November, 2008

Dear friends,

Greetings once again from the coast of Maine, where the leaves are falling, the harbors are growing chilly and silent, and Orion is glittering in the early morning sky. Many of the fields are festooned with the Bittersweet vine, whose bright orange berries will cheer up our dinner tables as centerpiece decorations. It’s a perfectly named plant, since it comes into its glory in the autumn, which is the bittersweet season. The morning fog rises from the streams and rivers, wood smoke rises from the chimneys, and the increasing bleakness of the world outside is countered by the coziness of a fireside at the end of the day, and a visit with neighbors whom you haven’t seen since June, when the summer frenzy began.

Maine may be growing quiet, but here in the world headquarters of River Music, the lights are on, the music is playing, and we have lots of interesting news to report.

As usual, I have had a most unexpected and intriguing year, full of commissions, concerts and an extremely long journey across Russia aboard the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

The principal commission was from IBM, for whom I wrote over an hour’s worth of music for a major event that they hold each Spring, called the Golden Circle Awards. It is a recognition event for their top sales people from all over the globe, and this year it took place in Bermuda. The salespeople and their spouses came for a week, and were wined and dined and pampered in the most lavish style. During the course of the week, they were treated to two live entertainment shows, for which I wrote most of the music. There were appearances by movie stars, celebrities, the Pilobolus Dance Theater, and the head honchos of IBM, as well as singers, a choir, and the Bermudean Drum Corps. No expense was spared, and the shows were absolutely stunning. The organization of such an event was also stunning. There were fifteen hundred honorees, coming in groups of five hundred per week over three weeks. Work began more than a year before. I started composing in February and worked 14 hours a day until the end of April. The pressure, the professionalism, and the level of excellence was truly thrilling. It was like a private Broadway show, and it all came together at a majestic hotel on a hilltop overlooking the ocean. Jill and I both spent a week there, engaged in musical matters, and meeting the rest of the collaborators. The crisp efficiency and thoroughness of the corporate world was quite a new cultural experience for this musician. I was absolutely intrigued by it and grateful for a chance to experience it as an insider for a week, but I was also glad to have the other artists around, to balance out the left-brain business guys a little bit. Once again, music took me where I would never have dreamed of going otherwise.

As exotic as a week with IBM was, it couldn’t hold a candle to what followed it. The Paul Winter Consort, of which I am a member—went on a two week tour of Russia in April. It began quite impressively with a concert at the American Embassy in Moscow. That was a very glittery affair, full of ambassadors and charming, elegant, cosmopolitan people from all over the world. The embassy itself is housed in a huge and spectacular mansion, whose halls and stairways are lined with photos of all the American presidents and famous entertainers who have visited there over the years. Needless to say, it was a heady and very exciting honor to have a chance to perform there.

Immediately following the concert, however, things took a dramatic turn away from pomp and circumstance and glitter. Instead of going to some fancy hotel in Moscow, we got on a bus and headed off into the dark night toward another city where we were to perform the next day. And thus began a journey which ultimately brought us to eastern Siberia, which is as far from Moscow as Guam is from New York City, literally and figuratively. We played concerts in glorious old opera houses, cement block community theaters, and a small, second story nightclub in Novosibirsk, days from anywhere, where few Americans ever venture. In another city we played in a variety show where the warm-up act was a Big Band from some far-flung province which played some very exotic sounding arrangements of American jazz tunes. They had a full complement of the traditional instruments, the saxes and trumpets, but they also mixed in some less common Big Band instruments, like balalaikas and jaw harps, which gave a weird oriental twang to “Take the A Train”, and other familiar favorites. But the musicians were true masters of their instruments, and they were extremely friendly and gracious to us all.

