(originally written Sept. 2008)

I've been quite energized by preparing for the challenge of the upcoming solo fretless gig.

Last solo gig was about six years ago, and there has been a lot of absorption and intake of languages, experiences, musics, and instruments over that period.

The main impetus of course has been the re-immersion into Indian music.

Indian music is essentially linear -- which is beautiful and is what its instruments are geared to -- but a solo fretless guitar can be more, much more, than just an electric sarod (which might be cool as well, but that's another story).

Jefferson and I are still hammering out the subtleties of applying the fretless in the Duo setting, but as I've been developing the solo material for the fretless the past couple of weeks, it occurs to me that I'm still treating the fretless in an essentially linear, " electric sarod" fashion with the Duo. Ha ha, that may change significantly when we get together next as I go through this process.


In an earlier post I discussed some aspects of my previous solo work, applying very post modern improvisation concepts into an early flamenco medium:

Very, very disparate traditions, yet the lynchpins I heard connecting them were musical occurrences such as a certain dissonance in the harmonic voicings; the fluidity of tempo; the immense degree of subtle improvisational interplay between guitarist and singer. I was hearing a lot of connective tissue between the two, not parallel bundles but interesting, flexible hinges, joints, angles, sinews, tendons. I started working with that and then took that idea a bit further, trying to liberate the material from a metric confinement while still keeping rhythm and drive very much a part of it. That distinction between meter and time and rhythm -- all distinct elements in my book -- had been done a lot within the free jazz idiom itself, but hadn't really been applied in a flamenco context.

Conceptually, I'm trying to develop a similar methodology to working with Indian musical material; there's a lot of connective tissue I'm hearing here too.

While that post wasn't written that long ago, what's now apparent has been the impasse of treating the fretless in such a linear fashion.

But exploring the chordal and harmonic possibilities that a guitar can bring (and I mean both terms in the broad yet strict sense of any pitches sounding simultaneously, rather than implying any traditional sense of Western functional I-IV-V harmony or "standard" chord types) reveals the much larger challenge of applying some simultaneous pitch textures, filling the landscape with some vertical structures across the Indian music linear horizon.

Flamenco was easier in the sense that there was already prescribed harmonic procedures -- I just voiced them differently for added density and tension. Applying verticality to Indian music, so far I'm treating chords and tone clusters as more weighted, dense versions of any given melodic pitch, rather than any implied harmonic foundation or direction.

More to come.

(originally written Sept 2008)

I'm often asked, "why Indian music?" Sometimes the question is put in a more probing manner, such as "why do you think you can do this?"

I'll try to address some musical and philosophical aspects on those issues in this post.

In the late 90s I had some nice solo opportunities in Europe based on work using the most abstract modern free jazz and improv techniques within a springboard of *very* traditional flamenco ( pre-Paco, and really pre-soloist - my favorite flamenco players are the early cante accompanists). Very, very disparate traditions, yet the lynchpins I heard connecting them were musical occurrences such as a certain dissonance in the harmonic voicings; the fluidity of tempo; the immense degree of subtle improvisational interplay between guitarist and singer. I was hearing a lot of connective tissue between the two, not parallel bundles but interesting, flexible hinges, joints, angles, sinews, tendons. I started working with that and then took that idea a bit further, trying to liberate the material from a metric confinement while still keeping rhythm and drive very much a part of it. That distinction between meter and time and rhythm -- all distinct elements in my book -- had been done a lot within the free jazz idiom itself, but hadn't really been applied in a flamenco context.

Conceptually, I'm trying to develop a similar methodology to working with Indian musical material; there's a lot of connective tissue I'm hearing here too. On the sarod and tabla it's voiced in a much more subtle and melodic approach, though I think the electric instrumentation we're exploring will in some ways call for a return to some of my earlier rigour and more overt abstractness (but I think we'll maintain the lyricism of the acoustic setting as well).

Its very nice to be absorbed in the fretless electric, discovering what it can do as a tool to link the methodologies in avant free improv and Indian music.

Thats a long way of saying that I don't think musical fusions have to be terribly closely related to be successful; it may be helpful, but I think the exploration can be quite fertile by looking at where and how things *connect* (and how different musics approach their detail and methodology in developing improvisation -- that improvisational aspect, then as now, is key --), in addition to looking at what parallel streams of commonality there are. Anchor the connecting elements, celebrate the differences. Unity in diversity ( a parallel Sufi concept also).

For me, it's not about trying to be an Indian Classical Musician. I love it, respect it immensely, learn it, learn from it -- but I'm not an ICM, won't ever be, and in truth, it wouldn't interest me musically to completely go that path. I also respect it too much to pretend to do it.

What drives me, what interests me is how this music merges into what I already am.

