for Tillman Anthony (2006) - for solo percussionist

in her garden (1999) -for solo piano, two page score

Written for Stella Hubbard in memory of her life and art.

Put Some Butter On It (for Malachi Favors Maghoustus) (2004) -for solo bass, two page score

some journeys take a lifetime (2001) - one page score for any instrumentation

Although this piece was composed for any instrumentation, it seems to be performed most often as a solo piece.

for Pierre Favre (2002) -two page score for two drum sets

Fourth Generation (2002) -one page score for two percussionists or any two instruments

Slack Theory II (2005) - one page score, for any two like instruments

Slowly going buhlert (2002) - one page score for any two instruments

This Is The Retirement Home (2005) - one page score for any two instruments, rhythmic notation

World coming up (2001) - two page score for any instrumentation

Box Canyon Overview (2006) - for ten percussion and piccolo/flute - ten page score, seperate parts

departing landscapes (holding on desperately to memories i'll never keep) (2001) - one page score, transposed parts for any instrumentation

finding your inner greg (for Mark Dresser) (2007) - one page score for any three instruments

in her garden II (1998) three page score, everyone reads from score (soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, vibraphone, acoustic bass)

in the year of the lion (for Wadada Leo Smith) (2001) two page score, everyone reads from score (flute, bass clarinet, bass,vibraphone/marimba, percussion)

kaleidoscope moon I (1998-2001) five page score, everyone reads from score (soprano/alto/baritone saxophone, tenor/baritone saxophone/bass clarinet, bass, percussion-vibraphone/marimba/chimes)

This piece was conceived for four quartets - #1-soprano saxophone, vibraphone, bass clarinet, bass, #2-two tenor saxophone, marimba, bass, #3-alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, chimes, marimba, bass, #4-any four instruments. The beginning of my work for multiple ensembles, this piece was realized by the quartet Return To One overdubbing each quartet for the recording firecliffs.

kaleidoscope moon II (1999-2001) four page score, transposed parts (soprano and two tenor saxophones, high voice, bass, percussion -two glockenspiels, two vibraphones, xylophone, chimes, almglocken and gong)

Lady In The Window (2006) - one page score

Litany Of Disclaimers (2006) - one page score for any instrumentation, modular notation

livingston (1999) - one page score, for any instrumentation, melodic contour piece

Loop (2002) - one page score for any instrumentation

making my way thru it (2002) six page score, transposed parts (flute/alto saxophone, tenor saxophone/bass clarinet, bass, vibraphone)

MMWTI was originally conceived for the quartet Return To One, and that group played the piece thru-out 2002 and 2003. However, the complete piece wasn't heard until i began performing it with the Skeleton Key Orchestra. MMWTI is (basically) a four voice fugue with each voice doubled. The piece slowly dissolves, using repetition structure and (at the end of the piece) open improvisation. This piece is structurally linked to the piece waiting in vain and in performance the two pieces are often put together to form a complete whole.

Nevermore (2005) - one page score, for vibraphone/bass/percussion

One Rabbit Down (2006) - one page score, for any instrumentation, melodic contour piece

Painting On Glass (for Oscar Fischinger) (2001-2002) -for two octets and tape (Octet #1-two pianos, two woodwinds (1.flute, clarinet; 2.clarinet, bass clarinet), guitar, bass, two percussion (1. vibes, 3 metal bowls; 2. marimba, chimes, large bass drum, guiro) Octet #2-trumpet, horn, trombone, bass trombone, four electronics), twenty page score, first octet reads from score, separate parts for second octet, score for tape realization, tape realized 2002

Oscar Fischinger's work came to my attention from visual artist and friend Jennifer Hopkins, who played me a few of his films late one night in the dead of a Valencia winter. I was completely enthralled and started working out a few ideas based on Fischingers work method and output, as well as being inspired by several of John Zorn and Wadada Leo Smiths chamber ensemble compositions. This piece went through a few different orchestration ideas before settling on the double octet and tape concept. Section I uses only the first octet and Section III uses only the second octet with the tape overlapping both sections and bridging sections I and III. Section I uses the opening chords for generating material for the thirteen dependent sections, with deconstructed fragments of the Section III material showing up at various points. In addition to the notated sections (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 13), there are also sections for open improvisation, as follows - 4. open percussion with section 5 used as an exit, 7. open guitar/bass with notated percussion repetition cells, 9. open piano duo, 11. Open wind duo with shape notation backgrounds on cue by conductor. The use of repetition structures and overlapping textures gives clues back to Fischingers work, and the continuing strengthening of the opening chords (sections 1, 6 and 13) leads on to the tape section. Section II for tape was originally conceptualized for Gamelan ensemble, but proved to difficult to allow for performance. So, the score is given in traditional Gamelan notation to be realized in different ways. My original realization uses pitch-shifted metals (glockenspiel, coffee cans, brake drums and spoxe) to form the pitch matrices in the score, as well as adding overlapping meters and tempos hinted at by the score. Section III states the material hinted at and deconstructed in Section I. The material is then slowly separated and placed in new orders, deconstructing to section E, an open improvisation for octet II. Through out Section III, the four electronics supply a constantly shifting background by preparing samples/recordings of the textural specifications of the score. The coda restates the material in a new harmonic context and provides the ending.

