Joel Hands-Otte
I have been waiting a long time for this album! It has been such a pleasure working on a number of these projects over the past few years. Well done, everyone!
Favorite track: The Drunkard's Walk, Step 5.
___ Evening Song (Adrian Henri)
'I will come to you when the light has gone . . .'
I will come to you when the light has gone
When the sea has wandered far from its shores
And the hedges are drenched in evening
I will come to you when the light has gone
I will come to you when the day has gone
When butterflies disappear in the dark
And the night is alive with tiny wings
I will come to you when the day has gone
I will come to you when the night has come
And morning glories swell in the darkness
Birds lie wrapped in nests of silence
I will come to you when the night has come
I will love you till the day has come
Trees and fields revealed in the morning
Birds awake and sing the sunrise
I will love you till the day has come.
___ Her Song (Brian Patten)
For no other reason than I love him wholly
I am here; for this one night at least
The world has shrunk to a boyish breast
On which my head, brilliant and exhausted, rests,
And can know of nothing more complete.
Let the dawn assemble all its guilts, its worries
And small doubts that, but for love, would infect
This perfect heart.
I am as far beyond doubt as the sun.
I am as far beyond doubt as is possible.
___ Comeclose and Sleepnow (Roger McGough)
it is afterwards
and you talk on tiptoe
happy to be part
of the darkness
lips becoming limp
a prelude to tiredness.
Comeclose and Sleepnow
for in the morning
when a policeman
disguised as the sun
creeps into the room
and your mother
disguised as birds
calls from the trees
you will put on a dress of guilt
and shoes with broken high ideals
and refusing coffee
run
alltheway
home.
___ Dial-a-Poem (Adrian Henri)
a poem
instead of a phone call
a jewel
exchanged
for a green apple
or an empty station
two minutes
of silence
away from the red-framed world
outside
a song
for a kiss
a kiss
for an apple
an apple
for a jewel
a jewel
for a poem
a poem
instead of a phone call
I didn't make
last night.
___ Sometimes it Happens (Brian Patten)
And sometimes it happens that you are friends and then
You are not friends,
And friendship has passed.
And whole days are lost and among them
A fountain empties itself.
And sometimes it happens that you are loved and then
You are not loved,
And love is past.
And whole days are lost and among them
A fountain empties itself into the grass.
And sometimes you want to speak to her and then
You do not want to speak,
Then the opportunity has passed.
Your dreams flare up, they suddenly vanish.
And also it happens that there is nowhere to go and then
There is somewhere to go,
Then you have bypassed.
And the years flare up and are gone,
Quicker than a minute.
So you have nothing.
You wonder if these things matter and then
As soon as you begin to wonder if these things matter
That's when they begin to cease to matter,
And caring is past.
And a fountain empties itself into the grass.
___ Aubade (Adrian Henri)
I mourn for something that was never there
Remind myself of times a year ago:
The scent of roses in the morning air.
In this small room the senses all declare
You were with me, my love, and yet I know
I mourn for something that was never there.
Mist hides the hills, the season is so unfair,
Left here I sit and watch the summer go,
The scent of roses in the morning air.
Bees can't resist the honeysuckle's snare.
Frantic as they are, clumsy and far too slow
I mourn for something that was never there.
Thoughts of your eyes, the morning in your hair,
Lost like a leaf against the river's flow,
The scent of roses in the morning air.
Time will not stop: your careless hand will tear
The faded snapshot, all that was left to show.
I mourn for something that was never there,
The scent of roses in the morning air.
Here Now Hear is comprised of nine innovative Australian works commissioned and recorded by the Monash Art Ensemble between 2017-2019. It features an eclectic mix of contemporary cross-genre music by significant Australian composers: Paul Grabowsky, Kate Neal, Andrew Ford, Robert Burke, Cat Hope, Marc Hannaford, Paul Williamson, Johannes Luebbers and Sandy Evans.
__ Monash Art Ensemble
The Monash Art Ensemble was established in 2012 within the Faculty of Arts and Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at Monash University thanks to the generosity of the Vizard Foundation and the Robert Salzer Foundation. The ensemble, directed by Paul Grabowsky AO, is a polystylistic ensemble that aims to support the development of excellence in young Australian musicians, foster a culture of innovation amongst established Australian musicians, and encourage community engagement with the Australian music industry.
__ The Composers
Kate Neal is a composer, arranger and collaborator. Neal has been the recipient of many awards, scholarships and fellowships, including the 2016 Melbourne Prize for Music - Beleura Award for Composition. Fractured is an ode to many of the jazz & free players.
