| release of |
| IDYLL HANDS RECORDINGS |
| are pleased to announce the impending |
| RED WAVE |
| still available for $8 postpaid: "New American Marches" |
| by Robert W. Getz |
| Send a check or money order to: |
| Robert W. Getz 145 Bickley Road Glenside, PA 19038 |
| Order "Live At The Knitting Factory" now! Click here for info! |
| Live Events for 2004: Only West Coast Appearance! January 15: "(airplanes to go over the ocean)" Robert W. Getz, piano The Jazz House 3192 Adeline at MLK Blvd. Berkeley, CA 415-846-9432 $7 - 10 sliding donation For more info, click here "Brandishes the piano like a weapon of the heart, mind, body, and spirit...knives through on-the-spot narratives with a quick, hard language." - San Francisco Bay Guardian Live Events for 2003: November 8: "L'Ombres" (World Premiere) performed by Anxious Trio: Michael Barker, bass Jonathan Fretheim, viola Robert W. Getz, piano, viola Underground Art Museum 521 S. 4th Street Philadelphia, PA 8 pm http://www.sisyphusbananapeel.com Live Events for 2002 |
| From the liner notes to "Wooden Box": From the beginning, one realizes that each moment of "Wooden Box" holds the seeds of any one of a million possibilities. Such an approach to music can be either exciting and engaging, or, in less able hands, just messy noodling that takes more from its audience than it gives. Getz, however, brings a steady, comfortable presence to the ideas that present themselves to him throughout the course of this improvisation. He searches, but never wanders, and makes his choices with complete assurance. These choices are merely the manifestations of Getz's artistry -- the way it shows its face to the world. Clearly, the other thing on display in "Wooden Box" is an unobscured look at the very source of that artistry. That source is the same well that artists like Mary Margaret O'Hara and Jandek draw from, a well that exists only inside themselves, a well that taps into a reservoir of musical intuition rather than technique. What O'Hara, Jandek and Getz are producing is something that can be described only as their very own. Certainly there are words in the lexicon of music theory and criticism that can be applied here, but one can't help thinking that such words were not built to house these ideas. At times, it may seem as if Getz wants to put more color in his sketches, but is holding back. Or that he wants to dance with the likes of Passion, Darkness, Whimsy or Aggression, but won't introduce himself. If there is anything lacking in "Wooden Box," however, it is boundaries, personal or otherwise. As this improvisation unfolds, Getz seems to find many things he was looking for, and many things he wasn't. This record of his discoveries is a single moment in time that will stand up to repeated listening, revealing newer terrain with each return. In this sense, "Wooden Box" is very much an audience participation piece. As Getz draws on his reveries, one does not just sit by and witness the exercise, but is invited to do the very same thing. What the listener brings to this recording will determine what the listener takes away; thus assuring that "Wooden Box" will never be the same piece twice. Getz's music doesn't just ignore boundaries; it makes you wonder why there are boundaries in the first place. He isn't thumbing his nose at convention: Getz's approach is without defiance, without spite, without pretension. It is a celebration of pure potential, an acceptance of the creative self, being true to itself. "Wooden Box" lacks nothing: it only leaves you wanting more. -Tad Roebuck |
| Still available: "Wooden Box: Piano Improvisations Vol.1" (IHR 001) $8 postpaid. "Live At The Knitting Factory: Knitting/Unknit" (IHR 002) Limited to 26 copies. $8 postpaid. "Sassafras Hello" Robert W. Getz/Elliott Levin Duo (IHR 003) $8 postpaid. Read the liner notes |
| E-mail: idyllhandsrec@aol.com |
| A 2-CD set of solo piano |
| in a limited edition of 50 copies |