Music for 10 Musicians was composed originally for one evening as part of a four night residency at The Stone, NYC in November of 2023. A year later it was recorded in Seattle featuring many of my closest hometown collaborators. I will say I am immensely proud and fond of my community in Seattle. I have great musical friends in New York and around the globe. But the musicians gathered on this recording are some of my absolute favorite creative musicians, as chamber musicians and as improvisers.
After an initial piano introduction, the piece is structured around 11 composed themes, bridged by 10 interstitial movements. Each of these movements features an improvised soloist. Two more players then enter to make a trio. The dynamic range is almost entirely between pianissimo and mezzo piano, with few exceptions. I was looking to create a formal structure that made deliberate contrasts between composed and improvised sections, featured each of the 10 musicians, and maintained one essential mood throughout. All the composed music is connected to one intervallic motif.
credits
Released October 31, 2025
James Falzone – Clarinet
Ray Larsen – Trumpet
Sara Schoenbeck – Bassoon
Greg Sinibaldi – Bass Clarinet
Neil Welch – Baritone Saxophone
Maria Scherer Wilson – Cello
Abbey Blackwell – Contrabass
Wayne Horvitz – Piano, Electronics
Rose Martin – Vibraphone
Mike Gebhart – Percussion