Composer, Soprano Sax and Woodwinds
A true renaissance man, it’s nearly impossibly to summarize all the amazing things that Petr Cancura does in a single subject line. Fortunately for me, Petr Cancura recently shared his amazing photography skills for the upcoming artwork on my upcoming releases “Trickle” and “31 Chorales”. Learn more about him at petrcancura.com.
My contribution to the jazz-robots series… make your own movie in minutes at xtranormal.com . So killing, man.
Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire… after an exhausting and rewarding 31 days of composing 31 Chorales I’ve begun composing a Miniature Jazz Mass for St. Peter’s Church, premiering on December 5th 2010. I say Miniature because, due to the short timeline, I’m forced to create a boiled-down version (to put it in perspective, some of the greatest composers in history spent years creating theirs.) Later on in my life I’d like to create a full-scale version, when I have the time and opportunity to fully actualize it.
We did it! You all supplied the funding and I wrote all the music. I can’t tell you how excited I am that this project is going to be recorded and released. We’ll be hitting the studio to record in January 2011 and I’ll update you on the release date when I know, likely April 2011.
Thank you for your contributions and suggestions of things to do with the music – I’m considering publishing it for professional and educational purposes. Any leads out there?
In the meantime I’m going to consider my and other people’s suggestions for the next project, but most importantly SLEEP. Here’s some stats on the past 31 days:
And now, Chorale number 31, of 31:
Mosher Chorale #31 (midi)
While yesterday I resolved to compose the remaining few Chorales more in Bach’s style, today I decided instead to embrace my jazz roots – part of the advantage of being my own boss for this project!
I’ve wanted to compose a Chorale like this since day one, but was hesitant for risk of this turning into a “Jazz Chorale” project. There’s an enigma around being a jazz-classical/third-stream/chamber-jazz musician that I haven’t yet figured out how to position. For the time being I’m just making as much music as I can and getting it out there.
So listen and please tell me what you think of this direction, maybe I’m on to something here. Maybe not.
After twenty-nine days, I believe I’ve stretched my understanding of Bach’s Chorale as far I’m able to, at this point in my life. As such, for the remaining three days I’ve decided to pay homage to him by making them as traditional as possible (with the exception that he uses AAB form, something I haven’t yet embraced, instead using AABA). This wraps up the project nicely too, as that’s how I began my process several weeks ago.
It’s been a lot of fun doing this and I’ve already got a few ideas for the next challenge. Any suggestions?
Big thanks to Steven Mazey of the Ottawa Citizen for his informative writeup of my 31 Chorales Project in today’s Ottawa Citizen:
Not a minute after I finished today’s Chorale I met my $3,100 mark! So many thanks to all of you that have supported me through this entire process – its been and continues to be a pleasure and struggle to build this project from nothing to something.
We’re now booking studio time in January to record all 31 Chorales, and as a bonus all pledges $25 and above will receive a free mystery track… what could it be?…
And now, Chorale #28:
What great friends and supporters I have. So grateful for your attendance and generosity at last night’s fundraiser – thanks guys!
This morning, one of my roommates decided to make delicious apple pancakes. Being a big fan of breakfast, but feeling the need to finish my work, I decided to compose a Chorale in 15 minutes, and to stick with it no matter what I wrote.
On a personal note, at times in my life I’ve struggled with allowing myself to be as awesome as I can be. There’s a lot of jealous people out there, mostly, I think, stemming from their choice to not work hard and instead to let their unique talents go unpolished. Writing a complete piece in 15 minutes helped me realize I’m not going to allow myself to sympathize with that kind of negative energy anymore. If someone else is going to be jealous, it’s their problem. Some of my favorite people are truly warm, creative and open – and I’m realizing that they probably worked really hard on their craft and themselves to get there. So cheers my friends, and I welcome your awesomeness.
(And ps – the pancakes were delish. Thanks babe.)
Many thanks to Mr. Fradley Garner for his coverage of my 31 Chorales project today in All About Jazz. You can check it out here:
