KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ Rex Radio: The Music of Bill Horvitz

Analog Audio


Event Type
Interview and Music
Origin
KPFA
Identifier
RR.1989.07.10
Program Series
Rex Radio
Program Length
61 min
Dates
1989-07-10 | broadcast
| 1989-02-13 | created
Description
Phil Lesh and Gary Lambert present music from New York guitarist-composer Bill Horvitz. After a brief introduction a series of musical selections are heard including recordings of a jazz ensemble performing “The Mirrored Heart” and “The Way It Feels,” both recorded on December 5, 1986 at Roulette in New York City. Sandwiched in between these two ensemble performances are three compositions for solo electric guitar. The first, “Coyote Man in the Center of the Sun,” was commissioned for a celebration of the Summer Solstice, and was inspired by a Native American creation story. The second, “Archtypal Industry” is performed on a modified, or prepared, electric guitar capable of making sounds more reminiscent of bells than strings. The third solo piece incorporates a digitally looped guitar in the background as Horvitz utilizes a variety of kitchen utensils including a wire whisk as a guitar slide.

According to the composer’s web site (www.billhorvitz.com): “Bill Horvitz stretches the boundaries of guitar music and points it in new and exciting directions. Horvitz fuses traditional and extended techniques in a most inventive way; his strikingly personal instrumental vision endows the music with an infinite array of tonal color. His long and varied experience in the realms of jazz, rock, classical, folk, and new music have resulted in an entirely original compositional voice, a voice that is forceful and innovative, yet always intelligently accessible. Since 1974, Horvitz has led both large and small ensembles. Between 1978 and 1988, he lived and worked in New York City, where he explored and extended the sonic range of the guitar in a wide variety of settings.”
Genres
Jazz
Musical Selections
The Mirrored Heart, for jazz ensemble (17:07) -- Coyote Man in the Center of the Sun, for solo guitar (4:09) -- Archtypal Industry, for prepared guitar (6:03) -- The Kitchen Noises, for electric guitar and electronics (4:15) -- The Way It Feels (17:02)
Performers
Bill Horvitz, electric guitars, etc. (all)
Bobby Previte, drums (Mirrored ; Way)
Vincent Chancey, French horn (Mirrored ; Way)
Elliott Sharp, electric guitar, bass clarinet (Mirrored ; Way)
Jason Hwang, violin (Mirrored ; Way)
Myra Melford, piano (Mirrored ; Way)
Herb Robertson, trumpet (Mirrored ; Way)
Marion Brandis, flute (Mirrored ; Way)
David Hofstra, bass, tuba (Mirrored ; Way)
Alex Lodico, trombone (Mirrored ; Way)
George Cartwright, saxophone (Mirrored ; Way)
Evan Gallagher, conductor (Mirrored ; Way)
Subjects
Jazz
Electric guitar music
Electric guitar and electronic music
Acknowledgment
Funding for the preservation of this program made possible through a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts.