Sage King Goes Hollywood for clarinet and vibraphone.
Print size: 11 x 17
Review from Percussive Notes (2022):
This piece is an excursion into the realm of controlled improvisation, coming out of the “free” jazz experience as well as combining elements of “West Coast” minimalism. Written in the 1970s, the work explores ostinati that very gradually and subliminally change into other ostinati that are written in “cells” or boxes across several sheets of music. The performers have a very liberal set of instructions that allows them to pick and choose their own levels of duration, repeats, and volume. This freedom results in a work that can last anywhere between 15 minutes and 30 minutes. While the actual notes are not challenging, it will take musical maturity to present a performance that treats the composer’s wishes with care and responsibility.
Throughout the piece, the clarinet and vibraphone share an equal responsibility of delivering the melodic material in a way that leads to moments of blending, balancing, and complement. The composer wrote the notes with a generous dose of energy, as each instrument performs eighth notes at half-note = 90, lending to forward momentum that is sure to excite performers and audience members. Additionally, each instrument is instructed, at times, to perform at slightly different tempi, which further congests the mixing of the voices. The resultant combinations of each instrument’s melodic cells are sure to elicit a variety of responses, as the notes utilized rely heavily on minor 2nds, major 2nds, and cluster chords.
From a sonic perspective, the blending of these two instrument voices playing notes that are so closely related to each other, at such a rapid and relentless pace, will surely fill a performance hall with harmonic combinations that challenge everyone within earshot.
—Joshua D. Smith
