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By D a v i d Ta y l o r

G il Evans and I were walking in Venice onenight. He told me that Duke Ellington toldhim: If you keep yourself open, you neverknow who will come along, pull your coat, and

take you left. This article is a personal journal about howI have always believed in this principle.

My copy of Luciano Berios Sequenza V had been inthe filing cabinet for literally 30 years before I attemptedto play it. The piece was written for tenor trombone, hada very different performance concept, and somewhat ofan elite new music head. Deep down I had the aware-ness that it required a long-thread view and internal timeperformance skill that was overwhelming for me. I hadtaken classes with Berio, Hall Overton (arranger of Thelo-nious Monks big band book) and composer Jacob Druck-man at Juilliard in the 60s. Even though they gave me acomprehensive, different overview of classical and jazzharmony, the piece was not approachable. Sequenza re-mained one of those compositions that stayed in the backof my mind over the years, reminding me there was acomposition with living structure available, and I wasnttaking advantage of it a world-class piece that couldbe personalized, different every time, open to whimsy,and audience friendly.

Do you remember the first through-composed musicthat really forced you out of yourself? Angels Of TheInmost Heavens for brass quintet by Lucia Dlugoszewskiwas the first for me. Although I must say, as a student,the performance that really encouraged me to have thelove and guts to stick with the bass trombone was thesolo in Bartoks Miraculous Mandarin. I can even remem-ber the heroic feelings I had driving home to Brooklyn thatnight after the concert, tooling down the West Side High-way radio blaring ROCK AND ROLL.

Written in the 1960s, Angels Of The Inmost Heavensemploys very fast mute changes, amazingly fast technicalpassages, low and high registers, complicated rhythms,multiphonics, slow-moving material and long, loud, sus-tained pitches just about everything and having veryfew rests. However, the piece makes so much sense, andfeels so good, you trust the structure. You start, and thenext thing you know, its over. You know its going to bea haul. You prep, start, and somehow dont worry aboutthe fact that youre getting tired, sweating, or that your

chops are hurting. You keep your eyes moving to theright, faster than your brain has time to register the noteyoure playing, and you feel like youre improvising!Improvisation in classical music! Ultimately, I think solo-ists and orchestral musicians who really feel their parts aretapping into that concept, playing the music they love likeliving-structured music. Find a cadenza you like in anyinstruments repertoire. Use it as a structure to freely im-provise. Find an unaccompanied piece you like, and openit up to your free improvisation. Go in and out of the writ-ten material. (Even though its free, try making the transi-tions smooth). Try it with a Bordogni etude. Improvisingwill give you confidence in the overall time feel of an or-chestral excerpt, or of a whole passage. It will allow youto get each fragment while thinking of the whole phrase.Thad Jones told me there were times when he could heartwo choruses of changes in front.

I refer to blues very often in my improvisation. Myfamily didnt own a record player until I was about 15, sobasically my love for music came from the AM radio sta-tions, and old-time gangster, black and white moviescores. These old soundtracks were hot. It was the musicof the 20s and 30s infectious rhythms, with bluesharmony. My regular radio fare was rock and roll and

R&B both of which are based in blues. Blues makesme feel confident and safe because its so deep, open topersonal expression, and immediately recognizable to everyaudience member on the planet. As an example, FranzHackl, fantastic thinking composer, wrote a reconstructedversion of Ein Heldenleben. He had me walking in theauditorium, standing in the audience and improvisingwhile the orchestra was playing the full chords we have allgrown to love. In my mind, I reduced the harmony to sev-eral very simple chords, and used that as a basis of ten-sion and release for my chromaticism, and the relatedchromaticism of the piece. In this case, and generallywhen I play I dont necessarily refer to blues in a finitestructure, but often use the beautiful simplicity of theblues scale, or the blues dramatic chord shifts to give thelistener a reference point as an analogy, maybe muchlike the old European drama of plagal cadences, or Ger-man augmented sixth chords.

The Orchester der Tiroler Festspiele, under the direc-tion of Gustav Kuhn, played the complete orchestral versionof Ein Heldenleben in the first half of the concert. The sec-ond half featured the same orchestra, and this reconstruct-ed piece called U-Held, with five soloists and electronics(based on my trombone sounds). Franz Hackl on trumpet,

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Dietmar Kblbck, Otmar Gaiswinkler and Erik Hainzl ofthe Vienna Trombone Quartet, and myself. We played infront of 1500 people, and it was wonderfully received.

With Angels Of The Inmost Heavens, you look at thepart and cant imagine playing all of it. You study andpractice to the best of your ability. You practice and stillcant see all the notes go by. At the concert, you know tojust keep going. You trust the validity of the wholeness tothe point that even if the notes coming out of your hornarent all correct, the music will hold up, and your stylewill be intact. All you have to do is let yourself climb intothe music. Once inside it, you dont second-guess yourself.You just go. Sequenzas structure is an enabler, similar tothe things Ive just described.

Dont worry about what you dont have; use what you bring

to the gig. Gil Evans

I was in Gil Evans band for five years and am on sev-eral of his CDs, including his Grammy award CD, LIVE ATSWEET BASIL, THE MONDAY NIGHT BAND. If youve heardthe CD, you might not know Im on the sessions, becauseIm listed as Dave Tucker. The producer messed up, and Idont know if it was ever straightened out. It was OK,though, because after that I became Tucker to Gil and theband. Probably one of the most amazing elements of hisleadership was his presence. As soon as he walked intothe room and sat behind the keyboard, you knew he wastotally into the music, and it affected you directly. Youwere around a great musical spirit, who gave you all theroom you needed to express yourself. His improvisatoryadvice to me Every now and then give them a sign-post. Thad Jones was, Dugger, its only a half stepaway. Joe Henderson float over it. Lee Konitz I listen to every note.

Do you accept any direction themoment will take your art?

Thats risk.

When you use vibrato, doesnt the speed of the vibra-to affect the tempo of the music that has preceded it, aswell as the tempo it might be anticipating, as well asdescribing the note youre playing at that moment? Doyou try to live in the moment? Do you accept any direc-tion the moment will take your art? Thats risk. Are youpracticing your fundamentals enough so that you cansense well enough in advance during your solo that sometechnical problem might be developing in the middle of

the phrase and then veer? When you veer, do you tendto veer to music rather than the safety of technique? Doyou think in terms of keeping the thread or structurewhole, and avoid taking the safety valve of technical per-fection, which might break the thread you have beendeveloping? Thats also risk. If you are a young musician,can you take the risk of being too individualized, whenyou feel your playing isnt known well enough? Can youreally afford not to take the risk? When youre older, sea-soned, and have much to protect, do you take that risk?

Can you afford not to take the risk?

Its funny Berios classes stuck in my mind allthese years, not necessarily because of the factual data heimparted, but because I remember Berio teaching with joy.He spoke with firsthand knowledge of Stockhausen, Cageand Boulez. The vibe was glee. My take on his conceptwas that if you were going to make music your lifes work,groove within the seriousness. Is that humor? Is that irony?Is that struggle? Is it divorcing yourself from consciousmusical decisions by utilizing the I CHING, as John Cagecomposed? Isnt it fantastic that the music of Bach, nomatter how much of it we think we know, is still a mys-tery? Can you imagine how long it took just to notate? IsTHE JOY wondering how the Dutch literary, Maeterlinck,was able to be so compelling, that his writing affected suchdifferent musical personalities as Debussy and Schoen-berg? Is THE JOY wondering about, and hearing, feelingand seeing individual quirks of creative structure, realizingthat in soloing there is really only you to hold it together?Are notational devices user-friendly markings to ease theproblems of technique and enhance performance style, orare they extra burdens to remember?

If you arent a composer, try to use their problem-solving techniques of developing style, structure, validityand relevance to their era. They do all this while maintain-ing some relationship with historical precedence andgetting their music out to the general audience. Performcontemporary music. Try transcribing music. When youtranscribe, try staying with material that will allow aninterpretation from the soul. The great pianist and com-poser, Busoni writes that as soon as a composer writes hisown concepts down, it becomes a transcription. Try not toforget to ask yourself, AM I THIS MUSIC?

When you listen to music, do you ever wonder whichmusician the composer had in mind when he wrote thecomposition? Do you ever wonder how they went abouttheir collaboration? Who was Bachs trumpet player? Whowas Prokofievs tuba player? When John Coltrane askedThelonious Monk about what note to play during a record-ing session, B-flat or B-natural, why did Monk look at himand just say, Yeah. Who was Mozarts horn player?

In the beginning of October 2002, my trio with DanielSchnyder, soprano sax, and Kenny Drew Jr., piano, ap-peared at The Konzerthaus in Vienna. It was quite an ex-perience for me bass trombone in trio and solo atone of the two biggest concert halls in Vienna. Mahlerworked there. Bernstein worked there. Very impressive!But, the real high came at the end of October when Ireturned to Vienna to play four performances of DanielSchnyders Bass Trombone Concerto. Two of the perfor-mances were at The Musikverein. This is the other mainconcert hall in Vienna. This is the hall where Brahmsworked and the home of the Vienna Philharmonic. Somepeople refer to this place as the Holy Temple of music!

Schnyder and I are friends, so when I get nervous be-fore a performance, he usually says to me, Dont worry,Taylor, the concerto was written for you and your tech-nique. You cant fail! This sometimes makes me feelrelieved. However, for the potential encore at these con-

Dave Taylor and Daniel Schnyder with Gargoyle (Grotesque comique?)

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certs in Vienna, I planned to perform a string arrangementI put together for the Franz Schubert lied, Der Doppel-ganger. I was going to play an 18-minute, wild bass trom-bone concerto, and then an encore on a lento tempo vocalpiece of Schubert in Schuberts home town in aplunger mute in front of between 1900 and 2100 peoplefor each performance. I felt it was a risk.

On arrival day, I was walking to The Muskverein tomeet with the conductor, Tetsuro Ban, and saw these pos-ters hanging in Vienna. Although theyre impressive, thesight actually frightened me, because I now had to reallylive up to their expectations.

