Project Created: "On a Line"
Quote: “I wanted to have a piece of music that is moving around from one place to another. Everybody taps into the history of their instruments, harmonies, scales, those things go from one place to another. It wasn’t hard because I wanted to compose something related to Balkan brass music, and Eastern European music with gypsy roots that have influenced so much internationally. Cuban and big band jazz, even symphony orchestra…are all part of this piece,” – Francois Zayas, 2015
Bio: Francois Zayas is a composer, arranger and percussionist. Born in Cuba, Zayas graduated from the Instituto Superior de Artes (ISA) in 1998. He taught there, while still a student and after graduation, for a total of four years. He was a member of the National Symphonic Orchestra of Cuba for ten years, and during this time he collaborated on different projects with bands of diverse backgrounds, including Jazz, Hip Hop, and Rock. From 1994 to his establishment in the USA in 2006, he made several international tours with different groups. In the last eight years he has collaborated with many musicians, choreographers, and educators, sometimes with his own arrangements or original compositions, at other times as an instrumentalist.
Project Description: “In this residency, I would like to connect and combine several different music traditions, such as R&B, Classical and Balkan music with Jazz, into a series of thematically related songs that will highlight chronological and geographical connections among different music genres. The songs will tell a love story between a female character played by a singer and a male character played by a DJ.” – Francois Zayas, 2015
Credits: All compositions and arrangements by Francois Zayas.Lyrics for E. Rumba, Udo and Reflection by Francois Zayas All digital sounds and effects by Benjamin Karp. Digital composition for E. Rumba by Benjamin Karp Selection of lines for Remix for Him and Remix for Her by Chrissie Loftus and Francois Zayas.
Musicians
Leandra Brinkmann: vocals
Lilian Cappello: piano
Chrissie Loftus: vocals
Benjamin Karp: digital sound design, guitar
Katie Ambacher: flute
Mike Cemprola: clarinet, tenor sax
Todd Bashore: alto sax
Josh Lawrence: trumpet
Stan Slotter: trumpet
Larry Toft: baritone, trombone
Dan Nosheny: baritone, trombone, accordion
Jay Krush: tuba, baritone Andres Cisneros: congas, bata
Performance Dates: Francois was in residency from November 1, 2014 – June 20, 2015. His student workshop was held on February 9, his public workshop on March 15, his work-in-progress on May 17, and his world premiere was held on June 20, 2015.
Special Thanks: Special thanks to Chrissie Loftus, Tatjana Miloradovic-Lindes and Michael Lindes.