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James Armstrong

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Zhong Wen
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Zhong Wen
Released: Mar 15, 2009
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General Info

  • Genre: Classical / Experimental / Jazz

    Location San Jose, California, Un

    Profile Views: 32273

    Last Login: 1/30/2012

    Member Since 11/11/2006

    Website jamesarmstrongmusic.com

    Record Label unsigned

    Type of Label Indie

  • Bio

    ..............↑ Grab this Headline Animator.... ..James Armstrong.. has explored concurrent paths in improvisation and modern classical music since his 1979 graduation from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Past projects include trios, quartets, and inventions for small ensembles -- volatile, labor-intensive music with a marked pantonal focus. Now working on original repertoire for solo performance. .. “...He has a firm grasp of the sheer power of Monk, often slamming the keys to create a shattering dissonance...he understands the rhythmic complexities of Cecil Taylor and the intellectualism of Andrew Hill. He has used these strong influences to create a personal style, always saving room for the purity of his own fingers on the keys. It is through his touch, his feel for the instrument that he achieves his individual power...” [ Stefan Zeniuk / Jazz Now Interactive, July 2002 ] ....About the Music.... Update, March 16, 2009: I've just uploaded three new performances from the ....Rhapsody and Dedication .... session, recorded at OTR Studios, Belmont on March 14, 2009. All music © 2009 by James David Armstrong, Jr. (BMI). .. The trio performances, which had only limited distribution in the United States, comprise the session called ....Out of the Underground...., and represent the culmination of an intense period of study and composition, beginning in late 1998. Recorded on the spot by James Edmiston, this group debuted at the now-defunct Jazz House in Berkeley, California, on June 17, 2004... ....Beijing Girl.... is dedicated to a friend who left a great deal behind when she came to the United States; the piece is a meditation on what was left behind. The group inventions are an expansion and collapse of the thematic cell heard at the end of the performance. Andrew has a stunning solo; an irreplaceable member of this group. .. ....Omaggio a Busoni...., which had its world debut at the Jazz House, is the most rhythmically complex piece from the period. Memories of Busoni, Bartók, and de Falla intersect in a surreal environment based on a loose pulse in 3; Andrew's appraisal of the content as "dark" was entirely accurate. The intermezzo in fifths that precedes the final cadenza is derived from flamenco, and is a memory of my childhood in Spain... ....Les Accords.... was composed at the session, and is an exploration of the sonorities of this beautiful, 7 foot Steinway, which is among the finest in this region. .. .......... .. .......... .. ............Create your own visitor map!.... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .... .. .. .. .. .. ..............

  • Members

    James Edmiston, bass; Andrew Wilshusen, drums

  • Influences

    Isaac Albeniz, Béla Bartók, Ferruccio Busoni, Aldo Ciccolini, Claude Debussy, Manuel de Falla, Alicia Delarocha, Mary Dunkel, Enrique Granados, Paul Jacobs, Jeno Jandó, Olivier Messiaen, Maurice Ravel, Erik Satie, Camille Saint-Saëns, Domenico Scarlatti, Arnold Schoenberg, Jean Sibelius, Narciso Yepes; Irene Aebi, Peter Apfelbaum, Donald Byrd, Don Cherry, Sonny Clark, Ornette Coleman, Richard Davis, Kenny Dorham, David Friesen, Dexter Gordon, Henry Grimes, Don Grolnick, Herbie Hancock, Coleman Hawkins, Billy Higgins, Andrew Hill, Haybert & Stella Houston, Steve Lacy, Paul Lazarus, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Thelonious Monk, Lee Morgan, Duke Pearson, Steve Potts, Sam Rivers, Keith Royston, George Russell, Alexander Sesonske, Woody Shaw, Horace Silver, Cecil Taylor, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Waits, Butch Warren, Lester Young

  • Sounds Like

    live trio recording by James Edmiston / Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, June 14, 2004

Stream

  1. James Armstrong

    priceless words by Andrew Hill http://t.co/PqoLiPKw

  2. James Armstrong

    Jazz is...community / unity / inclusiveness.

  3. James Armstrong

    brilliant essay by Cookie Marenco, master engineer and owner of OTR Studios in the SF Bay Area http://t.co/m2DoqUpA

  4. James Armstrong

    Cookie Marenco: "From Performance Capture to Digital Delivery... It's What I Do," or "The Hardest Article I've Ever ... http://t.co/9P6Lr

  5. James Armstrong

    December music update / Happy Holidays ! http://t.co/B7VQiWw6

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Bio:

James Armstrong Music

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

James Armstrong has explored concurrent paths in improvisation and modern classical music since his 1979 graduation from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Past projects include trios, quartets, and inventions for small ensembles -- volatile, labor-intensive music with a marked pantonal focus. Now working on original repertoire for solo performance.
“...He has a firm grasp of the sheer power of Monk, often slamming the keys to create a shattering dissonance...he understands the rhythmic complexities of Cecil Taylor and the intellectualism of Andrew Hill. He has used these strong influences to create a personal style, always saving room for the purity of his own fingers on the keys. It is through his touch, his feel for the instrument that he achieves his individual power...” [ Stefan Zeniuk / Jazz Now Interactive, July 2002 ]
About the Music
Update, March 16, 2009: I've just uploaded three new performances from the Rhapsody and Dedication session, recorded at OTR Studios, Belmont on March 14, 2009. All music © 2009 by James David Armstrong, Jr. (BMI).
The trio performances, which had only limited distribution in the United States, comprise the session called Out of the Underground, and represent the culmination of an intense period of study and composition, beginning in late 1998. Recorded on the spot by James Edmiston, this group debuted at the now-defunct Jazz House in Berkeley, California, on June 17, 2004.
Beijing Girl is dedicated to a friend who left a great deal behind when she came to the United States; the piece is a meditation on what was left behind. The group inventions are an expansion and collapse of the thematic cell heard at the end of the performance. Andrew has a stunning solo; an irreplaceable member of this group.
Omaggio a Busoni, which had its world debut at the Jazz House, is the most rhythmically complex piece from the period. Memories of Busoni, Bartók, and de Falla intersect in a surreal environment based on a loose pulse in 3; Andrew's appraisal of the content as "dark" was entirely accurate. The intermezzo in fifths that precedes the final cadenza is derived from flamenco, and is a memory of my childhood in Spain.
Les Accords was composed at the session, and is an exploration of the sonorities of this beautiful, 7 foot Steinway, which is among the finest in this region.
James Armstrong: Rhapsody and Dedication
James Armstrong: Through The Eyes of a Child

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