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COAT OF ARMS - MUSIC FOR SOLO DRUMSET IS AVAILABLE AT:
COAT OF ARMS - MUSIC FOR SOLO DRUMSET
This solo drumset CD has Leo Ciesa playing 22 distinct pieces on a basic drumset without any overdubbing or layering. The total time is just over 50 minutes.
The music for the CD was recorded in one long intense day, the day after Iconoclast finished recording "Dirty Jazz", at Water Music Studios in Hoboken, NJ. This CD presents the final selection from about 30 compositions with alternate takes. The idea for the project was to use a basic, traditional drumset with no overdubbing or layering and to use the drums in a melodic compositional way, creating distinct pieces. Naturally, a lot of rhythms, polyrhythms and crossrhythms are present. The music moves fluidly between composed and improvised. Enjoy !
Thank you to: Chris Howard, engineer - Rob Grenoble, James Frazee and Sean Kelly at Water Music - Patrick Derivaz at PAD Productions - David Alvarado and Jennifer Twarowski at Disc Makers - and last but not least, Julie Joslyn from Iconoclast.
REVIEW QUOTES:
Coat of Arms bursts with power and creativity and should place Ciesa prominently in any conversation about great contemporary drummers.
-- The New York City Jazz Record (USA)
Ne risultano cinquanta minuti di musica ritmicamente variegata, dalla notevole ricchezza di accenti, di sfumature timbriche, di intuizioni fulminanti. Ma sopratutto emerge una insospettata vena melodica che funge da fil rouge dell'intera registrazione, rendendo accessibile e gradevole la proposta di un batterista allergico alle convenzioni.
All About Jazz Italia (Italy)
....interessante musikalische Ideen, z.B. die durchaus reizvolle Kombination von Ostinati und expressiver Improvisation. Hinter all dem steckt hier eine individuelle Persönlichkeit.
Drums & Percussion (Germany)
Reste que ces vingt-deux plages de batterie solo ne s'encombrent jamais de cliché(s) ou de vulgaritè(s). Un percutant sincère, tout simplement.
ImproJazz (France)
Charyzmatyczny wirtuoz perkusji, czionek Iconoclast i Doctor Nerve, w muzyce na perkusje solo. Ilustracje dynamiczne, pulsujace, subteine obrazy perkusyjne, konstrukcje dzwiekowe, piesni i piosenki awangardy rockowej.
ARS 2 (Poland)
COMPLETE REVIEW FROM THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD BY TERRELL HOLMES
Can a jazz drummer convey anything truly substantial by playing solo? Does the music have any meaning or impact outside the theme-solos-theme context that a band provides? A masterful drummer has a unique answer to these questions, marked by imagination, innovation and passion. Leo Ciesa shows remarkable range as a player and composer on his album Coat of Arms. His drum roll techniques on "0-100-0 in 68 seconds", which contrasts the solemnity of a military funeral with the levity and swing of a New Orleans-style homegoing, exemplifies his rhythmic sophistication and cleverness. Ciesa skillfully double- and triple-times the tempo on the sensual, Latin-flavored "Nothing but a Thigh" and the funky "Burnt Solids" dares one not to hit the dance floor. On "Sweet Butter" he's a drumline unto himself, raising polyrhythmic hell and making the cymbals sigh with satisfaction. There's more to Ciesa than the hard sell, though. He paints the impressionistic "Emotional Cream Sauce" on a spare canvas, eloquently balancing silence with a subtle bass drum. The way Ciesa uses toms on "Undisputed" and plays with his hands on "Handyman" shows that he doesn't overlook the basics of percussion. Even elemental tunes like "Them Figurative Bagatelles" and "Tom Click" have a deceptive simplicity. Coat of Arms bursts with power and creativity and should place Ciesa prominently in any conversation about great contemporary drummers.
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THE 22 PIECES ON "COAT OF ARMS - MUSIC FOR SOLO DRUMSET"
Below are short descriptions of the pieces from a compositional, technical and (poly)rhythmical point of view. Beyond the theoretical aspect, there is of course passion and expression added to complete the full musical experience.
1. AFTER PART 1
A conversational piece, using all the toms, snare (with the snares off) and bass drum (with the double pedal). *
2. 0-100-0 IN 68 SECONDS
A 68 seconds review of the 100 year history of the drumset. From New Orleans Jazz to a Free Jazz / Death Metal hybrid and back.
