100 Years Of Spring Returns Home

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         In 1966, a boy sat in a movie theater & watched the evolution of life and the rise and fall of the dinosaurs, accompanied by incredible music. The film was Walt Disney’s “Fantasia”, the music, Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” and the young boy was Neil Alexander – me. The pounding rhythms and striking dissonances etched themselves into my subconscious, influencing & informing my musical life for decades to come.

Looking back on this now, it’s obvious to see how amazingly influential it has been. Look at the stuff I like: Mahavishnu, ELP, Progressive Rock, 20th Century classical music, Prehistoric culture – the list goes on.

In light of the Centennial of this game changing – and life changing – piece of music, I am gloriously proud to be bringing the “100 Years Of Spring” project back to my “home turf”, The Hudson Valley.

“100 Years of Spring” was originally conceived as a live music program appearing in farm/food markets and other places notable for enhancing environmental sustainability. These performances represent an effort to bring music, originally directed at audiences of elite society, to places of public gathering where social division is less significant. “100 Years of Spring”, seeks to honor the centennial of the premiere while connecting the concept of spring with sustainability and local food & farms. To further that end, I have partned with Common Ground Farms and made this performance a fundraiser.  I’ve been a long time supporter of Common Ground Farm and former member of their initial Community Supported Agriculture program.

Common Ground Farm, a community staple for many years, evolved as an organization to become a nonprofit farm project growing food for education and food justice programs. “Our education programs, workshops, and Summer Camp bring children and adults opportunities to learn about sustainable farming, local food, and environmental stewardship.” This summer the Farm’s Mobile Market – staffed by the Green Teens — is traveling the area bringing low cost, CGF- grown vegetables to low income housing areas. Children who might otherwise go without are receiving regular lunches from the Kids ‘R Kids Summer Feeding Program, which includes donated vegetables from the Farm as well as activities for the kids each week with a local chef. The Farm is regularly delivering vegetables for Salvation Army Lunches and to the St. Andrew’s & St. Luke’s Food Pantry. The Farm’s Food Justice programs make local, organically grown, fresh produce available to everyone, regardless of income.

The performance takes place on August 10th at the Howland Cultural Center, 477 Main Street in Beacon NY. The HCC is a well known venue for community sponsored events, concerts AND great chamber music, so it seemed the obvious choice. In addition, my very good friend violinist Rachel Evans will be joining my to perform an original composition of mine.

Tickets Here:

Common Ground Farm is a community resource; all are welcome to visit the fields, volunteer, learn, and gather together for the common good. You can learn more about the Farm’s mission and programs at their website http://www.commongroundfarm.org, by calling (845) 231-4424 or by emailing membership@commongroundfarm.org.  “100 Years of Spring” is a sponsored project of Artspire, a program of New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. www.100yearsofspring.org.

Howland Center poster v3

 

Realizing a “Dream”: My 1st Piano CD (part 1)

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Greetings, Dear Readers!

It’s finally here: “Darn That Dream Solo Piano Vol. 1”, my first official solo piano album. A long time in coming, this recording represents a very significant milestone for me. This post gives a little backstory and a little about my process. This is Part 1.

Darn That Dream: Solo Piano Vol. 1 

This record took almost 2 years to go from the recording session to the final product. Part of that was simply not having enough time to finish the things I needed to do – buying licenses for the standards, or setting up the mastering; editing the artwork, etc – but a more significant part of it was grappling with my fear of failing – or more specifically, not measuring up to my unrealistically high expectations. Many decades of listening to 1st class piano music will do that to you. How could I possibly hope to compete? The only way I could actually complete this process is to let go of all that and make something much more personal. I feel I’ve accomplished this, and although the lingering fear, now mostly habit, still floats around my head and makes me overcautious, I am proud to present you with this recording.

Part 1 – A Story Telling

My first connection to music was thru the piano. When I was 6, we moved out of NYC to the suburbs. My family bought a house on a cul-du-sac in one of those new developments, the kind of houses the song “little boxes on a hillside/and they’re all made out of ticky-tacky” was written about. It seemed like a big old house to me, however, coming from a small apartment in NYC. We had very little furniture to fill what seemed to me to be a gigantic living room. And then one day it appeared: The black Chickering & Sons baby grand piano that I learned to play on. That piano became my friend, my confident, my escape, my lover, my universe.

