Pascal Le Boeuf Dares To Traverse Unknown Destinations
Princeton pianist/composer Pascal Le Boeuf has unleashed his Ritual Being on Soundspore Records. It’s quite the stylistic leap from his trio with bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Justin Brown. Featuring the Friction Quartet as well as new-music ensemble Shattered Glass, it’s a soundscape of ideas coalescing into a dreamscape of surrealistic proportions. Ultimately ironic in that it’s based on the scientific reality of the work of his biologist parents, researching marine mammals’ behavior, one needn’t be conversant in humankind’s flaws and strengths to truly dig what he’s laying down.
It just sounds so damn good.
“My background is in jazz and electronic music, so I’ve developed a voice for writing for strings that’s less associated with standard classical composition conventions. I tend to think a lot about tension and release, especially in the ways we build energy and communicate in jazz. I love the detail-oriented approach of classical music, but I want to seek out opportunities for all the performers to express themselves. That’s when improvisation is really helpful. You end up trusting the performers to carry the music if you give them the chance. That’s the essence of collaboration.” - Pascal Le Boeuf
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