James Armstrong

James Armstrong has explored concurrent paths in improvisation and modern classical music since his 1979 graduation from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Past projects include trios, quartets, and inventions for small ensembles -- volatile, labor-intensive music with a marked pantonal focus. Now working on original repertoire for solo performance. “...He has a firm grasp of the sheer power of Monk, often slamming the keys to create a shattering dissonance...he understands the rhythmic complexities of Cecil Taylor and the intellectualism of Andrew Hill. He has used these strong influences to create a personal style, always saving room for the purity of his own fingers on the keys. It is through his touch, his feel for the instrument that he achieves his individual power...” [ Stefan Zeniuk / Jazz Now Interactive, July 2002 ]About the MusicUpdate, March 16, 2009: I've just uploaded three new performances from the Rhapsody and Dedication session, recorded at OTR Studios, Belmont on March 14, 2009. All music © 2009 by James David Armstrong, Jr. (BMI).The trio performances, which had only limited distribution in the United States, comprise the session called Out of the Underground, and represent the culmination of an intense period of study and composition, beginning in late 1998. Recorded on the spot by James Edmiston, this group debuted at the now-defunct Jazz House in Berkeley, California, on June 17, 2004.Beijing Girl is dedicated to a friend who left a great deal behind when she came to the United States; the piece is a meditation on what was left behind. The group inventions are an expansion and collapse of the thematic cell heard at the end of the performance. Andrew has a stunning solo; an irreplaceable member of this group. Omaggio a Busoni, which had its world debut at the Jazz House, is the most rhythmically complex piece from the period. Memories of Busoni, Bartók, and de Falla intersect in a surreal environment based on a loose pulse in 3; Andrew's appraisal of the content as "dark" was entirely accurate. The intermezzo in fifths that precedes the final cadenza is derived from flamenco, and is a memory of my childhood in Spain. Les Accords was composed at the session, and is an exploration of the sonorities of this beautiful, 7 foot Steinway, which is among the finest in this region.

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