Although I was prepared for the concerto, and the firstrehearsal went well, I didnt hand out the parts for theSchubert. I was seriously considering not doing an encore.Even though I had recorded Der Doppelganger twice in thelast year in different arrangements (one unaccompanied,and one with my trio with bass and drums), I love thispiece, and understand its place in music history. I washaving my doubts as to the validity of my concept, andquestioning if I had taken this piece too far. Schubert isViennas hometown boy. Performing this piece at theMusikverein, in front of an audience that was in atten-dance to hear The William Tell Overture, the FranckSymphony in D minor, and as a stretch, a bass trombone,could let me in for a real down. I was hearing this melodyin a somewhat improvised way, and just using low strings violas, celli and basses in the exact way the pianopart was written.

Even though this was my second appearance with theorchestra, and they had heard me do unaccompaniedimprovised encores based on my tunes in various mutes,this was my first appearance at the Musikverein with TheTonkunstler Orchester. The encore improvisations weresuccessful the last time, and probably a similar thing couldhave been done at these concerts. My thought was thatThe Schnyder Concertos exciting concept required an en-core with high drama!! It needed music with the same in-tensity, but coming from a different mindset. I wanted tocontrast the virtuosity required in Daniels concerto, withthe virtuosity of playing this amazingly compact, great,but simple lieder. I wanted to do something valid buttotally different for this audience. I had a chance to reallysee what could be done as a creative musician on a basstrombone, in front of an audience that knew Schubertwell knew what his music was all about. This was anaudience that really would listen to the piece for what it

was, without concerning themselves with academicallyqualified transcriptions. I handed out the parts at the sec-ond rehearsal. My reasoning was that if this werent thetime to groove within the seriousness, that timewould never come.

There was another reason to push myself to performthis concept of Schuberts song. I had an upcoming perfor-mance in New York of Berios Sequenza. I was going toplay it in front of Berios colleagues, including Elliot Carterand Charles Wuorinen, and many of his admirers on a pro-gram featuring musicians who had specialized in Beriosmusic. My performance on bass trombone was going tobe very different from the original tenor trombone version.I was concerned about the reaction from composers andmusicians. I was concerned that although I might be per-forming the piece with its original intent, my different in-strumental requirements on bass trombone might be push-ing the piece too far. I believed my interpretation was com-ing from the right place, and didnt want to let my insecuri-ties stop me. Playing the Schubert in Vienna would be veryimportant in maintaining my confidence. My feeling was, ifthe Vienna concert scene could accept these liberties withSchubert as coming from a real place, the same could bedone in NY with Berio.

When the orchestra saw the music, the first reactionwas a silent skepticism. The parts were simple to play basically whole notes. At first glance, Im sure the harmonylooked very close, low, and not right. After they startedplaying, they enjoyed the music because the harmonywas so tight, and in such low inversions. It had a beautifuland weird effect. When I started playing, it was kind ofshocking for me, because I didnt know how to read theirreaction. I was playing vocal recital music on an instru-ment that wasnt a trombone they normally saw, in a toi-let plunger; performing lieder about a guy describing howhe was watching his alter ego, while lamenting over hislost love. The musicians were looking side to side at eachother, and then at me. They really seemed to like whatthey heard, and that made me quickly feel at ease. Afterthe rehearsal, the orchestra was in a very positive mood,and we talked about the performers concerns with play-ing Austrian music in Vienna. This orchestra rehearsed in abuilding with attached caf so the musicians were used tohanging out after rehearsals. They told me they felt thatthe Viennese had acquired a reputation of being difficulton performers who took too many liberties with Austrianmusic and that this was something they felt was notquite true. For the most part, they said Viennese musiciansenjoy fresh views of old master works. The brass and windplayers came up to me really energized. They liked theidea behind the musical statement I was making. They in-terpreted what I was doing as a commentary on the song.Of course, the conversation included talk of the Schnyder.The orchestra loved Daniel Schnyders Concerto. The pieceis well-written, unbelievably colorful and technically reward-ing for all the instruments. The engaging rhythms are anamalgam of a lot of periods, including those of pop, rock

and jazz of today. The brilliance of his composition is thathe doesnt pander to these concepts. Its real.

There has always been discussion about how far aninterpreter can take a composition. When is the musicsintent unrecognizable? Have you ever thought about thereaction Pergolisi would have had if he had heard Stra-vinskys Pulcinella Suite? Have you played Elliot Carters,Wuorinens or Taverners Renaissance transcriptions andarrangements? Have you ever heard Luciano Berios ar-rangements of folk songs? In fact, Berio wrote a piececalled Renderings which is based on the sketches Schubertmade for his 10th Symphony. He goes inside and outsidehis own style, and at times tries to write as Schubertwould have written. Have you listened to Pablo Casals in-terpretation of the Bach Cello Suites? When you hear himplay them, its like witnessing a personal revelation.Casals sparked a lot of controversy with his personalapproach. He sounded like he was improvising! Incident-ally, how do you think it came about that many of youare using Bach Cello Suites as requirements for your or-chestral auditions?