Slack Theory I (2005) - one page score, for any three instrumentation

Slack Theory III (2005) - one page score, for any three instrument

Sundials (for meredith) (2002) -for piano, bass, and drumset -five page score, everyone reads from score

Sundials II (2002) -for piano, violin, cello, bass, 2 flutes, bass clarinet and bassoon -two page score, everyone reads from score

Sundials II was conceived as both a coda for the piece Sundials and as a separate musical being. The piece is structured as an abstracted piano concerto in miniature. The string and woodwinds sections have four modular backgrounds each, to be cued by handsigns from the respective section leader in any order and as many times as necessary.

Wisdom of not knowing I (2002) -for soprano sax, bass clarinet, vibraphone and bass -eight page score, transposed parts

Wisdom... was composed for a quartet of flute, bassoon, bass and vibraphone, and was later changed to soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, bass and vibraphone for the quartet Return To One. Structurally the piece has three main notated sections with improvisation sections between. The opening 43 bar statement (section A) sets the harmonic framework for the piece and opens to an improvisation (section B) with pitch and rhythmic cells to be use at the discretion of the performers. Section C recasts some of the material used in Sections A and B at a faster tempo, segueing into section D, an abstraction of C that takes the melodic fragments and puts them into modular cells to be played in any order by the performer. This allows a pitch and phrase "jigsaw matrix". Section E gives the bass and vibraphone an exit vamp for the woodwinds players to improvise over, and E1 is a brief 18 bar melodic phrase for the woodwinds that fits over the vamp. The opening pitch scheme is briefly rephrased in four part harmony as a closing coda.

hookers, dinosaurs, clowns and other sick shit (does everything have to be funny?) (2000) for saxtet - you motherfuckers

-written for Saxtet (Spectrum Quartet before they got a real name), this piece has never been performed. I get the feeling the piece was a little to left of center and I'm sure the thought of running chinese fire drills around each other and belching through their horns made the boys give some serious thought to how quickly they could program it on their next retirement home performance. So, they did come up with a very believable story why they could not perform it at all and I want my money back. The handwritten page of NMH bullshit that accompanied the delivery of the piece to Lee "Poncho Festus Elderberry" Elderton (head shriner of the shriners of cow pie moo-moo) follows-

(program notes) my god what have i done? does anybody remember "Killer Klowns from Outer Space"? i had an ex-girlfriend who hated it. best movie made. Sometimes i get cold i can't stop shaking…putting on socks - drinking tea - nothing helps….where's that hat? far to often i hear voices lately - i told kelly but she doesn't believe me…they sound like small things around corners or animals outside…i'm going to start wearing earplugs…does anybody remember laughter? forget about it, earl, you haven't scared me yet…what really scares me is silence - no, not john but two weeks alone…even the birds won't talk to me…needless to say, i'm listening to merzbow right now…forget the doctor, send in those drunk clowns…i wonder what happened to herman rarebell…what else is there to do after that? i think hearing scurrying sounds in the middle of the afternoon is even scarier than at 4:00 am…i'm missing something here…i changed my mind - jay is the hooker, but, he somehow morphs into a dinosaur with indigestion…what was that movie with the funny guy? you know, the one with the drunk clowns

Spectrum (2001) - two page score for three soprano saxophones

This piece was inspired by several techniques that the Spectrum Quartet were working on at this point, most notably circular breathing and microtones. I was very inspired by the constant give and take of ideas and growth from the quartet as well as our other playing situations (Return To One, Skeleton Key Orchestra), and this music is really a documentation of that work. At the date of this composition, the lineup of the quartet was in flux with only three active members, so the piece was written for three soprano saxophones.

a secret no one knows I (2002) -two page score for alto saxophone, two tenors saxophones, baritone saxophone