My dad got the piano because he loved to play; mostly Beethoven & Chopin (from what I remember). I remember hearing about Mozart – how he had written his first sonatina at age 7. I was 6, and fully convinced I could do the same. I plucked out some kind of melody and insisted my dad help me write it down. In my mind, I was Mozart… yet somehow I knew that that was a much larger world to explore. It was decided I should take lessons.

One of the earliest pieces I learned to play was the 2nd movement from Beethoven’s “Pathetique” sonata. My father taught it to me note for note. Years later he admitted that I could play it better than he could. All I really remember is spending hours & hours at the piano. We lived on a suburban cul-de-sac and that meant stickball, kickball and a variety of other games were always happening. I did play a lot – kicking the ball over the house on the other side of the circle was always a big challenge – but I also chose to spend a lot of time indoors at the piano. My 1st teacher didn’t work out so great, so another was found – Mr. Printz. I studied with him for 5 – 6 years. Under his tutelage I learned the ins & outs of basic harmony; was introduced to jazz greats like Oscar Peterson (thru jazz studies books), and had the opportunity to learn anything I wanted – all I need to do was ask.

I remember Deodato’s ”Prelude” album had a big effect on me (remember the funky version of “2001”?), and by age 13 I had composed & arranged a tune for my High School Big Band. I was hooked on music.  During this time my parents marriage fell apart. They fought constantly. I stayed in my room, or at the piano whenever possible. By age 16 I was gigging fairly regularly, and was cutting high school to stay home and practice. Another key moment came when I first heard Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side Of The Moon”. I knew then that music was my best option in life, and I could not wait to get into the studio and start making records. (That would have to wait until 1990, 27 years later when my band “A. Animal” recorded our first CD “Overhaul”.)

So why a nearly 40 year delay in recording a solo piano CD? And how did I get back to it? As already stated, I started with piano. My first electric Keyboard was a Fender Rhodes Electric Piano, 73 Stage Mark I. (I still have it..!)

I had, early on, made up my mind to always include some piano on any CD I would release.  Those few tentative tracks can be found on “Overhaul” (1990), Alone At Last (1996) and Galvanized (2004).

I had always dreamed of doing a solo piano record – hence the title, “Darn That Dream” – but listening to records by people like Keith Jarret, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and the great classical masters like Van Cliburn, Vladimir Horowitz & Glenn Gould (among many others) I always felt like my own work could never match up. As my friend composer/pianist Richard Cameron Wolfe once said to me, “a little bit of competition there, eh?”  Geez. Part of my trepidation was that I didn’t fit comfortably into a particular style – I was not a “Jazz Pianist”, or a “Prog Rock” keyboardist, or a Classical musician. I did, however, wear all those hats at one time or another – preferably at the same time.

Meanwhile, I was constantly playing for dance classes – first in NYC (1982-1989) and then at SUNY Purchase (1992 till today), and that meant I was playing the acoustic piano constantly, in the wide variety of styles needed to accompany both Ballet & Modern Dance.

It was during my time at Purchase, in 2001, when former Masters Student and teacher Jill Echo said to me “you should make a solo piano CD. I would buy it.”

Jill & I had worked together in class, and she was a great appreciator of music. Somehow, even though it had been said to me before, it just…stuck. It took up residence in a forgotten corner of my subconscious and refused to budge.

A 2nd arc was happening around the same time, as later that year I premiered my solo piano arrangement of Stravinsky’s “Rite Of Spring” – first for the Conservatory faculty (read a review here) and then in a series of local performances, none of which were well attended. I knew I was going to have to record it at some point, though I was experiencing the same insecurity regarding recording. This was before I learned what REALLY goes on in the classical recording world these days, with literally thousands of edits..!

Meanwhile, I was trying to run NAIL around the rigorous touring schedule of a different band. This was taking up most of my time; that plus various other factors led to a decision to leave the touring group and focus on NAIL. This resulted in a CD in 2007 [“Tugging At The Infinite”] and a full gig schedule. However, I still felt like I was spinning my wheels. Then in 2010 I turned 50 – and I released “the train doesn’t go backwards, or stop” – basically that “we ain’t getting’ any younger!!” So I made the decision to put the band on hold (while I reflected on what wasn’t working), and went ahead with plans to record my first Solo Piano CD.