Whenever I hear Glenn Gould play Mozart piano son-atas, I think of the amazing relationship to Miles Davis play-ing Gil Evans arrangement of George Gershwins Porgy andBess. It always amazes me to listen to varying genres andreact to the similarities. Glenn Goulds sound is very differ-ent in his Mozart Sonatas than his usual sound. Its hislight touch, naivety and vulnerability that makes it sosimilar to Miles sound. Gil Evans arrangements are verypowerful and totally modern, but theyre so straightforwardthat they remind me of Mozarts simplicity. How far canyou go? Some music transcribes well, and some not. Partof the fun thing is finding out which is which. We all knowwhen a transcription works. Whats the difference betweenan arrangement and a transcription? Does it include theinvestigation of copyright laws? How do you categorizemy take on the Schubert in which I transcribed the pianopart for the strings, and was very loose with the melody?What do you call an arrangement, if the melody appearsintact, but everything else is changed?

The Schubert was played on all four concerts, and theaudience reaction was good. They understood that I wasinto it, and while I was serious, there was fun attached toit. The orchestra liked the fact that the solo sounded differ-ent at each performance. Heres part of the review fromThe Musikverein. Im including this review not only be-

Dave Taylor performs in the Musikverein with the Tonkunstler Orchester Niedersterreich, Tetsuro Ban conducting

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cause the critic really liked both the Concerto and Der Dop-pelganger, but because I was amazed that he felt the fourand a half minute Schubert encore was valid enough togive it so much space and importance in the structure ofthe review.

In the Niedersterreichische Nachrichten review Gott-fried Sengstschmid wrote, The motto of the Tonkuenstler-Concertwas the Independence Of Sounds. Whatcould that have meant, perhaps the Concerto for BassTrombone by the Swiss Daniel Schnyder? In any case itwas varied and refined in rhythm and instrumentation,somewhere between Stravinsky and Bernstein. The Ameri-can, David Taylor with brilliant with his soli the ap-plause caused an encore an amusing arrangement ofthe Schubert lied, Der Doppelgnger.

Over some Hollywood-like string playing, the basstrombone portrayed the lament of the disdained lover,seeing his shadow turn into a comic-grotesque state in themoonlight. It was marvelous! Once again, the fantasticsoloist showed the numerous subtle nuances created throughhis playing.

After reading this review, I was grooved by the con-cept of grotesque-comique. Being a fan of M.C. Eschersuse of strange creatures and subjects, certain Japanese artforms that use excess, and worldwide architectural stylesthat include Gargoyles, Im familiar with the positive as-pect of the word grotesque. Some dictionaries define itas a style of art developed in 16th-century Europe, inwhich representations of real and fantastic figures aremixed. Many modern artists around the world still use thisas an artistic technique.

By the by, the drag about believingyour good reviews is that you then

have to believe your bad ones!

Humor and improvisation have been a large part of mycareer. When I was in my thirties, I added vocals, poetry,multiphonics and extended techniques to my solos for vari-ous contemporary music genres. I have played and impro-vised on Der Doppelgnger for several years in many differ-ent ensemble combinations and found that each accom-panying grouping required a different style of interpretation.

In this version with strings I had to stay much closer tothe original melodys time feel, but the plunger addeddrama to the meter. I had to be really careful with my into-nation, but with plunger I could be microtonal and still bevalid. I had to have good projection because the hall is aroom that seats over 2,000 people. The plunger enabledme to be as soft as I wanted without the typical pianissimodynamic technical problems. I was able to use multiphon-ics, because the plunger with multiphonics has an amazingvocal quality. In fact, some orchestra members thoughtthey heard the words of the piece. I could change octaves

when I felt it, because with all of these compositional de-vices going on, utilizing the style I had been developing,octave displacement becomes just another color on thepalette. Octave changing is one of the most commonlyused transpositions in transcription. The logic of getting tothe octave jump and away from the octave jump is veryimportant in maintaining the integrity of the interpretation.

All of the techniques I used in the Schubert song aredirectly transferable to the Berio. Acting, or performanceart, adds an extra layer of introspection to an interpreta-tion, and Sequenza forces the performer to go through allkinds of personal revaluations and technical reassessments.The acting gives you another view of what you are internal-izing and expressing in your creative musical thoughts.

Non-Western extended sound techniques have a much longer historythan the virtuosity acquired since the

Middle Ages sackbut techniquebrought us to the modern trombone.

Sequenza V is a seminal piece for the trombone, andaltered the trombones history in the 20th century. Thesound techniques in this piece are still cutting edge, andunfortunately a trombone player wanting to look the otherway could probably go through his entire career withoutapproaching most of them. But, if you look closely atwind instrument traditions from around the world, thesenon-Western extended sound techniques have a muchlonger history, than the virtuosity acquired since the Mid-dle Ages sackbut technique brought us to the moderntrombone. In the old days of the 20th century, a playerwould specialize in this kind of modern music. Time haschanged that. Now, everyone can relate to these sounds,even if they think they dont feel them. These sounds arereally no longer extended techniques. They are additionalvocabulary. They must be additional vocabulary, becauseeven though Im a conservative musician, compared tothat group of fantastic trombone trailblazers in the mid-60s, these sounds are totally incorporated into my mostcreative playing in old German lieder, even!

For me, it isnt only the extended instrumental tech-niques that make the Sequenza unique. One of the mostelemental things to me about this piece is that it works. Ithas verity. Audiences can be mesmerized by it. They canhear the depth of the music but still realize that no matterhow sad or deep, a composition sounds, its still music,and through it all, the musician makes the underlying joyof art come through. Thats also how I feel about theblues. Through it all, joy is the bottom line. Der Doppel-gnger is another example. Its coming from a very dark,introspective, kind of gloom. But through it all must comethe ever-present up that humans create in music.

Stuart Dempster and Vinko Globokar played a closepart in getting this piece written. There are lots of com-plicated issues involved in commissioning a front linescomposer. Money aside, sacrifice aside, the artist has togo to the composer with a technique that will spark thecomposers creative juices and sustain his interest in devel-oping the piece. He must show the composer his willing-ness to climb inside the composers aesthetic and beready to jump through hoops when the composer decidesto take the performers already virtuosic technique a stepfurther. Stuart Dempster and Vinko Globokar, judging bythe type of work Berio wrote for them, are foresightedmusical thinkers, and very soulful men.

I guess I could have practiced a bass trombone versionof Sequenza in the house and been satisfied. Beinginvolved in jazz and modern classical repertoire since themid 60s, and commissioning music since 1978, this al-ternative didnt make sense. When a performer plays acomposition in front of an audience, wonderfully differentthings happen for that performer. The interaction of theaudience with the music creates a very spiritual relation-ship, especially when the performer is real in keepingthe thread of the piece going. When a performer is reallyinto a composition, it begins and runs through as if it wereone thought throughout the whole structure. The composi-tion is his. Every note is personal. Its like one completeimprovisation. Im not saying I get this feeling or result allthe time, but if it happens once in a great while, its worththe wait.

My first public performance of the Berio Sequenza wasin April 1999, when Madeline Shapero of Modernworkspulled my coat, and took me left, just as my friend (NY-based author and orchestral program coordinator) JosephHorowitz had done with Doppelganger and other Schubertleider. With Joes musical recommendation, I had to findthe right spots for the music, and it took some time for meto feel natural enough with the transcriptions I was conceiv-ing. Madelines offer came with a built-in spot on one ofher groups concerts. I don't know whether she was awarethat I would do a bass trombone version of Sequenza, and Ididn't ask. She called and offered me the gig one couldntrefuse. I left it hanging, almost dreading the intensity itwould require after all these years of keeping Sequenza inthe filing cabinet.

Perusing the music, the most obvious problem wasreading the notation. Even the instruction sheet was hard.Although, I have to say, the more you read the instructionsheet's conciseness, the more ambiguity you will see. Forexample, the most obvious freedom-giving sentenceappears when discussing the form of the second section:It is expected, for each performer and at each perfor-mance, the length of the breath units to be different.OR, the more subtle instruction: Vocal sounds at thegiven pitch, produced with the lips on the mouthpiece,generally while playing. Its the inclusion of the wordgenerally, rather than the MUST instruction Beriosometimes states, that gives me some freedom, or atleast the confidence not to obsess over technique which

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might prevent a flexible form. This confidence allows meto invite accidents and adjustments into my performances.Cautionary note: With freedom comes responsibility.

With freedom comes responsibility!

This piece supports so many varied approaches! Look-ing at the actual notation, customization seemed to beimportant. For example, I relocated the plunger markingsto make it look like the notation of more familiar mutedtrombone music, and highlighted the dynamics in yellow.Im so used to the typical bar line notation we normallysee, I couldnt get the flow happening, so in the secondsection, I put in one or two more clearly delineated barlines. Seeing dynamics described numerically, rather thanwith symbols, added more variations to the dynamics thanone might normally see in conventionally written scores.You even get to think of dynamics as mood differences

rather than varying loudnesses or softnesses. I customizedthe notation just enough to keep moving, but not to makeit overly familiar. When you play a lot of fresh music, youquickly learn that its the page turns, clearly customizedaccidentals, highlighted dynamics, and xeroxing that couldmake or break a performance. Or memorize.

This music looked so different and intimidating to me,I just left it lying around the house in places where I didntfeel the need to sit down and study for long stretches. Ileft it in places where I could browse and ease into it.Practicing gave me brain itch real quick. There was plentyof prep time for the concert, so I started practicing in verysmall doses. Some of the instructed sounds were new tome and tough to feel comfortable with. Singing below theplayed note was the hardest concept for me. Its a veryconcrete sound in this piece, and because of the basstrombones physical properties, I always found multiphon-ics most effective if I sang above the played pitch. I didnteven begin to think about the theatrical aspects until Iabsorbed very big chunks of the piece. Not quite true; thetheatrical element was probably one of the main things

that drew me into the music. I just stayed away from ituntil I had a clearer understanding of the relationship ofthe acting to the music.

I dont think Ive ever heard a recording of this piece.I saw two performances many years ago, both in front ofstudent audiences. I wanted to learn this piece from myown idiosyncratic viewpoint, so I stayed away from record-ings, etc. Have you ever seen the great comedian, VictorBorge? His antics at the piano were fantastic. Much of itwas visual. The music usually was concocted from theclassics, light classics and popular music. It includedstrange sounds, and banging on all parts of the piano. Heseemed to carry on that Grock tradition. I looked aroundfor these kinds of reference points (often wondering ifthese clowns performances could work on recordings). IsCrazy Al Yankovich another of these clowns?

Berios Sequenza focuses you, and helps you developa concept of visualizing form. Angels Of The InmostHeavens has a built-in formal aid dance. It was origi-nally performed with the Erick Hawkins Dance Co. In a sim-ilar way, the clown concept aids the form of the Berio. The

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awareness of the character throughout is a great unifyingfactor to the whole piece. Ask yourself some method-actingquestions. Can I imagine a great, sophisticated clown(Grock), staging an act with a trombone, concentratingspecifically on technical, instrumental perfection? Practicethis piece, maintaining the mentality of a great, highlyrespected, deep performer, traveling through Europe duringvery difficult historical times, entertaining the populace.Hes using one of the most recognizable acoustic instru-ments in history. Hes performed in a wide variety ofvenues, respected by political leaders, as well as the citi-zenry (hes known to have refused correspondence withthe politicos), and is known to have used more than 20instruments in his show, violin being the most prominent.Is he using the trombone just to be a virtuoso instrument,or could this piece be a soliloquy for a philosopher, usinga historically majestic, yet most whacky axe to denote allthe emotions in the world, making the day brighterthrough the depth? Different areas of the globe have differ-

ent attitudes on acting personae. Ive grown up with film,Broadway, TV and stand-up comedians, and Ive checkedout some of the great acting teachers. Ive read Stanislav-skys books on acting, and found these books to be greatanalogous ways to get into the interpretation of music.

Visualize the whole piece like yourlaughing babys drool falling on the

boss wifes new white sofa.

Yes, get the notes right, no, dont sacrifice the vibe forthe notes. Keep the wholeness going, practice the tech-nique and forget it. Itll add to the joy. Maybe we couldall loosen up a little. Visualize the whole piece like yourlaughing babys drool falling on the boss wifes newwhite sofa. What Im finding is, if youre totally involvedin the structure of the music youre playing, and the musicyou are playing is the sound you truly love,the real youwill surface. That might be a definition of style. It takescourage, but if you are a trombonist in this day and age,you already have courage. That being said, a concept ofstyle is not so easy to achieve. For example, it has takenme four or five years of playing this piece just to realizethat the vocal sounds and vowel sounds in Sequenza arenot artifacts. These sounds are little parts of a myriad ofhuman sounds. Its funny how things go; this really didntsink in until the very last note in my very last perfor-mance. Sequenza ends with a soft E-natural alternatingbetween the voice and played trombone note. For somereason, my voice ended with a really imperfect sound thatwas almost like a cry or sigh. The mood was great for thestructure of the piece, but, of course, it was on my rightafter the concert self-criticism list of mistakes. After anhour, or so, I started reviewing my work from a distance,and realized how throughout the performance I had letmyself go. This vocal sound was totally logical with allthe other sounds I had made, it added to the body of theinterpretation, and really could be thought of as the onlylogical conclusion. This could lead to another problem initself: making the good mistakes like this part of the nextperformance. When soloists try to repeat their best mis-takes, the music becomes as false as just thinking abouttechnical perfection like when an improviser developsa bag of licks.

Most of my performances of this piece have been infront of the general music-going public. The first perfor-mance, with Modernworks, had Sequenza as the openingpiece on a program of diverse modern Italian composers.My feeling was if I came on too hard with clown-likehumor, the timing for the rest of the concert would not beset up correctly. I balanced my concentration more on thevirtuosic technique. This last performance was programmedon an all-Berio concert with no intermission: 1) Sequenza

VIIA for oboe, Jacqueline LeClair, 2) Piano Sonata, UrsulaOppens, 3) Sequenza V for trombone, and 4) Circles forsoprano and two percussionists (Lucy Shelton, soprano).There was no intermission, and the music preceding andfollowing Sequenza V was so dense and serious, it mademe feel freer to explore the performance arts.

Knowing this was a high profile concert, with a sophis-ticated NY downtown crowd, the organizer suggested Idress in all black. I opted for white tie (i.e., with long for-mal coat), because Berio requests it, and because I didntwant my performance dictated to by an audience. I knowmany trombonists have experimented with various cos-tumes, stage makeup, wigs, hats, etc. Thats cool, but Iwas aware my playing style would be stretching the mate-rial enough without that extravagance. A week before theconcert, I figured that if I added a pair of white socks withmy regular high-top black shoes to the formal attire, itwould add a little circus atmosphere to my concept, andbecause of the modesty, draw this particular crowd in.Although I dont want the audience to dictate my perfor-mance, folks is folks.

I wore a black and white bow tie, to subtly displacethe concert uniform of formal attire, and found a pair ofolder style formal trousers that are too tight down the leg.The slim leg pants amplified my already ample gut per-fectly! The pants were rolled up just enough to let thewhite socks show ONLY when I sat down during the sec-

New York Times Music Review April 2, 1999

Not Exactly a Familiar Italian TouchSequenza V (1968) in which a solo

trombonist is asked to produce probablyevery sound possible on the trombone,including chord-like multiphonics, notescombined with singing and vocalizing,muted tones and sustained notes playedwhile turning in a circle, with a variety ofvaudeville poses thrown in for good mea-sure. Mr. Taylor played it gamely and withan assured virtuosity.

Al l a n Koz i n n

New York Times Music Review November 22, 2002

After the Piano Sonata came SequenzaV (1965) for bass trombone, Mr. Berioshomage to a great clown, Crock [sic], heremembers from his childhood. The trom-bonist David Taylor, wearing a tuxedo, butwith white socks, black boots, unkempt hairand a harried look, was both a brilliant per-former and a one-man circus, producing allmanor [sic] of rude blasts with a rubberplunger mute, as well as an astonishingarray of gusty chants, pants and inhalations.

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4 6 I . T . A . J O U R N A L

ond half of the piece. I imagined by not showing thewhite socks during the first section, where, for me thepiece is most heraldic, and slapstick, I would create a kindof stretto effect, or across the barline mental syncopa-tion, by reminding the audience of the circus during themore dense, introspective second section. Even if this con-cept of tying both movements together with obvious visu-al effects didnt translate to the crowd, it made an impres-sion on me, and helped me think of the composition as awhole. I remember sitting down for section B, and beingat the end of the first page when I realized the secondpage was upside down. I made shtick out of throwingpage one over my shoulder (it appears in a purple colorbehind me in the enclosed New York Times picture) andsetting the remaining one properly. I had xeroxed, andenlarged the music. It must have looked zany. I picked aspot that wouldnt disturb the timing, and the audiencewas clearly able to see the gigantic page flying, coordinat-ed with my exaggerated adjustment of the second page.They laughed at the great gag all part of the gestalt.

I dont know the historical trail of conservatory educa-tion in Western civilization, but I do know that now and inthe second half of the 20th century, conservatories havebeen a bulwark in support of contemporary music. Becauseof this, we sometimes forget that in the real world, humanbeings work in strange and sometimes illogical ways dur-ing the creation of a work of art. For instance, in bringingabout a new work, there are times when the commissionand composition dont occur in a defined chronological or-der. A composition might be started in a different contextthan the way it appears in its final structure. I performedthe Daniel Schnyder Bass Trombone Concertos secondmovement with a string quartet in Zurich, Switzerland on a

chamber music concert well before the first and third move-ments were performed.

Essay, by Luciano Berio (I.T.A. Journal Vol. 22, No. 2,Spring 1994) was meant to be a composition for unac-companied trombone. It became the second section of theSequenza. Essay was written before Stu Dempster com-missioned Berio. I didnt know this information until read-ing an old volume of the I.T.A. Journal during the writingof this article. Seeing volume 22 was nice, and it con-firmed my intuitive approach to connecting the two sec-tions. I usually approach interpretations with traditionalperformance study, and over the top practice repetition.By this I mean, when I repeat phrases during my practic-ing, I most always try different ways of approaching thephrase. For me one of the joys of performance is being soprepared that every accident is another opportunity toexpress a deeper part of my communication with the lis-tener. In my practicing, I try to look at as many anglesas possible, so when I perform, Im almost improvising.As an example, try breathing in different places and stillmake the phrase the way you want it to be. When deci-sions of performance personalization come up, I trust myoverall communicative vision, historical knowledge, andstreet smarts. Im also lucky enough to know thatwhen you perform, all of this thinking goes away!

Simplify! Just walk out on the stage and play!

Daniel Schnyders Concerto was easier to envisionbecause of the built-in nature of the movements of theconcerto form, and because Ive played many pieces hehas written for me, I knew his style. Besides the unusualnotation, Sequenza required the added responsibility ofcomic, musical and formal timing. How did Beethovensorchestra get through those first performances? Can youimagine the improvisation going on there? Can you imag-ine the audience reaction to the 9th Symphony? Can youimagine how the premiere of The Rite of Spring musthave felt to the orchestra members, compared with thethought-through practice of the modern orchestra in con-cert no dancers, no crowd going nuts, no new-fangledparts to play, and no lights being turned off?

Wilhelm Frtwngler, great conductor in the first halfof the 20th century, writes about the dangers of a conduc-tor rehearsing an orchestra until the music sounds as if itsbeing preserved in a bottle of formaldehyde. So, it is obvi-ous that besides pristine techniques, there are many ele-ments that go into a successful concert in any genre. Youknow Berio clearly understands this concept, and knowsopera buffa. Have you ever heard the way Enrico Ca-ruso and Maria Callas sang and interpreted libretti? For methe conclusion has to be that artists invite the beautifulaccidents into the performance. It helps make the structure

alive. Besides the vitality, oftentimes its these wonderfulaccidents that define the truth of the performance. Manycultures build imperfections into their artifacts, like markson drum skins, long loose threads in rugs Soul Leaks allowing the spirit to travel in and out. Incidentally, Itaped coins to my personalized, carved-plunger to simulatethe rattling effect Berio requests. (Using a rubber plungerwith taped coins has become a performance tradition, es-pecially if the metal plunger cant be found).

Grock said, The genius of clowning is transformingthe little, everyday annoyances, not only overcoming, butactually transforming them into something strange andterrific it is the power to extract mirth for millions outof nothing and less than nothing.

Not combing my hair (it is usually tied in the pony-tail-type of hair style) combined with my odd-shapedreading glasses further threw the formal suit concept offkilter. Basically, I wanted to suggest elegance with odd-ball second thoughts or oddball thoughts, with a touchof elegance. I wanted the audience to see and feel throughsimple, obvious means that I had thought this characterthrough. Besides this attire, I brought a fold-up woodenmusic stand. Youd be surprised how audiences react tothis kind of personalization. These elegant stands are lessintrusive than the large ones we seem to find on stage.Trying to keep this touch of class, I used the leather pianobench that was left on stage from the Piano Sonata. SinceCircles was the composition right after Sequenza, the per-cussion was already set up. Walking on stage betweentwo batteries of percussion instruments, working withinmy own personalized set, acted like a honing device. Itfocused the audiences attention on me, and not the clut-ter around me.

As I remember this performance, I quickly walked ontothe stage with my eyes blazing, wanting that audience tosee clearly that the music they were about to hear camefrom me and not the props. Although the program notesexplained the composition, I wanted them to know thatthey were going to witness a serious comic performer, per-forming from inside. One who was vulnerable, yet de-manded their deepest attention. I remained in characterfrom the moment just before walking on stage, through tothe last bow.

Miraculous Mandarin was 35 years ago. If someonewould have told me that I would feel one with the musicsoloing on Schubert at the Musikverein, or that I would beperforming the Berio Sequenza, or that Gil Evans wouldhave anything to say to me, I would have thought thatperson totally out of his mind. Writing this reminiscenceof fall 2002 was a way for me to document a veryimportant time in my life, review the path involved inmaintaining my focus over the years, and hopefully find away to encourage like-minded people to figure out how toexpand their playing capabilities. I hope this journalencourages musicians to add to the repertoire, not neces-sarily because its a nice thing to do, but because its anatural way to be expressive and spread the joy.Dave and Ronnie Taylor

A scene from my elementary school days, some 45 or50 years ago comes back to me every now and then: Imlooking at a portrait of the American patriot George Wash-ington hanging in the school auditorium. He has a ponytailhairstyle that appears prominently in the picture. Everytime I passed that painting and looked at that ponytail,the same thought crossed my mind WHY on earthwould anyone want to do that? A great philosopher oncesaid that the quickest way to get someplace is not know-ing how to get there.

Copyright David Taylor, TLB Music, 2003. All rightsreserved. Reprinted by permission.

Upcoming New York ConcertsMANHATTAN WINTATOUR, 2004!

Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society January 25,2004: Alice Tully Hall David Shiff Solus Rex

EOS Orchestra January 2930, 2004: Ethical CultureSociety Schubert Lieder and Berio TBA

Interpretation Series at Merkin Concert Hall February 19, 2004

Unaccompanied One-Hour Recital Hymns, Hums, Hiss, and Herz

Absolut Ensemble April 8, 2004: Miller Theatre atColumbia University Daniel Schnyder BassTrombone Concerto

Manhattan School of Music Studio Orchestra: late January 2004 (tentative) International Association of Jazz Educators Mike Abene Bass Trombone Concerto

RECENT CDsDAVID TAYLOR DANIEL SCHNYDER BASS

TROMBONE CONCERTO ENJA RecordsDOPPELGANGER David Taylor Trio CIMP RecordsWORDS WITHIN MUSIC Trio Schnyder, Taylor and

Drew Jr. ENJA RecordsHYMNS, HUMS, HISS, AND HERZ Unaccompanied

Bass Trombone Release Date July 22, 2003 PAO RECORDS

David Taylor holds degrees from the Juilliard School ofMusic and began his career with Leopold StowkowskisAmerican Symphony Orchestra. He records solo albumsand presents numerous recitals throughout the world, andhas performed on numerous Grammy Award-winning CDs.Taylor has won the National Academy of Recording Artsand Sciences Most Valuable Player for five consecutiveyear, as well as the NARAS Most Valuable Player VirtuosoAward. He currently teaches at Manhattan School of Musicand Mannes College and is an artist clinician for EdwardsTrombones. For a more comprehensive biography, visit.

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