Alt-Classical (2011)
What is Alt-Classical?
DIY, open instrumentation, alternative venues, mix of amateur and professional performers, music lies somewhere between art music (music meant to be contemplated) and pop music (music meant for mass consumption).
Alt Classical EP (2011) by pbailey
tracklist
Fearless Leader, (2006, revised 2007)
was partially inspired by a quote from the Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti: “ Now there is no taboo; everything is allowed. But one cannot simply go back to tonality, its just not the way. We must find a way of neither going back nor continuing the avant-garde. I am in a prison: one wall is the avant-garde, the other wall is the past, and I cannot escape.”
An Eye for Optical Theory (Michael Nyman Cover)
It is interesting to note that the although all of Nyman’s music from the Peter Greenaway film The Draughtsman’s Contract was derived from a Purcell chaconne, the ground bass (on which this piece is built) was subsequently discovered to have been written by a lesser-known contemporary of Purcell. This arrangement uses most of the melodic materials from the original piece, freely combining them to create a bizzaro world second cousin of the original.
Life’s Too Short (2006)
is a lighthearted meditation of life, death, and nihilism based on the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche (iconic German philosopher) and John Sinclair (Los Angeles based writer).
Cheap Admiration (2005)
Is loosely based on a harmonic deconstruction of Sonata Ciacona by Johann Pezel (1639-1694) who worked as a musician in Germany and was promoted to town stadtpfeifer (band director) in Leipzig in 1670. Later in his career he applied for and was turned down for the job of Cantor of St. Thomaskirche, a job that J.S. Bach would hold 50 years later.
myinnersatan (2005, revised 2006)
started as a cross between counterpoint exercise and a contemplation of the soul crushing emptiness of desk work.
Principal of Sufficient Irritation (originally titled 11/25/05)
is three sections of five melodic/ostinato gestures that can be performed in endless variety. in rehearsals a unique roadmap and orchestration is decided upon and explored during the performance. The title is based on an interesting concept in P.K. Dick’s “Ubik”.
Undone (The Sweater Song)
Weezer cover FTW!
Paul Bailey Ensemble (PBE)
is an alt-classical garage band that plays the music of a variety of living and dead composers. The group was created in 2002 as DIY forum outside the usual and limited channels of art music presentation.
credits
released 16 February 2011
Paul Bailey, Trombone
Bruce Gallego, Electric Guitar
Eric Hendrickson, Keyboards
Scott McIntosh, Clarinet
Ryan Nunes, Vibraphone
Carl Stronach, Bass Guitar
With Special Guest Piano
John Marr on “Undone (The Sweater Song)”
Life’s Too Short Vocals
Nicole Baker, Mezzo Soprano, Spoken Word
Sean McDermott, Tenor
Paul Cummings, Bass
Life’s Too Short Graphic LIbretto
Recorded, Edited, and Mixed by Paul Bailey and Marlon Luna
Mixing and Mastering Consultant/Coach/Head Cheerleader Jon Brenner
Recorded at California State University Fullerton, Swing House Studios Hollywood, and Because They Are Dead Studios, Highland Park
"A Tribute to the Slowness of Anxiety"
My Music for Controllers EP has recieved another thoughtful review via The Muse is Music
“A tribute to the slowness of anxiety, by Instructor of Music at California State University, Fullerton Paul Bailey. His introduction speaks of his distress over the current economic downturn, but the music itself is absolutely timeless.
A quiet, transcendent work, which the composer nearly forgot after concluding it was “a little too minimal.”
(Note to self, spend some time on this site.)
thanks fred!
got a great review of my Music for Controllers EP from marc weidenbaum at disquiet.com
“Probably the sole development that wasn’t a surprise, pleasant or otherwise, was that other musicians would use the Buddha Machine as a tool of self-expression. Among the latest is Paul Bailey, whose recent Music for Controllers album includes several tracks featuring the Buddha Machine (in this case, the Buddha Machine app for the iPhone and iPod Touch). The opening tones on the album’s opening track are familiar, their patient looping like waves brushing up against the shore, albeit in slow motion (MP3). But that’s just the start. Then comes a pitter-patter like some children’s wind-up toy acting up, and a tentative bit of melody that slowly, ever so slowly, over the course of nine minutes, finds a common sensibility with the looping tones, and insinuates its own drone-like hymn. In the process, Bailey manages to do what many Buddha Machine adopters have not, which is to once again relegate the machine to the background.”
