THE WALT WHITMAN SUITE

Words from “SPECIMEN DAYS” and “LEAVES OF GRASS” by WALT WHITMAN

Music Composed and Performed by DAN KNIGHT

1               “The Main Shapes, Arise”

2.               “For You, O Democracy

3.               “I Sing the Body Electric”

4a.             “A child said, ‘what is the grass?’”

4b.             “I believe a leaf of grass . . . “

5.               “In the faces of men and women I see God”

6.               “Abraham Lincoln”

7.               “Beat! Beat! Drums!”

8.               “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”

9.               “This is what you shall do”

10.             “Good-Bye My Fancy”

11-20.        Piano solo of the same tracks above.

ABOUT THE WALT WHITMAN SUITE

Walt Whitman (1855)

About the piano recording: The piano, a Steinway Model D, was recorded direct to an Ampex ATR 102 1.5” two track recorder with flux magnetic heads, using two B.L.U.E. “Dragonfly” condenser mics through two API Model 3124+ discrete preamps.  Quantegy 499 Grand Master Gold tape was used and aligned to +3dB @ 250n/w.   Tape speed was 15ips.   Tannoy Model SGM-10 monitors were used with Mastering Lab crossovers and enclosures. The recording was transferred directly to Pro Tools HD v. 7.5.  No equalization or compression was used on the recording or transfer.

About the narration recording:  The narration was recorded direct to Pro Tools HD v. 7.5 using a vintage Neumann U47 microphone through the 3124 microphone preamplifiers on the API Legacy Plus Recording Console input module and bypassing all other console functions.   No equalization or compression was used on this recording.

Dan Knight at Blue Heaven Studios.

COMPOSED AND PERFORMED by Dan KNIGHT PRODUCED by CHRISTOPHER HUSTON

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My interest as a composer is in merging the finest aspects of the traditions of classical and improvised music in new explorations of creative potentials in composition and performance.

I believe “The Walt Whitman Suite” successfully fuses these two traditions in ways that amplify the best qualities of each.

I hope the performance of this Suite, and this wonderful recording of it, will begin to bridge the gap between “classical” and “improvised” music, and that a passionate new tradition may begin to emerge.

 

DAN KNIGHT

Being the product of two musical “worlds” (that of Paderewski and that of Tatum), I realized these two musical “worlds” often didn’t speak to each other.

For much of my musical live this dichotomy was a problem.   But after years of thought and study, I now embrace both “worlds” with passion and intensity.   My compositions of the past few years reflect that change.   “The Walt Whitman Suite” reflects the totality of my musical life to date.

In doing so it includes music that is both thorough-composed and improvised.

The term “improvisation” often carries with it the connotation of “making it up as you go along.”  The inference is that the product of improvisation, because it is seemingly offhand, must therefore be second rate. This understanding of improvisation has at times been used by individuals in the tradition of “classical” music to trivialize improvisation and improvisers, since ‘anything offhand must therefore be of little value.’

However, classical tradition itself proves improvisation is anything but trivial.  Bach obviously improvised prodigiously and proficiently.   Mozart was himself an outstanding improviser.   So was Franz List.   The list could go on and on.

In turn, modern “improvising” musicians have often wrongfully criticized the “non-improvising” world for its apparent “paint by numbers” approach and seeming lack of imagination implied in note-perfect but passionless performances of the  classical canon.

Marc Sheforgen, Travis , Chris Huston, Dan Knight and Emilie the Wonder Dog  -  Blue Heaven Studios, Salina, KS   09-06

ABOUT THE PRODUCER of THE WALT WHITMAN SUITE:   CHRISTOPHER HUSTON is one of the most acclaimed producers in the history of popular music.   He has garnered over eighty gold records, and has worked with artists as varied as LED ZEPPELIN, THE WHO, WAR, JAMES BROWN, ARETHA FRANKLIN, BEN E. KING, PATTI LaBELLE, VAN MORRISON, and a host of others.    For more information about him, please visit WWW.CHRISHUSTON.COM.   For his comments on recording THE WALT WHITMAN SUITE, please visit the RIVES AUDIO WEBSITE at WWW.RIVESAUDIO.COM.