation burn—
Intent upon the vision
Of latitudes unknown

The angels, happening that way,
This dusty heart espied—
Tenderly took it up from toil
And carried it to God—
There,—sandals for the barefoot;
There,—gathered from the gales,
Do the blue havens by the hand
Lead the wandering Sails. 


II.  You Are a Resonance 
(Muhaiyadeen; trans. Barks)

I hold you in my heart.
I rock and sing you to sleep.
You are the meaning, 
That blooms in the heart.
In this world of flowers
In the next world
Baby of pure light
In a cradle here, inside of me
You sleep without sleeping
You cry without crying
Smile without smiling
I sing them to peacefulness,
You are an ocean, an explanation,
A resonance 


III.  Time (Dickinson)

They say that “time assuages,”—
Time never did assuage;
An actual suffering strengthens,
As sinews do, with age.

Time is a test of trouble, 
But not a remedy.
If such it prove, it prove too
There was no malady

Matt Jaskot

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