Henry Kuntz & Paul V. Kuntz | JAsZ KHARdMA

The title JAsZ KHARdMA stems from Paul’s occasional use of a number of R. Crumb’s Early Jazz Greats Trading Cards inside the piano, laying the cards across the strings to achieve a flapping percussive effect. JAsZ KHARdMA evokes as well that improvisational inspiration of ours that comes from the jazz tradition. It represents our personal connection to that tradition through our family’s New Orleans history and ancestry. Appropriated images from the Early Jazz Greats Trading Cards within the album cover & CD art are used with permission graciously granted by R. Crumb. — Henry Kuntz Continue reading

Henry Kuntz | Sonic Flares

The title piece “Sonic Flares” is for solo saxophone, recorded in 1998. During the 20 minutes of this solo Kuntz kept my full attention. I experienced emotional depth, humor, expressive and communicative playing. Great piece from a very advanced player! The other track on this CDR is ’6 Track Angels’, is of another nature. It is a fascinating piece that came about by multi tracking. It has Kuntz playing on a wide range of eastern instruments. Originally recorded in 1995, Kuntz re-mastered it in 2007 and now it is here on cdr. Concerning the instrumentation let me quote Kuntz. The piece “includes instruments from two types of Balinese and two types of Javanese orchestras, each one with its own scale and idiosyncratic tuning… To the four Indonesian instruments, I added Chinese musette, drums and percussion – played with sonic and formal allusions to Thai classical music.” The music makes the impression of a swirling complexity. Seemingly individual sounds swirl down into your ears. As if they happen to make up a harmonic whole by accident. In the background we hear Kuntz improvising on some wind instrument. Improvised and multilayered music in Eastern tonalities. Another intriguing piece! — Vital Weekly 784(DM) Continue reading

Henry Kuntz | IINFIINIITY

Multi-track recordings have been an essential means of expression for me since 1989. Within pieces that are unique in sound, multi-cultural context, and instrumental combination, I’ve been able to showcase and synthesize those musical elements that are most important to me: independence of line, textural complexity, and equality of instrumentation and mix, The process of multi-track creation has been an ongoing musical exploration and experiment, the results of which have consistently surprised and delighted me. I hope you enjoy listening.” — Henry Kuntz (March 2010) Continue reading

Tim Perkis | Noisy People

Noisy People is a new feature length video documentary, presenting portraits of eight sound artists and musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area. Tim Perkis says about his film: “At first I thought I was simply stepping in to do a job I wished someone else had done, documenting a little-known musical scene with an interesting story. But it soon became clear that the film also touched upon a more basic question: what is the nature of a creative life, and how can one live it?” Continue reading

Henry Kuntz | Humming Bird Tapes

The music on HUMMING BIRD Records & Tapes is spontaneously composed, freely improvised. It is presented to the listener in its purest possible form, edited only for purposes of presentation on recorded media. Multi-tracking has at times been utilized – as a separate but related improvising endeavor – to create unusual and unlikely instrumental ensembles and to suggest open-ended ways of approaching form and content during real-time group improvisation. — Henry Kuntz Continue reading

Opeye Orchestra | Live at Tuva Space

Thanks to the musicians who generously gave of their time and talents to breathe life into the OPEYE ORCHESTRA. Thanks to Eleanor Lindgren who provided Ben Lindgren’s painting “Exotic Jumble” for the performance and who took the orchestra photos. Thanks to Scott Looney who did the recording and mastering. Thanks to Michael Zelner for making copies of the results for each of the players. And thanks to Arjuna who invited the OPEYE ORCHESTRA to play at TUVA Space. — Henry Kuntz (May 2011) Continue reading

Opeye | Moss ‘Comes Silk

Highlights the formal advances possible in group playing when free improvisation is approached in its most natural manner. The uniqueness and complexity of each player’s part is expanded to the farthest extent possible while maintaining a recognizable group entity and musical identity. — Henry Kuntz Continue reading