Racer Session #206 | Evan Smith | January 19, 2014
For my second Racer Sessions curation, I wanted to focus on creating clear musical statements in an improvised setting by using simple musical ideas as a basis for improvisation.
To prepare for this session, I revisited many short snippets of material that I’ve recorded over the past year and put together a few identifiable, repetitive motives and pitch sets for a trio to develop through improvisation. Additionally, I listened to my own recordings and experimented with developing the ideas in solo improvisations immediately after revisiting them after months away. This process has been rewarding as a means of working to express old ideas in new ways, taking the ghost of forgotten material and working to develop it anew.
For the improvisations to follow the curated section of the evening, I encourage participants to again focus on developing clear motives, whether they be tonal, rhythmic, or textural. By no means do I wish to limit improvisations to minimalistic repetition, but would rather challenge participants to again give their attention to their own ear, contributing when you are inspired to play a clear idea, whether it be initiating an improvisation or reacting to the playing of a collaborator. Within this context, I want to encourage open-ended improvisations, withholding from discussing a form previous to the beginning of each piece. Rather, one or multiple players should begin with a clear statement that the group then works to expand throughout the duration of the improvisation.
Making their second appearance in a row, I will by joined by Jarred Katz on drums and Mark Hunter on bass.