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"A subdued, profoundly spiritual -- often
mournful, but also hopeful -- tribute to the power of creating music in the moment."
--- Paul de Barros, Signal to Noise Magazine
Quick Ordering for Joe Giardullo Joe McPhee Tani Tabbal Mike
Bisio The recording session I planned and the session that we actually did today could not have been more different. The music, at its highest level, is always a mystery but this strange and sad day brings new meaning to that idea. I certainly do not comprehend much of what happened today, and perhaps I never will. But I know that I am changed by the day, by the music I heard and by the intensely personal feelings that filled the studio. We could barely speak; I could not think; I had no memory. I was alone in each and every moment. Each moment in time seemed separate from the next. I don't believe I have ever been more "in the moment" than I am today. I thought this morning of canceling the session. Something (I don't know what) stopped me from doing that. If Tani, Joe, Mike or Tom wanted to postpone the session, we would have done that. But no one said anything. We were each of us individually, in uncharted emotional territory. We often speak of walking on the edge of a knife when we play the music we play. So it was today, in spades. There were no playbacks. There were no discussions. I don't know when I'll be ready to listen to the tapes. Joe Giardullo |
Shadow & Light features multi-instrumentalists Joe Giardullo and Joe McPhee backed by the rhythm section of Tani Tabbal and Mike Bisio. Recorded on the morning of September 11, 2001 a hundred miles from downtown New York City during the tragic confluence of events that changed our world forever...the music stands apart. A tribute, yes. A memorial, yes. A prayer, yes. An anguished cry from deep within, yes. The music is all of these, and none of these. The session that was planned for that morning did not occur, but the session that was captured gives voice to the collective emotions of four musicians performing at the very highest level of improvisation and their art...giving an entirely new understanding to being in and responding to the moment. Each working alone, trying to reconcile images and feelings that could not be readily processed, yet somehow finding solace in making music with one another. Quite simply that was the session that was captured, and that is the session we bring you as Shadow & Light with the greatest pride and deepest humility. 8 tracks in 54:36 minutes Titles and Tracks: 1. One Moment and the Next 2. Cries, Whispers & Cries 3. City on The Edge of Forever 4. Twilight at Noon 5. In the End There Is Peace 6. Well of Souls 7. Question of Time 8. Shadow and Light Reproduced here from the liner notes in their entirety, each of the musicians' thoughts about the events of September 11th and their relationship to the music: Three months later, when I think about the events of that day, I get the same strange sensation. I am changed this I know. And the music has moved as well. It is an unsettling feeling and it goes into the music each day. The music cannot go back to what it was before because I cannot go back to who I was before. This is the path I chose years ago, and it's the path now chosen for me. It's like beginning all over again. Which is what each new day actually is. Yesterday I "heard" the music for the first time, at Tani's place. Although I've listened to the tapes numerous times, it's been about 6 weeks since I last listened. Yesterday, I first "heard" the music on its own terms. Thanks to my friends Joe, Mike, and Tani for being with me. Thanks to Tom for capturing it all. And thanks to Joe for his message to me, some days after the session, which read (in its entirety): "Shadow and Light." --- Joe Giardullo This poem was written in 1972 after the attempted suicide of a friend. Ironically, on September 11th, the date of the Shadow and Light recording session, the horrendous attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon took place just as we were preparing to leave for the session. The impact of those events have forever altered perceptions of the world and life itself, and is clearly reflected in this music. On that day, ordinary people left home, went to ordinary jobs expecting an ordinary day...it was anything but ordinary. Surely we are reminded that nothing is promised to us and we must never take things for granted. Life and love are precious commodities, which sometimes require a kind of peripheral vision to fully appreciate. May we never hesitate to say "I love you." THE RECORDING SESSION --- Joe McPhee Everything was different. The tragic events of the morning were not going to leave or be forgotten. Part of my person still stood in disbelief even though my being was shot through with the reality of the day. The experience of recording this disc the afternoon of September 11th was a singular event. It would not have been possible to accomplish with many people. Any and all preconceived concepts, plans and notions were abandoned. Fortunately I was in the company of musicians and an engineer whose artistry, need, and willingness is extraordinary. To play Improvised music you must open doors, leave yourself exposed to all things both coming and going, and simultaneously visit/converse with others in the same state of consciousness. Under the best of circumstances this could be described as a leap of faith. On September 11th it certainly was and I am thankful for the company I had on this journey. ---Mike Bisio A period of awakening, ---Tani Tabbal
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© 2002 Drimala Records |
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