Kush

The Pieces:

• Fast Willy, 2007
• Dedicated to my friend John, his fiancé, and his new Steinway model A piano. The goal was simple - Play fast. "more notes then Mozart."
• Late Night with Kush, 2007
• A slow blues improvisation with the goal to create something with two simple counterpoint lines.
• What is it all about, Davy? 2004
• Written at David Isenberg's Freedom to Connect, a musical mobious strip is played over an ostinato bass… both yearning to be free. They try to run from their past but are always coming back to the inevitable, same discussions --- regardless if you change the tempo, the key or even the facts of life.
• Clouds, 1974
• I've been playing various versions of this since my salad days. I envision it as an a-tempo piece, where you can see the clouds overhead, a sprinkle of rain, and it continues to climb with 'constant structure chords' against a steady and continous resolution.
• Seasons, 1977.
• Dedicated this time to my mom. My mom said to my dad "Leo, he finally stopped banging. What a pretty tune." It's my attempt to appease the Yanni crowd and pick up girls because I, too, can be sensitive.
• Descent of a Pin, 1974
• One of my 'miniatures', pieces under 5 seconds where the goal is to capture the essence of one musical event.
• Circling (Jolted; Blocked by Calm,) 2007
• Remove your concepts of 'which key' or 'pretty melody' or chords. Shape models and movement is what this is about.
• Velvet Sportscoat, 1975
• Written as a song with lyrics by Gary Mankin,, this is a somewhat straightforward jazz standard with some deviations. (The recorded song version to be out next year.)
• Mandalay, 2004-2008.
• This piece is really named "Mandela,New York City" and is dedicated to my gang, Tar & Feather. Every year we have gotten together since 1969 at a Saturday Thanksgiving feast and at the party create a Mandela to celebrate our bounty and reflect on those who have gone or need help. I've played this tune over a hundred times and never got it to gel until this recorded version. Using a special setting on the Kurzweil that uses a piano, strings, a marimba and a flute to give it that texture it has additional arpeggiated notes and timing it all in real time took some doing. Thanks to Tony Coluccio for making it sound right.
• Bombastic, 2008. Tom Allibone wanted a more straighfforward piece. This is actually the introduction to an old song "Should I feel bad about it?", written in 1981.