Our primary means of transportation for all this was the Trans-Siberian Railroad, a venerable old train that crosses the entire width of Russia in 12 days or so. And there were many people on board who were in for the whole thing, which requires a completely different approach to train travel than most of us are used to. Since they truly live aboard the train for almost two weeks many of the rules of decorum and modesty go by the wayside, and as you walk along the corridor of the cars and glance into the open sleeping compartments, you are rewarded with a glimpse into the funky and unadorned lives of your fellow travelers. Dark little chambers with lots of people in them, lounging around in their underwear, smoking cigarettes, arguing, muttering, and snoring louder than the train engines, cooking old cabbage and fish on hot plates and in general letting it all hang out as the train labored through the relentlessly bleak Siberian countryside. There were windows along one side of the corridor, and we all stared out of them by the hour. There seemed to be about a ten foot long repeating loop of scenery which scrolled slowly by. There were four basic scenes: endless birch forests; endless plains and fields, most of which were on fire; dark little villages with mud roads and closely clustered little houses that looked like a scene from Fiddler on the Roof; and finally, communist-era cities of cement blocks, which were severely plain and defiantly anti-pretty. And then the Birch forests began again. All of these sights were adorned by the constant snow which drifted down—nothing you’d call a storm, but just dripping, defeated looking flakes that were grey from all the coal pollution in the air. As our cellist remarked, after staring out the window for a couple of hours, “They don’t call it Siberia for nothing.”

It was a real eye-opener of a trip. It was very difficult and uncomfortable at times, but nevertheless we all realized that this was an opportunity of a lifetime, to see Russia by the routes that Russian musicians take. Our band, who are all very seasoned travelers, cannot stop talking about our experiences there. Most of the discussions are the remembrances of some of the darkest and/or most absurd moments. And yet I know that when the chance for another Russian adventure presents itself, we’ll be on the first plane over.

BREAK AWAY!
I am pleased to announce the release of of my new CD, Break Away. It is completely different from anything you’ve ever heard from me before, and I think you’ll like it.

Click here to read more...

Marion McPartland’s Piano Jazz Program on National Public Radio
Another highlight this year was having the great honor of performing with Paul Winter on Marion McPartland’s Piano Jazz program on National Public Radio. Marion McPartland, now in her 90’s, is a living jazz legend who has hosted this wonderful show on Public Radio for nearly 30 years. Her guest list is a “Who’s Who” of the most influential jazz pianists of our time. Needless to say, it was an absolute thrill for me to sit at the guest piano and play a duet with her! The program was made available to Public Radio stations across the country beginning November 4th. You may still be able to catch it, check your local listings for the date and time of broadcast.

SHEET MUSIC!
Finally, FINALLY, we have more sheet music for you! I have been promising this to many people for years now, but never seemed to actually make it happen. However, since Jill has come back to River Music, the bad old days of flimsy excuses and lame delays are over! So now I am proud to announce that we have ten of my songs available as sheet music. I arranged them with the goal that they would be simple enough for an advanced beginner pianist to play. And for more advanced players, they provide all the musical information you need to embellish them to your heart’s content. You can buy one song, or you can buy all of them, or just pick out whatever ones you choose. Click here for titles and ordering info.

Thank You, Loyal Supporters!
As you can see from this newsletter. the life of an independent composer and piano player is often rich beyond belief On the other hand, it’s also short on stability and security. That’s why I am always grateful to you, O Loyal Supporter! You truly keep me going and I am truly appreciative.

In order to keep in contact with you, I urge you to please make sure I have your correct contact information, including your email address. Email is important so that I can alert you about any concerts in your area. The most efficient way to do this is at this website. Just click on "Contact Us" and give us the updates.

I also want to let you know that I have always been a "grass roots" kind of guy. Many of my favorite concerts have taken place due to a tip or a recommendation from a friend. So if you know of any concert series in your area which might be appropriate for me, please let me know and we’ll get right on it. Also, I have had many wonderful experiences playing "house concerts"—so if you or anyone you know has a good piano and room for thirty people or so, we might be able to put on a little concert in your own home. And believe me, these are really wonderful! Just give Jill a call or an email—she’ll tell you all about the possibilities.

You can reach her at 207-359.8432. Email is Jill@rivermusic.com.

Yours in music,

Paul Sullivan

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