3. COLADA
A freeform Latin kind of thing. Clearly Latin rhythm inspired but taken out, including very non traditional expressions. *
4. UNDISPUTED
This starts with a melodic A section, then goes into the B section with the main part being the right hand moving between the lower rack tom and the snare drum (snares off). Eventually it goes into an improvisation over the B section. Note that there is no bass drum on this piece, only the toms and snare.
5. BEYOND THE RED
This involves polyrhythms and crossrhythms. It starts with the bass drum playing 4. The hands enter by playing a quintuplet as a crossover between the floor tom and snare. The next part is still a quintuplet but now the right hand moves over 3 drums in a clock wise circle, floor tom - snare - low rack tom, while the left hand only moves back and forth between 2 drums, the high rack tom and the snare. Adding dynamics and push - pull, surging and laying back, while the bass drum stays steady adds interest and musicality to the piece. It ends in a flourish with the crossover. *
6. PHILOSOPHITATING ALONE
A steady cymbal pulse starts this piece and it continues after the drums enter. The cymbal strokes are incorporated seamlessly with the drum excursions. *
7. HEARD ON THE RANGE
Short, irregular, argumental phrases involving all the drums.
8. NOTHING BUT A THIGH
Based on a Rumba rhythm with a hip hop nursery rhyme melody and improvisations in between.
9. SWEET BUTTER
This African rhythms inspired piece starts with a 5 way independence intro. Entering one by one, it begins with the right foot on the bass drum playing 2, followed by the left foot on the bass drum (double pedal) playing 3, then the left foot heel on the hi-hat playing 6, the right hand on the floor tom playing 4 and last, the left hand on the rack tom playing 8. The 3 against 2 pulse stays on the bass drum with variations, sometimes emphasizing the 2, sometimes the 3. The hands, playing toms and snare drum with the snares off, add more polyrhythms. The piece evolves and builds up to a climax including the cymbals. *
10. TOM CLICK
The left hand alternates between tom and cross stick on the snare. Then a melody played on a cymbal enters. An improvisation based on the melody follows. A return to the cymbal ends the piece.
11. THEM FIGURATIVE BAGATELLES
Short phrases consisting of movements over the drums that can be seen as different figures ( circles, half circles etc.). Repeated figures are played alone or together with other figures in clusters with rests in between.
12. MISTAKENLY SEDUCED
A different type of polyrhythm is being used here. A Bossa Nova style rhythm is played simultaneously with accelerating and decelerating bass drum strokes. *
13. HANDYMAN
The same drumset is used as on all the other pieces, but here it is played with bare hands, giving it a very different sound.
14. THREE ABRASIVE CROISSANTS
Originally a longer piece, this short version acts as an intro to the next track.
15. GENERAL CUSTARD PIE
This starts with a 4 against 7 polyrhythm. The 7 is on the bass drum while a regular, back beat 4 is played on the hi-hat and snare drum. The B section is a melody in 7 executed through a combination roll between hands and feet. *
16. BEFORE
This is the original idea before it evolved into "After" in subsequent takes. Compared to "After" this is slower and more relaxed. *
17. AFTER PART 2
See "After Part 1" and "Before". *
18. BURNT SOLIDS
A very danceable, melodic groove is the foundation for this piece. *
19. I'VE GOT AN ACCENT
This piece highlights the possibilities of accents by moving them around not only over the drums but also rhythmically.
20. THE OFFENSIVE DRIVING COURSE
Driving by from left to right... As is the case with the title / cover of the album, this title can also have multiple meanings. It could be thought of as the opposite of a defensive driving course OR it could be thought of as a driving course conducted by a driving instructor with offensive behavior, smell, talk etc. etc..
21. EMOTIONAL CREAM SAUCE
A sparse, abstract beginning played with mallets gives this piece a different character. Halfway through, a soft bass drum heartbeat enters adding "time".
22. AFTER PART 3
See "After part 1" and "Before". *
* The pieces marked with an * are solo extensions related to the following Iconoclast pieces listed this way: Coat of Arms track # - name of Iconoclast piece (Iconoclast album).
# 1,16,17,22 - Après Vous, # 6 - Philosophitating, # 12 - Mistaken Seduction, # 18 - Burn and Solidify (Dirty Jazz). # 3 - Tom Colada, # 9 - Little Sweet Weak Bitter (The Dreadful Dance / The Body Never Lies). # 5 - Beyond the Red Road (The Body Never Lies). # 15 - Flan is Like a Woman (Paradise).
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