That’s it for part 1. Part 2 will follow in a week or so. Thanks for reading. You can download the new CD here.

 

Return to the Piano: Rite of Spring revisted

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This is the story of my ongoing personal journey with one of the most iconoclastic pieces of music in history… Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite Of Spring”, the piece that caused a now famous riot at it’s premier in 1913.

My journey started when I went to see Walt Disney’s “Fantasia” at age 7. I was completely captivated by the music/image combination. It stuck with me something fierce. I’m not even sure I was playing piano yet, but I remember asking my dad for a recording of the piece (on vinyl, of course!).

Many years later in 1982, I received the 4 hand score (Stravinsky’s rehearsal score) as a birthday present. I was 22. An informal performance at New York University followed in 1984, with fellow pianist Bradley Kaus. Still entranced by the piece and not wanting to let it go, I started kicking the score around – exploring both parts – and this is when I began the process of casually “squeezing” it down to 2 hands.

I was really interested in the orchestral power of this amazing piece of music. As I worked towards a completed 2 hand score, I realized what I was trying to do was bring the Orchestral “experience” of the piece to the piano. i did the 4 hand score again, with Pianist Roberto Pace in 1995 for the Purchase Dance Corps. I continued to work on a 2 hand version, more for my own enjoyment then as a performance piece.

in 1999 I moved to Orange County and met quite a few musicians right away. One of them was Flautist Lynette Benner, who was programming classical shows at the Howland Cultura Center in Beacon NY, right across the river from me. “I’ve got it about 70% percent completed,” I told her. She said “Great! We’d like you to perform it in about 6 months”.

Gulp! Probably the best thing, tho – forced me to finish my arrangement and get it going. The thing I remember most about that 1st performance is that I was SO nervous, I thought I was gonna toss my cookies. 🙂 (Note: It took 15 years to cull the initial arrangement….1984 – 1999.)

The show was great fun, and a serious pianistic workout.

I also performed it in a private setting for the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance Faculty. In attendance was an undergrad student, Jonathan Reidel. He was given the assignment of writing a “review” of sorts, for credit.Here’s that review:

A séance was held this past Thursday at 3 p.m. in studio J of the Dance Building at Purchase College. Primordial forces of Pangean proportion were channeled through pianist NEIL ALEXANDER as he single handedly (well, there were two hands and a foot involved) interpreted Stravinsky’s “The Rite Of Spring”.

The piece that originally moved its audience to riot during its premier in Paris at the beginning of the Twentieth Century was originally intended as a ballet score to conjure images of primitive man, tribal reverence for nature, and ritual human sacrifice. It was subsequently brought forth visions in animated film of prehistoric Earth; molten, cooling, plates shifting, mountains erupting skyward, the evolution of species, their reign and cataclysmic extinction.

This is a formidable amount of energy to pass through an orchestra. The present question, posed in Studio J on Thursday, is what happens to such sonic energy when bottlenecked through a solo instrument? Neil Alexander will tell you that it must gush and stream out the other end like water through a fire-hose.

Clever transcription, first by Stravinsky himself for a four handed piano version, then by Alexander for solo performance, has kept much of the original depth and dynamics of the symphonic version alive. All of the thunderous crashes, floral flourishes, stomping rhythms and tidal pulls are represented. The monochromatic aspect of this version (dealing solely with the timbre of the piano) does not leave us wanting. What is lost from not having the other instruments represented is in the intrinsic connotations that they provide (a bird-like flute, a majestic French horn); what is gained is a broader interpretation of The Rite’s gestures and sweeps. Perhaps the Chaos and beauty is all in the mind of one figure. Maybe the setting is now that of film-noir. There are sections that even sound jazz-infused, yet seem in keeping with the stylistic continuity. The transcription is as “monochromatic” as Picasso’s Guernica; a piece many people forget is in gray-scale.

Purists may cringe, claiming that that the concept of a piano reduction is only meant for ballet rehearsals. But this piece was made for riots and I believe Mr. Alexander will welcome them.

Jonathan Riedel, Purchase Dance Corps

Jonathan has since gone on to start his own Dance company, Riedel Dance Theater. We stayed in touch; I would jokingly bug him about doing “Sacre” with his company.

