Projects

Here are some thoughts on groups I am part of and have been part of, organized by size of ensemble.

 

Solo.

Musicians spend a lot of time playing alone, in order to master the instrument, find out what to play, and write music.  The idea of solo performance also comes up -- not as common for clarinetists as for pianists, I would think, but this is something I have enjoyed from time to time.  These days I am likely to perform Thelonious Monk compositions when playing solo.  Some years ago I envisioned a project called Ben Goldberg Minus Eleven, named after a record by one of my childhood heroes called Art Pepper Plus Eleven (and, I suppose, after the "Music Minus One" series of recordings).  My idea was to invite eleven composers to submit a work for solo clarinet that I would then record -- they would be the Eleven not on the record.  I sent out letters and received submissions by Steve Lacy, Trevor Dunn, Vijay Iyer, Bobby Bradford, and some others, but not the full Eleven.  Perhaps now that BAG Production is a going concern I can make this happen in a limited edition CD. 

 

Duo.

I have learned so much playing duets with other musicians.  John Schott and I got together every week for years, at first studying bebop tunes, then moving on to weird harmonic constellations and their transmutations, American folk music, etc.  I found out that when you dig down to the fundamentals there's no telling where you will end up -- some of the places John and I ended up can be heard on the Junk Genius records, and on one of my favorites, What Comes Before.  Elliot Humberto Kavee and I used to get together once a week in his studio in San Francisco and play duets for one hour without ever saying a word to each other.  Years later Ches Smith and I did the same, except we said a word to each other and also sometimes Miya Osaki would join the conversation.  These days I have been enjoying playing duets with Myra Melford.  We have vast areas in common, and in a duet we are able to phrase together exactly as needed, turn on a dime, change shape, etc. 

 

Trio.

Trio is where it all started for me.  The strong shape of the triangle.  First, of course, was New Klezmer Trio -- me, Kenny Wollesen, and Dan Seamans.  Like many other musicians, I'm sure, I was fascinated by the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic freedom of Sonny Rollins' Live at the Village Vanguard (and, later, Way Out West) -- just saxophone, bass, and drums.  When the itch hit me to bust something out of the old klezmer melodies, this type of instrumentation seemed right and we started New Klezmer Trio.  I was working on pivoting around the tonality into new regions and not having a "harmonic" instrument in the group allowed me to do this as I felt it. 

 

Later, and along the way, there were trios with John Schott, Trevor Dunn, Elliot Humberto Kavee, and Ches Smith (see Here By Now, What Comes Before, Almost Never).  A significant part of my musical life for the last five years has been Plays Monk, a lovely trio with Scott Amendola and Devin Hoff devoted to the compositions of Thelonious Monk.  There is also a crazy trio in the works with Scott, me, and the amazing guitarist John Dieterich from the group Deerhoof.

 

Quartet.

I have been having a wonderful time and learning so much about music playing with Charlie Hunter, Scott Amendola, and sometimes Ron Miles, sometimes Curtis Fowlkes in my new quartet, Go Home, although with Charlie holding down the bass while simultaneously tearing it up on guitar you might think you are listening to a quintet.  The strength of the groove that these musicians conjure up has illuminated the foundations of music in a beautiful and haunting way, and given me an opportunity to learn from masters.  Also, Charlie has pointed me towards a collection of records that is blowing my mind and giving me a lot to consider.

 

A very important group in my life during the last six years is Tin Hat.  Started as Tin Hat Trio by Mark Orton, Carla Kihlstedt, and Rob Burger, when Rob left the group it became a quartet with myself and, first, Zeena Parkins, and now Ara Anderson.  I have learned so much from playing with these guys, first of all just by trying to approach the amazing level of musicianship they maintain, and then very specifically by listening to and working to internalize their knowledge and wisdom concerning song form, composition, orchestration, and how to approach a recording project.  We have played many fantastic and inspiring shows in Europe and the US, and recorded two records: The Sad Machinery of Spring, and Foreign Legion, soon to be released on BAG Production Records. 

 

Clarinet Thing is an interesting quartet.  Founded by Beth Custer twenty years ago (!), this group includes some of the finest clarinetists and arrangers of our day.  Along with the remarkable Ms. Custer, there is Sheldon Brown, Harvey Wainapel, and myself, playing nothing but clarinets, from sopranino to contra alto.  A good example of what we are up to can be heard on Cry, Want, our new release on Beth's BC Records label.

 

In 2008 Myra Melford and I received a Chamber Music America grant to fund the first get-together of a quartet with Shahzad Ismaily and Mathias Delplanque called Afterlife Music Radio.  In this group we are developing a sound based on the interaction of acoustic instruments with Mathias' live laptop processing.  The music is very loud, and very soft.

 

Quintet.

The Ben Goldberg Quintet.  Now there's a quintet: Carla Kihlstedt, Rob Sudduth, Devin Hoff, Ches Smith, and me having a ball in this amazing group of musicians, every one a master of melody and suspense.  I got this group together to record the door the hat the chair the fact, originating in my meditations on the wonderful Mr. Steve Lacy.   Later on we recorded a very fine record with some longer compositions on it to be called Nine Pound Hammer that I hope to issue on the BAG Production label next year. 

 

Speaking of BAG Production, prior to Nine Pound Hammer we are planning to release Subatomic Particle Homesick Blues, a collection of my songs recorded by another fine quintet, this one featuring Joshua Redman and Ron Miles. 

 

Sextet.

The main sextet I play with these days is Be Bread, Myra Melford's astonishing ensemble featuring Cuong Vu, Brandon Ross, Stomu Takeishi, Matt Wilson, Myra, and myself.  Myra is simply one of the great pianists of our time, whose writing and playing are a consistent source of delight and amazement, bringing together vast areas of knowledge, learning, wisdom, and spontaneous bone-chilling musical perfection.  The music she has written for this group is melodic, catchy, disconcerting, and above all completely original.  The group has a new record coming out in January 2010 on Firehouse 12 Records called The Whole Tree Gone, and there will be CD release concerts on the West Coast in January and on the East Coast in June.

 

Larger.

Ben Goldberg's Brainchild is an occasional group of around 12 musicians who gather to carry out instructions I make up on the spot and whisper in their ears.  Over the years the group has included John Schott, Steve Adams, Carla Kihlstedt, Ches Smith, David Euwell, Matt Brubeck, William Winant, Scott Amendola, Will Bernard, and many others.  There have been many memorable moments, musical and otherwise, including Scott lying on the floor of the Paradise Lounge, Matt gamely attempting to respond to the instruction "hypotenuse! hypotenuse!", narrowly-averted mayhem by Mr. Winant at Beanbenders, and the choreographer Joe Goode reciting all the five-syllable words he could think of.