Greetings Fellow Music lovers! I’m thrilled to be a week out from another X Ensemble performance, this time as part of the Sound Studio Classical Series at the State Theater NJ in New Brunswick. We have been averaging about 1 concert every 2.5 years, and it’s no surprise given my other musical obligations. However, I can see a possible turning point – a larger concept, perhaps, that combines all the elements of my jazz-fusion ensemble NAIL, my work with electronic and ambient music, and the X Ensemble into a single highly flexible unit. A glimpse into what that might look like came in October 2024, when I staged a 50 year retrospective of my work with a 17-piece ensemble that included strings, winds, multiple drummers, percussionists and guitarists. That show was a success, leading me to rethink my musical universe which has always been made of separate components – perhaps “in unity lies strength”, as the saying goes. I will continue to ruminate on this further, as I plan shows for 2027 in which I’m hoping to include a small ensemble arrangement of Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” that I’ve been working on (on and off) for quite a few years now.
Meanwhile, May 17th is nearly upon us. We have completed our rehearsals, and all the essential musical edits have been completed. The 4-piece program includes ‘Cumberland Spring’ (2010), composed during the beginning of the 100 Years of Spring Tour and dedicated to flautist and world champion Pennywhistle player Tom Reese of Lancaster PA; a new arrangement of “Can we Dance the Earth? Can We Sing the Sky?” (2009) dedicated to the wonderful dance and ballet teacher Richard Cook who passed away in 2009 (I worked very closely with Richard for years at the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. I composed this for his memorial service, and after that it was only performed one other time, in 2019); “In The Kitchen” a ¾ Latin Esque groove number which has been working well in multiple contexts (jazz trio, large ensemble, solo, piano trio etc.), and the premier of Shaker Song Variations: 8 variations on “Simple Gifts”, my first ‘theme and variations’ composition. Not a very long program, but one with many twists and turns, mood swings, and all the elements which I believe make for an entertaining performance.
This is a trio performance, and I made what was for me a somewhat ‘radical’ decision to go with slightly unusual instrumentation: Piano, Violin and Baritone Saxophone. Partly because I happen to be good friends and neighbors with one of the greatest classical Baritone Saxophone players around, the wonderful Brad Hubbard, but also because this approach offers many opportunities to explore combinations of timbre. (2 of the pieces Brad will perform on flute.) The other player is of course the X Ensemble’s long-standing violinist and concert master Chern Hwei Fung. I could not ask for better players and I am profoundly grateful to them for their time and energy.
This is also a purely acoustic performance. In almost every other performance I have managed to include electronics; there was a 5th piece planned where electronics might have been used but that composition has yet to be completed. The Sound Studio Series at State Theater NJ takes place in a smaller room off the main stage. The performance is at 3pm on Sunday May 17th. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased via this link. Ever since I first fell in love with chamber music at age 11, I have wanted to pursue this avenue as a composer. This will be the X Ensemble’s 6th performance. I hope you can join us.
Yours in Sound,
Neil Alexander