are improvisations performed live using ableton live, korg/nanokey, buddha machine and srutibox (iphone), and korg kaossilator
Music for Controllers by paul bailey
Music for Controllers I
created using ableton live, buddha machine (iphone), korg kaossillator and nano-key
Music for Controllers II (coming soon)
Music for Controllers III and Music for Controllers IV
were improvised live using ableton live/ korg/nanokey, buddha machine (iphone), and the korg kaossilator
Music for Controllers V
improvisation post-whatever ableton, buddha machine (iphone), srutibox just-intonation drone
Music for Controllers VI (A Stable Job is an Oxymoron)
this track was based on a field recording i made of my last day of work before my “fall break” at CSUF (a one-week non paid work furlough). a few days later i improvised over the recording of my commute (from highland park to union station) with some materials of an earlier piece i made last spring (not getting fired is the new promotion). when it was finished i felt it was a little too minimal and forgot about it until about a week ago and when i listened to it again i realized it pretty accurately captured my dread of what this financial disaster has become in my life.
interestingly enough on that was the same day on my commute home the conductor on my amtrak route told me that she had lost about 75 daily commuters between san diego and los angeles from a year ago and it was pretty sad how so few of us were left. i know for me there aren’t many part time faculty left in the music department at CSUF and at this point it’s can get pretty depressing whenever i think about all of my friends who are out of work.
probably a little TMI, but yeah… i guess it is a bit dark.
Music for Controllers VI (A Stable Job is an Oxymoron) is spoken word piece based on twitter RSS feeds on the keywords “fired” and “job”. parts of this piece were originally contained in the piece “not getting fired is the new promotion” (2009) and was improvised/performed/composed using ableton live, novation launchpad, korg kaossilator, iphone (buddha machine, srutibox), text-2-speech, and a field recording (zoom H2) of my morning commute (metro goldline from heritage square to union station; los angeles, ca 10/15/2009 (10 min)
are improvisations performed live using ableton live, korg/nanokey, buddha machine and srutibox (iphone), and korg kaossilator
Music for Controllers I
created using ableton live, buddha machine (iphone), korg kaossillator and nano-key
Music for Controllers II (coming soon)
Music for Controllers III and Music for Controllers IV
were improvised live using ableton live/ korg/nanokey, buddha machine (iphone), and the korg kaossilator
Music for Controllers V
improvisation post-whatever ableton, buddha machine (iphone), srutibox just-intonation drone
Music for Controllers VI (A Stable Job is an Oxymoron)
this track was based on a field recording i made of my last day of work before my “fall break” at CSUF (a one-week non paid work furlough). a few days later i improvised over the recording of my commute (from highland park to union station) with some materials of an earlier piece i made last spring (not getting fired is the new promotion). when it was finished i felt it was a little too minimal and forgot about it until about a week ago and when i listened to it again i realized it pretty accurately captured my dread of what this financial disaster has become in my life.
interestingly enough on that was the same day on my commute home the conductor on my amtrak route told me that she had lost about 75 daily commuters between san diego and los angeles from a year ago and it was pretty sad how so few of us were left. i know for me there aren’t many part time faculty left in the music department at CSUF and at this point it’s can get pretty depressing whenever i think about all of my friends who are out of work.
probably a little TMI, but yeah… i guess it is a bit dark.
Music for Controllers VI (A Stable Job is an Oxymoron) is spoken word piece based on twitter RSS feeds on the keywords “fired” and “job”. parts of this piece were originally contained in the piece “not getting fired is the new promotion” (2009) and was improvised/performed/composed using ableton live, novation launchpad, korg kaossilator, iphone (buddha machine, srutibox), text-2-speech, and a field recording (zoom H2) of my morning commute (metro goldline from heritage square to union station; los angeles, ca 10/15/2009 (10 min)
Music for Controllers by paul bailey
Cheap Admiration
‘m really happy to finally release the first track from my upcoming PBE EP “Alt-Classical”
Cheap Admiration (2005), is a simple pop song (loosely based on a harmonic deconstruction) of Johann Pezel’s (1639-1694) Sonata Ciacona.
Around 1670 Pezel was the town stadtpfeifer (band director) in Leipzig and later in his career he applied and was turned down for the job of Cantor of St. Thomaskirche, a job that J.S. Bach would hold 50 years later.
Alt-Classical is:
DIY, open instrumentation, alternative venues, mix of amateur and professional performers, music lies somewhere between art music (music meant to be contemplated) and pop music (music meant for mass consumption).
Alt-Classical is the third CD/EP release from the Paul Bailey Ensemble
Paul Bailey Ensemble (PBE)
The Paul Bailey Ensemble (PBE) is an alt-classical garage band that plays the music of a variety of living and dead composers. The southern california group was created in 2002 as a DIY forum outside the usual and limited channels of art music presentation.
- Paul Bailey, Trombone
- Bruce Gallego, Electric Guitar
- Eric Hendrickson, Keyboards
- Scott McIntosh, Clarinet
- Ryan Nunes, Vibraphone
- Carl Stronach, Bass Guitar
TWO SHOWS ADDED
PBE and LANME
performing: “in C” terry riley
“principle of sufficient irritation” paul bailey
and music by patrick conlon, dan formidoni, evan ziporyn and marvin lamb.
Sunday, August 2nd 2009 (2pm)
Angels Gate Cultural Center
3601 South Gaffey Street
San Pedro, CA 90731
Friday, August 7, 2009 (8pm)
SMAS (Santa Monica Art Studios)
3026 Airport Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90405
christina giacona, clarinet/musical director
kelly wakelin, soprano
james miller, baritone
patrick conlon, violin
audrey snyder, cello
kelly haley, flute
sarah edgmon, clarinet
scott mcintosh, clarinet
ryan nunes, vibes
daniel formidoni, keyboard
nicolas smith, keyboard
paul bailey trombone
matt menaged, bass guitar
Requiem for a High Homicide Enclave (05-16-2008)
Requiem for a High Homicide Enclave (Live at REDCAT 05-16-08) from paul bailey on Vimeo.
Requiem for a High Homicide Enclave is a mashup based on excerpts from the from the LA Times Homicide Report which documents every murder that takes place in Los Angeles County using blog posts, comments, and Google Maps combined with a deconstruction
sorry its taken a while to get this one up, that’s what a busy fall will do for you. this performance was based only one the LA county homicide statistics through may 16 2008. right now i’m planning to update the piece and perform it a few times in 2009, but this is complicated with the fact that the LATimes suspended the homicide blog in november. i have a few ideas of how i’m going to update it. we are also planning to get together this spring and make a proper recording.
the audio is from the premier performance of the requiem at the REDCAT spring studio spring studio last may at the roy and edna disney cal arts theater at disney hall) featuring my co-conspirators sylvia desrochers (soprano) paul cummings (bass) bruce gallego (electric guitar) and myself playing the korg kaossillator, and a macbook pro running ableton live triggering a deconstructed looping continuo (henry purcell’s man that is born of a woman) with a fcb1000 midi pedal.
Music: Henry Purcell/Paul Bailey
Video: Paul Bailey
Libretto: LA Times Homicide Blog latimesblogs.latimes.com/homicidereport/2008/11/a-note-to-our-r.html
Minimalist Music Theatre: WNYC New Sounds Podcast (2008)
Minimalist Music Theatre (originally aired May 20, 2008)
“Hear some music theatre pieces on this New Sounds show. Listen to Philip Glass’s recent release “Waiting for the Barbarians,” adapted from the novel by the South African writer and Nobel Prize Winner John Coetzee. Also, there’s music by Paul Bailey – his post-minimalist music theatre piece “Retrace Our Steps.” He describes it as a four act vocal/instrumental spectacle based on texts by Gertrude Stein, Guy Debord and Jenny Bitner. The “alt-classical garage band” Paul Bailey Ensemble performs the work. And more.”
Post-Whatever (2008)
post-whatever, 2008 modular improvisation for laptop (macbookpro/ableton live) and two players post-whatever 1st reading/rehearsal 061208, paul bailey (macbookpro/abletonlive, trombone), bruce gallego (electric guitar) matt menaged (bass guitar) Be the first to like. Like Unlike
Retrace Our Steps (2008)
ABOUT THIS ALBUM
Retrace Our Steps is a secular oratorio in 4 acts (2004) based on texts by Gertrude Stein, Guy Debord and Jenny Bitner. the work explores the relationships between idealism, alienation, and consumerism.
TRACK LISTING
Retrace Our Steps, Graphic Libretto
CREDITS
recorded, edited and mixed by marlon luna and paul bailey (released jan, 2008)
mastered by johnathan marcus (opharion recordings)
musicians:
nicole baker, mezzo-soprano soloist and speaking parts, karen hogel, soprano, nike st. clair, alto,
sean mcdermott, tenor and paul cummings bass
sam formicola and sam fischer violins, victor lawrence, cello, sean ferguson, electric guitar, matt menaged, electric bass, kyoko kamei and carl stronach vibraphone, eric hendrickson, keyboard, scott mcintosh, bass clarinet.
(commissioned by the cerritos center for the performing arts)
NEWS AND REVIEWS
John Schaefer, WNYC/EMusic Review
WNYC CD Pick of the Week (May 08 2008)
WNYC CD Picks of the Year (2008)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
This music free to share under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License.
"Paul Bailey Ensemble at home in Fullerton" OC Register-Tim Mangan (2007)
thanks again to all of you who made our “home” show at csuf on tuesday night. it turned out to be a great evening; nice crowd, saw some old friends and made a few new ones. i’m kinda short on words today and humbled by tim mangan’s very thoughtful review of us in the oc register.
http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/music-bailey-composer-1852433-three-one
“On the FAQ page of the Paul Bailey Ensemble’s Web site (paulbaileyensemble.org) the group is dubbed an “alternative-classical garage band.” One wonders what that is until one hears it and wonders no longer. It’s a good description. This is a flexibly sized chamber ensemble, locally based, made up of friends and colleagues who have mostly studied at Cal State Fullerton. Tuesday night’s incarnation of the group, when it performed at Meng Concert Hall on campus, included an electric guitar, electric bass, keyboards, clarinet and trombone (the last played by the composer himself, Paul Bailey). It makes a funky, gritty sound, but it also capable of a warm euphony.
I would say that Bailey’s music is minimalist, with the proviso that the composer himself, like so many minimalists, doesn’t like that label. His favorite composers, though, include the minimalists Michael Nyman, Glass, Reich and Riley, as well as Satie, Monteverdi, Bach and Palestrina. His own music combines a minimalist’s interest in repetition, motion and simple harmony with Baroque bass lines. In fact, the passacaglia, a set of variations on a repeated melodic bass line, popular with Baroque composers, is Bailey’s preferred metier.
This style was perhaps most explicit in the opening number, “Cheap Admiration,” written in 2005 and based on a work by the 17th century composer Johann Pezel. A fuzz guitar got a little rhythmic riff going, a Baroque progression with a syncopated groove, and the other instruments joined in, layering and interweaving lines, spinning, turning and floating.
Bailey’s music doesn’t put on airs. It’s easy to listen to and to understand the first time. The composer seems to take joy in the simple motion of music, in plain harmonies and melodic scraps as ordinary as do re mi. The fascination comes from hearing it all spin around and work itself out, like a load of mixed laundry in a dryer, or flames in a fireplace.
His music does express something, though. His “Fearless Leader” had a Glassian hypnotic melancholy, a growing in tension, then release. “Eye for Optical Theory,” based on a Nyman theme, scampered along quickly and jazzily and was decorated with soulful trombone scoops.
“Life’s Too Short,” the second of an eventual trilogy, added three vocalists, who talked and keened a dryly witty, existential text, made more so by both its matter-of-fact repetition, lyrical limning and uneven meter. The trilogy’s finale will be “Life’s Too Long.”
The New York-based trio Real Quiet (cello, piano, percussion) were guests on the program and joined the PBE for Bailey’s “Principal of Sufficient Irritation,” a piece that features a short ostinato riff tossed all around like a hot potato. The work morphs and builds (at one point finding itself in a quasi Bo Diddley groove) and is one of the composer’s most ambitious and engrossing.
On its own Real Quiet added three pieces, by Annie Gosfield, Phil Kline and Marc Mellits. Somehow, I found these pieces, accomplished and polished though they were, less satisfying, perhaps because they took themselves so seriously. Gosfield’s “Wild Pitch” encompassed aggressive allegros, lonely dreams and quarter-tone decoration. Kline’s “The Last Buffalo,” a three-movement homage to Hunter Thompson, juxtaposed long-arched cello solos with a motoric central movement in a heavy tread. The three of the four movements performed of Mellits’ “Tight Sweater” seemed mere etudes in hopping and grinding minimalism.
But then came the grand finale, Frederic Rzewski’s 1969 “Les Moutons de Panurge,” which requires a touch of explanation. Both ensembles joined in for this ebullient gambit, written for “any number of musicians.” “Panurge” consists of a single melodic line of 65 notes which the players are instructed to perform in additive fashion, first 1, then 1-2, then 1-2-3, and so on until the end. They begin together but invariably get off, the composer instructing, “if you get lost, stay lost.” Also, the tempo continuously accelerates. The result is a kind of mad “Row, row, row your boat,” of canons gone wild and off track, of “Bolero” on steroids.
It’s not mayhem, though, the instructions providing for the relentless rewinding of the melody with a single note added to it each time; the listener is in a space where the music dances around him like so many bouncing atoms. To my knowledge, there’s not another piece quite like “Panurge” and these musicians had rollicking good fun with it. So did we.”
Ensemble's Mix Is A Classic Alternative: Josef Woodard/LAtimes (2005)
Los Angeles Times, January 21st, 2005
(Copyright (c) 2005 Los Angeles Times)
“After his concert at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Paul Bailey spoke to the audience about his ongoing adventure, the Paul Bailey Ensemble — an “alternative classical garage band.”
Fair enough: The cheeky description points to the group’s self- reliant, can-do spirit and its intention to mix high and low culture, art and pop. Fittingly, the setting was the casual Sierra Room, where the audience sat at tables as if in a new-music cabaret.
A balanced grouping of strings, woodwinds, guitar, bass, keyboard, vibraphone and sometimes vocalists, the ensemble consists of classically trained and impressively focused players who create an appealing, collective sound. Bailey, a trombonist, educator and composer, formed the group in 2002 as a do-it-yourself forum outside the usual and limited channels of classical music presentation.
Stylistically, the ensemble is very much locked into the Minimalist groove. The Cerritos concert was well-stocked with repetitive lines, easygoing tonalities, and undulating cascades of eighth notes, reminding us of the comforting, even old-fashioned, charm of the Minimalist style.
In the concert’s first half, instrumental pieces from Bailey’s suite “Summerland” and guitarist Sean R. Ferguson’s “Chopping Tool” offered their rhythmically chugging energies, more about ensemble machinery than melodic or thematic development. These fed directly from the inspirational trough of such classic Minimalist recordings as Steve Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians” and Philip Glass’ “Glassworks.” The inclusion of electric guitar ( Ferguson ) and bass (Matt Menaged) nudge the sound more toward a rock aesthetic, thanks to our associative connection with those tools.
This program’s main attraction came after intermission, with the world premiere of Bailey’s ambitious “Retrace Our Steps,” ostensibly written for mezzo-soprano Nicole Baker. She sang key parts in the four-movement work, with text that included cryptic poetics by Gertrude Stein and socio-philosophical tracts by Guy Debord and Jenny Bitner. But Baker ultimately became a team player and folded into the democratic mesh of the ensemble’s conjuring of nine instrumentalists and four additional vocalists.
One unsettling aspect of an otherwise engaging concert was the canned texture of sound processed through microphones, allowing acoustic instruments to compete with electronic ones. Then again, that is a hallmark of Minimalism, which borrows from pop’s sound palette and equipment list on the path to a new classical paradigm. In short, the Paul Bailey Ensemble is out of the garage and on the way up.”
Music From Summerland (2002)
ABOUT THIS ALBUM
Music from Summerland explores the juxtaposition of pop song forms and harmonies through post-modern and minimalist gestures. summerland refers to a mythical-emotional place where we escape daily routine by making music; composing, rehearsing and performing. this music lies somewhere between art music (music meant to be contemplated) and pop music (music meant for mass consumption).
TRACKLIST
CREDITS
musicians:
sam formicola, violin
andy greybill, violin
fernando vela, viola
sean ferguson, electic guitar
bruno cilloniz, vibraphone
nelson ojeda, keyboard
matt menaged, bass guitar
chris searight, baritone sax
paul bailey, trombone
recorded summer 2002 @the bakery in north hollywood, ca
engineered, glen fujiwara
mixed, paul bailey
mastered, j. marcus (orpharion recordings)
NEWS AND REVIEWS
WNYC Soundcheck “The Pulse of Minimalism” June 09, 2009
Ensemble’s Mix Is A Classic Alternative: Josef Woodard/LAtimes (2005)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
This music free to share under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License.
