Nomad Session - Voyage

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I’m very excited to announce the release of the album “Voyage” by the ensemble Nomad Session. I had a blast playing trumpet on this recording. Nomad Session is a San Francisco, Bay Area based wind octet that combines the flexibility of a chamber ensemble with the power and color of larger wind and brass ensembles. This album features two clarinet concertos performed by the innovative and virtuosic clarinetist, Jeff Anderle.

The first piece on the album is the “Nomad Concerto” for bass clarinet and wind octet. This piece was composed by Jon Russel, who makes up half of the bass clarinet duo, Sqwonk with Jeff Anderle. I’ve always enjoyed playing Jon’s music and feel fortunate to have performed his music alongside the Garret And Moulten dance company and at the Switchboard Music Festival. Here’s a video from way back in 2011 of a performance I did of Jon’s “Twelve Bean Groove Machine”. Jon has a talent for composing super fun grooves and poignant melodies. The “Nomad Concerto” features a wonderful mixture of both as Jon takes us on a journey exploring humanity’s nomadic past, present and future.

The second piece on the album is “Black Dog” by the composer Scott McAllister. This piece is inspired by Led Zepplin’s song by the same name and features a host of pyrotechnics for the clarinet. The clarinet assumes the role of lead singer and lead guitarist as it weaves its way through driving rock passages and soulful rhapsodies. This piece was originally written for a standard wind ensemble with clarinet soloist. The reduction and arrangement for the album was created by Nomad Sessions’s multitalented French hornist, Stephanie Rickard.

We recorded the album in two days of sessions at the San Francisco Conservatory Of Music. It was great to be back in SFCM’s concert hall at 50 Oak Street. Cory Todd recorded and edited the album with Zach Miley as the mastering engineer. Jon Russel, Mario Godoy and Jeff Anderle were producers. Here are a few photos from the session…

After the session, we hopped into cars and drove from San Francisco to Reno Nevada, where we performed at the International Clarinet Association’s “Clarinet Fest 2022”.

Clarinet Fest 2022 performance…

Post concert! L-R Tori, Jon Szin, me, Stephanie, Jeff, Kris, Jesse, Jon Seiberlich, Esther

Musicians on the album….

Victoria Hauk, flute + piccolo
Jesse Barrett, oboe + English horn
Jonathan Szin, clarinet + bass clarinet
Kristopher King, bassoon
Stephanie Rickard, french horn
Ari Micich, trumpet
Esther Armendariz, trombone
Jonathan Seiberlich, tuba

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