Trio S
This is the second album by Trio S – lead by clarinetist Doug Wieselman, with Jane Scarpantoni on ‘cello and Kenny Wollesen on drums and percussion. Wieselman uses live looping as the basis for many of the compositions – many of which are based on melodies he has heard from water sources, or in dreams. He also uses a tenor banjo on two tracks. In addition, Wollesen is heard playing some of his invented instruments – Wollesonics- on this recording.
Recorded in one night at engineer Danny Blume’s living room studio in Upstate New York, this album was eventually mixed at Figure 8 studios – through vintage equipment including an old Neve board and tube outboard gear.
Notes on specific compositions from DW
Sesto – this is based on a melody I heard in the river at Sesto (commune) Fiorentino near Florence, Italy. Rumor had it that at some point a body was found in the river – so I was going for a haunted vibe. Besides the looped melody, the Eb clarinet improvises with a few specific melodic gestures, the ‘cello – a few specific notes, with the drums as a free agent.
New River – comes from a melody I heard while driving through southern Vermont which is the opening loop. We were driving on a road which followed a river – but as a passenger I wasn’t aware of the route route so I couldn’t identify the name of the river. The composition incorporates specific melodic gestures for the ‘cello and clarinet.
That Way – A tune that has the ‘cello on the melody with the tenor banjo as the accompaniment.
Piper Hill 3 – While visiting a friend in Weston, Vermont, I heard this melody coming from a small stream. The composition is in 3 parts – the clarinet and ‘cello moving together in whole notes around the loop, while the drums play a specific rhythm.
Dreambox – This comes from a dream involving some sort of ritual which involved a kind of
small sandbox with various sacred objects. I heard a sound reminiscent of Moroccan, Jajoukan music which forms the basis of this piece.
Metal in Wood – This also comes from a dream. Something about a gathering at Hal Willner’s house with Alan Ginsburg in attendance. A strange wooden object appears, identified by Ginsburg as being from Tibet. It turns out that there was a piece of metal missing from this that we need to retrieve and put back into it at a prescribed time. Experiencing a heavy feeling, I started to sing a song, which I wrote down when I woke up.
Hallucination of a Storm – A banjo tune, reminiscent of a jig. The ‘cello plays a specific collection of notes while the drums go in and out of describing a storm and the rhythm of the tune.
Birdbath – This tune comes from a melody of bird, which the clarinet plays. The loop is another part of the bird song. The ‘cello goes between playing a rhythmic part and a more open part of specific notes. Kenny’s “Wollesonic” was added as the only overdub on the record.