Kaleidoscope, the first CD, contains my most recent compositions.

 

At its core are five Kaleidoscopes (2018-2022; CD 1: 1, 4, 8, 11, 14), designed to begin and end with the same theme but containing numerous sections seemingly unrelated to it - much like the shifting images seen through a spinning kaleidoscope. The listener may imagine a different image or story for each section; in this sense, it is a form of “unprogrammed” program music.

 

These five compositions are interspersed with other works:

 

• Airflight (2013-2018; CD 1: 2) was begun during an actual flight; it evokes an airplane soaring high into space before slowing down and settling into a dimension of serenity in the upper atmosphere, much like Icarus’ unfulfilled dream.

• Cospiti (2019; CD 1: 3) refers to the ruins of a medieval monastery dedicated to Saint Francis, located between Agerola and Amalfi. In the central section, I imagined the place as it might have been in the past, before it fades back into its present-day ruins.

• Harmonics (2019; CD 1: 5) develops a few musical cells toward a climax on the final piano chord.

• Tic toc (2016-2021; CD 1: 6) is based on a short phrase played by the alto sax over a pulse from the marimba, with horns and piano added later.

• Entrance (2022; CD 1: 7) and The Chase (2019; CD 1: 10) are both based on repetitive cells-piano and cello in the first, and two cellos in the second.

• Slow, Intense, Blueness (CD 1: 9) is an experiment in the dilation of a single musical phrase, repeated each time at a slower speed.

• A Christmas Carol (2022; CD 1: 12) is based on a simple canon.

• Peach Blossoms (2019-2024; CD 1: 13) was originally conceived as an homage to Balinese Gamelan music. It was later modified and dedicated to my mother, who passed away in my home while the peach tree in my garden was blooming:

"You left while the peach tree was blooming,
You, who no longer knew what a peach was.
Young woman of twenty,
Passing through the window
On a spring day, Like the swift fading of the peach blossoms."

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Akashmani, the second CD, opens with Maharaj Express (2019; CD 2: 1), an homage to India-a place I have traveled to many times. It evokes the experience of crossing its vast plains by train.

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This is followed by the Akashmani Suite (CD 2: 2-10), a sequence of compositions originally performed on digital keyboards for my 1994 cassette Akashmani:

 

• Across the Sky, and rearranged for ensemble in 2015. I remember playing the cassette sometime in the mid-90s to Terry Riley at the home of Matteo Silva (then owner of Amiata Records), and the kind advice he gave me.

• Journey Through the Summer (1973-2015; CD 2: 3) was the first piece I ever composed on electric organ in the early seventies, inspired by Terry Riley’s masterpiece.

• A Rainbow in a Curved Air. A sample of that original version can bheard in its intro (CD 2: 2). Over the years, I developed its sections on the piano before finally arranging it for ensemble.

• Children’s Dance (1994-2015; CD 2: 4) was part of the original Akashmani cassette, which was intended to describe a day in the life of a young child in a pre-conceptual stage of existence.

• ​Dolphins (1994-2015; CD 2: 5) was originally titled Morning Bells. The new title evokes a pod of dolphins swimming happily on the ripples of the sea, provided by the piano line, and attempting to communicate verbally, until they finally manage to express a single sentence.

• On the Beach (1994-2015; CD 2: 6) retains its original title, referring to the child playing by the sea.

• A Toy (1994-2023; CD 2: 7) belongs to the same recording session but was not included in the original cassette release.

• Roundabout (1994-2015; CD 2: 8) and Reverie (1994-2015; CD 2: 9) are from the same cycle and follow this child's journey into the later parts of that day.

• Waves (1994-2023; CD 2: 10) was the opening track of the original cassette, rearranged here with a complete restatement of the piano melody by the oboe.

• Old Dreams (For Terry Riley) (1981-2023; CD 2: 11) is based on a melody for piano and soprano sax written in the early eighties. It was later combined with a riff inspired by Terry Riley’s Persian Surgery Dervishes and reached its final form in 2023.