Andrew Ford OAM is an award-winning composer, writer and broadcaster. ‘Comeclose and Sleepnow’ is Ford’s first foray writing for improvising ensemble.
Sandy Evans OAM is an internationally renowned composer and saxophonist. ‘The Drunkard's Walk’ explores the relationship between improvisation and composition and stems from her current Australia Council Fellowship that considers the role of randomness in improvised music.
Paul Grabowsky AO is an award-winning pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. The great drummer, poet and raconteur Allan Browne introduced Grabowsky to the singular, at times ecstatic verse of e.e. cummings. Grabowsky tried in this piece to convey the sense of weightlessness suggested by the text. Melting chords and fragments of melody drift through a void laced with an insistent, quiet rhythmic ostinato carried from vibraphone to trombone, clarinet, piano and violin: 'one by one stars flutter into dust'.
Cat Hope’s music is conceptually driven with a focus on low frequency sounds, featuring graphically notated acoustic and electronic combinations represented in animated notations. ‘Dark Hip Falls’ is a dedication to Scott Walker (1943-2019) and his contribution to the idea of song in during the change of millennia.
Marc Hannaford is an improviser, composer, and academic based in New York. Fainter, Stronger presents a series of sonic portraits of some of his musical collaborators and influencers, framed within large scale temporal cycles.
Robert Burke is a distinguished performer, composer, author and educator. ‘Musician and Machine’ explores how electronic performance integrates with improvising classical and jazz musicians. The outcome aims to promote a musical system design and real-time interaction between musician and machine.
Paul Williamson is a trumpeter, composer and educator. ‘For Tomasz’ is a homage to Polish trumpeter and composer, Tomasz Stanko (1942-2018) with whom MAE collaborated in 2016.
credits
released September 20, 2019
Produced by Robert Burke, Paul Williamson, Jordan Murray, Johannes Luebbers and Paul Grabowsky.
Recorded by Ben Grayson, Hadyn Buxton and Daniel Tan with students from the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at Monash University.
Mixed and mastered by Ben Grayson and Daniel Tan.
Monash Art Ensemble management by Megan Burslem.
CD artwork by Rick Milovanovic.
ARTISTS
^ denotes student from the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at Monash University
___Paul Grabowsky: For e.e. cummings
Director: Paul Grabowsky
Voice: Gian Slater
Flute / piccolo: Tony Hicks
Alto saxophone: Zac O’Connell^
Bass clarinet / clarinet: Joel Hands-Otte^
Tenor saxophone / bass clarinet: Rob Burke
Trumpet 1: Scott Tinkler
Trumpet 2: Paul Williamson
Trombone: Jordan Murray
Percussion: Lara Wilson
Drums: Miles Legg^
Piano: Yii Ying Tan^
Guitar: Matt Hoyne^
Double bass: Phil Rex
Violin: Roy Theaker
___Kate Neal: Fractured
Director: Paul Grabowsky
Flute 1: Alexia Samiotis^
Flute 2: Cassandra Gibson^
Clarinet: Sam Curkpatrick
Bass Clarinet: Joel Hands-Otte
Alto saxophone: Nick Fruewirth^
Tenor saxophone: Andre Lew^
Trumpet: Naomi Whimpey^
Trombone: Callum Mintzis^
Bass trombone: Kiran Samuel
Electric bass: Sam Watts^
Piano: Joe O'Connor
Drums: Jasper Bruten^
Violin 1: Roy Theaker
Violin 2: Ben Spiers^
Viola: Aaron Wyatt
Cello: Luke Severn
___Andrew Ford: Comeclose and Sleepnow: Six Liverpool Lovesongs
Director: Paul Grabowsky
Voice: Gian Slater
Flute / piccolo: Tony Hicks
Alto saxophone: Zac O’Connell^
Clarinet: Brendan Toohey
Bass clarinet / clarinet: Joel Hands-Otte^
Tenor saxophone / bass clarinet: Rob Burke - CHECK DOUBLES