Somehow, what I'm sensing just as a person and also what I'm hearing musically calls for a certain kind of cultural articulation to complete it. That cultural articulation isn't just limited to the music, either, as I'm driven to be engrossed in many aspects of it - learning the languages (Hindi and Bengali), cooking, absorbing dance, film, reading history and current trends, etc, etc. There's so much more I need to immerse in still, to make the music work, to better integrate myself as a being, I feel. But this is the life process.

And yet, while somehow I'm connected to that culture, that land in this very broad and deep way, Cecil Taylor, Bill Dixon, Albert Ayler, Peter Brotzmann, Led Zeppelin are all just as much a part of me and the music I make. To sell either tradition short is dishonest to myself and dishonest to both legacies.

Its my hope that I honor and respect the Indian musical tradition by being *internally* honest with it, folding aspects of it into myself while offering my own traditions to it in return.

I think people sense that, given the feedback we've gotten by people from India and other accomplishments such as the film project.

I've always felt that the ability to offer music carries a responsibility to use it well, to put it in service. I view our job is to leave our listeners a little happier, a little more transported and ideally moved after intaking a CD or performance than they were before it. Altered states, even if just a little bit.

My father had mixed feelings about a music path, wondered why I bothered. I once showed him a postcard I received after a concert I did in Germany:"Your music changed my life.," the young concert goer wrote me.

I was so humbled and and honored by that experience, and I understand I'm responsible for none of it. I'm just part of the path.

Then Dad got it.

That postcard confirmed to me the duty of music, inspired me to try and make that happen, even in small momentary levels, with every note we put out.

It's about activating hearts, one heart a time, one note at a time. Making your day a little better.

We feel very honored and humbled when we're able to make that happen. That's our job. And based on the feedback we get from gigs and listeners, for some folk, we do our job right.

"Sure as shootin' chimes that will set your chakras wheeling," writes one fan. "Simultaneously lyrical, exploratory, and transformative in carrying me into many other lands and cultures," wrote another.

This drive, then, wasn't about selling CDs or getting famous, etc. It's simply about our desire to share what we do at a wider level -- to activate more hearts.

I believe in what we do, but also in how we do it.

Pray For Brain is true transcultural mashup, rendered by a gender and faith diverse band. We think that may mean something in and of itself in these times.

Music for us has to have a sense of fearlessness, of absolute conviction and integrity, an undying, unyielding connection to its own truth. It can be dense or spare, high energy or quiet, simple or elaborate , deep or unassuming, fun -- but the one thing music can never be for us is lazy or complacent.

Play every note like it was both the first and last of your precious divine all-too-short life on this plane.

We try to do that, too.

Thanks for your support and interest to help  us do what we do a little more,  so we can do our job for more people.

Carry joy,  build hope, offer love.
msd

"What can we do?"

Sometimes, young people ask me this as they grapple with the global challenges.

I have no answers, only thoughts:

It starts small, it seems to me; simply do your best. Try to activate hearts, one heart at a time, along your path.  Keep your hearts open, stones and guns away, minds clear, and voices strong.

But the future belongs to the young and while  I am in awe of both their challenges, I'm equally awed by their capacity to meet those challenges.

To the future's inheritors, I pledge to help and support you in all of your endeavours and goals, because:

I want your voices to be heard

I want you to be empowered to make a difference, then make that difference

I want teachers who don't squash individuality and creativity

I want you to keep forging a responsive, transparent media

I want you to consider government service and rebuild it with integrity and openness

I want you remembering to become the shining children of God that you already are

I want through art/music/film - or whatever work each of you do - to end social/race/class/school clique divisions

I want a livable planet

I want peace

I want you to relax and enjoy this time of your lives, develop yourselves and each other (if that happens everything else follows)

I want your hearts to be energized so that you can transform with grace and optimism the jaded public legacy you will inherit

I want your kindness to be cultivated and extended to your peers, to your family

I want your anger, isolation, and hatred to be revealed, exorcised and cured

I want my bones to rest in a happier grave tomorrow than they would today

I want to die blinded by the brilliance of your collective love, polished in billions of young strong large hearts

I want you to offer each other your own heart, share and build hope to critical mass, so that hope is created in itself of itself

I want to die softly crushed by the weight of your conviction in that hope

If you cant believe in anything else, then at least,

Believe in Love.

Bad days, good days, - how much love did we carry in us that day?

God's love for us manifested in our love for Him, for each other, the planet, etc, - it is a prime guide for all faiths.

If we had a bad day, if we are completely psycho, if we arent forgiving enough, its because we aren't carrying enough of (God's) LOVE within us, we are not remembering Him or what He gives, because someone or something took that capacity away from us for a time.

I have to search deeper, find it again.

And only by resuming that remembrance of Allah (SWT) and His loving gift of ALL creation/createdness for us, do i find it.

How much love can we carry in our hearts?

Our anger, our rage, is a function of how much love we carry, (or can hold on to) at any given time - and, if you lose it, how much you love yourself (not in the vain sense but as a living compassionate creature) to seek a state of forgiveness and re-access that love.