 

 

Children of Africa, the third CD, features compositions rooted in African musical traditions and their various forms across the Atlantic:

 

• Afro Brand (2004; CD 3: 1) was written in Isla Margarita as an homage to the South African maestro Abdullah Ibrahim, formerly known as Dollar Brand.

• Deconstructing the Blues (2014; CD 3: 2) is a twelve-bar blues that I first re-harmonize and then systematically subtract from or add to, using notes and fragments. Only the piano is free to improvise in the middle sections.

• Tapestry (2016; CD 3: 3) was originally conceived for tenor sax and percussion alone; it was later arranged for ensemble.

• Children of Africa (2013; CD 3: 4) is a joyous hymn dedicated to future generations.

• El Gato (2014; CD 3: 5) is a humorous composition based on a calypso rhythm.

• May Blossom (2014; CD 3: 6) is a piano ballad, with the ensemble joining for the second half.

• Arimacoa (2015; CD 3: 7) is the ancestral indigenous name used by the Guaiquerí people for what is known today as the Valle de Pedro González on Isla Margarita, Venezuela. It is an homage to the island, introduced here by the cuatro virtuoso Emilio Jimenez, recorded by Rolo Carrasco at Swara Studio, Isla Margarita, Venezuela, January 2025, playing the chords of a traditional tune. This is followed by the suite Cuadros Cubanos, written between 2019 and 2021 as a memoir of my journeys to Cuba:

• Pictures of La Habana (2019; CD 3: 8) is a concerto for piano and orchestra depicting various scenes of the old city. It opens with the clarinet imitating the traditional pregón, 'Maní' made famous by El Manisero, just as I once heard it called out in La Habana Vieja by a big Afro-Cuban woman all dressed in white.

• Algo Mas (2020; CD 3: 9) is set to a samba rhythm.

• El Barrio Chino (2021; CD 3: 10) is named after the neighborhood where I lived.

• Calles de Noche (2019; CD 3: 11), written as a traditional bolero, is driven by a riff reminiscent of Chico O’Farrill’s refined arrangement of Delirio.

• Solar (2019; CD 3: 12) is an homage to Bebo Valdés.

• Ultimo Cuadro (2020; CD 3: 13) closes the suite with a sequence of improvisations on a chorale-like setting.

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Produced by Adriano Clemente and Maurizio Bizzochetti, Dodicilune. 

Recorded by Clive Simpson at Extrabeat Recording Studio, Rome, Italy, in May, June, and July 2024 (CD 1 & 2; CD 3: 1-5, 8-9). 

Recorded by Rolo Carrasco at Swara Studio, Isla Margarita, Venezuela, January 2025.

Recorded by Piero Lanza at Music Factory Studio, Grosseto, Italy, in October and November 2025 (CD 3: 6, 7, 10-13).

Edited by Adriano Clemente and Piero Lanza (2024-2026).

Mixed and mastered by Piero Lanza.

Cover and booklet paintings by Zoe Sued.

 

I wish to thank all the musicians who took part in these recordings, especially those who with great generosity put so much effort into navigating the complicated passages of the five Kaleidoscopes. Thanks to Clive Simpson for recording most of the compositions with diligent skill, and in particular to Piero Lanza, with whom I edited the tracks for nearly two years; without him, the music you are about to hear would not sound as it does today. Heartfelt thanks also to Maurizio Bizzochetti at Dodicilune, to my wife Dina Priymak for her endless support, to Zoe Sued for her beautiful paintings, to everyone who contributed to the crowdfunding, and especially to the following project sponsors: K.C. Ong, Giorgio Amitrano, Steven Landsberg, Costantino Albini and Stephanie Kim, Alexey Polionov, Igor Kopanev, Giacomella Orofino, Andrea Dell'Angelo, Dimitri Fieri, Tsultrim Allione, Oliver Leick, Angelo Fontana, Dmitry Gavrilov and Tatiana Lopatkina.

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