MySpace a place for friends

"Clickable" links to the sites listed below are posted at http://netnewmusic.ning.com/profile/TAZook (under the "short bio" section).

In addition to the clips posted on this site, additional clips are posted at:

http://www.myspace.com/tazookbasscello (solo basscello)

http://www.myspace.com/xxichamberensemblepartone (excerpts from the CDR "Twenty-first Century Chamber Ensemble -- I")

http://www.myspace.com/xxichamberensembleparttwo (an additional excerpt from the CDR "Twenty-first Century Chamber Ensemble -- I" and excerpts from the CDR "Twenty-first Century Chamber Ensemble -- II", a live performance which is also posted in its uninterrupted entirety at http://ia301515.us.archive.org/2/items/TCE-2009-03-11-09/TCE-2009-03-11-09_vbr.mp3)

http://www.myspace.com/lostcivilizationsmusic ("Lost Civilizations I" CDR: duo recordings with reeds player Mike Sebastian)

http://www.myspace.com/morelostcivilizations ("Lost Civilizations II" CDR: more duo recordings with Mike Sebastian)

http://www.myspace.com/sebastianandzook1 (first half of the CDR "Lost Civilizations III", a December 6, 2008 session with Mike Sebastian)

http://www.myspace.com/sebastianandzook2 (second half of the CDR "Lost Civilizations III")

http://www.myspace.com/merellasebastianzook ("Lost Civilizations IV" CDR (live performance with Mark Merella on percussion))

http://www.myspace.com/lostcivilizationsatorpheus ("Lost Civilizations V" CDR (live performance with Larry Gomez on percussion))

http://www.myspace.com/lostcivilizationsvi ("Lost Civilizations VI" CDR)

(the Lost Civilizations VII CDR is currently in process . . .)

http://www.myspace.com/lostcivilizationsviii ("Lost Civilizations VIII" CDR)

http://www.myspace.com/martinandzook (duo with Aaron Martin, Alto Saxophone)

http://www.myspace.com/chimiakgomezmartinzook (live performance with Emily Chimiak (violin), Larry Gomez (percussion) and Aaron Martin.

http://www.myspace.com/zookfieldrecording (field recordings of rural street music in southwestern Virginia)

http://www.myspace.com/zooksounddesign (field recordings of nature sounds)

Here's a link to an incredibly talented composer, performer and musician that I urge all visitors to this site to check out. Katerina Stamatelos has no less than 84 clips posted on her Reverbnation site!

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My principal instrument is nylon-string guitar; I also play electric guitar; electric bass (5-string fretless and fretted); NS Design bass cello; and a variety of analog instruments such as bowls, rainsticks, slidewhistle, whistle-flutes, oceanharp, etc., through digital signal processors.

I began my study of the guitar in Chile and Uruguay, and continued upon my return to the U.S. in the early 1960s, having the extraordinarily good fortune to then study under Sophocles Papas (classical) and Frank Mullen (jazz). Since 1999, I have been participating in improvisational workshops led by David Darling under the auspices of the Music for People organization.

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During the early/mid 1970's, I had the privilege of working with B-3 player and pianist extraordinaire Larry Buck. Although our years of work never achieved commercial "success", the experience of working with this enormously talented musician has had an influence on my musical development and outlook which continues to this day.

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Due to the size and weight of my experimental music rig, my public performances are infrequent. That said, and although I am primarily a solo performer, I have performed with bassist/visual artist Doug Kallmeyer (http://www.302acid.com), percussionist Mark Merella (http://www.markmerella.com), saxaphonist/bass clarinetist Mike Sebastian (http://mikesebastian.alkem.org/, http://www.alkem.org/dcic/) and trumpet/flügelhorn player Patrick Whitehead (http://www.monumentalbrass.org/); together we comprised a quintet which played a benefit of unrehearsed, improvised music at Sangha in Tacoma Park, Maryland (http://www.sangha.ws/) during the summer of 2006 (http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/85752/).

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On January 10, 2007, I had a solo performance at the Black Cat venue in Washington, D.C. (http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/135214/).

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On April 14, 2007, I had the honor of recording (nylon-string guitar) with David Darling (cello); Cristobal Jacques (electric bass) and Antonin (guitar) in support of a project by Suzann Kole (voice)(http://www.suzannkole.com/ ; http://suzannkole.com/music.html), at David Darling's Camp David studio in Goshen, CT.

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On April 28, 2007, I participated in the Shape Memory Alloy performance at Sangha with contrabassist Daniel Barbiero (http://danielbarbiero.alkem.org/), Mike Sebastian, Patrick Whitehead and percussionist Ben Azzara (http://www.benazzara.com/)( http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/178340/). A clip of this performance is posted at http://monsterisland.alkem.org/shapememoryalloy/.

