Recital: Andrew Schiller '22 DMA, Jazz Bass
In the course of completing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at New England Conservatory, performance majors present, not just one, but three full-length recitals for which they also write program notes. It's an opportunity to observe multiple facets of an emerging artist.
Andrew Schiller '22 DMA studies Jazz Bass with Ethan Iverson.
He has entitled his recital: "Original Compositions, Arrangements, and Improvisations for Solo Double Bass."
This performance is open to in-person audiences, and can also be viewed below via livestream.
- Andrew Schiller '22 DMA, double bass
- Ethan Iverson, studio teacher
Bronislau Kaper | On Green Dolphin Street
John Coltrane | Satellite
Andrew Schiller | Walk, Walk, Ploosh
Andrew Schiller | Tendrils
Andrew Schiller | Quart
Hoagy Carmichael | Skylark
Carole King | Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
A special thank you to Rebecca, Olive, Becky, Mike, Kelsey, and Max.
Your support means everything to me.
Thank you to the faculty and my peers at NEC for the guidance and inspiration.Program note
We tend to not think of the double bass as a "solo instrument." The bass itself is physically cumbersome to perform and its low frequencies can often lead to indiscernible melodies whenever it is brought to the foreground. With these considerations in mind, those who I consider to be great practitioners of solo bass (such as Barre Phillips, Dave Holland, Barry Guy, Mark Dresser, etc.) have and continue to invent methods and techniques for delivering their intended musical message on such an unwieldy instrument. In that spirit, this program features several devices that are atypical of the double bass in a traditional ensemble setting, and is largely built around "extended techniques"—such as double and triple-stops, artificial harmonic, percussive articulation styles, and more—in order to expand the timbral possibilities of each composition, arrangement, and improvisation. I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of developing this program and it has given me an opportunity to stretch my imagination and musicianship throughout recent months when I (like many of us) have been living in relative musical isolation brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Half of the pieces featured in this program (Green Dolphin Street, Skylark, and to a lesser extent, Satellite) are staples of the jazz canon and have been featured on thousands of recordings and countless performances. I have selected these pieces, in part, because I hope that the listener's recollection of such iconic versions and their ingrained familiarity with the compositions' forms can serve as an "imagined accompaniment'' for a solo performance. It is my belief that listeners subconsciously apply their sonic memories toward filling in some of the elaborate harmonic and orchestrative gaps left by a solo performance on an instrument with only four strings.
The three original compositions in this program were written specifically for the bass, rather than for ensemble and adapted for solo instrument. Walk, Walk, Ploosh is a rhythmically-driven, lopsided piece meant to emulate the tenacious/jubilant character of my daughter's early foray into walking. Tendrils is built on a meditative drone beneath evolving harmony, and incorporates the fullest range of the instrument through the use of harmonics. Quart is a repetitive four-note theme with a form that is entirely open-ended—relying on improvised alterations to the original motif to propel the composition's development.