I continued to perform the piece sporadically for about 3 years, and finally had “had enough”. It’s a bit hard on the hands. Besides, I wanted to move on to other things. And as it seems with all (or most) of my shows, no matter how much promo I did attendance was lite. I guess maybe I was expecting – hoping – that it would generate interest on it’s merits alone.

I did get one really good review out of it, from one of the last performances in 2002. Here’s that review:

Shy brilliance

>Neil Alexander rediscovers The Rite of Spring for solo piano

> Leslie Gerber, Woodstock Times

More than a quarter of a century ago, in l976, I traveled up to Arkviile to hear a piano recital. In this most unlikely location, and on a less than ideal piano, the composer and pianist Frederic Rzewski played one of the most memorable piano recitals I’ve ever heard. For virtuosity and musical comprehension and for the chance to hear Rzewski’s masterpiece, the People United will Never Be Defeated, that afternoon remains in my mind as one of the most unusual and satisfying piano performances in my experience.

I had to wait until last Friday evening for a similar experience, and it was even more unexpected. Neil Alexander is a jazz pianist and synthesizer player. When he played Friday night at the Uptown in Kingston, he introduced himself by saying that he usually performed behind a wall of electronic equipment. But he was going relatively naked, with just an acoustic piano, because of his love for Stravinsky’s orchestral score The Rite of Spring. For the past fifteen years, Alexander told us, he has been working on a piano solo arrangement of this music, and he was finally ready to perform it the first time two years ago. “Don’t “expect too much from me,” he said with excessive modesty. ~I’m no Vladimir Horowitz.” Well, he was right about that. Horowitz could never have performed this music the way Alexander did it.

The Rite of Spring is an extremely complex piece, with thick and often dissonant harmonies and irregular jagged rhythms more the rule than the exception. It’s difficult enough for a good orchestra to play it well. Alexander has truly nailed the piece in his piano arrangement. He’s got the harmonies I and the rhythms, the textures of the music, accurately and lovingly reduced to the piano keyboard. The color of Stravinsky’s orchestration is missing (although Alexander’s playing had excellent tonal coloration, despite the limits of another less than ideal piano), but the rhythmic and harmonic aspects of the music are clarified in this arrangement.

And best of all, Alexander played the music with amazing command. Some parts of the score are inherently unpianistic, but those fifteen years of work really showed in the way Alexander managed to transcribe and play them so accurately and with such exciting force. In short, this was a riveting experience, world class playing all the way. The dozen or so people scattered around the Uptown shared in a great musical experience, one I won’t soon forget. After a break, Alexander returned to what he usually does, jazz improvisation — although it was fascinating to hear the way his study of Stravinsky’s score has influenced the technique and thought of his jazz playing. I am not as much of an expert on jazz as I am on Stravinsky, so all I can safely say about Alexander’s jazz is that he obviously knows , what he’s doing and executes his ideas with the same facility and power as he does with Stravinsky. For He certainly held my attention. And when he was working with material I recognized, l Loves You Porgy from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, I was best able to recognize the ingenuity of his improvising. It’s a pity that a performance like this drew so few people. But I have a suspicion that those of us who heard it are going to be telling our friends.

Watch for Neil Alexander’s name in the papers. And if you love great piano playing, go to hear him — and tell him not to be so modest!

A very good review indeed; however, my “lack of audience” problem has persisted – to this day, no matter what type of show – and so I ceased performing “Sacre”.

ZOOM FORWARD to 2011. Jon Riedel has come back to Purchase to get his Masters Degree. His company is doing well….and he has an idea for new Choreography, based on Ingmar Bergman’s “The Virgin Spring”. Dark stuff, but ultimately well suited to the overall mood.

So – after not performing it for 7 years, I brought “Le Sacre” back. I made a few improvements to voiceings and such, and we premiered his chorepography, with live music, 2 nights last May. It was a smashing success! I have some video footage which I will post as soon as I get a chance. We are also talking about working it into his upcoming (2012) season.

And – we are also approaching the 100 anniversary of the Rite Of Spring, and I have my own plans: an International tour of small concert venues & house concerts, ending in Paris in May 2013 where the piece premiered 100 years before. I have to tell you, I’m very excited by the whole prospect. Plans are being drawn up as I type. Of course this syncs up very nicely with my return to purely acoustic performance, and the (soon the be released) Solo Piano CD.

