Metamorphosis | Ursa Major


 
Ursa Major is the final piece in the cycle of twelve that make up Metamorphosis. I am honored to have recorded this work with masters of improvisation Wadada Leo Smith, Oliver Lake, Fred Frith, Matt Mitchell, Kris Davis, Yasushi Nakamura and Andrew Cyrille. Improvisation is about constant listening and learning, being a clean slate, deeply receptive to every event. Hearing all twelve pieces back to back, each one a different combination of the players, is an illuminating view into the art and craft of these very special artists. Hearing all eight of us together on this final piece is exhilarating. So many great collisions and juxtapositions, I will refrain from pointing them out and let the listener discover and enjoy.

It is a supreme pleasure to record these series every year, and I look forward to more dialog with the Greenleaf community and its growing family of listeners. Thank you for being a part of it.

Greenleaf Subscribers can stream and download Ursa Major on Bandcamp along with all of the tracks from the Metamorphosis series.

Click here to learn more about the Metamorphosis Subscriber Series. Program notes can be found here.

If you’d like to join us a subscriber, visit our Bandcamp subscription page here.