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On June 27, 2007, I appeared as a soloist at the Grog and Tankard in Washington DC (http://www.grogandtankard.com/) at the NONSTOPELECTRONIC event. Three East Coast artists also appeared, injecting a broad spectrum of all-original electronic music into Washington DC at one of the city's legendary music venues.

Press release: "Midweek summer nightlife vectors towards the weekend as unique digital soundforms merge with the more familiar, evoking moods from mellow to manic, flowing to jamming, foot-moving to thought-provoking as sets blend into a memorable nonstop flow of music and visuals."

T.A. ZOOK: Analog sound generations with struck bowls, rainsticks, wind instruments and guitars processed through racks of loopers/fx -- an otherworldly ambience that's difficult to describe; once heard, difficult to forget. (http://www.myspace.com/tazook) Think: music from a temple in an extraterrestrial dream, emanating from the aether and enveloping you in some indescribable way.

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On August 11, 2007, I appeared as the drivebydada experimental music project, opening at The Red and The Black (http://www.redandblackbar.com/) 1212 H Street, NE, Washington, DC, for The 6th Grade and The Bang (http://www.myspace.com/thebangband).

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During October 2007, I compiled a series of sound samples for Michael Jantz's album "Live at Jim's" EP (http://www.michaeljantz.com, http://www.myspace.com/michaeljantz).

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During October 2007, my wife Francesca and I visited Floyd VA on two occasions to document some of the authentic and uncommercialized rural/bluegrass street music associated with the weekly Friday night Floyd Jamboree. The results are posted at: http://www.myspace.com/zookfieldrecording.

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On July 10, 2008, I performed improvised experimental music on bass cello as a participant in the Baltimore SDIY Variable Ensemble performance at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD (http://www.avam.org ; http://www.avam.org/stuff/inmuseum.html ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Visionary_Art_Museum). The Museum is located at 800 Key Highway, Baltimore MD, at the base of historic Federal Hill, a 2-minute walk from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Directions are posted at: http://www.avam.org/stuff/getthere.html.

The performance featured Logan Mitchell, Sr., Hal Schmulowitz, Kevin Buckholdt and Joe Wall ..board synthesizers; David Vosh on non-keyboard mini-modular synthesizers; and Art Harrison on theremin.

The performance was in support of the Museum’s free outdoor showing of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". The screening was part of the Museum’s "Flicks from the Hill" series on Thursday evenings (http://www.avam.org/cgi-bin/Events.cgi) (added bonus: the Museum is open & offering free admission between 5 and 9 pm on Flick nights -- ordinarily, admission is $12 for adults and $8 for children/students/seniors).

For those unfamiliar with the term “visionary art”, the Museum offers the following: Like love, you know it when you see it. . . . "Visionary art as defined for the purposes of the American Visionary Art Museum refers to art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself." In short, visionary art begins by listening to the inner voices of the soul, and often may not even be thought of as ’art’ by its creator. (Source: http://www.avam.org/stuff/whatsvis.html)

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On August 24, 2008, I gave a solo performance on basscello + processors at the Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music Benefit II (http://www.dc-soniccircuits.org/news/on August 24, 2008 at the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Silver Spring, MD (http://www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org/). The accompanying photographs were taken by Mariana Stoimenova. My friend and collaborator Daniel Barbiero (http://danielbarbiero.alkem.org/; http://www.myspace.com/dbarbiero; http://freealbums.blogsome.com/2007/06/03/daniel-barbiero-several-albums/) kindly recorded the performance, which is posted at http://www.myspace.com/tazookbasscello. MySpace is a wonderful medium for disseminating music. However, upload limitations hamper featuring uninterrupted longer works. Overall, "Benefit II" is about 30 minutes long; however, it had to be split into five clips in order to conform to this medium's space requirements. Listening to it is reminiscent of listening to longer classical works on old 78-rpm phonograph records, with a pause every 5 minutes or so while the record changer dropped the next record into position (often with a clack, a whirr, the thump of a new record dropping into position and then the hiss of the lead-in groove of the next record . . . which then continued subliminally in the background while the music resumed).

The performance was unrehearsed and improvised on the spot; the recording is unedited and unprocessed, other than to convert it to MP3 format and to split it into short enough segments to fit within MySpace's format limitations. There was no multi-tracking or any other processing. This is how it actually happened -- including the ambience of a little audience noise and occasional "clicks" as my feet engaged processor buttons.

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On September 7, 2008, I appeared (playing bass cello + processors) with Nobu Stowe on piano (http://www.myspace.com/nobustowe; http://www.trioricochet.com/ ; http://www.blacksaint.com//Catalogue/AN+DIE+MUSIK/1287) and Daniel Barbiero on contrabass (http://danielbarbiero.alkem.org/ ; http://www.myspace.com/dbarbiero ) at the Electric Possible at George Washington University (http://www.panicresearch.com/electric_poss.html).

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On September 13, 2008, I appeared on bass cello + processors with Mike Sebastian on tenor sax, bass clarinet and saxello (http://mikesebastian.alkem.org/))(the name of this ensemble is "Sebastian & Zook -- Saxello and BassCello") at the Baltimore SDIY, Circuit Bending & 8-bit Festival being held at the Hexagon (former Lo-Fi Social Club)(www.hexagonspace.com; http://www.myspace.com/lofisocialclub). Mike and I joined Peter Blasser/Sejayno (http://www.ciat-lonbarde.net/sejayno/index.html ; http://www.myspace.com/sejayno ; http://www.citypaper.com/music/review.asp?rid=12204). Also appearing were members of the Baltimore SDIY Ensemble; glomag (glomag.com) & bubblyfish (bubblyfish.com; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYFPa93xWIc ; http://www.myspace.com/bubblyfishmusic ).

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On October 25, 2008 Mike Sebastian (http://mikesebastian.alkem.org/ ; http://www.myspace.com/mikesebastian) and I recorded a session incorporating the theme " Lost Civilizations" . The session was totally unrehearsed and improvised on the spot with no double tracking or editing other than the removal of empty space when we took a breather and the addition of some reverb (it was recorded in a very small and extremely dry room) . We ended up with enough usable material for two CDRs ("Lost Civilizations I" and " Lost Civilizations II"). We've set up a couple of MySpace sites to introduce and share our work: http://www.myspace.com/lostcivilizationsmusic where "Lost Civilizations I" is posted in its entirety (albeit in sequential slices, to accommodate MySpace's file size limitations) and http://www.myspace.com/morelostcivilizations, where "Lost Civilizations II" is posted in its entirety, albeit similarly sliced-up.

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On November 11, 2008 I appeared on BassCello + processors with the great Alto Saxophone player Aaron Martin for a short (about 10-minute) set supporting an improvised solo dance piece by Sarah Jane Archer at the November staging of "The Dinner Party". "The Dinner Party" is a series of in-progress, experimental, and new work, which focuses on dance. This was the first of this season's new series of monthly open showings that will take place at the Warehouse Theater, which is across 7th Street from the new Walter E. Washington Convention Center (http://www.dcconvention.com/). The performances began at 8 PM and the evening ended with a short facilitated audience discussion. More details, including a location map, are posted at http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/1322839/?ps=7. The next "The Dinner Party" is scheduled for December 9, 2008 at the same venue.

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On December 6, 2008, Mike Sebastian and I had another session, which is posted in its entirety at http://www.myspace.com/sebastianandzook1 and http://www.myspace.com/sebastianandzook2. Tthe session was totally unrehearsed and improvised entirely on the spot with no editing or processing other than the addition of some reverb.

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On December 9, 2008, I appeared on BassCello again with the great Alto Saxophone player Aaron Martin for a short (about 10 minutes) set at the December staging of "The Dinner Party" series of in-progress, experimental, and new work, which focuses on dance. This was the third of this season’s new series of monthly open showings at the Warehouse Theater. A clip of this performance has been posted at http://www.myspace.com/martinandzook.

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On December 14, 2008, I appeared at the Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center in Silver Spring, MD with Mike Sebastian on reeds and Mark Merella (http://www.markmerella.com/ ; http://www.myspace.com/markmerella ) on percussion in a performance of the Lost Civilizations ensemble (myspace.com/lostcivilizationsmusic ; http://www.myspace.com/morelostcivilizations).

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On January 8, 2009., I appeared as a guest artist with the DC Improvisers Collective (http://dcic.alkem.org/) at the Velvet Lounge.

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On January 13, 2009, I appeared with Emily Chimiak (violin), Larry Gomez (percussion) and Aaron Martin at the January 2009 showing of The Dinner Party.

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On March 11, 2009, the Twenty-first Century Chamber Ensemble (Janel Leppin – cello & processors; Anthony Pirog -- guitar & processors; Mike Sebastian -- tenor sax, saxello & bass clarinet; and T. A. Zook -- basscello & processors), together with guest artists alto saxophonist Aaron Martin and percussionist Larry Gomez, gave its inaugural public performance at the Electric Possible series at the District of Columbia Arts Center. Complete details about the event, the series and the venue are posted at http://www.jazzreview.com/preview/concert-5698.html . A recording of the performance in its entirety (without MySPace clip cuts) is posted at http://districtofnoise.org/

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On March 24, 2009, Janel Leppin, Anthony Pirog, Larry Gomez, Aaron Martin and I appeared at the March 2009 showing of The Dinner Party.

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On April 11, 2009, the Lost Civilizations experimental music project appeared together with Larry Gomez on percussion at Orpheus Record Shop in Arlington. This performance was totally unrehearsed and improvised on the spot.

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On May 8, 2009, the Twenty-first Century Chamber Ensemble had a recording session at the bluroom studio in Merrifield, VA (http://www.myspace.com/blueroommusicspace), engineered by Doug Kallmeyer. The bluroom studio has to be one of the most comfortable studios I've ever recorded in and Doug's ability to put everybody at ease and help us get the best possible sound is remarkable. I'll post clips as soon as they are available.

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On May 30, 2009 the Twenty-first Century Chamber Ensemble performed on Artomatic 2009's (http://www.artomatic.org) Cabaret Stage as part of the Sonic Circuits Showcase. Details on this event are posted at http://www.jazzreview.com/preview/concert-5992.html.

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On June 12, 2009, the Twenty-first Century Chamber Ensemble returned to Artomatic 2009's Cabaret Stage -- details: http://www.jazzreview.com/preview/concert-6041.html

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On June 14, 2009, the Lost Civilizations experimental music project appeared at Artomatic's Cabaret Stage.

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On July 15, 2009, the Lost Civilizations experimental music project appeared with Larry Gomez on percussion at "Art for Hope", a benefit for “give Autism hope” at Alexandria's Torpedo Factory. Details: http://www.jazzreview.com/preview/concert-6129.html and http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/3071132/ .

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On July 16, 2009, the Lost Civilizations experimental music project appeared at a staging of the Dinner Party at Joe's Movement Emporium in Mt. Ranier, MD. Details: http://www.jazzreview.com/preview/concert-6130.html .

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On August 8, 2009, the Lost Civilizations experimental music project opened for "The Last Show Ever" show for the Len Bias Band at DC's famous Velvet Lounge.

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On August 23, 2009, I appeared in the "Third Object Orchestra" at the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Silver Spring in the world premiere of Daniel Barbiero's "Five Movements in 20' for Six String Instruments", conducted by Chris Videll at a benefit for the 2009 Sonic Circuits experimental music festival. Details: http://www.jazzreview.com/preview/concert-6219.html

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On September 19, 2009, the Twenty-first Century Chamber Ensemble appeared at Silver Spring's Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in support of the "District of Noise Vol. 2" compilation CD being released in connection with the 2009 Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music (http://dc-soniccircuits.org/), which includes a track from the Ensemble's session at bluroom studio.

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On September 23, 2009, the Twenty-first Century Chamber Ensemble appeared on the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage as part of the 2009 Sonic Circuits Festival. The Kennedy Center performance is posted at http: ​/​/​www.​kennedy-​center.​org/​calendar/​kc_​video_​dyn.​cfm?​encoded=​ http%​3A%​2F%​2Fplay.​rbn.​com%​2F%​3Furl%​3Dkennedy%​2Fkennedyg2%​ 2Fg2demand%​2F09232009_​1800_​MSN.​rm%​26amp%​3Bproto%​3Drtsp&​ header_​image=​header_​mil_​video.​gif ; the Twenty-first Century Chamber Ensemble's set starts at approximately the 20-minute mark. Because September 23 is the birthday of John Coltrane, the Ensemble departed from its usual practice of performing only improvisational work and incorporated some of John Coltrane's thematic work into its performance.

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The Twenty-first Century Ensemble was interviewed by dcist in connection with the 2009 Sonic Circuits Festival (http:​/​/​dcist.​com/​2009/​09/​sonic_​circuits_​interview_​21st_​centu. ​php.) and also received favorable mention from this publication ("Who we’re most excited to see: Twenty-First Century Chamber Ensemble. Mostly because we saw them at Pyramid Atlantic on Saturday night, where their set finished much too quickly. We're excited to find out how those sounds translate on the Kennedy Center stage." (http:​/​/​dcist.​com/​2009/​09/​preview_​sonic_​circuits_​festival_​09. ​php)).

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I'm also involved with preparing sound design contributions for a segment of the IMAX movie that my Music for People friend Marie van Vuuren's husband Stephen is working on, "Outside In" (http://www.outsideinthemovie.com/; there are some nice trailers at http://www.outsideinthemovie.com/trailers.html). Marie will be mixing all of the sounds she gets into one chorus for the "Big Bang" portion of the film. To me, it's sort of reminiscent of the final chord of "A Day in the Life" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Day_in_the_LifeThe_final_chord) -- until I read the WikiPedia article recently, I had always thought that a foghorn was mixed in the final chord -- yet another illusion shattered! Stephen and I are also exploring the possibility of contributing sessions of "Lost Civilizations" and "Twenty-first Century Chamber Ensemble" to the project's overall score.

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I am also a member of the Music for People improvisational association (http://www.musicforpeople.org), which is led by David Darling (http://www.daviddarling.com), and a fan of the Bang on a Can experimental/new music association (http://www.bangonacan.org).

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(The sound clips posted on this site are copyight (c)(P) 2007, 2008 & 2009 by T. A. Zook)