..And there it is! We’ll be keeping you posted, you can be sure. Thanks for reading. 🙂

 

NAILnews: Year End Goodness

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Greetings, all! I’m wrapping up another year here at nailmusic.com, and I’ve got a few cool shows this month and some great things to look forward to next year. This week in particular seems to be the busiest! It all starts this Tuesday, when I have the honor of sitting in with the Bergen Catholic High School Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Saxophonist/composer/educator Peter Furlan. Then Wednesday night I’ll be the house keyboardist (with Bob Meyer on drums) for Kenny Lee’s Jazz Jam Session at The Bungalow in Mount Vernon, NY. Friday I’m back at the Bean Runner with Joe Gil and his “Trio Of Terror”, with Chris Weigers (bass) and Gregg Bendian (drums), and finally SUNDAY I’ll be returning to the wonderful Turning Point Cafe in Peirmont for another WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION & Canned Food Drive (supporting the Food Bank Of The Hudson Valley). We have a great show planned. This year’s group features James Cammack (from Ahmad Jamal’s group) on bass, Bob Meyer on drums and 19 year old Steven Frieder on saxes. (If you’ve never seen Steven play, it’s NOT to be missed. He is truly exceptional.) Tickets for this are $15 and available from the Turning Point Event Page. Last year’s show was SOLD OUT, so get your tickets early! Please bring canned goods or other non-perishable food items to help our less fortunate neighbors here in the Hudson Valley. As we swing into the New Year 2011, the Mahavishnu Project returns to the Iridium NYC on January 20th with the full-out 11 piece group performing the complete “Visions Of The Emerald Beyond” record. Things are also in the works for us to perform with Jerry Goodman, the violinist from the original Mahavishnu Orchestra, in the spring of next year.

Well, that’s about all the news I’ve got time for at the moment! Have a great holiday, stay warm, stay well. And thanks for your continued support.

NAILNews: All Good Things

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July 9th, 2010 – Greetings, all! I wanted to let you know what’s going on in the NAILmusic Universe… The big news is: NAIL will be doing what is perhaps our last show on August 28th at Benji & Jakes in Kauneonga Lake. After 14+ years, 3 CD’s & countless gigs, I am officially shutting down Neil Alexander & NAIL till further notice. It’s a combination of things: as an artist I have continued to evolve, and I think I’ve outgrown

Neil Alexander & NAIL perform at the BLue Note in NYC

the “keyboards-Bass-Drums” format that has dominated the last 10 years of musical life (it’s certainly served me well). Certainly the lack of an audience is a factor. I’ve also continued to write new material, a lot of it for larger ensembles; plus I’ve been doing a lot of straight up improv gigs (see “Waves Across The Pond” on the blog) as well as solo performances in acoustic, electric & electronic formats. When it comes down to it, it’s simply time to move on for the moment. I’m also working though some ideas about different types of instrumentation and piecing together a new picture of what the group could be should we have another go… Meanwhile, NAIL remains a linchpin in my musical evolution. My sincere thanks to all who have participated.

Happy shot!

Some of the great musicians with whom I’ve shared the stage with in NAIL have been:

Drums: Nadav Zelniker, T Xiques, Amit Shamir, Scott Morehouse, Mike Bram, Dean Sharp, Steve Sacco, Gregg Brendian, Peter Obrien, Costa, Rafael Figueroa

Bass: Charlie Kniceley, Steve Rust, Keith Macksoud, Jim Cammack,, Dan Asher, Lew Scott, Dave Hofstra, Joe Pelletier. Robert Kopec, Rene Hart.

Guitar: Dan Johanson, Marshal Woodall; Ryan Ball, Ken McGloin, Burr Johnson, Chad McLoughlin, Matt Finck, Joel Newton.

Horns: Norbert Stachel, Erik Lawrence, Premik Russel Tubbs, Freddie Jacobs, Joe Gil, John Richmond, James Delano, Steve Frieder.

Chris Hanson & DJ Wavy Davy have played turntables with us, and video artist David Resnick has tripped us out. My apologies if I missed anyone – send me an email.

You are all wonderful artists and humans and I thank you for sharing your talent, time and energy with me and with NAIL.