Trumpet 1: Paul Williamson
Trumpet 2: Scott Tinkler
Trombone 1: Jordan Murray
Trombone 2: Josh Bennier^
Percussion: Lara Wilson
Drums: Miles Legg^
Piano: Paul Grabowsky
Guitar: Matt Hoyne^
Double bass: Phil Rex
Violin: Roy Theaker
___Rob Burke: Musician and Machine
Director: Paul Grabowsky
Trumpet 1: Tristram Williams
Trumpet 2: Eugene Ball
Trombone: Josh Bennier^
Bass trombone: James Littlewood^
Tenor saxophone: Rob Burke
Alto saxophone 1: Lachlan Davidson
Alto saxophone 2: Eric Boeston^
Clarinet / tenor saxophone: Brennan Hamilton-Smith^
Bass clarinet / baritone saxophone: Joel Hands-Otte^
Piano: Joe O’Connor
Guitar: Craig Fermanis
Bass: Patrick Schmidli^
Percussion / vibraphone: Kaylie Melville
Drums: Luke Andresen^
Violin 1: Erkki Veltheim
Violin 2: Lizzy Welsh
Viola: Lisa Grosman
Cello: Luke Severn^
Electronics: Sam Galyer^
Electronics: Ben Grayson
Electronics: Ben Hiscock^
___Cat Hope: The Dark Hip Falls
Director: Cat Hope
Theremin: Miles Brown
Violin: Anna McMichael
Viola: Aaron Wyatt
Cello: Svetlana Bogosavljevic
Piano: Patrick Jaffe
Percussion: Ben Ingvarson-Favretto^
Electronics: Morgan Heenan^
___Marc Hannaford: Fainter, Stronger
Director: Paul Grabowsky
Trumpet 1: Tristram Williams
Trumpet 2: Eugene Ball
Trombone: Josh Bennier^
Bass trombone: James Littlewood^
Tenor saxophone 1: Rob Burke - CHECK DOUBLES
Tenor saxophone 2: Jonathan Cooper^
Alto saxophone 1: Lachlan Davidson
Alto saxophone 2: Eric Boeston^
Clarinet: Joel Hands-Otte^
Piano: Marc Hannaford
Guitar: Craig Fermanis
Bass: Patrick Lyons^
Drums: Luke Andresen^
Violin 1: Erkki Veltheim
Violin 2: Lizzy Welsh
Viola: Lisa Grosman
Cello: Luke Severn^
___Paul Williamson: For Tomasz
Director: Johannes Luebbers
Trumpet: Ash Ballat^
Trumpet: Hugh Parsons^
Trombone: Jordan Murray
Alto saxophone: Phil Noy
Tenor saxophone: Jonathan Cooper^
French horn: Roman Ponomariov
Bass clarinet: Rob Burke
Oboe: David Reichelt
Flute / piccolo: Cassandra Gibson^
Violin: Natasha Conrau
Piano: Paul Grabowsky
Double bass: Jonah Grant^
Drums: Miles Legg^
___Sandy Evans: The Drunkard's Walk
Director: Paul Grabowsky
Trumpet 1: Eugene Ball
Trumpet 2: Ash Ballat^
Trumpet 3: Hugh Parsons^
Trombone 1: Jordan Murray
Trombone 2: Callum Mintzis^
Alto saxophone 1: Phil Noy
Alto saxophone 2: Michael Kellett^
Tenor Saxophone 1: Jonathan Cooper^
Tenor saxophone 2: Jared Becker^
Clarinet: Joel Hands-Otte
Bass clarinet: Rob Burke
Flute / piccolo: Cassandra Gibson^
Violin 1: Natasha Conrau
Violin 2: Ciara McCoppin^
Viola: Aaron Wyatt
Cello: Svetlana Bogosavljevic
Double bass: Angus Radley^
Piano: Paul Grabowsky
Guitar: Harry Tinney^
Drums: Miles Legg^
Percussion: Matthias Schack-Arnott
___Johannes Luebbers: Interpolations
Director: Johannes Luebbers
Trumpet: Ash Ballat
Trombone: Callum Mintzis
Alto saxophone: Phil Noy
Tenor saxophone: Jared Becker
French horn: Roman Ponomariov
Flute: Cassandra Gibson
Oboe: David Reichelt
Double bass: Jonah Grant
Piano: Paul Grabowsky
Drums: Miles Legg
Hi Paul, I read the review of your new album in the Australian today and went to Bandcamp which I had never heard of and downloaded it. great album and good experience with the download. All the best when things get back to normal, GrahamN grahamn
Nock et al prove that you don't need to go beyond pure, traditional jazz techniques to produce some amazing tracks. As long as musicians can produce sounds like this, jazz will never die. Eclecticon
Given the title, the diverse and engaging compositions should come as no surprise. After a month on repeat, I'm still enjoying the first rate performances by the various soloists. It comes with homages to Charlie Haden and John Taylor. A very fine curation indeed! Gareth Lee