It is the essence of life in this realm and what we are here to do.

It is the only quality on this planet that keeps it going, that keeps us going, because it is the DIRECT reverberating manifestation of God.

And by remembering Love and thanking and loving its Source,the Creator, Allah (SWT), for it, ingesting it to reach those around you, we also remember Him (dhikr).

Believe in Love.

The CD Six Peaces - a meditative work with both oud and flamenco guitar - was recorded in March 2002 and dealt with themes of love, understanding, healing, responsibility, peace in both the internal and global domains, and above all, love of God. This state of being generated the following accompanying texts to the six tracks.

1 FIRST HOME

First Home,

benificent Source,

smiling Sky and beaming Earth,

Joy.

The God-Ocean

of

Love

unfolds the sun:

the Divine shines

down in us.

breathe in that Light,

swim,

bow into that grace, and be happy in it.


FIRST HOME utilizes both the oud and the guitar in a series of exchanged passages and is based on the Arabo-Andalusian zrga mode/maqam, which is not as well known as other maqams but is common in Algeria, Morocco, and other Maghreb countries. It is also common in the music of certain Sufi brotherhoods of that region. This piece particularly was inspired by a muwwal (an improvised form of solo chant with instrumental responses) in this mode from a recording by the Al-Shushtari Brotherhood.

Special thanks to Omar Metioui, musical director of the Al-Shushtari Brotherhood, for the initial inspiration and encouragement to record this mode, and his clarification on its accepted use.

2. DARK DIAMOND

a desolate cry

echoes

cracked and ancient

from this dark diamond,

each surface

etched

with guilt.

polish

this

sad jewel

with cloths of Light:

restoring to mirrors

from Love,

reflecting forgiveness

from each facet.

DARK DIAMOND begins the series of solo oud pieces, and uses the nawa'athar scalar construct in a slow meditation.

3. DANCE ACROSS THE DIVIDE

divisions only in this realm, not the real one.

becoming an ocean, beginning to understand.

shine out of ourselves,

shine across the divide

reaching

raise out

dance across the divide

dance for your brother

dance for his sister

rejoice in the knowledge,

rest in the rewards

compassion brings.

DANCE ACROSS THE DIVIDE is a more active rhythmic piece using a free mix of bayyati/husseini scalar constructs.

4. REMEMBER LOVE

Love abandoned across battlefields of stubborness

if we abandon Love we abandon the Divine

radiant distortions

strive to reclaim

the dance that bonds us comes from far ago and long away

remember it,

remembering inward:

One and Eternal,

Unfolding Ocean of

Love's Source,

First Energy,

restoring to cell,

to reclaim.

remembering that,

we can forget all else.

REMEMBER LOVE starts with some abstract textures then explores the kurd scale tones against a C pedal for a minor-key feel, before developing some rhythmic explorations in the same mode with the more common D pedal.

5. LOST CREEK, FORGOTTEN VALLEY


hope weeps

small and silent

like the lost creek in the valley

that no one tends

the olives , parched

the grapes, withered

we suck the wine from life in self-obsession

dry legacy

before time shuts to dust:

let your tears raise the creek to overflow,

kiss one olive to ripeness,

caress one grape to wine.


LOST CREEK, FORGOTTEN VALLEY uses the less common lami mode as its scalar base, which can best be described in this transposition as the Western locrian mode built on C but developed using both C and F pedals.

6. LAST HOME

those gone, those sacrificed, those we miss,

they are in a place of knowing.

they understand this folly.

in the Last Home all is clear.

we grieve for our loss

they grieve for our stifled humanity

may they forgive us for what we continue to do in their memory.

is it only after death

do we learn

love's lesson?

in this realm, no one left to learn.

open and learn now:

let a tiny corner, a brick, a stone, a speck of dust

from the Last Home

bring radiance and hope to this one.

One and Eternal,

Unfolding Ocean of

Love's Source,

First Energy

is not only for the dead who reach it:

it is for us here, that we may try and breathe it...just a little

(remembering inward).

remember where they are

reflect on what they know

and bring it here-

breathe in that Light,

bow into that grace, and understand the Love in it.

Love

unfolds:

the Divine shines

down in us.

LAST HOME closes the disc with a piece again exchanging guitar and oud. The only piece on the album not derived from maqams, it is instead based on the flamenco alegrias form in its minor key version, with some additional incorporated tones (both natural and flatted sevenths and sixths).

TECH STUFF:

all text and music c p 2002 M.S. Dill all rights reserved

recorded march 2002 Norumba Studios, Clayton, NM

flamenco guitar by Juan Alvarez , Spain (1962)

Bashir oud by Yaroub Mohammed Fadel , Tunisia (2000)

session/edit/mix/tweak/polish: Stefan Dill

Final digital sanctification (mastering): Quincy at Q labs, Albuquerque, NM

al-hamdulillah