Tupper Saussy "Said I To Shostakovitch"
Monument LP-8027 1964
01. The Shivers (2.54)
02. The Gumbie Cat (2.53)
03. Backyard (2.31)
04. A Rather Unusual Twist (2.51)
05. Wealtha (3.42)
06. Said I To Shostakovitch (5.04)
07. The Centaur (3.23)
08. Scherzo With Slapped Bass (2.11)
09. Vienna (3.19)
10. The Fool (1.15)
Produced by
Fred Foster & Bob Moore
Recorded May 1964 at
Fred Foster Sound Studio,
Nashville Tenn, by Bill Porter
Total Time 30.00
Monaural
The Performance
& The Artists
The fantasia is a musical form in which the composer is improvisor, free to neglect or to modify existing conventions, rules, and techniques in order to satisfy his artistic needs. The result is what has been called a "free flight of fancy". Often, the composer will discover that in abandoning traditional form he will, in his work, unconsciously devise newer forms.
Thus, the fantasia is a highly exciting and spontaneous musical type, whose soul is not unlike that of jazz. The pieces contained in this album are fantastias. Mr. Saussy admits to contriving only the predominant feelings and first themes prior to the recording session.
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The result is a brilliant performance by Mr. Saussy, a sensitive and masterful pianist; Mr. Moore, who is remarkably responsive to every rhythmic flutter, to every melodic nuance and harmonic turn; and Mr. Kirkham, whose resourceful percussion brings to the music an ecstasy peculiar to jazz.
At first hearing, some of these works might seem to the listener shocking. But with a minimum of familarity, one perceives Mr. Saussy's pattern, that each piece is contained within a form, and that each piece is a complete and eloquent musical statement.
The Music The Shivers: The opening statement is a chilling series of rolls which, punctuated by Doug Kirkham's percussion, unfolds into something of a higher temperature. In an early section, bass viol and piano depart from the strict four-quarter time to play several bars of six-eight. An antipenultimate series of exclamatory rimshots reintroduces the shivering dissonance to form a coda.
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The Gumbie Cat: A bumbling scherzo, meant to describe Old Possum's (and T. S Eliot's) big, meddlesome cat. Arhythmic left and right hand contrapuntal movement suggest a mousechase, terminating in three large, treble chords. The Gumbie cat then settles back down as staccato triads nestle deeply into the bass. Moore's ending on a leading tone suggests that the Gumbie may strike again.
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Backyard: A frolicking piece built on the happiest (and often the most naive) chord in music: the major triad. Notice Saussy's phenomenal closing cadenza.
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A Rather Unusual Twist: A serious musical application to a popular rhythmic cliche.
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Wealtha: A beautiful ballade comprised of unusual turns of harmonics, Wealtha is an expansive lyricism. The shimmering, metallic sounds are produced by Doug Kirkham. He is flipping a half-dollar beside the microphone.
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Said I To Shostakovitch: Perhaps this is an expression of Saussy's admiration of Shostakovitch's music. It seems to stand as a kind of invitaton to those composers who have but lingered on the fringe of the wonderfully accomodating jazz idiom. The piece is composed of two main sections. The first contains a brilliant drum-burst and terminates with the final statement of the major theme, based on a descending triad. There is a restless period of bass viol and drums, into which Saussy introduces a light, playful melody reminiscent of the humor of Shostakovitch. The piece ends on a furious chromatic descent of thirds.
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The Centaur: An unusual construction built on the diatonic scale. The opening phrases are abstract and academic, but the excursion opens into a warmly interesting jazz chorus employing an exciting variety of harmonics. Saussy closes this piece with a reiteration followed by a diminishing descent of triplets.
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Scherzo With Slapped Bass: Moore's consummate knowledge of bass viol techniques is made perfectly clear here. Notice the piano's frenetic duplication of his slapped triplets in the middle section and at the coda.
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Vienna: Whereas the rhythmic accompaniment is playing in three-quarter time, Saussy is playing with a decidely five-quarter feeling. The first section abounds with melodic imitations and inversions – a pleasant four-part counterpoint – and after a sprinkling of light cadenzas, Moore and Kirkham set a driving rhythmic stage for an elevating passage which resolves into a variation on the opening statement.
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The Fool: A delightful divertisement that brings to mind the handsprings, funny faces, and other antics of the court fool.
