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Fourteen Bagatelles

by Abe Maneri and Tom Jameson

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Keith Gauger
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1.
Melodica and Guitar #1 02:19
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2.
Alto Recorder and Guitar #1 02:12
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3.
Soprano Recorder and Guitar #1 02:15
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4.
Melodica and Keyboard #1 06:53
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5.
Alto Recorder and Guitar #2 02:19
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6.
Melodica and Guitar #2 03:17
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7.
Soprano Recorder and Guitar #3 03:33
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8.
Soprano Recorder and Keyboard 04:23
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9.
Tenor Recorder and Guitar 03:22
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10.
Melodica and Keyboard #2 03:55
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11.
Soprano Recorder and Guitar #2 01:55
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12.
Keyboard and Guitar #2 01:14
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13.
Bass Recorder and Guitar 02:12
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14.
Keyboard and Guitar #1 06:07
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about

Reviews:
"The greatest comfort of Fourteen Bagatelles is that, by the end of its mesmerizing, lyrical dream, listeners can take comfort in the fact they were awake all along. This album is a flashlight in the dark, a means to and end, which is but another beginning. It is for this reason that, pressing PLAY for another go"
--Tyran Grillo (Beyond Sound and Space)
Full Review and Interview:

ecmreviews.com/2013/10/24/fourteen-bagatelles/

14 Bagatelles was recorded live and without overdubs over the course of three sessions in February and March of 2013. Tom and I began our musical conversation in 2003. It began with a disagreement over the relative merits of the composer Gustav Mahler. From there we have had many hundreds of conversations about music covering our shared love of JS Bach, Brahms and Beethoven along with many many other styles of music including world, jazz, avant-guarde, folk, rock, funk, and even disco. Included in these conversations are questions of the relative value of art and meaning. We both adore art that seeks greatness in meaning; we receive it as truth. The power of such art overwhelms any consideration that its meaning cannot be exactly proven; its meaning transcends questions of personal taste. Living now in a world whose attitudes seem ever more opposed to convictions of esthetic truth, we have made music that expresses some of this sense of loss.
And yet, what Tom and I set out to do in these pieces of music doesn't reach for the kinds of meaning Beethoven or Monk were reaching for. Nor were we playing a game with meaning like Duchamp or Cage. I think we each attempted to play our best. Our best contains imperfections, but also careful considerations. Our best was to listen intently to each other as we built semi-improvised forms of music. I'll define what I mean by semi-improvised. While Tom generally performs ideas that he has worked on, I can't be counted on to play the same thing twice. This is illustrated best on the recording called Melodica and Guitar #2. I merged two takes of the same progression. I did this mainly because I liked both takes. There are differences in Tom's performances, however, they are rather slight when compared with the fact that I didn't play the same passages at all. Yet, out of this difference and our conversations about many forms of music, art, literature, and film came something rather different and I think quite compelling. While moments of Brahms are there, and a lifted part of Schoenberg's Verklarte Nacht, there is, stylistically something else entirely going on here. There's some French, some Japanese, some Greek, some Indian, some Jazz, some Blues, etc...And, what I think has made us particularly happy about this music is that it can function as ephemeral background music as well as listened to carefully and closely as one would chamber music.

Here is a link to a video I made for Tenor Recorder and Guitar.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAM1EIZbo_A

credits

released September 6, 2013

The first instrument in each track title was performed by Abe Maneri. The second instrument was performed by Tom Jameson. Each track was recorded by Abe Maneri. The final mix for all of these tracks was done by Michael Beharie.

Reviews:

".... If I had not been sitting down, Maneri's performance would have knocked me on my can... he did not just play the piano, he transformed the instrument with energy and clashing sonorities."

--Stu Vandermark, Boston Jazz Scene

"Maneri fills the mind with words and thoughts that require—no encourage—repeated plays to get all of his metaphors. The music scores the poetry nicely; as practiced, the verse is delivered as if in song form."

--Mark Corroto, All About Jazz Magazine

...heavy and poignant, a dour Maneri is wry and sarcastic (his) free instrumental improvisation reflects the tension and anxiety as you would expect.

--Michael Nastos, Rovi

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Abe Maneri and the Agnostic Hep Cats image

Abe Maneri and the Agnostic Hep Cats Brooklyn, New York

Abe Maneri has studied music directly and indirectly his whole life; starting out on violin at the age of 4, cello at age 9, piano, recorders, guitar, voice, percussion, and clarinet there after. He has performed with many noted musicians including Joe and Mat Maneri, Jessica Jones, Sabir Mateen, Assif Tsahar and John Medeski. ... more

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