Judd Greenstein - Change

I didn't notice we have this forum so here's my contribution for anyone who isn't already aware of him.

Thank You for posting! This is exactly the type of piece I would like to be discovering in this forum. I definitely like the sound he has going. The instrumentation and orchestration are great. Very different. It is very jazzy. The texture is very full and satisfying. My initial thought was that I was wanting more to happen with the initial pattern and I was wanting it to move on faster. I do like what happened to it around 3 minutes. Overall, I am into this piece big time. I have never heard of this composer which is exactly why I had this section of the forum started. If it turns out that in fact he has a ton of variety and other compositions to offer I may have found a new guy. Discovering new fantastic composition and composers and hearing amazing things and being lead to research and discover is the whole point! Do you suggest anything else my this composer or is this sort of his only one interesting piece?

21 hours ago, Ravels Radical Rivalry said:

Do you suggest anything else my this composer or is this sort of his only one interesting piece?

WELL I AM GLAD YOU ASKED ... *contains sudden enthusiasm*

He's actually had quite a lot of his work performed and recorded. His record label (New Amsterdam Records) in New York specifically aims at putting out contemporary music like this. Their Soundcloud page has some of his work there and he has a personal one as well, though I discovered him through Spotify's Indie Classical playlist. There's a ton of good work by other composers as well, so I'd recommend checking them out. If you'd like I can recommend specific works/composers but I want to keep this particular thread on topic since we're talking about Judd Greenstein. Which reminds me...

Interesting bits of info:

• He's a member of the NOW Ensemble and their albums typically include one of his compositions. In my opinion his stuff is usually the best part.
• He initially wanted to go into Hip Hop music and hit the streets rather than study music.
• He's been quite vocal in calling for more frequent performances of living composers and for other reforms within the musical community.

These are my other favorites of his. If I had to pick an absolute favorite from him it would be one of the four I've shared in this thread. I can't narrow it down any more.

https://soundcloud.com/newamrecords/now-ensemble-city-boy

https://soundcloud.com/ymusic-official/clearing-dawn-dance

https://soundcloud.com/newamrecords/jasper-string-quartet-four-on-the-floor-composed-by-judd-greenstein-1

His personal Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/juddgreenstein

Awesome! 

So far I have had the opportunity to listen to City Boy in addition to the original post of Change. I love it. I have always liked rhythmically challenging and interesting music. I like it when meter changes create jaggedness in the rhythm. I love it even more when the melody reflects those meter changes. I love it when measures and beats overstretch themselves and steal from others. I love it when you have a certain boundary for a period of time (whether it be a single measure or a set of measures that equal a phrase) and you can stretch those notes beyond their conventional sound and beyond the conventional beat and still not spill over outside of your boundaries. I love the triplet/duple back and fourth or even laid over and against one another. I just love anything with interesting rhythmic stuff. One of my all time favorite examples of this stretching and freeing of rhythm within a set boundary is towards the end of Rhapsody and Blue. The melody gets super broad and lush in the strings and the accompaniment first in the brass and then with the piano becomes jagged by being stretched and shortened as much as can be allowed within the framework of the melody. Love it! So, I definitely love what this guy has going on. I am really into the meditative quality of the City Boy piece too. And also, his use of the guitar is very serene and not jarring. It blends very lovely with the rest of the piece.