What’s next for me, you might ask? One of the things I’m now focusing energy on is: Solo performances and House Concerts. Read my blog post about that here. Other interesting projects are popping up, like my silent film series “Scene ReSeen”.

And so we go, ever onward, to the next and the next and the next, keeping the creative flame burning…. See you at the shows.  🙂

NAIL with Nadav And Charlie

For You: Solo House Concerts by Me. :)

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So here we are: 2010. It’s been a wacky ride, especially the last few weeks! I’ve been so busy with gigs now (thanks heavens!) that I can’t see straight. My “Year end wrap up” post never actually materialized, but at some point I will touch on the things that started last year and are starting to flower and bear fruit this year. Things like “The Mahavishnu Project” – which is picking up steam in a subtle and most interesting way. But I digress – and I’ll come back to this with pix, video, and a story to tell. Promise.

This post is about looking forward – to possibilities, and to the future of Live Music. It’s about bringing music right to you, the listener. That’s right, I’m taking about House Concerts. Starting this year, I will be embarking on a new path: Solo House Concerts.

The Setup I i used at our 1st House Concert

Concerts in Your Home. 🙂

I’m sure most (if not all) of you have heard of this delightful phenomenon. Basically what it means is that A performer, one who’s music you’re interested in, comes to your house and does an intimate semi-private performance for you and your friends. People can bring food (ranging from snacks to a pot-luck dinner); it can be a cover charge or suggested donation. (I have to cover costs, and these will vary by location.) The important thing is everyone gets to have a meaningful musical experience – up close and personal, both for the fans and the artist. Basically, everyone wins!

Some great info about the House Concert ideology and how it works can be found Here:

Steve Lawson’s Excellent Page: http://www.stevelawson.net/2009/03/house-concert-hosting-a-beginners-guide/

Gaia Consort: http://gaiaconsort.com/house.html

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_concert


At this time, I’ve yet to do a solo performance (in someone’s house, that is – I’ve done tons of solo gigs at traditional venues), so I’ve no video to post at the moment. I am setting up a local performance for recording so you can see exactly what I’m offering, from setup stills and live video. But till then, here’s a brief description of what I do, especially for those coming to my music for the first time:

I am a jazz pianist and electronica artist. What I’ve done is combine these 2 styles into something unique; something that blends jazz, rock, electronics, funk and ambient music into a seamless blend. My music is both composed & improvised; I perform a combination of familiar jazz standards with a twist; gentle ambient electronica improvisations, and a variety of combinations of all the aforementioned styles.

I will bring  an ever-so-small electronic setup to your house. If you have a piano (and it’s a reasonably good instrument and in tune), I can use it along with the electronics – or keep it straight up acoustic if you prefer. I have my own style at the piano (somewhat along the lines of Keith Jarret and Bill Evans, with a modern classical vibe thrown in). In addition to standards and improvisations I also do select classical works – Gershwin, Bartok, Mozart etc. Stuff I’m SURE you and your friends will enjoy. 🙂

I will have some video to post soon, of both my electronic, acoustic, and “electro-acoustic” material. Meanwhile, I have a whole bunch of stuff that you can look at to get a better idea of what I’m about, at my YOUTUBE page.

I will be in the Los Angeles Area at the end of July and currently have an open date on July 23rd. Hit me up on twitter (@nailmusic) if you’d like to set something up!

Also wanted to mention that my group NAIL – in either acoustic or electric form – is also available for House Concerts, although we’d need a bit more room (and a bit more money…).

Here’s my group NAIL performing at our first house concert in May 2009:

So – stay tuned for an actual House Concert Page to be posted on this site with vids, booking info, contact form, etc.

Thanks for looking. I agree with the current sentiment that House Concerts are indeed the way forward.

Many thanks!

A Peek into the Making Of “A 400 Year Musical Journey”

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Everyone loves a good story, right?

This all started back in the summer of 2008. That was when I began to hear about the “Hudson Champlain Quadracentennial Celebration” (from now on called the “Quad”) – the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s historic voyage up the river that bears his name.

It was around this time that Betsy McKean, a very charming and wonderful person who works in the City of Newburgh records office contacted me about how NY State was promoting this event. There were going to be available several “Mini-Grants” for folks wanting to do an event connected with the Quad. Whether it’s a historical event, or an art show or almost anything – money was going to be available.

