Cadillac Moon Ensemble

Look at these guys. How can you say no to these guys?

Cadillac Moon Ensemble

This is a band whose repertoire is as colorful as its name. What exactly is a Cadillac moon? I don't know, but I suspect it's something that's high speed and beautiful. This band of four features Patti on violin, Meaghan on cello, Roberta on flute, and Sean on percussion. They've been called "commission-crazed"by Time Out NY, but I don't think there's anything crazy about that.

I thought I'd highlight one piece they performed that embodies the relaxed cool air of the season. Autumn has always seemed to have a certain magic. It's in the suddenly lighter air and in the leaves' change of color. The way the music unfolds in Timo Andres' Trade Secrets is much like the subtle changes the leaves undergo, from deep green to soft yellow to fiery red and orange. Halfway through, the melody alters course cued by its reincarnation in the violin's harmonics. The music goes from warm and quiet to cold and sharp, much like how the new colder mornings foreshadow the daylong colds of winter; it works itself up into a frenzy like a harsh autumn wind and then quickly falls down to pizzacato. The melody's final state is one of ephemeral beauty. I wish I could loop it indefinitely much like how I wish I could freeze time when all the trees are their most vibrant and the air is full of the scent of burning firewood. If you find yourself loving this piece as much as I did, you might want to take advantage of the FREE download.

C.M.E.'s Fall Fundraiser

The group had a fundraiser concert event to kick off their upcoming season. If you missed it, you can still give to their IndieGoGo campaign and get cool swag in return! With a $100 donation you get a free lesson among other things, but there are equally cool gifts at lower levels. Cadillac Moon Ensemble is a fine band to support, if only to perpetuate their insatiable appetite for new (and awesome) music. 

In Reena Esmail's Swinging Hammock

The first time I heard Reena Esmail's Jhula Jhule (pronounced: jewel-a Julie) I didn't know what to say. I was completely mesmerized by this nighttime fantasy world that I was being spirited away to by the piano's introduction. Before last week I didn't know who Reena was. Luckily, I follow Composer's Circle on Facebook. Normally, I only occasionally check in there to find new music, but Reena came up on my news feed. (This was quite possibly a subtle push to get me to return to their fan page. And I did! At least after I could have the chance to find out more about her).

Reena is an American pianist-composer who writes music often infused with Hindustani themes, as is written in her Composer's Circle profile. While she has other works on Soundcloud that are notably more popular, this piece in particular deserves a little more love. It stands out among the rest with its gracefully soaring violin and a piano part that sounds as watery and dreamy as Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1 (click the link if you've never heard it!) I would categorize this as "dream music" because if this is a swinging hammock, it does so across a clear night sky, over a lonely oasis, and through a sleepy village far away. I'm definitely keeping this girl's calendar on my short list. 

Speaking of, on February 8, 2014 she will be premiering a new arrangement of Jhula Jhule for piano and oboe at the Tenri Institute. I wholly intend to see it (partly because I hear the acoustics there are amazing). 

Crush On: Mazzoli's Uproar

One of my favorite bands of all time is Muse. Though a fan for a while, Matt Bellamy and crew absolutely stole my heart with The Resistance. It was so amazing that I thought, Muse has got to make this into an opera so I can see it. (I mean, Green Day did a Broadway rendition of American Idiot). And when I hear Matthew's voice, it's all too easy to imagine a mezzo-soprano belting out those lyrics before pyrotechnics, strobe lights, and a comically archetypal villain. But I had since pushed that thought to the back of my mind...that is until I found this girl! 

Missy Mazzoli *stares dramatically off camera*

Missy Mazzoli is the brains behind the opera Song from the Uproar. Its story pieced together by recovered entries of an old strewn journal, Uproar chronicles the life of Isabelle Eberhardt who journeys to Northern Africa alone. There she joins a Sufi sect and falls in love with an Algerian man, but dies soon after in a flash flood. The music is just as mystical as the Sufi spirit that moved within Isabelle. The video below starts with a clip from the song You Are the Dust. The cello plays a haunting discordant melody while the electric bass pulsates ominously. It's unsettling and yet entrancing. Gah, with all this soul-wrenching goodness, I can't help but wonder if Missy's a fan of Muse, too. You can listen to the rest of her opera and buy it at Mazzoli's site.