Comments on: new “old” works by john luther adams http://www.sequenza21.com/cdreviews/2009/07/new-%e2%80%9cold%e2%80%9d-works-by-john-luther-adams/ Sun, 11 Dec 2011 08:12:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: David Toub http://www.sequenza21.com/cdreviews/2009/07/new-%e2%80%9cold%e2%80%9d-works-by-john-luther-adams/comment-page-1/#comment-16698 David Toub Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:24:23 +0000 http://www.sequenza21.com/cdreviews/?p=460#comment-16698 Thanks, but I'm not sure I'm saying anything different than what you indicated. As I wrote, “This latest album actually presents electronic music that was composed in the 70’s by Adams, and he only recently revisted his original reel-to-reel tapes and created soundscapes based upon them.” In other words, these are new “soundscapes” based on music he wrote in the 70's. I don't see how anything like “an old suit cut to meet new style requirements” was implied or explicitly stated, but who cares? The important thing is that this is a good album. I also did not receive anything other than the CD, so that was the only background material I had to go on, but still got it right in my opinion. Tell John I send him my best! Thanks, but I’m not sure I’m saying anything different than what you indicated. As I wrote, “This latest album actually presents electronic music that was composed in the 70’s by Adams, and he only recently revisted his original reel-to-reel tapes and created soundscapes based upon them.” In other words, these are new “soundscapes” based on music he wrote in the 70′s. I don’t see how anything like “an old suit cut to meet new style requirements” was implied or explicitly stated, but who cares? The important thing is that this is a good album. I also did not receive anything other than the CD, so that was the only background material I had to go on, but still got it right in my opinion.

Tell John I send him my best!

]]> By: Jim Fox/Cold Blue Music http://www.sequenza21.com/cdreviews/2009/07/new-%e2%80%9cold%e2%80%9d-works-by-john-luther-adams/comment-page-1/#comment-16697 Jim Fox/Cold Blue Music Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:38:40 +0000 http://www.sequenza21.com/cdreviews/?p=460#comment-16697 David, The press material that I released with this new CD was probably unclear about the genesis of JLA's music on it. The four works are all completely new (2008) pieces that were built from sounds found on scraps of tape dating from the '70s that were recently found in a closet in his studio. These are not recordings of pieces, per se, electronic or otherwise, that the composer wrote in the '70s. These are sonic scraps representing experiemts with sounds (made by acoustic instruments, electric instruments, i.e., Fender Rhodes piano, natural sounds, mic feedback, etc.) that never became pieces at the time when the sounds were committed to tape. So, the new works presented on this CD are not analogous to an old suit cut to meet new style requirements, as I think your review implies. They are, instead, like chipping away at a piece of marble (and old block of earth) to create a new shape. Best wishes, Jim/Cold Blue Music David, The press material that I released with this new CD was probably unclear about the genesis of JLA’s music on it. The four works are all completely new (2008) pieces that were built from sounds found on scraps of tape dating from the ’70s that were recently found in a closet in his studio. These are not recordings of pieces, per se, electronic or otherwise, that the composer wrote in the ’70s. These are sonic scraps representing experiemts with sounds (made by acoustic instruments, electric instruments, i.e., Fender Rhodes piano, natural sounds, mic feedback, etc.) that never became pieces at the time when the sounds were committed to tape. So, the new works presented on this CD are not analogous to an old suit cut to meet new style requirements, as I think your review implies. They are, instead, like chipping away at a piece of marble (and old block of earth) to create a new shape. Best wishes,
Jim/Cold Blue Music

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