Ken Filiano – bass, bells
Recorded January 26, 2002. Mixed and mastered June 24&25, 2002 at Newzone Studio, Los Angeles. Wayne Peet – engineer. Produced by Vinny Golia and Ken Filiano. Design by Jeff Atherton and Vinny Golia. Tray photo by Andrea Wolper. Book photo by Oren Slor. Background photo by Neil France. All compositions by Ken Filiano except “Woman” by Bobby Bradford.
Tracklist: 1. water down stone [3:43] 2. breathingdreaming [7:33] 3. relay [5:44] 4. lucerne [5:45] 5. non sequitur [6:28] 6. tangram [3:47] 7. without words [6:57] 8. crucible (ken filiano)/woman (bobby bradford) [10:45] 9. dancing shadows [7:27] Total Time: [58:42]
Ken Filiano – Double Bass
The palette of bassist Ken Filiano spans a wide spectrum of musical expression. Embracing classical, jazz, spontaneous improvisation, and inter-disciplinary performance with dance and the spoken word, Ken fuses the rich traditions of the double bass, bringing out the many voices inherent to the instrument. Critics have praised him as a “creative virtuose,” “a master of technique,” the kind of artist “who can play anything in any context and make it work, simply because he puts the music first and leaves peripheral considerations behind.”
Ken tours widely, playing across the United States, Canada, Europe, and South America. He has appeared at numerous festivals including the DuMaurier International Jazz Festival, Bergamo Jazz Festival, Banlieuses Bleues Festival (Paris, France), Tampere International Jazz Festival (Tampere, Finland), Bumbershoot Festival, Texaco New York Jazz Festival, Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival, JVC Jazz Festival, and the Charles Ives Festival; and on concert stages including Carnegie Hall. Ken has performed with artists such as Bobby Bradford, John Carter, Jimmy Cleveland, Ted Dunbar, Giora Feidman, Vinny Golia, Joe Labarbera, Warne Marsh, Bill Perkins, Barre Phillips, Don Preston, Roswell Rudd, the ROVA Saxophone Quartet and Pablo Ziegler.
Among his many dozens of recordings are numerous projects for Nine Winds Records, featuring both his own compositions and his 22-year improvisatory collaboration with saxophonist Steve Adams. Along with new music concerts and solo excursions with poets and dancers, Ken has been a guest lecturer, performer, and workshop leader at institutions across the country and beyond, including the Actor’s Institute of New York, San Francisco State University, UCLA, Centro de Arte Moderna (Lisbon), and at Rutgers University, where he received his Master’s Degree. Ken is listed in The Penguin Guide to Jazz.
Speaking without words.
Just the voice of sound with all its rich implications. In the double bass I have always heard a vast timbral spectrum, a world of sonic and emotional possibility too rich to ignore. The first time I felt the vibrations emanating from just a single string I was attracted to and intrigued by the bass’s powerful potential for stimulating imagination, atmosphere and dreams. I felt it was something that I could explore as a lifelong journey.
I have always been interested in sonic and musical design and form, in communication and freedom within the context of musical creation and, most specifically, in participating in a multi-dimensional world of non-verbal language. A spectacular generator of sound, timbre, texture and gesture, the double bass is a natural voice for the expression of sonic designs and dreams. The legacy of solo bass recordings of the last half of the 20th Century is a testament to the instrument’s evocative powers.
The music presented here is an expression of my love for the spontanoues moment of creation and the challenge of allowing the imagination to flow free and unfettered, and for the particularities inherent to composed structures and the ensuing opening of their boundaries by the bushwhacking activities of the imagination. The resulting sonic landscape is my offering to the listener.
Thie project has been a long time in gestation, and it represents certain aspects of my musical mind finally finding a home. I’d like to thank Vinny and Wayne for their support in realizing this project, and Andrea for offering ears both for the music and the words. I’m especially grateful to Vinny for asking, “When are you going to do this?” as often ans as long as it took. My thanks also to Bobby Bradford for allowing me to include his wonderful composition. — Ken Filiano
CD version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)