The Squid's Ear Magazine


Treesearch (GoGwilt / Motl / Kuester): Birdward (577 Records)

The 2nd album from the trio of Keir GoGwilt on violin, Kyle Motl on bass and Nicolee Kuester on horn, the pieces combining original poems written by GoGwilt and Kuester with precise musical arrangement and poetic structures, around which the trio improvise with melodic and unexpected approaches, fascinating their listeners with peculiar insight and superb playing.
 

Price: $16.00



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 2.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Keir GoGwilt-violin, text

Nicolee Kuester-horn, text

Kyle Motl-bass

Celeste Oram-voice


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 736952026507

Label: 577 Records
Catalog ID: 5850_CD
Squidco Product Code: 30152

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2021
Country: USA
Packaging: Digipack
Recorded at Warren Studio A, at UC San Diego, on March 13th-15th, 2020, by Andrew Munsey and Mike Butler.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Treesearch's sophomore album Birdward is aesthetically omnivorous, further investigating many of the innovative musical compositions that defined their debut collection, Know More Knowledge (577 Records,2020).

In this album, violinist Keir GoGwilt and bassist Kyle Motl are joined by horn player Nicolee Kuester, combining original poems written by GoGwilt and Kuester with precise musical arrangement. Their spoken recitations alternately play signifying and rhythmic roles-the incessant lilt of Kuester's voice in "Beautiful bird, quiet birds" bleeds into the fraught skittering of Motl's bass, while GoGwilt's poetic images of the natural world and fracturing relationships float over his colleagues' instruments in "Certain Bird" and "Shame."

To arrange their lyrics on inventive bass lines and sparse violin, they use "starling form," a matrix of 27 word-spaces, invented by Christopher GoGwilt, allowing for rhythmic, reversible recitations. Some tracks are through-composed by one or more of the members; some have just a hint of architecture in a melody or bass line around which all three improvise.

Throughout, the listener divides their attention between the instrumentation, and the lyrical human dialogue, an effect that suggests an interpretive biomimicry. The emotional scope of Birdward is as wide as its stylistic roamings: earnest and snarky, serious and frivolous, funny and devastated."-577 Records


Artist Biographies

"Keir GoGwilt is a violinist, scholar, and poet, whose work spans a range of genres and disciplines. His creative work often reflects his scholarship, which follows performers' historical writings on music, phenomenology, and pedagogies of improvisation. He is at home in collaborative, often interdisciplinary work, in which creative labor is shared and recognized.

As a violinist he has been described as a "formidable performer" (New York Times) noted for his "evocative sound" (London Jazz News) and "finger-busting virtuosity" (San Diego Union Tribune). He has soloed with groups including the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Chinese National Symphony, the Orquesta Filarmonica de Santiago, the Bowdoin International Music Festival Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Manhattan School of Music Chamber Sinfonia, and the La Jolla Symphony. He is a core member of the American Modern Opera Company, a collective of dancers, instrumentalists, composers, writers, and singers, committed to the long-term creation and performance of an original music- and dance-theater repertory.

His duet with dancer Bobbi Jene Smith, "A Study on Effort," has been featured at the Luminato Festival, PS 122's COIL Festival, the ODC Theater, UCSD Dance&Theater, the American Repertory Theater, and Carolina Performing Arts. Their quartet with dancer Or Schraiber and violinist Miranda Cuckson, "With Care," investigates the politics of empathy and apathy on the level of individual relationships. He is part of the cast and creative team for Bobbi Jene's acclaimed show, "Lost Mountain," premiered at La Mama in May 2019.

Long-time collaborators include composers Matthew Aucoin, Celeste Oram, and Carolyn Chen. Aucoin has written numerous pieces for him, including "Poem" and "Its Own Accord." They perform together frequently, and have appeared at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, Rockport Chamber Music, Music Academy of the West, the LA Opera, Dumbarton Oaks, the San Diego Symphony's "Hearing the Future" festival, among others.

GoGwilt's debut solo CD, re: d, includes music by Johann Paul von Westhoff and Carolyn Chen. The CD and its live performance-installation features artwork by Audrey Hope and poetry by Christopher and Keir GoGwilt.

He has worked with Celeste Oram in her explorative broadcasts on technological media, "Televisionmann," and "Vera Wyse Munro: A Radio Séance." He is also part of the creative team for Oram's 3-hour show, "Tautitotito: An Alternative Genealogy of Aotearoa New Zealand Music" (commissioned by and premiered at the Darmstadt Summer Courses 2018).

GoGwilt regularly performs with other San Diego musicians including Steven Schick, Mark Dresser (as part of the Dresser quintet/septet), and bassist/improviser Kyle Motl (as part of their duo, Treesearch). He can be heard on records released by Tzadik, Clean Feed, and BMOP (upcoming). He has additionally performed with musicians including Tan Dun, Chance the Rapper, Robert Levin, and singer-songwriter Asaf Avidan."

-Keir GoGwilt Website (https://kgogwilt.com/ABOUT)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Nicolee Kuester: "New York-based horn player Nicolee Kuester divides her time between experimental music and works from the Western musical canon. Nicolee is currently the horn fellow for Ensemble Connect, a two-year chamber music and community advocacy program of Carnegie Hall and the Juilliard School. Before moving to New York from the west coast, she was principal horn of the La Jolla Symphony, where she appeared as a concerto soloist, principal horn of the Orquesta de Baja California, and also performed with the San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera. In 2011, Nicolee appeared with the Ensemble Intercontemporain in a concert tour of Boulez's Pli Selon Pli conducted by the composer. Her own work as a collaborative experimental musician and performance artist has been featured at festivals in Norway, Switzerland, and on both coasts of the United States. As an avid chamber musician, Nicolee has spent summers at the Marlboro Music Festival and the Lucerne Festival Academy and performed throughout San Diego with Palimpsest, San Diego New Music, Renga, and other ensembles. She holds undergraduate degrees in Music Performance and Creative Writing from Oberlin Conservatory, and is completing her DMA in Contemporary Horn Performance at UC San Diego."

-Nicolee Kuester Website (http://nicoleekuester.com/bio/)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Kyle Motl is a bassist, composer, and improviser. Active in a variety of ensembles and settings, Kyle's work crosses the boundaries between idioms as wide as free jazz, contemporary concert music, and extreme metal. Current interests include extended harmonic techniques for solo bass improvisation, electroacoustic performance with live electronics and improvising software, modular compositional schemes, recursive and generative structuring, and exploration of complex sonic spectra.

Kyle is a member of the Peter Kuhn Trio, and has been performing in quartet and trio with Abbey Rader since 2011. He maintains regular duo projects with T.J. Borden, Adam Tinkle, and Drew Ceccato. The Kyle Motl Trio, featuring Kjell Nordeson and Tobin Chodos is a collaborative platform for new compositions weaving complex structures together with free improvisation. Kyle has performed alongside artists including Anthony Davis, Kidd Jordan, Mary Halvorson, Roscoe Mitchell, Mark Dresser, and Wadada Leo Smith, among others.

Kyle holds a BM from Florida Atlantic University and an MM from Florida International University. He is a DMA candidate at UC San Diego, where he studies bass with Mark Dresser."

-Kyle Motl Website (http://www.kylemotl.com/about/biography/)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Celeste Oram (b. 1990) is a New Zealand composer who was born in Manhattan, learned to walk and talk in London, grew up in Auckland, and is presently based in Southern California.

Celeste's scored works investigate new media and strategies for musical notation: namely, video and audio scores. These works have been performed and recorded by ensembles including the Callithumpian Consort (Boston), wasteLAnd (Los Angeles), the Karlheinz Company (Auckland), the Intrepid Music Project (Auckland), and Three Shades Black (Melbourne), and presented at festivals including SICPP at the New England Conservatory, the soundSCAPE festival in Maccagno, Italy, and the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Older works for standard forces and notation have been performed and recorded by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Song Company (Sydney). Celeste was the Auckland Philharmonia's 'Rising Star' young composer-in-residence for 2013-14; her commissioned orchestral work macropsia was selected as a finalist in the 2014 SOUNZ Contemporary Award for excellence in New Zealand contemporary composition.

