{"product_id":"sgl15972-a-gamblers-hand","title":"A Gambler's Hand","description":"\u003cblockquote\u003eAn ambitious album of original music for string quartet and percussion by composer-drummer Sean Noonan, with eclectic motifs drawn from classical and experimental music, downtown\/free jazz and punk.\r\n\u003cem\u003e- Mark Werlin, AllAboutJazz\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\r\n\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA Gambler's Hand\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e is a suite of pieces for sometimes-amplified string quartet and drums, largely composed but with improvisational sections, inspired equally by the great string quartet tradition (Beethoven and Bartok in particular), the idea of a third stream uniting jazz and classical forms and approaches, \u003cstrong\u003eSean Noonan\u003c\/strong\u003e's evolving drum language and varied compositional interests, and his inclination to stir diverse elements together into something wildly imaginative that also turns out to be unexpectedly coherent.\r\n\r\nThe music draws on a diverse range of compositional styles, from Neoclassical and 20th century American experimentalism (Nancarrow, Cowell) to downtown contemporary (Zorn), as well as punk and free jazz. The relationship of the drums and strings developed from Sean’s experience of hearing\/playing music from the drum position – conceptually and even literally, the strings are positioned as extensions of the drummer’s limbs: “There are many unique sonic amalgams a drummer experiences sitting behind the drum set that are not heard by the listener. I wanted to capture and exploit these qualities and emulate them in my string arrangements and in the process of mixing the album. So I positioned the two violins far left and right, the viola mid-left, and the cello mid-right. The drum set faces directly towards the quartet. I thought it would be quite interesting to intertwine or overlap the strings and percussion and treat it all as one organism.” The string players Sean chose all have experience in improvisation, and it shows: “I want to praise these great musicians….I knew it wouldn’t be easy to find players with the right background and the level of concentration to execute and interpret my written compositions and on the turn of a dime be able to improvise in a free-form manner.”\r\n\r\n\u003cem\u003eA Gambler’s Hand\u003c\/em\u003e is the music for an original story of Sean’s, a dreamlike tale about an obsessive gambler who eventually finds himself immured inside a wall and lives out his lonely existence there. The music parallels the moods and liminal psychic states of the story’s first person narrator, but the recording is wordless: the narrative elements are left to the listener’s imagination to find in the music. (Excerpts of the story, in a ritualistic sort prose owing something to Beckett and the theatre of the absurd, are included in the booklet.)\r\n\r\n\u003chr\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cstrong\u003eSean Noonan - drum set, percussion, composer, conductor\u003c\/strong\u003e\r\n\u003cstrong\u003eTom Swafford - violin\u003c\/strong\u003e\r\n\u003cstrong\u003ePatti Kilroy - violin\u003c\/strong\u003e\r\n\u003cstrong\u003eLeanne Darling - viola\u003c\/strong\u003e\r\n\u003cstrong\u003eDavid West - cello\u003c\/strong\u003e","brand":"Songlines Recordings","offers":[{"title":"DSD 64 \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":56741884199236,"sku":"SGL15972-14","price":23.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"DSD 128 \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":56741884232004,"sku":"SGL15972-15","price":25.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"DSD 256 \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":56741884264772,"sku":"SGL15972-16","price":29.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"DSD 512 \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":56741884297540,"sku":"SGL15972-21","price":35.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"DXD 24 Bit \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":56741884330308,"sku":"SGL15972-22","price":25.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"WAV  88.2 kHz \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":56741884363076,"sku":"SGL15972-72","price":25.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"FLAC 96 kHz \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":57343361679684,"sku":"SGL15972-7","price":19.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/7900\/2436\/files\/SGL15972.jpg?v=1778504461","url":"https:\/\/www.nativedsd.com\/products\/sgl15972-a-gamblers-hand","provider":"NativeDSD Music","version":"1.0","type":"link"}