In trying to define the concept of my music, I am compelled to take a
whole experience and condense it into a singular statement that, in
theory, encompasses the entire thought process behind my work. I
do not believe this can be done, for nothing is truly that simple, yet
I will make an attempt.
My purpose is to create a music exploring the undefined in the most
direct way possible by attempting the impossible or infinite. The
realization of what is not defined or possible in effect, creates new
possibilities and new undefined or infinite areas to be explored.
In my work I have attempted to define this as the "Infinite Variables",
which in my system symbolize these attempts at unknown
propositions. The "variables" are defined by the scientific terms
"mass", "time", "space". These variables can be both infinitely
large and infinitely small taking into account the reality of infinity
where things are both infinite large and small.
While exploring these "Infinite Variables" I do not intend to create a
music that cannot be heard or is too loud to hear. The point of
these propositions is to try something that cannot be done in order to
put oneself in a new area of exploration. In the end these are
devices of not only the listener but also of the performer.
The previous artistic statement, while accurate, is still
incomplete. Since I finished my M.A. work at Wesleyan University,
I have taken a path I could not have predicted on graduation
day. Examining my music after graduation, I felt it had become
had become too academic. While I felt my work represented me, I
did not believe it took into account the totality of my musical
life. So I had to go back to the drawing board and re-discover
myself.
At this same point I also felt that my guitar playing had lagged and
fell far beyond my composition skills. I needed to set up a
proposition that would allow me to satisfy the following goals:
1. To improve my improvisation skills to encompass my composition style.
2. To make my ideological goals reflect my reality
3. To explore the "Infinite Variables" outside of academics
5. To have fun again with my music
To move toward fulfilling these goals I started my Guitar Journal on
August 3, 2004, which continues to this day with no definite end
planned. It is similar to most journals as there are entries,
however all my entries consist of me playing guitar instead of
writing. Thus far I believe this journal has totally changed the
way I play guitar and compose. I feel I have begun to satisfy my
objectives. It is currently podcast and listed in itunes and
other major podcast directories. The home page is
http://crean.lost-angel.com/journal-2
This record is the result of my first year of work on this
project. The composition "4 maps of Infinite Possibility" is an
exploration of Infinite Variables in a way that allows the improvisor
to explore the unknown and have some fun. The music also shows
many of the new aspects of my work adopted in the past year:
1. Multi-Instrumental guitar playing (switching from guitar to
guitar as a way to create new timbral possibilities.)
2. An accounting of my entire musical interests: jazz, classical,
electronic, rock, blues, etc.
3. An approach to solo guitar inspired by the solo musics of
Bach, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Joe Pass, Anthony Braxton, and John
Cage.
4. Exploring ideological implications of my work in a fun way
(after all what is music about...we all want to have some fun no
matter what our role is as listener, performer, and composer.)
Each portion of the score of "4 maps of Infinite Possibility" consist
of two pages, one containing an infinite zoom in and an infinite zoom
out. To sum up the position of each piece:
I is an exploration of continuity symbolized by lines with no definite
beginning and end.
II is an exploration of stasis symbolized by formation
constructed by straight lines.
III is an exploration of variation in linear formations symbolized by
line formation with curves with defined beginning and ends.
IV is an exploration of mass formation symbolized by all the previous
formations in a combinatorial manor.
I feel that by further explaining the composition, it will lose its
intended ambiguity for the performer and listener. So I hope you
enjoy this cd as much as I do.
Tom Crean
October 2005
This CD is dedicated to:
-Anthony for all the support, music, and friendship I have received
over the past 4 years. Thank you! Thank you! Thank
you!
-and my Katie whose support and love has made me a better person.....
Tom Crean - Guitars
Recorded October 2, 2005 by Tom Crean
Mixed by Tom Crean
Mastered by Alan Veniscofsky and Tom Crean
