Peter Paulsen Trio new CD "A Few Thoughts"

Peter Paulsen Trio

"A Few Thoughts"

SquarePegWorks 2015-2 

Peter Paulsen – bass/composer/arranger Tim Brey – piano Francois Zayas – percussion

Three fish in a pan = Peter Paulsen Trio Interactive, creative aspect = “We got fish to fry!!”

1. Time Remembered 5:18 Bill Evans arr. Peter Paulsen supported bass solo 2 min supported drum solo is an intriguing and challenging piece in a few ways. It is a 26-bar form (16+10) expanded by opening up the last two bars of Cm9 to function as an interlude between choruses. The melodic line covers a range of not quite two octaves consisting of a beautiful balanced combination of diatonic scale passages, arpeggios and larger intervals of a 5th and maj.7th reminiscent of a modern classical art song melody. The harmonic progression is made up of predominantly m9 chords contrasted with five maj.7th#11 chords used for one bar each.

2. Slow Poke 8:17 Peter Paulsen was inspired by a staunchly independent but selfishly inflexible 76 year-old man driving his 1964 Chevy Impala in no hurry to get where he is going. Originally written for solo piano, I’ve done both a septet arrangement (3 horns, guitar and rhythm section), as well as this trio version. 

3. So In Love 5:54 Cole Porter arr. Peter Paulsen supported bass solo is a beautiful and provocatively emotional Cole Porter ballad with an unusually long AABA form…arranged in a mixed meter with an insistent bass/left hand piano counter-melody, beginning with two funky waltz A sections using strategically placed 4/4 measures, eventually leading into a 4/4 straighteighth B section, returning to the funky waltz A section, then ending in a 5/4 interlude before the solo section. 

4. Beneath a Weeping Willow’s Shade 8:36 Francis Hopkinson arr. Peter Paulsen Francis Hopkinson, U.S. Statesman and signer of the Declaration of Independence, as well as organist at Christ Church, Philadelphia, composed this third of eight songs for voice and harpsichord in 1788, dedicated to George Washington. This arrangement converts the original 6/8 meter to a jazz waltz and I re-harmonized the original G major to a mix of E minor/G major, making use of slash chords, polychords and altered chords throughout. 

5. Waltz for Dave 6:58 Chick Corea arr. Peter Paulsen is Chick Corea’s dedication to Dave Brubeck…I’ve always been intrigued by the unusual intervallic quality of the melodic line in relationship to the uniquely challenging, and at times very chromatic chord progression over an “epic” 64-bar AABC form! We experimented in the studio with a number of approaches to how we would solo over such a long form and settled on this interactively loose improvised trading scheme.

6. Comrade Conrad 4:49 Bill Evans arr. Peter Paulsen Maracas tap dance bright fun up maracas solo near end became a regular part of my practice routine for about 6 months before this session in order to fully absorb the two octave melody, 32-bar form and frequently modulating harmonic progression, but without intentions of recording this Bill Evans’ composition. When Francois agreed to join the trio on percussion I wanted to feature his extraordinary maraca playing and immediately thought of this piece as a vehicle. The resulting approach of 16-bar latin/samba contrasted with 16-bar 9/8 is an especially intimate trio interaction that was a joy to play! 

7. Third Time 5:28 Peter Paulsen was first composed for a larger ensemble of two horns and rhythm section, including a countermelody in the second horn that is not present in this trio version.

Notes de Peter Paulsen:

Peter Paulsen is currently Instructor of Double Bass/Jazz Studies at West Chester University and is an active member of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, principal bass of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra and has been principal bass with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in Spoleto, Italy. He is also busy as a free-lance jazz bassist in the tri-state area and performs regularly with his own quintet and trio as well as many of Philadelphia’s top jazz performers. Mr. Paulsen is very committed to the education of young, up-coming musicians and has participated in master classes with Francois Rabbath, Hal Robinson, Mark Morton, Donald Palma and as a clinician with Jimmy Knepper, George Young, Clark Terry, Dennis DiBlasio, Valery Ponamerov, Ed Soph and Gunnar Mossblad.

He is a member of the International Society of Bassists and an active composer of works for his instrument, receiving two prestigious Pennsylvania Council on the Arts composition grants and a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada. He has released his first CD as a leader on R&L Records, “Three-Stranded Cord”, for jazz quintet, receiving national airplay and high reports on Jazzweek and CJM(college radio) charts. As a member of the MPH Trio, with Gunnar Mossblad on saxophones and Chris Hanning on percussion, he has released “Curves” on GPCrecordings which is also getting national airplay and reviews. Peter can be heard on the 2005 Wahbo Records release, “Useful Music” by the Jeff Baumeister Quartet and Mr. Paulsen’s CD release on Wahbo Records, “Tri-cycle”, for jazz trio featuring compositions that won him a third PCA composition grant. His recent activity as a composer was recognized by the PEW Charitable Trust as a recipient of the PEW Fellowship in Music Composition for 2007 and has led to the most recent CD release, Peter Paulsen “Change of Scenery” Sextet, also on Wahbo Records.

“My background as a visual arts student has given me a significant sense of the value of observation, and the challenge of developing that which is observed into a vital and expressive statement. In jazz, this manifests itself through improvising with the spontaneity and interaction of a conversation; while in composing; it has more to do with framing an idea (seed) into a rhythmic, lyric and harmonic ‘personality’. The expression of this process can best be illustrated by the parable of the mustard seed; ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed…, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree…’” Matt. 13: 31-32

Peter Paulsen, bassist/composer/arranger/educater has put together a new quintet specifically for a series of new compositions he has been working on since recently receiving a PEW Fellowship in Music Composition. While this band, at first glance, might be considered a jazz quintet, there are many other influences at play here in the compositions and interpretation that mix elements of classical composition with interactive improvisation; folk song with art song; as well as an ensemble dynamic that continues to develop and evolve with each performance. 

www.peterpaulsenmusic.com

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