Jul 05, 2015

Rova and the 2015 version of OrkestRova recorded a CD’s worth of music at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley on July 1, two days after a fantastic concert in San Francisco. Orkestrova 2015 – a power trio, string quartet and Rova, all playing together – recorded three long pieces, dedicating the CD to Butch Morris; a shout-out to the spirit of his life’s work in conduction; his term for the combination of conducting, cueing and improvisation. All three extended compositions include formal structures devised by Rova members, as well as of various kinds of improvisation; visual cues influence the sounds and the arc of the music. Special thanks to Gino Robair for conducting my piece called “Nothing Stopped But A Future (for Buckminster Fuller).” And thanks to all the guest musicians: Christina Stanley, Tara Flandreau, Alex Kelly, Scott Walton, Jason Hoopes, Jordan Glenn and John Shiurba. Played with great spirit!! Rova members of course delivered both in the playing and in the composing.

Rova completed the mixing of the recording in mid-May 2016. The New York based label, New World Records, which released The Celestial Septet (Rova combined with the Nels Cline Singers) in 2011, will produce and release this CD in October 2016, with liner notes by Stuart Broomer