Expanse
Extent
Evoking the idea of space and restraint, Extent is a mostly acoustic improvisation project based around the trio of David Peck on clarinet, contralto & contrabass clarinet, saxophones flute, goat horn, synthesizer, theremin and percussion, fellow reedist Michael Caglianone, Michael Knoblach performing on percussion & objects, and joined by NY/Boston improviser Albey onBass on bass.
Squidco Staff
Excerpt From Liner Notes by PEK
“…Extent is comprised of mostly sounds from acoustic instruments, although there is some playing on the electro acoustic instruments and some playing on the synthesizers. It is a very well-balanced improvisation, a bit quieter than most of our sets. There is quite a bit of really tasty ensemble percussion play as Mike C, Albey and I used the auxiliary instruments to guide the improvisation through a sequence of transformations to distinct sonorities.…”
Extent:
Expanse
Evil Clown Headquarters, Waltham MA – 15 August 2023
1) Extent – 1:09:38
2) Limit – 5:13
PEK – clarinet, contralto & contrabass clarinets, alto & tenor saxophones, bass flute, bass tromboon, goat horn, accordion, melodica, theremin with moogerfooger, syntrx, nord stage 3, prophet, korg m20, novation peak, moog subsequent, arp odyssey, Linnstrument controllers, soma pipe with game call, [d]ronin, 17 string bass, guqin, spring & chime rod boxes, baby bomb piano, recorder, array mbira, crotales, glockenspiel, gongs, plate gong, brontosaurus & tank bells, cow bells, orchestral chimes, Englephone, danmo, wood blocks, Tibetan bowls, bells & chimes, seed pod rattle, almglocken, orchestral castanets, orchestral anvil, gavel
Michael Caglianone – soprano, alto & tenor saxophones, flute, clarinet, hulusi, novation peak, moog subsequent, Linnstrument controllers, array mbira, spring and chime rod boxes, balafon, xylophone, orchcestral castanets, almglocken, temple bells, wah tube, flex-a-tone
Albey onBass – electric upright bass, balafon, xylophone, gongs, flex-a-tone, brontosaurus & tank bells
Michael Knoblach – Bodhran, jaw harp, copper bowl, enamel bowls, sand blocks, African circumcision rattles, slinky, tit-fers, wooden billiards triangle, train whistle, acme siren whistle, meinl helix bowls, scraper, xmas ornaments, clock chime, marbles in plastic container, tiny sleigh bells, glass furniture carpet protectors, ratchets, tiny seed pod shakers, huge & medium seed pods, gong, party time balloon pump, fishing reel, wooden robot, Griswold cast iron skillets, nails in baby food jar, flex-a-tones, horses-ass-a-phone, vibratones, whisk, abacuses, metal pot scrubbers, basket of rocks, turtle skin rattle, egg beater, happy apple, pitchforks, devil chasers, wood shakers, fisher price turtle, fisher price bee, first years clown, humpty dumpty toy, spooky world noise makers, plastic tubes, castanets, Victorian children’s rattles, antique Asian bronze children’s rattles, healing balls, mortar & pestle, confirmation bells, wooden bell, sleigh bells, elephant bell, sistrum, antique sheep shears, axatse, scalp massagers, basket rattles, metal rattle, African wood blocks with stone inside, Chicxulub dinosaur and star teething rings, bags of marbles, water filled mason jar, magic wands, water filled lobster pot, palm frond rattles, plastic ball rattles, American Percussion busy box drum
Joel Simches – Live to 2-track recording, real time signal processing
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Liner Notes by PEK
In May of 2021, I opened Evil Clown Headquarters to other fully vaccinated musicians, and the first session of the new age was scheduled for the second set of the Expanse sound world. Michael and I both enjoyed the auspicious first set right before the pandemic shut down and collaboration became an ongoing Evil Clown project, both as a duet for some sets and as a larger unit for others. As an ongoing project, it needed a permanent name, so after some thought I came up with Expanse which evokes space and restraint, the central idea behind this ensemble at its inception.
This is now the tenth set from Expanse, although Michael Knoblach has also appeared on Leap of Faith sessions. Some of the Expanse sets have featured mostly acoustic instrumentation, and some of them have included more electronic instrumentation. Extent was originally scheduled to be a trio with me and the two Mikes. The second Expanse set (and the first one to be called Expanse) was this trio.
Michael Caglianone is an Evil Clown regular who has appeared on 27 albums by 6 of the ensembles. He has a tone on saxes and a phrasing approach to constructing improvisations which are similar to my own. We play very well together which is why he participates so frequently.
Albey is also a frequent flyer here at Evil Clown. He is currently back and forth between New York and the Boston area. He was going to be in the area and so we added him to this session.
Extent is comprised of mostly sounds from acoustic instruments, although there is some playing on the electro acoustic instruments and some playing on the synthesizers. It is a very well-balanced improvisation, a bit quieter than most of our sets. There is quite a bit of really tasty ensemble percussion play as Mike C, Albey and I used the auxiliary instruments to guide the improvisation through a sequence of transformations to distinct sonorities.
I was expecting this to be a great session and I was not disappointed.
PEK, 16 August 2023
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