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Solo Works, Vol. 2

by Greg Chudzik

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1.
Wind Hymnal 14:04
2.
The What 07:26
3.
Y'Chi 17:45
4.

about

Bassist and composer Greg Chudzik releases his follow up volume 2 to his 2015 "Solo Works, Vol 1" on the Panoramic imprint. Expansive, layered compositions incorporate a wide range of extended bass instrumental techniques into music that touches on Chudzik's prolific background as a performer in a wide variety of contemporary music, modern jazz, and experimental improvisation.

In the second volume of his “Solo Works” series, bassist/composer Greg Chudzik largely turns to the richness of acoustic timbres, presenting music for a quartet of layered double basses. Chudzik’s overlapping cyclical grooves and expansive harmonic sense echo his works for electric bass on Volume 1 of the set, but this newest collection is more wide ranging structurally, drifting in and out of propulsive rhythmic sections and freer explorations of sound.

The opening track, Wind Hymnal, so named after being partially written during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, consists of several sections built off repetitive cells, sometimes entering canonically, and other times acting as accompanimental figures to soloistic material. An odd meter pizzicato groove momentarily breaks up the mostly arco texture, before a wistful coda closes the work.

The What, an homage to the David Eggers novel “What is the What”, points back to Chudzik’s Volume 1 with its ostinato driven textures and interlocking rhythms, at times imitating the sounds of the West African kora.

Y’Chi is a meditation on masses of sound, undulating in and out in different registers. Embedded inside these rumbling chords are fascinating beatings resulting from overtones bouncing against each other. Midway through the piece, Chudzik leans more heavily on trilling high harmonics, capturing a compelling fragility in the sound world of the double bass.

Automated Ocean introduces electronics to the texture, using MIDI data to accompany the bass through the use of auto-tune (think Cher or T-Pain). At about the five minute mark of the work, off-kilter hocketing figures destabilize the texture before it reprises the opening in an ecstatic finish inspired by the impossibly euphoric sounds of slot machines in a Vegas casino.

Chudzik’s work as a performer/composer is informed by his wealth of experience as a bassist in many contexts. An interest in a richly extended timbral language lives alongside a penchant for minimalist use of motives, and his use of electronics achieves a premeditated “concert” music contextualization of the medium with platforms that are often used in live contexts. Throughout, his strong command as an instrumentalist is animated by the spark of spontaneity of a seasoned improviser. All these components come together in Chudzik’s “Solo Works Volume 2” to make for a collection that reflects his unique voice in the contemporary music scene.

-D. Lippel

credits

released March 1, 2019

All works performed and composed by Greg Chudzik
Produced, Engineered, Mixed and Mastered by Chris Botta
Recorded at Staple Chest Audio, Brooklyn, NY in April 2016

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Greg Chudzik Brooklyn, New York

Greg Chudzik is an active performer across numerous genres on the double bass and electric bass. Currently, he can be seen performing regularly with several new music groups, including Signal Ensemble, Wet Ink Ensemble, and Talea Ensemble. Greg is also a member of several bands, including Empyrean Atlas, Bing and Ruth, and The Briars of North America. ... more

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