1 August 2014 Newport Jazz Festival Newport RI 12:40 PMFeaturing the US Premiere of “Tensile Curves”“Tensile Curves” was co-commissioned by the Newport Jazz Festival and the Vancouver-based Hard Rubber Orchestra, who premiered the 35-minute piece at the Vancouver Jazz Festival on June 20. August 1 will be the US premiere, and also the first performance by Secret Society.The new piece is shamelessly, cheekily inspired by Ellington’s “Diminuendo in Blue” and based around a 12-tone row I found by turning one of Duke’s licks into a sequence. (The row is hidden pretty thoroughly, though — I doubt anyone would be able to detect any 12-tone influence without being tipped off.) And where “Diminuendo” is famously based around a gradual reduction in volume and intensity, “Tensile Curves” is structured around a series of metric modulations that gradually reduce the tempo, from a brisk 240 beats per minute all the way down to a slow grinding 41.The Newport performance will feature Sam Sadigursky on clarinet, Marshall Gilkes on trombone, Ingrid Jensen on trumpet, John Ellis on tenor sax, and Adam Birnbaum on piano.
CO-CONSPIRATORSWINDSErica von KleistRob WilkersonSam SadigurskyJohn EllisCarl Maraghi
TRUMPETSSeneca BlackTom GoehringMatt HolmanNadje NoordhuisIngrid Jensen
TROMBONESRyan KeberleMarshall GilkesJacob GarchikJennifer Wharton
RHTYHMMiles Okazaki, guitarAdam Birnbaum, pianoMatt Clohesy, bassJon Wikan, drum set