Leap of Faith (2015 to Present)
Geodetic Drift
Leap of Faith is the core duet of the Leap of Faith Orchestra (LOFO) of David Peck on clarinets, saxophones, double reeds & flutes, and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice, using a huge arsenal of instruments to improvise works featuring transformations across highly varied sonorities, joined here by trumpeters Bob Moores & John Fugarino, and percussionist Michael Knoblach.
Excerpt from PEK Liner Notes
“… The aesthetic problem posed to this ensemble is an interesting one. Michael’s unusual percussion is mostly pretty quiet (much quieter than drum set), and horns are louder. Joel did an excellent job with the mix, balancing the quieter sounds of the percussion with the dynamically restrained efforts from the horns and the amplified cello. Not less intense, but a bit quieter than other Leap of Faith configurations…”
Geodetic Drift:
Leap of Faith
Evil Clown Headquarters, Waltham MA – 5/2/2023
1) Geodetic Drift – 1:10:45
2) Gravity Probe B – 3:41
PEK – clarinet, contralto & contrabass clarinets, sopranino & alto saxophones, mussette, guanzi, bass tromboon, alto flute, accordion, [d]ronin, 17 string bass, theremin with moogerfooger, ms20, novation peak, moog subsequent, syntrx, prophet, Linnstrument controllers, spring & chime rod boxes, crotales, glockenspiel, Tibetan bowls, bells and chimes, flex-a-tone, chimes, brontosaurus & tank bells, gongs, plate gong, temple blocks, log drums, orchestral castanets, cow bells, Englephone, danmo, wood & temple blocks, xylophone, balafon, almglocken, orchestral chimes, orchestral anvils, whistling, wind siren
Glynis Lomon – cello, aquasonic, voice
John Fugarino – trumpet, slide trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, xylophone, balafon, seed pod rattles, almglocken, temple bells, chimes, Englephone, wood blocks, temple blocks, orchestral anvils, log drums, nord stage 3, spring & chime rod boxes
Bob Moores – space trumpet, flugelhorn, spring & chime rod boxes, Tibetan bell, nord stage 3, moog subsequent, novation peak, Linnstrument controllers, flex-a-tone, seed pod rattle, log drums, wood blocks, temple blocks, wind siren
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 seed pods, medium seed pods, washboard, 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
Joel Simches – Live to 2-track mix, real-time signal processing
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Liner Notes by PEK
Leap of Faith is the core trio of the Leap of Faith Orchestra (LOFO) comprised of PEK on clarinets, saxophones, clarinets & flutes, Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice, and Yuri Zbitnov on drums & percussion. The ensemble is based in Boston and dates back to the early 90s. We utilize a huge arsenal of additional Evil Clowninstruments to improvise long works featuring transformations across highly varied sonorities. The ensemble has always been highly modular and our many recordings feature the core trio in dozens of configurations with a huge list of guests.
On Fractured Symmetries, we are joined by Sydney Smart. Syd goes way back with Leap of Faith to the early 90s and even before that with Glynis. Syd was a frequent guest in the original LOF lineup with PEK, Glynis and trombonist Mark McGrain and in the second LOF lineup with PEK, Glynis and bassist Craig Schildhauer. PEK, Glynis, Yuri and Syd all played together in the ensembles of Raqib Hassan. In addition, Glynis and Syd have played together with pianist Eric Zinman for many years in a trio called New Language Collaborative.
We love playing with Syd who brings an amazing sensibility to pure improvisation. In recent years Syd has been using an electronic percussion rig which is easier to move than drum set. So, this Leap of Faith performance has great depth in the percussion section with Syd on electronic and acoustic percussion and Yuri on drums and percussion with PEK chiming in occasionally. Glynis was running a bit late, so we opened with a short piece as a trio, and then after a rapid cello setup, we did the main event as a quartet.
Fractured Symmetries was recorded in performance at Outpost 186 in Cambridge MA where Evil Clown has a residency on the third Saturday of each month. For each performance we use a variation on the core Leap of Faith ensemble with guests or one of the other named Sub-Units of the LOFO: Metal Chaos Ensemble (the extended percussion section), Turbulence (the expanded horn section), String Theory (the expanded string section), or Mekaniks (featuring some electronic instruments, loops and signal processing).
PEK, 22 April 2018
Paul Brennan Photos
