Fillmore Street
Fillmore Street is a recently composed instrumental composition scored for a Jazz Orchestra of 16 players. In three movements, the programmatic titles refer to three locations in California that have meant much to me over the years. In the early 1980s we lived at 2411 Fillmore Street in San Francisco, and the first movement, “Fillmore Street,” refers to that time.
At 4:53 I quote from several musical works that were in my ears then — including the sound of a disco hi-hat. “Sonora Pass” refers to the highway that traverses the Sierra Nevada mountains north of Yosemite, one of the most beautiful and varied landscapes in the world. The third movement, titled “Mar Vista,” recalls the neighborhood we lived in, south of Santa Monica and east of Venice, in the great City and County of Los Angeles.
Recording again in New York, with the greatest jazz musicians — a high point for any composer. Sear Sound — at this time — was the longest-running studio in Manhattan. One plus was being able to use studio founder Walter Sear’s original 1968 Moog Model IIIC modular synthesizer, one of the first made. Walter Sear and Robert Moog were friends and business associates.
Little Woodstar
Little Woodstar was composed in the mid-1990s, while I was studying at UCLA. I scored it for a Vocal Quintet and Large Orchestra, and now have re-orchestrated for a smaller Studio Orchestra of 16 players and five singers. It is a pleasure to hear it well-recorded and beautifully performed by the best musicians in Los Angeles. The term “Studio Orchestra” was often used when I first lived in Los Angeles, to refer to groups of about 20 to 30 players utilized for film and television scoring. I like the intimacy of one-on-a-part groupings. We recorded the ensemble in Los Angeles, in the superb large Studio 1 at East/West Studios in Hollywood. Vocals were recorded at Sear Sound in New York.
Established in 1964, The International Union for Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Animals has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi, and plant species. Little Woodstar is the common vernacular name for one species of Hummingbird, among over 150,000 species currently assessed for the Red List. Struck by the poetic beauty of the names, a selection of 47 of them became the text for this work. The texts are used by permission.
Track List:
- Fillmore Street
- Sonora Pass
- Mar Vista
- Little Woodstar I
- Little Woodstar II
Credits
Producers: John Atkinson, Joe Harley. Fillmore Street recorded April and May 2024 at Sear Sound, New York; session engineer and mixing James Farber; Moog programming Owen Mulholland. Little Woodstar orchestra recorded October 2023 at East/West Studios, Hollywood; vocals recorded January 2024 at Sear Sound; session engineers Steve Genewick and Chris Allen; mixing Chris Allen. Vinyl mastering Matt Lutthans; digital mastering John Atkinson. Contracting Peter Kent, Aubrey Johnson, Andy Farber. Cover photography Anthony Lujan and Mark Miller; graphic design Ian Lascell. In memory of Amy Shulman Kent.
