Inner Bird
For Alto saxophone and Drum Set
I often wonder questioning what happens deep inside the musical soul while improvising. To which extent the action-reaction instincts are eternal, are coded with primal gestures which are only dressed with “fashionable clothing” or are styled by nature. Even without a conclusive answer, the question alone raises interesting comparison points between musicians from different Epoque and distanced corners of the musical realms, not only in the improvisation context. For example, who would be the soulmate (living in the 20th century) of Monteverdi? If Paul Mccartney would be sent back (in time) to an earlier period, to who’s music his music would be like? Can we even speak of such transcendental characteristics – beyond time and culture?
The inner Bird is an observation on the music of charlie parker, an attempt to undress the gestures to see the raw material they conceal – and then redress them, in another context. The way this score is written is inspired by the Omnibook (the collection of parker’s solos), its graphics, and the freedom and flexibility given to the players create a chain of interpretations. A chain initiated by parker’s recordings, which in their turn are interpretations of existing songs, throughout this piece and to the interpretational dimension added by its performers.
Igal Myrtenbaum
