published on
Evil Clown 9235:
Potential Energy - 28:33 Kinetic Energy - 40:32
Outpost 186, Cambridge MA
16 November 2019
- PEK - alto, tenor & bass saxophones, clarinet & contralto clarinet, contrabassoon, tarota, tromboon, sheng, melodica, accordion, gongs, bells, wood, metal, theremin
- Eric Zinman - piano, piano interior, synthesizer, floor toms & cymbals
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv37Edia9sM
Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/pek-746320808/sub-unit-no-1-potential-and-1
https://soundcloud.com/pek-746320808/sub-unit-no-1-potential-and
----Liner Notes by PEK
The Evil Clown Empire is comprised of the Leap of Faith Orchestra and its core unit, Leap of Faith, along with a number of other ensembles that feature different cross-sections of the Orchestra: Turbulence features the horn players, String Theory features the String Players, Metal Chaos Ensemble features percussion and electronics, PEK Solo features my own playing, etc. The individual bands do not have a fixed set of players, but instead have a central idea which focuses the palate of sounds available. One of the projects (now dormant while I find a venue to replace Third Life Studios), Leap of Faith Orchestra & Sub-Units, features short improvisation by sections from the orchestra followed by an improv with everyone. So, Evil Clown performances are credited to Sub-Unit No. “X” when a small format improvisation occurs by members of the orchestra which are not assignable to one of the regular ensemble names.
This set was originally planned to be Leap of Faith with myself & Glynis Lomon (cello) with special guest Eric Zinman on piano, piano interior, synth and percussion. A couple of weeks before the performance, Glynis withdrew from this set due to a family event conflict. Rather than invite more players to the session, we just changed the ensemble name from Leap of Faith to Sub-Unit No.1 and continued as a duet.
Eric has long ties to Leap of Faith. He was one of the first improvisers in the Boston area that I played with after starting Berklee in 1989. We played at his apartment in Jamaica Plain in a trio with microtonal trumpeter John Fugarino. Eric has been around the Boston scene the entire time and we played periodically in the early Leap of Faith period throughout the 90s. During the 00’s, when the demands of my day gig prohibited any meaningful musically activity, Glynis formed a trio with Eric and master drummer Syd Smart called New Language Collaborative which continues today. After I emerged from my long hiatus in 2015, Eric has been a frequent Evil Clown ensemble contributor performing with Leap of Faith, Leap of Faith Orchestra, Metal Chaos Ensemble & String Theory.
This was an exciting set with Eric using piano, percussion and synth (often two at a time) arranged in a tight circle, while I used an array of horns, small percussion, Theremin and accordion. Enough variety of instrumentation is available that the Evil Clown broad palate aesthetic is readily apparent. Each of the two long pieces transforms often into new sonority, blending keyboard, percussion, electronics and woodwinds into a tapestry of developing texture.
- PEK 11/17/2019