Another avenue of work is non-instrumental performance with audio and visual media; Celeste performed her solo piece O I at the 2016 Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music in Germany and was awarded the Kranichstein Prize for composition.

A third ongoing project is the renovation of histories of New Zealand music and sonic cultures. At present, this revolves around research into early 20th-century ham radio activity, and the figure of Vera Wyse Munro (1897-1966). This project is rapidly snowballing into an obsession with building re-creations of early radio circuits.

Celeste is currently pursuing a PhD in music composition at the University of California San Diego, where she completed an MA in 2016. She completed a BMusBA with first-class Honours at the University of Auckland in 2012, studying with Eve de Castro-Robinson, John Elmsly, and Leonie Holmes."

-Sounz (New Zealand) (https://www.sounz.org.nz/contributors/1840)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Certain Bird 2:48

2. Bleach Feathers 6:06

3. Sort/Preserve 6:39

4. Shame 3:18

5. People 0:18

6. 32 Chews 2:33

7. Beautiful Bird, Quiet Birds 14:38

8. So Long (feat. Celeste Oram) 2:27

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Spoken Word
Quartet Recordings
West Coast/Pacific US Jazz
Staff Picks & Recommended Items

Search for other titles on the label:
577 Records.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Elliott Sharp
SysOrk: Occam's Machete
(zOaR Records)
Assembling a world-class ensemble of 24 string players drawing from the Quartets JACK, Sirius, Flux, and Bergamot, here performing as SysOrk, Elliott Sharp's large-scale algorithmic composition provides simple instructions to the participants, creating a seething sonic tapestry of shifting, swirling tones and acoustic drones, exceptionally immersive and detailed.
Kuhn, Peter Trio (Kuhn / Motl / Hubbard)
Intention
(FMR)
Clarinetist and bass clarinetist Peter Kuhn defines his "intentions" with his trio of bassist Kyle Motl and drummer Nathan Hubbard, recording in the studio in 2017 for an album of determined, informed and demanding free improvisation, a reflection of Kuhn's life and his direction to create superb modern jazz music with power, release, and inventive joy.
Other Recommended Releases:
Motl, Kyle / Carlos Dominguez
Field of Fried Umbrellas [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(Tripticks Tapes)
An apt title for this collection of improvised works for double bass and feedback mixer between long-time collaborators Kyle Motl and Carlos Domínguez Reinhardt, both members of the band Not the Circus and having previously released the duo album Artabotrys Hexapetalus, this album recorded in 2020 at Rat's Mouth in Florida for five diverse and often abrasive interactions.
Nakatani, Tatsuya / Kyle Motl
Quicksand
(Nakatani-Kobo)
Innovative Japanese percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani met with bassist Kyle Motl (Peter Kuhn Trio) at Nakatani Kobo Studio, in New Mexico to record these two extended improvisations, the 1st creating an aural environment through ringing metal and bowed contrabass, the 2nd a set of agitated and disruptive interactions through incredible technical skill and expressive dialog.
Motl, Kyle / Patrick Shiroishi
Apparitions [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD]
(Notice Recordings)
The second album on Notice Recordings for West Coast free improvising saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi is a duo with San Diego-based double bassist Kyle Motl, in an exceptionally well-balanced example of powerful expression from both players, free blowing and turbulent exchanges offset by experimental introspective passages in four extended and excellent improvisations.
Chang, Johnny / Keir GoGwilt / Celeste Oram
Hope Lies Fallow
(Another Timbre)
Six pieces developed by violinists Johnny Chang and Keir GoGwilt, with vocalist Celeste Oram joining on three, starting with early music works by Hildegard van Bingen and Orlando de Lassus in a hybrid of musical archaeology informed by modern concepts of repetition, variations of timbre, improvisation, &c, as they seek hidden sound worlds in older notation.
Clucas, Dan / Kyle Motl / Nathan Hubbard
Daydream and Halting
(FMR)
A collective West Coast trio from double bassist Kyle Motl (Treesearch) with cornetist Dan Clucas, also on violin and moxeno (an Andean wind instrument) and drummer Nathan Hubbard, imbued with a spiritual and natural chamber jazz feeling, their improvisations influenced by concepts of daydreams, incandescence and zephyrs; a beautiful and open-minded album.
Sinclair, Iain / London Experimental Ensemble
Dark Before Dark
(577 Records)
Writer Iain Sinclair joins The London Experimental Ensemble to perform his narrative work, a sequel to Living With Buildings: And Walking With Ghosts, telling a surreal story of the imaginary 25-year journey of a whalebone box, told in detailed images and incredible sonic support through keys, strings, brass, winds, guitar, electronics and voice; profoundly powerful.
Sarian, Michael / Matthew Putman
A Lifeboat (Part I)
(577 Records)
The first of two planned volumes of studio improvisations between Brooklyn trumpeter & flugelhorn player Michael Sarian and keyboardist Matthew Putman, recorded in Sarin's home studio during the 2020 pandemic, allowing freedom in exploration as they sought out cadences, rhythms and melodies, this 1st volume presenting the finest of their investigations.
