Release Date: October 12, 2018
Catalog #: RR7998
Format: Digital & Physical
21st Century
Avant-Garde
Chamber
Electroacoustic
Electronic
Percussion
Piano

Interfaces

Jazz Meets Electronics

Jeff Morris composer

Karl Berger vibraphone & piano
Joe Hertenstein percussion

INTERFACES explores the different ways a computer can fit in a modern jazz ensemble and still be true to itself. Technology performer Jeff Morris is joined by free jazz icon Karl Berger on vibes and piano as well as innovative New York percussionist Joe Hertenstein. Morris takes sounds from his partners live in the moment and transforms them into his own musical voice with the DNA of acoustic sounds and the fingerprints of digital processing.

This live sampling improvisation results in expressively shifting quasi-loops and glitchy melodic gestures, drawn from music that just happened and influencing what the performers will do next. Call it a twenty-first century version of imitative counterpoint, as in J. S. Bach’s classic fugues.

Taking inspiration from, among others, free jazz legend Ornette Coleman and Brian Eno’s early rebellious sound, Morris builds different digital instruments and interactive environments to produce unique encounters with the jazz world. He uses every stutter, glitch, and clash as a chance to discover new kinds of beauty. The native voice of the technology sings freely instead of pretending to be other instruments or remixing classic recordings.

At times, INTERFACES can feel like an aural puzzle that challenges the mind as much as the ear. But if you’re up for a sonic adventure, you will find musical moments that are nothing short of revolutionary.

Listen

Hear the full album on YouTube

Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
01 Upzy Jeff Morris Jeff Morris, live sampling; Karl Berger, vibraphone & piano; Joe Hertenstein, drum set & stone-table-percussion 6:03
02 A Solo Is the Nth Melody Jeff Morris Jeff Morris, live sampling; Karl Berger, vibraphone & piano; Joe Hertenstein, drum set & stone-table-percussion 6:45
03 In Which Jeff Morris Jeff Morris, live sampling; Karl Berger, vibraphone & piano; Joe Hertenstein, drum set & stone-table-percussion 6:57
04 Rondo Jeff Morris Jeff Morris, live sampling; Karl Berger, vibraphone & piano; Joe Hertenstein, drum set & stone-table-percussion 5:28
05 Into Jeff Morris Jeff Morris, live sampling; Karl Berger, vibraphone & piano; Joe Hertenstein, drum set & stone-table-percussion 4:05
06 Three at One Jeff Morris Jeff Morris, live sampling; Karl Berger, vibraphone & piano; Joe Hertenstein, drum set & stone-table-percussion 4:32
07 Unwind Jeff Morris Jeff Morris, live sampling; Karl Berger, vibraphone & piano; Joe Hertenstein, drum set & stone-table-percussion 2:06
08 Clocksays Jeff Morris Jeff Morris, live sampling; Karl Berger, vibraphone & piano; Joe Hertenstein, drum set & stone-table-percussion 7:12
09 Inderneath Jeff Morris Jeff Morris, live sampling; Karl Berger, vibraphone & piano; Joe Hertenstein, drum set & stone-table-percussion 5:39
10 Dot (Dot Dot) Jeff Morris Jeff Morris, live sampling; Karl Berger, vibraphone & piano; Joe Hertenstein, drum set & stone-table-percussion 2:39

All Compositions Copyright 2018 Nobishnobin (Ascap)

Recorded September 25–27, 2017 at Sertso Studios in Woodstock NY
Session Producer Levi Brown
Session Engineer Ted Orr

Cover and package artwork
Interface Black, 4 of 4, oil on plexiglass, 2018,
April Zanne Johnson | aprilzannejohnson.com

Executive Producer Bob Lord

Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Brandon MacNeil

Vice President, Audio Production Jeff LeRoy
Engineering Manager Lucas Paquette

Design & Marketing Director Brett Picknell
Design Ryan Harrison

Artist Information

Jeff Morris

Jeff Morris

Composer

Jeff Morris creates musical experiences that engage audiences’ minds with their surroundings. His performances, installations, lectures, and writings appear in international venues known for cutting-edge arts and deep questions in the arts. He has won awards for making art emerge from unusual situations: music tailored to architecture and cityscapes, performance art for the radio, and serious concert music for toy piano, robot, Sudoku puzzles, paranormal electronic voice phenomena, and live coding using algebra and breath-controlled piano.