LOVE IS A PENDULUM

KE
C
O
L
M
JOE
U
L
U
D
EN
P
A
IS
E
V
O
L
IGUEZ
R
D
O
TR
ROBER N GULLY
O
TERRE ODRIGUEZ
R
RICKY
1 VARIATION ON WISDOM 2:08
2 LOVE IS THE TIDE 11:37
3 LOVE IS A PLANCHETTE 7:54
4 LOVE IS A PENDULUM 8:44
5 LOVE IS LETTING GO 4:52
6 LOVE IS PERPETUAL MOTION 10:37
7 FOR JESSE MOUNTAIN 5:45
8 LAST DITCH WISDOM 6:43
9 EMBRACE 7:44
All music written and arranged by Joe Locke, Wire Walker Music BMI
JOE LOCKE vibes ROBERT RODRIGUEZ piano
TERREON GULLY drums RICKY RODRIGUEZ acoustic and electric bass
ROSARIO GIULIANI alto sax: 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 / sop sax: 4
DONNY MCCASLIN tenor sax: 6, 7 VICTOR PROVOST steel pan: 6, 9
THEO BLECKMANN voice: 3 PAUL BOLLENBACK guitar: 1, 7
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MTA-CD-173
LOVE IS A PENDULUM
by Barbara Sfraga
Love is a pendulum
Swinging freely, parting the atmosphere with each slice
Sweetening the breath of air with each new arc
Carving out its space while
Breathing new life into that well-worn, comfortable pattern
Feel it gently propel you
As the vibration keeps you one step ahead of its gravitational pull
Love is the tide
A pumping, surging undertow that will take you down, pop you up
And drench you in its power
Til you learn to follow its flow
Take its lead
Roll with its rhythm
Meld with its majesty
Love is perpetual motion
Keeping a gentle connection - not a heavy hold
Forcing the hand would stop the action
Touch it gently with your fingertips
And feel the energy flow through you,
Branch, search and wind its way through your every atom,
Flow back and forth and back and forth and back
Penetrating infinity
Love is a planchette
Free to move about the board
Fingers lightly touching
Being carried, transported
Secret messages revealed
Prior lives unsealed
Faith and trust now one
Seventh sight begun
Love is letting go
It’s eternal
Maternal
It never dies
T
he inspiration for the suite
which is the centerpiece of this
recording came from a poem by
Barbara Sfraga, a multi-dimensional
artist I have long admired. Each
verse begins with a metaphor
describing love - its properties and
tendencies - and how (possibly) to
navigate them. As is so often the
case in my composing process, the
genesis of a musical idea comes
from words, whether it be a novel,
a poem, or even a simple phrase
uttered in a certain way. I feel that
Love Is A Pendulum is my best work
thus far and I am eternally grateful
to Barbara for the inspiration her
poem has provided.
Variation On Wisdom is a throughcomposed chamber piece and is a
re-working of the material from Last
Ditch Wisdom (track #8).
On Love Is The Tide I wanted to
convey the surging power described
in this particular verse of the poem.
There are a lot of shifting rhythms
occurring, but its essence is the
Blues.
Love Is A Planchette depicts the
movement of a planchette as it
moves across a ouija board. This
melody is gentle rather than spooky,
as it describes the light touch we
must keep on love in order for it to
move us from one place to another.
Love Is A Pendulum was the first
movement I composed for the
suite. The A section is based on the
harmony resulting from poly-triads.
This is followed by two simple
lines in contrary motion (B) and a C
section which raises the intensity
considerably. As with the movement
of a pendulum, the band goes back
and forth between these sections.
Played as a rubato ballad, Love Is
Letting Go is a meditation on love’s
eternal nature.
For the beginning of Love Is
Perpetual Motion I wanted a wide
open space for the two saxophones
to have a conversation, interspersed
with written material. The main
melody of the piece does not occur
until after the 4:20 mark, where
it emerges from 3/4 time into a
9/4 clave, followed by vibes / pan
trading and a piano solo before a
restatement of the melody
For Jesse Mountain is dedicated
to my nephew Jesse. Big man, big
heart.
Last Ditch Wisdom speaks for itself
- NYC hardball, start to finish.
Embrace is based on George
Gershwin’s Embraceable You, and
was conceived as a vehicle for
Victor Provost. Robert Rodriguez’s
lyrical ride at the end of the piece
concludes the recording on a
consonant note. As tightly composed
as much of this music is, it would
not have risen off the page without
the creative contributions of the
musicians here.
Robert, Terreon and Ricky, the core of
this group, have been hugely important
to the realization of this project.
Working together with a great natural
chemistry, they sculpted the shape
of each piece into something beyond
what I had imagined. Their ability to
deal with the written material while
at the same time injecting it with soul
and spontaneity was (and continues to
be) remarkable.
Robert Rodriguez’ deep intellect and
lyricism, combined with his ability to
turn up the heat as a soloist, served to
inspire throughout the sessions.
Ricky Rodriguez brought an acute
understanding of what each piece
needed, whether on acoustic or
electric bass. He personalized the
music to such a degree that I have had
to write some of his improvised lines
into the written bass parts.
The addition of Terreon Gully to the
project proved so significant that he
ended up being the co-producer of
Love Is A Pendulum. It would be an
understatement to say he took care
of business at the drums on this
recording. But he also took care of
everybody else during the sessions.
That kind of selflessness is rare and
was felt in the music.
I’m grateful that all of my first
choices were available (with a bit of
juggling!) to be guests on Love Is A
Pendulum.
Rosario Giuliani’s passion and
dedication are felt and appreciated
by the many people who know
and love his work. He flew in from
Rome for this recording, immediately
caught the flu, and played absolutely
beautifully anyway. I’m proud to call
him my brother.
Donny McCaslin is a force on the
tenor saxophone and simply lights up
the two compositions on which he
appears. “For Jesse Mountain” was
composed specifically with him in
mind as the soloist.
I had no particular desire to have
steel pan on this recording, I only
knew that I wanted Victor Provost!
I’ve been a fan since the first
time I heard him. “Embrace” was
composed as a vehicle for his lyrical
playing.
Always creative and always intuitive,
the great guitarist Paul Bollenback
brought the ideal sonic colors to the
songs on which he appears. Known
as a stunning soloist, as evidenced
by the many recordings he has
made as a leader, he humbly and
beautifully serves the music here.
I have followed Theo Bleckmann’s
brilliant work for a long time - both
on his own projects, and on those
of Meredith Monk, Ben Monder,
Allison Wedding and others. It was
high on my wish list to have him
appear on this recording, and the
amazing contribution he made to
“Love Is A Planchette” exceeded my
expectations.
Joe Locke
Middletown NJ, January 2015
THANK YOU
Robert, Terreon, Ricky, Rosario, Donny, Victor, Theo and Paul
AND
Alan Silverman, John Abbott, Matthew Ziegler, Gino Moratti, Tom Marcello, Anthony Smith,
Isabelle Pfeifer and the team at Miooow, Michael Kline, Leigh Stevens, Tom Meyers and the
staff at Malletech, Mike Balter, Jana Herzen, Robin Tomchin, Tom Evered, Jason Byrne,
Haley Brawner, Mary Ann Topper, Fanny Delsol, Jana LaSorte, Ken Druker, Kaitlin Palencsar
and everybody at Motéma.
Special thanks to Katherine Miller for her amazing ears, and for going the extra mile.
Extra special thanks to Nadja von Massow for her talent, creativity and deft
management in all areas, both actual and virtual.
And to Barbara Sfraga for her inspirational poetry.
Recorded at AVATAR STUDIOS APRIL 13 & 14, 2014
Produced by JOE LOCKE and TERREON GULLY
Executive Producer JANA HERZEN
Recorded and mixed by KATHERINE MILLER
Assistant Engineer TYLER HARTMAN
Mastered by ALAN SILVERMAN, ARF MASTERING
Product Manager ROBIN TOMCHIN
Band and Joe Locke photography by JOHN ABBOTT
Theo Bleckmann photography by AMANDA STOCKWELL
Graphic design and studio photography by NADJA VON MASSOW
All music written and arranged by Joe Locke, Wire Walker Music BMI
Joe Locke performs with the Malletech Omega vibraphone and pickup system,
and plays the Joe Locke series mallets by Mike Balter.
Terreon Gully plays SABIAN cymbals, Pro-Mark drum sticks,
REMO drumheads, LP percussion.
Ricky Rodriguez endorses Gallien-Krueger bass amps and cabinets.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT
nadworks ltd.
Nadja von Massow
nadja@nadworks.com
phone +44 (0) 7970 997213
LABEL
Motéma Music
Product Manager: Robin Tomchin
robin.tomchin@motema.com
phone +1 212-860-6969 ext. 9
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