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Meditations 1A

James Mainwaring

Given the academic seriousness of the project, what’s surprising is just how accessible – and varied – [Mainwaring's] explorations are. In one, he’ll offer up delicate bleats that coagulate...

Meditations 1A

James Mainwaring

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Given the academic seriousness of the project, what’s surprising is just how accessible – and varied – [Mainwaring's] explorations are. In one, he’ll offer up delicate bleats that coagulate...

About

‘Meditations Vol. 1A explores melodic concepts for improvisation on tenor saxophone, samples and synths accompanied by field recordings, drones and beats. The eight pieces are based on eight of the twelve possible trichords. On tracks 2-8 The trichords are transposed four times to complete twelve-tone rows. For track 1, ‘1+4’, to change the sound, I repeated one note across two of the trichords, making it an 11-note row . With these note groupings I freely improvise permutations of the four trichords along with permutations of the three notes within each one. Each row has a distinct sound which inspired the feel and the production of the tracks. In real-time it's been inspiring to discover the beautiful melodies the concept can produce, and this is only the beginning. The concept derives from the serialist composers, was explored by John Coltrane in his later work, and is also currently being explored by contemporary saxophonist John O'Gallagher who wrote the inspiring book Twelve-Tone Improvisation.’

Contents and tracklist

Awards and reviews

September 2023

Given the academic seriousness of the project, what’s surprising is just how accessible – and varied – [Mainwaring's] explorations are. In one, he’ll offer up delicate bleats that coagulate into complex clusters. In another, shrill, see-sawing announcements glide effortlessly into a triumphant melody.
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