She gently (and quite correctly, as we shall see) insisted that I apply. I then had to come up with an “event” related to the Quad, and one that could be funded. (A concert! Of course!) It was then I got the idea for a sort of “400 Year Musical Journey” (although it wasn’t called yet). But Betsy and I discussed the possibilities, and she even helped me research a few things on the net. It was conceived as a way to treat NAIL as a a semi-classical ensemble, which has been one of my intentions from the start. (NAIL is registered as an Ensemble with Chamber Music America.): NAIL as a true 21st century group, doing festivals, clubs and concert halls.

As someone who grew up around the Hudson River, it was always a presence in my life. I live within site of it now; all I have to do is walk 20 feet to the corner and look down the hill. I had even already written a tune, called “(At The) Water’s Edge”, which is the feeling of joy I get from doing outdoor concerts near the river. Yay.

So the paperwork was submitted, the idea finalized and filed away, nearly forgotten. And then, the little miracle: Application Accepted! I guess this means I had work to do.

More thinking & researching… I wanted to do an outdoor concert at one of the oldest intersections in Newburgh, where the two first main streets crossed – Liberty & Broadway.

View Map

There are 2 empty lots on 2 of the 4 corners. But the ownership of these lots was in question, so I turned my attention elsewhere.

Meanwhile, I got an email from one of our many Art “organizers”. There are a lot of artist trying to make a dent in the apathy of this town, and one of those methods is “4 Citys/4 Saturdays”. The 4 citys are Poughkeepsie, Beacon, Kingston & Newburgh. In Newburgh it’s known as the “River Artwalk” (Newburgh has no discernable center of town – it was bulldozed in the 70’s.). Artist/Photographer Tom Knieser is one, and it was from him that I first heard of “River Day” (June 6th 09) and and open call to artists to come down and set up by the river. I contacted him, and he put in touch with – that’s right – Betsy McKean. A price was agreed upon, and NAIL would perform for around 2 hours that day. It was a great show!

Then as you well know, Life happens. Next thing I knew I was knee deep in “Vishnufest” with the Mahavishnu Project. So it wasn’t until the end of July that I began to work in earnest on the “400 Year Journey”. But all things are interconnected…

Having known violin luminary Zach Brock for about a year, through the MahaVishnu Project, I had been trying to figure out a way to get him onto a NAIL gig. Well, here I had the perfect situation. Violin would add tremendous sonic character and authenticity to what I was trying to accomplish. (Besides, we’re funded.) So Zach was hired. I next turned to my old friend Erik Lawrence, but scheduling conflicts made that impossible. So I contacted another member of the MP, someone who among his many, many credits had actually toured with McLaughlin- reed and woodwind master Premik Russel Tubbs.

With these two cats in addition to Nadav Zelniker and new bassist Dan Asher, I now had a stellar band. I then made final music choices, starting with music of Thomas Ravenscroft, a British composer from 1609. I worked the format out – it was to be 2 sets; the 1st set would go in 100 year intervals: 1609, 1709, 1809, 1909. After intermission, we would pick up the pace, as music evolved faster, and jump to 20 year intervals: 1929, 1949, 1969, 1989. We would end with 2 of my original pieces, representing 2009.

Now I had the group, and the program concept. I needed a location. And one of my favorite spots in Newburgh is the Newburgh Free Library. It’s a massively wonderful place, and I’m very good friends with a lot of the librarians, especially the wonderful Chuck Thomas (on twitter as @infocowboy – stop by and say hello.) I keep trying to get them to put a cot in the basement for me, so I can live there. BUT ANYWAY…

Because we are funded, the kind folks at the NFL were all too happy to allow us to perform at their location. The outside spot – in front of the Library – forms a natural Amphitheater and is a great place to play. And – if it rains, we’ll use their indoor presentation room. All bases covered.

Then the music began to really fall into place: Bach in 1709, Duke Ellington for 1929, The Beatles for 1969. 1809 was the year Beethoven’s 5th piano concerto was completed and premiered; this was one of the 1st pieces I fell in love with and learned at the piano so it was a shoe in. 1909 was chosen as “The Birth of the Blues”; 1949 finds us in Bebop territory, with a glance at early country music a la Hank Williams. I spent 2 weeks arranging the material and writing scores and parts, which I haven’t even quite finished as of this writing. I wanted to represent 1989 with Hip Hop, and one of my former students is a rapper and stepped up to the challenge.

But wait – here’ where it gets really interesting….

I got an email about 2 1/2 weeks ago (more? Less? Hazy) from Clayton Buchanan, one of the Newburgh Artists mentioned earlier. Apparently a certain painting of his won an award at a Kent, CT. art show. The reason I got the email was because the painting was of….me. ME? How could this happen? Well, remember “River Day”? Clayton was there, taking photos. He was moved enough to create this painting, of yours truly:

Clayton Buchanan's Painting "Street Noise"
Clayton Buchanan’s Painting “Street Noise”

Then another extraordinary thing happened (that’s 2, if you’re keeping score at home): A friend, fan and supporter named Mark Delano (@mark_delano on twitter) bought the painting with the intention of semi-permanently lending it to the Newburgh Library. Naturally it was decided that the painting would be “unveiled” and presented to the Library during our show’s intermission. Mark’s also been a tremendous help with the press, writing press releases and contacting local print and news media. I can’t thank him enough.

So now we’re a little more than a week away from the show. The last piece fell into place with a Hip Hop piece about the history of Hip Hop written with rapper Tell-a-Vizion. I still have a few charts to finish and my own press to do (i.e. this post). I’m still working on bits of the sound system (we need monitor wedges, for example), but it’s just about all come together. All that remains is the show itself! And yes – we’re working on streaming it on the web at our NAIL ustream page. I just have to get my hands on a camera…!

To learn more about this event, check out our news page at All About Jazz, or read one of Mark Delano’s Press Releases.

So – that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. I’m enjoying the ride. It’s even possible that there will be money left over for me. I think that was part of the idea…

Love ya’s – take care of yourselves. Perhaps we’ll see you at the show. It’s not one to be missed IMHO.

Vishnufest: The Sets

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So – I did say I was going to write a post about playing the music of John McLaughlin, and all that that entails.

Well…..this isn’t it.

However, I wanted to – for the sake of those who are fans and cannot attend (or can and want to know what to expect) – post the complete list of material we will be performing over the next 2 nights. Once again the venue is:

Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St, New York, NY

Shows 1 & 2 are tuesday night (tonight!) and show 3 is wednesday night.

So, without further ado, here are the set lists for this year’s VISHNUFEST.

Show 1: The John McLaughlin Songbook – Before & After Mahavishnu.
Extrapolation
New York on my Mind
Guardian Angels*
Do you hear the voices?
Electric Dreams
Freindship
Devotion

Special: SUITE FOR CHOIR:
I Am My Beloved’s
One Truth
Law Is Not Love
God Then, God Now
Name of Truth
Walk

Show 2: BEST OF MAHAVISHNU
Birds Of Fire
Miles Beyond
Celestial Terrestrial Commuters
You Know You Know
Vital Transformation
Dance of Maya
One Word
Meeting of the Spirits

Show 3: RETURN TO THE EMERALD BEYOND
(-includes String Quartet, Premik Russel Tubbs on sax/flute and Melissa Stylianou, voice)
Eternity’s Breath
Lila’s Dance
Can’t Stand Your Funk
Pastoral
Faith
Cosmic Strut
If I Could See
Be Happy
Earth Ship
Pegasus
Opus One
On The Way Home To Earth

And there you have it! Hope those of you in the area who like this music can make it – you won’t be disappointed. 🙂

Love to you all –
– Neil

Good CD press, April 2008

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 This just in, from ROLL MAGAZINE in the Hudson Valley. It’s not on their website yet, and I don’t have th author credit, but here it is:

Neil Alexander & NAIL
Tugging At The Infinite

CD Review From Roll Magazine, April 2008

Proudly proclaiming that there is “No electric guitar on this record”, Neil Alexander strikes a blow for keyboardists everywhere, armed with a rack of synth modules and his trusty hand held controller. With prodigious chops, chordal vocabulary and supple support from local jazz favorites Charlie Kniceley, T Xiques, and Nadav Snir-Zelniker, among others, Alexander’s instrumentals cover considerable ground between 70’s Jeff Beck, Bitches Brew-style jazz jam and John Carpenter movie soundtracks. Plus the inevitable guitar-sound-on-a-keyboard thing. www.nailmusic.com.