Brice, Olie / Binker Golding / Henry Kaiser / N.O. Moore / Eddie Prevost
The Secret Handshake with Danger Vol. One
(577 Records)
A merging of free jazz and free improvisation in the UK/US West Coast quintet of legendary AMM drummer Eddie Prévost, guitarist Henry Kaiser on "ismguitar", N.O. Moore on "guitarisism", Blinker Golding on saxophone and Olie Brice on double bass, in a rollicking album of electric jazz recorded in the studio in London for two exhilarating "Doors" of quick shifting improv.
Nagano, Sana (w/ Apflebaum / Matsuno / Filiano / Herternstein)
Smashing Humans
(577 Records)
The debut of a new electric jazz quintet from NY violinist Sana Nagano, with Peter Appfelbaum on tenor saxophone & megaphone, Keisuke Matsuno on electric guitar, Ken Filiano on acoustic bass & effects, and Joe Hertenstein on drums, an inventive and energetic album of joyful urgency and tremendous group dynamic, fueled by Nagano's exuberant and lyrical compositions.
Mateen, Sabir / Patrick Holmes / Federico Ughi
Survival Situation
(577 Records)
Having played together in a variety of settings, but never as a trio, saxophonist Sabir Mateen, clarinetist Patrick Holmes and drummer Federico Ughi met in a recording studio in Tuscany, Italy to record this album of wide-ranging free improvisation, Mateen's Farfisa playing and vocal declamations bringing a Sun Ra element to the vehement and profound dialog.
Bernstein, Sarah
Exolinger
(577 Records)
Recorded in the studio as an urgent response to the latent unease in the time of pandemic and political dissent, NY poet, violinist, composer and improviser Sarah Bernstein uses washes of distorted violin, ecstatic vocalizations, and poetic spoken word, an expression of immediacy and tension between extremes, a personal and articulate set of observational expressions.
Musson, Rachel
I Went This Way
(577 Records)
UK improvising saxophonist Rachel Musson incorporates spoken word text and daring instrumental experimentation in a large work for an 8-piece ensemble of bass, sax, and strings, with narration in a through-composed text written by Musson that explores the process of improvisation, and her reflections on the experiential process of making music.
Jerkagram / Martin Escalante
Parkour
(577 Records)
Ater a concert in Los Angeles with Martin Escalante on the same bill, the twin brothers, guitarist Derek Gaines and drummer Brent Gaines, asked the extreme saxophonist to join them in the creation of a new, cathartic form of improvisation, filled with angst and dramatic release, ending with an extended journey in sound and squawk; a gripping album of gritty improv.
Trrma'
The Earth's Relief
(577 Records)
The project of Southern Italy's Giovanni Todisco (percussion) and Giuseppe Candiano (synthesizer), since 2015 touring Japan and Europe to perform in festivals and venues, this album presents their experimental improvisation combining classic afrikaans and symphonic percussion with modular synthesis, merging ancient rhythms with modern electronic excitement.
Astroturf Noise (Harmet / Nagano / Swanson / Martin / Bernstein)
Astroturf Noise
(577 Records)
Astroturf Noise is Sam Day Harmet on mandolin, Sana Nagano on violin, Zach Swanson on bass, Billy Martin on percussion, and Sarah Bernstein on violin, living at the intersection of American folk & roots music and free improvisation, using effects and sonic additions in an unusual mix that the quintet makes completely natural and all their own.
Treesearch
Know More Knowledge
(577 Records)
West Coast/San Diego violinist Keir GoGwilt and bassist Kyle Motl are Treesearch, improvising on contrabass and violin with warm strength and expression, using a mix of traditional and creative approaches to their instruments as they bridge jazz and modern compositional approaches to create their own unique approach to free improvisation.
Irving, Tony / Massimo Magee
Vitriol And The Third Oraculum
(577 Records)
Two separate live recordings from the UK sax & drum duo of Massimo Magee on tenor, alto and sopranino saxophones, and drummer Tony Irving (Ascension), both captured in 2019 at The Globe in Newcastle Upon Tyne and at Hundred Years Gallery in London, as they burn through three free jazz dialogs of passionate playing informed by personal history and creative drive.
Carter, Daniel / Tobias Wilner / Djibril Toure / Federico Ughi
New York United [CD + DOWNLOAD]
(577 Records)
An excellent blend of electronics and acoustics as saxophonist, flutist and trumpeter Daniel Carter meets sound artist Tobias Wilner from world-renowned electronic pop band Blue Foundation, with Wu-Tang Clan bass player Djibril Toure and drum wiz Federico Ughi rounding out this forward-thinking album of hazy and rhythmic electroacoustic environments.
Meirano, Gabriele / Federico Ughi
Coordinate Orientali [CD + DOWNLOAD]
(577 Records)
A duo between two Italian born improvisers--New York based drummer and 577 Label leader Federico Ughi, and pianist Gabriele Meirano, active in the London jazz club scene for more than a decade--for an album of insightful free jazz in a dialog that shows both thoughtful and challenging moments in an open-minded, ultimately lyrical conversation between two like-minded players.