Written for the quartet of Lee Elderton, Jason Robinson, Ward Baxter and Jay Easton. This piece was written at a time when I was consciously writing more music for different ensembles (outside of my continuing work for quartet). The piece uses different notations and concepts to allow for an evolving piece of structure and dialog, as well as solo and group improvisation. Each notated section allows for a group approach, with different players leading and/or following through shape notation, repetition structures, pitch fragments and changing harmonic situations. Each solo section was written for the improviser in mind, showcasing different sides of each story. This piece was debuted at Trummerflora's first Spring Reverb festival on April 12th, 2002. Much of the notated material presented here was later rearranged for the composition a secret no one knows II, written for the quartet Cosmologic.

Below The Orange Curtain (200 5 )- six page score for percussion quartet

A box notation score based on the flow of the cinemural Southern California.

Box Canyon Overview (2006) - for ten percussion and piccolo/flute - ten page score, seperate parts

Constant Flow (2005) -for four percussionists and dancer

crossing over - the last step in any journey (for jessica) (2002-present) -for percussion ensemble (2 glockenspiels, 2 vibraphones, 2 xylophones, 2 marimbas (A), and piano), eight page score, parts

crossing over was originally conceived fall 2002 for the members of the Mt. Carmel High School percussion section. At that time i was teaching percussion part time at Mt. Carmel, and the first half of this piece was written in that time period. But they fired me, so this piece sat on the shelf for about a year until i started missing it. The title was inspired by the Oregon record Crossings as well as Joseph Campbells writings, and is dedicated to Jessica Wintje on the occasion of the birth of her son, Chris. This piece is one of a handful of compositions i've written based on traditional music. crossing over finds its rhythmic basis in the music style Wobobo from Ghana and the music style Calypso from Trinidad. The music in no way attempts to use or appropriate these styles or their cultural and social meanings, it simply finds inspiration in the beauty of the music and the ability to have several players making music that is greater than its separate parts.

the number six (2007) - 7 page score for percussion quintet - for six brake drums, six coffee cans, two snare drums, two field drums, bass drum, two djembes (or water drums), handclaps, various metal percussion, singing

for Pierre Favre (2002) -two page score for 2 drum sets

for the ghosts/while we sleep (2005) -seven pieces for percussion sextet to be used in any order or combination

while we sleep II - one page score, six bar mixed meter vamp for five percussionists
while we sleep III - one page score, pulse + long mixed meter vamp for any instrumentation
its certain fall I - one page score, three textural areas for any instrumentation
its certain fall II - one page score of text/gestures, for any instrumentation
before darkness falls I - one page score for six percussionists, 2 kyeezees, 2 bell plates, 2 tam tams, 6 thundersheets
before darkness falls II - one page score for six percussionists, any instrumentation of like instruments
before darkness falls III - one page score for any instrumentation of like instruments

for Tillman Anthony (2006) - one page score for solo percussionist

Fourth Generation (2002) -one page score for two percussionists

In Fourth Generation, the two performers read down the page thru twelve "sections", and the tension and release of the piece comes from how the performers navigate the parameters of the notation. Structurally it incorporated loose timbral orchestrations with brief notated sections, creating an over all sense of rapid change and fast paced movement. Fourth Generation was inspired by the percussion music of Gregg Bendian and Harris Eisenstadt.

Fo/ur (2003) -3 page score for bongo quartet

Fo/ur is a continuation on several rhythmic concepts i've been pursuing for the last several years - mostly the concepts of overlapping rhythmic patterns. In addition to this, the piece is an effort to consolidate the extended setups of we've been using to a more simplified setup of four sets of bongoes.

Resonance (2001) -one page score for metal percussion quartet

The piece Resonance as written during the period i was involved with the percussion trio NOD, and it involves much of that trio interest in space, graduated timbres and long ringing metals.

Rock Paper Scissors (2003) -six page score for percussion quartet

Rock Paper Scissors is a multi-section piece for four percussionists. The general form of the piece follows the flow of timbres - metals, rock/woods, skins. Each timbre area has several sections as follows (some sections overlap) - 1. (metals) triangles, bowed cymbals, cymbals/gongs; 2. (metals) washtubs, cans, tinfoil; 3. (rock/woods) rocks, claves, woodblocks; 4. (wood/skins) 2/4s, toms, bass drums. In general, this piece finds its inspiration in Roscoe Mitchells composition The Maze.

The Dilemna of Harry (2006) - ten page score, parts (glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, acoustic bass, drumkit, percussion)