A dynamic and unorthodox set of pieces that combines jazz, rock-n-roll, new age, and classical undertones to make a dynamic and edgy new style full of driving rhythm, emotional intensity and pure joy.

7 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Modern Creative Jazz, NEW AGE: Contemporary Instrumental

Show all album songs: Come All You Moosechief Hatchers--The Big Sandy Suite Songs


Details:
Come All Ye Moosechief Hatchers, The Big Sandy Suite, was written to celebrate the release of Isaac Moody from the Big Sandy Prison. While incarcerated Ike Moody developed his amazing artistic talents. This set of pieces celebrates his freedom and his awesome art. "Moosechief" is hard to classify as to genre. Itâs a hybridâpart jazz, part New-Age, part RockânâRoll, with a hint of classical tossed in for good measure Instrumentation was determined primarily by the art works themselves. Given the content of many of Issacâs pieces, the trumpet and guitar were mandatory Piano and drum set were essential, and then the music itself demanded a flute and cello Many times the cello pretends it is a âstand up bassâ from a typical jazz ensemble. The piano parts are both melodic and rhythmic. Two piano players on one keyboard are used throughout the suite to utilize the enormous range and capabilities of the piano.

I have been questioned over and over in the past few months, âWhat is a MOOSECHIEF? What does it mean?â âMoosechiefâ is one of those brilliant word plays that I was so drawn to in Issacâs work. It is my understanding that Issac, at times, referred to himself as the âMoosechiefâ but it is also play on the word âmischief.â We could easily translate the title to âCome All You Mischief Makers.â Inside every adult resides the mischievous childâhidden deeply but still there

In the opening movement, The Moosechief Arrives, each instrument has a melodic motif or rhythmic ostinato, (a repetitive idea) that is played throughout the entire movement. The entrances are staggered and varied throughout, but the motifs and ostinatos remain constant. I want the audience to experience the monotony of everyday sameness. Most of us, at one time or the other have been trapped or imprisoned by something or someoneâaging parents, financial woes, a bad marriage, terminal illness of a loved one, stagnant job, unpleasant or unpopular political environments are but a few examples. The trappings of confinement are not always ugly; sometimes we are entrapped by events or things that are quite beautiful or happy. Hopefully you will hear the underlying sameness of entrapment with overtones of humor and joy.

Actually Feeling Quite Insubstantial Presently, the second movement, is just thatâinsubstantial. The piano has this brief solo. The inspiration for this music was taken from a single-line drawing of a childlike stick figure with the words âactually feeling quite insubstantial presentlyâ scrawled across the paper. In this hyper-fast, instant communication, overpopulated modern world, who doesnât feel insubstantial? The music itself follows the contour of the drawing. The music mimics the drawing (see the inside CD cover). The melodic line ascends up the arms, circles around and around to draw the head, falls sharply and quickly down and up to draw the body, meanders back down to the other arm, and finally, the fingers.

The third movement, Today I Saw A Man Murdered, is dark and trembling. The piano opens with crashing chords of horror followed by quick, opposing rhythms between the two players, indicative of a racing heartbeats at the sight of something so horrible that the entire body recoils in terror. The flute enters with a haunting melody punctuated by screams. The last notes are a parody of the Insubstantial... melody. Even if we have not individually witnessed a horrible event we are all witness to the unspeakable horrors of genocide, war and ravaging illnesses.

Bewilderness, the title of the fourth movement, is another brilliant and insightful wordplay from a self-portrait. It could mean âthe state of being bewildered;â or â being in the wilderness,â or âto be wilder,â or âa command to be in the wilderness.â Nearly limitless interpretations The music opens with the flute meandering through a melody with the acoustic guitar accompanying. It is a jaunty, whistle-atâthe-dark mood. Whistling at the dark can only keep the fear and longing of life at bay for so long. The middle section is the night-melancholy of all that has been irretrievably lost. In the light of the day, we tend to forget the night terror and whistle gaily again.

EMPS is an acronym for Easy Money Poets Society. It is also a homonym for âimps.â EMP-like figures flit and dance across many of Issacâs works. EMPS is playful and just plain fun

In The End We All Beg captures the anger and angst of hopelessness, which then gracefully metamorphoses into calm acceptance. The electric guitar has the melody throughout this section, punctuated by strident chords.

Joy Explosion explodes with joyful delight of freedom and release. This movement opens with an explosion of sound followed by a dancing, rhythmic, happy section. Flute, piano and cello all have melodies that come in and out, occasionally sounding simultaneously. The middle section is introduced by a majestic cello line that changes the mood from dancing happiness to ineffable joyâthe joy of holding a newborn infant, the wonder of a beautiful sunset, the majesty of the ocean, or the miracle of the dawn. The flute gracefully moves us from ineffable wonder back into the dance of joy and the opening section repeats, driving to another explosion of sound as the suite ends.

Teresa Tedder, artist-in-residence at St. Catharine College, St. Catharine, Kentucky, is a prolific composer and arranger. "Moosechief" is her first journey into the jazz realm. But what a journey! Her music captivates and excites with an edginess and vibrancy that is unbelievable!