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Fujii, Satoko Tokyo Trio
Moon on the Lake
(Libra)
Pianist Satoko Fujii introduces a new trio with two younger and very active musicians on the Japanese jazz scene--bassist Takashi Sugawa and drummer Ittetsu Takemura--recording in 2020 at Pit Inn in Tokyo for their 3rd live date together, performing five lyrical Fujii original compositions, including "Aspirations" from her album with Leo Smith & Ikue Mori.
MOVE (feat. Sjostrom / Kaufmann / Pultz Melbye / Narvesen / Gordoa)
MOVE on MOERS
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
A live recording of insightful collective improvisation recorded in 2019 at the Moers Festival in Germany, from Harri Sjostrom on soprano saxophone, Achim Kaufmann on piano, Adam Pultz Melbye on double bass, Dag Magnus Narvesen on drums, and Emilio Gordoa on vibraphone, in an extended exploration of subtle hues through effortlessly intense and inventive interaction.
Martinez, Lucia / Agusti Fernandez / Barry Guy
Bosque de Niebla [2 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
After the Desalambrado duo album album between Spanish pianist Agustí Fernandez and drummer/percussionist Lucía Martinez, Fernandez enjoined UK bassist Barry Guy to record with them while he was in Spain working on his Via Augusta; the results are this album of mysterious environments that lead to intense and exciting interaction, expansive improv through Martinez' percussive elements.
Bober, Max
Somos
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Four works by Argentinian composer Max Bober living in Warsaw, Poland, performed in solo, duo and trio configurations by pianist Alejandro Peña Gutiérrez, flutists Francisco Rojas and Clara Peláez Hidalgo, and soprano Natalia Jarosiewicz; fragile works of depth and beauty that unfold gracefully.
Merce, Sergio
En Lugar De Pensar
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
One circular and one continuous composition from Argentinian composer Sergio Merce, using rich tones like clouds of sound generated by a microtonal saxophone, synthesizer and wind synth, the title referring to his sense of music a channel to see, to reveal, a channel that opens through intuition, observation and attention but not through thinking; beautiful.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC