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Discography: Riverrun (2006) :: From The Faraway...Nearby (1998)
The Kairos Quartet expands the boundaries of jazz. "We offer an alternative to the straight-ahead standards based jazz group," says Steve Lishman, saxophone. "You could consider us being on the cusp of combining jazz with a variety of world music styles, as well as, contemporary music styles - both popular and classical."
One unique piece performed by Kairos is the earthy but eerie composition, Watcher, 2006. During the tune, band member Dyne Eifertsen plays a single low droning didjeridu note while singing above the sound. "The bass drones on the same note drifting in and out of tune, passing the improvised melodies between the two," he says.
Other original compositions include:
An American Place - Eifertsen, 2000
Named for Alfred Stieglitz's New York City gallery where the paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe first premiered. The piece celebrates Stieglitz' intent to showcase American artists at a time when European works dominated the city's art scene. The piece's folk-like melody features the acoustic bass, and is influenced by another American icon. "I heard the sound of bassist Charlie Haden in my head as I composed the song," Eifertsen says.
Have an Orange, Calm Down - Robinson, 2005
The title of this piece was inspired by a Kevin Spacey line in the movie Hurlyburly (1998). "By saying 'have an orange, calm down,' to his roommates, Spacey's character was essentially telling them to stop freaking out," Robinson says. "It was really funny to me, so I took a mental note to use the quote as the title for a composition one day." The musical content of the piece, however, originated out of a low position/open string exercise that Robinson devised.
Seven Fourths - Lishman, 1983
This composition in 7/4 meter is made up of two melodic lines in counterpoint. The first melodic line is introduced in the bass, followed by the winds overlapping the bass with a second melodic line. The improvisations are free with no indicated chord symbols.