Conversational Music, by Aaron Alexander & Julian Priester

Conversational Music

by Aaron Alexander & Julian Priester

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Full Digital Discography

7

releases

Get all 7 Aaron Alexander releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Structures, Children at Play, A Westward Gaze, Conversational Music, 5 Dances for Merceditas, The Klez Messengers, and Blues for Sparky. , and , .

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1.	Ariella Carmen 03:16	buy track
2.	Gerald Stephen 03:16	buy track
3.	DrumBone 02:31	buy track
4.	Life on Mars 03:16	buy track
5.	Wex 02:57	buy track
6.	Kocmierozki's Shed 03:34	buy track
7.	Ode to Lucius Harper 04:05	buy track
8.	Lives of Dialogue 07:16	buy track
9.	Bulaga Bugalu 05:31	buy track
10.	A Rose for Beatrice (for Bea Schott) 03:32	buy track
11.	Pamanhikan at Road 20 (for Nicolas C Mañago) 02:56	buy track
12.	Amygdalicious 02:47	buy track
13.	Cymbalinese 03:34	buy track
14.	Gingging, Bongbong 03:53	buy track
15.	Evolver 04:17	buy track

about

Contact: Aaron Alexander
484 West 43rd St. #33C
New York, NY 10036
646-414-2326
a@aaronalexander.com
www.aaronalexander.com
www.conversationalmusic.com

Artist: Aaron Alexander Julian Priester
Title: Conversational Music

1. Ariella Carmen
2. Gerald Stephen
3. DrumBone
4. Life on Mars
5. Wex
6. Kocmierozki's Shed
7. Ode to Lucius Harper
8. Lives of Dialogue
9. Bulaga Bugalu
10. A Rose for Beatrice (for Bea Schott)
11. Pamanhikan at Road 20 (for Nicolas C. Mañago)
12. Amygdalicious
13. Cymbalinese
14. Gingging, Bongbong
15. Evolver

Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved

Aaron Alexander Julian Priester
Alexander - drums, percussion
Priester - trombone

My experience of music has led me to many special moments. They come out of the love of the music, and the joy that you feel when you experience having exposed your true self, and discovered that it's OK - it's really OK. That when you express those parts of you that you are really terrified of, those parts of you that you dream about, but you dare not openly expose, because they're just too personal. The music is magic. It has that ability to express those things that are too personal. It gives us freedom to shed tears, to laugh, to cuss… to love. We hope you enjoy.
-Julian Priester, September 2007

All pieces composed by Aaron Alexander, Third & Pike Publishing, BMI, & Julian Priester, Kalimbamusic, BMI
except #6, 13 by Aaron Alexander, Third & Pike Publishing
& #7 by Julian Priester, Kalimbamusic, BMI

Liner Notes:
"There are many ways of framing this series of freely improvised duets
between trombonist Julian Priester and drummer Aaron Alexander: a
master class in what Priester calls "spontaneous composition"; a
primer on creating graceful melodies and coherent structures on the
spot; an object lesson in how to make a small group sound like a large
one. But the simplest is probably the best: a conversation between two
old friends.

Alexander and Priester first played together nearly 25 years ago at
Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where Alexander was a student
and Priester an instructor. By that time, the older man was already a
legendary figure in the jazz world, having worked with Duke Ellington,
Sun Ra, and Dave Holland, among others. Alexander, meanwhile, was one
of a small group of young Seattle players who would go on to define a
particularly adventurous and inclusive stream of modern jazz. For
several years, the two worked together both in the classroom and on
the bandstand. Then Alexander moved to New York City. This recording
marks the first time they have performed together in 15 years.

Listening to them now, it is easy to understand why veteran jazz
musicians often describe their work as a conversation or dialogue. As
the music unfolds -- Priester unfurling one judicious phrase after
another, Alexander generating an endlessly varied sequence of textures
and colors -- it sounds very much like a heartfelt discussion between
two sensitive and intelligent people, a discussion that is by turns
sombre, joyous, even funny. The intimacy of these tracks exemplifies
the exposed quality Priester mentions in his own notes; we are
eavesdroppers here, and lucky to be so."

by Alexander Gelfand

Special Thanks to Merceditas Mañago-Alexander for important creative and practical input and inspiration in all aspects of this project, and to Nashira Priester for help with names and good studio vibe, Steve White for recording the live gig, to Arnold Hammerschlag, Greg Wall, Jay Clayton and Ben Holmes for listening and sequencing suggestions, Ana Isabel Ordoñez and Herbie Robertson, to Edong Ramos for design roughs, to Ariella Carmen for being, and especially to Julian Priester for decades of musical and personal inspiration.
-Aaron Alexander

credits

released February 4, 2023

Aaron Alexander - Drums, Percussion
Julian Priester - Trombone

Produced by Aaron Alexander
Recorded by Randy Crafton at Kaleidoscope Sound, Union City, NJ, September, 2007
Except #4 and #15, Recorded by Guy Staley at London Bridge Studios, Seattle, WA, January 2007
Mixed by David Richards, Mazebright Tenafly N,J.
Mastered by Jon Rosenberg, Brooklyn, NY
Graphic Design by Jon Madof
Cover Image by Ezra Cohen - River, 2009. Oil on Canvas, 26" X 32". Private Collection

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about

Aaron Alexander New York, New York

Aaron Alexander is a drummer and composer based in NYC. Originally from Seattle he moved to NYC in 1993 and makes his living playing, writing, teaching and presenting music. He has released original music as a leader and appeared on dozens of recordings as a sideman and member of collective groups. He is also founding director of the NY Klezmer Series. www.aaronalexander.com ... more

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