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LP
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FM 013LP
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A few years ago, American composer and trombonist Peter Zummo discovered a 1984 recording of unreleased material from his "Six Songs" suite in his archive. "Six Songs" was the basis for Lateral Pass (FOOM 003LP, 2014), his award-winning score for modern-dance choreographer Trisha Brown's work of the same name. Material taken from "Six Songs" can also be heard on his seminal Zummo With An X, originally released on Loris Records in 1985 (OMZUMMO 001LP). The work is now being released as a new LP, Frame Loop. Recorded live and in single takes, it features a stellar line-up of longtime Zummo collaborators: Arthur Russell on amplified cello, Bill Ruyle on marimba, and Mustafa Ahmed on congas. Zummo plays trombone and euphonium. Zummo describes the recording as "an exercise in spontaneous arrangement". He mainly hews close to the score, while from time to time introducing canonic lines and variations. Arthur Russell, using his signature amplified cello sound, alternates between solos and rhythm playing. Bill Ruyle vamps on the notation, while Mustafa Ahmed's improvised percussion drives the forward momentum. Sometimes the music takes its time traversing a sonic landscape; at other points, it jumps from one section to another. Players' decisions push and pull the downbeat; rounds emerge, then disappear. Pitchfork has previously called Zummo's trombone work "peerless" and have described his music as "the sound of sublimity--that sends shivers down the nervous system." In an interview with The Quietus, Optimo's JD Twitch characterized Zummo's playing as "sheer bliss". In addition to performing his own compositions and leading his own ensembles, Zummo has worked with myriad bands, orchestras, composers, and musicians. His celebrated trombone style is recognized as one of the most beloved features of Arthur Russell's sound, for whom he played and collaborated with in the recording studio. Among many others are Peter Gordon and his Love Of Life Orchestra, drummer/producer Tom Skinner (Hello Skinny), cellist-composer/producer Oliver Coates, the Lounge Lizards, including the recording of Teo Macero's Fusion (1984), which also featured the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Downtown Ensemble.
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LP
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OMZUMMO 002LP
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Peter Zummo presents Dress Code (Don't Look At My Car) on Optimo Music. Peter Zummo (born 1948) is an American composer and musician. He plays the trombone, valve trombone, euphonium, synthesizer, other electronic instruments, and also sings. He is associated with the post-minimalist and Downtown aesthetics, and he describes his music as "minimalism plus a whole lot more." He's well-known for his work with Arthur Russell.
"In this project for Optimo, the listener can hear that my musical food pyramid has musicians at top, or maybe they are at the bottom. In any case, they are important. That is why, from track to track, I selected segments in which one player or another is featured in the take. Some may think that we musicians do multiple takes to get the perfect performance, but I like to find the special interactions lurking in each excursion. Different players came forward in each of the takes, which were recorded in the studios Seaside Lounge and Headroom, in Brooklyn, and live in performances at Cube Cinema, in Bristol, UK, as well as in Long Island City and on Staten Island, New York. In order to escape the tyranny of the lyric, I am exploring in this release the possibilities of nonsensical and non-emotional lyrics. These kinds of lyrics bring the singing voices into the mix without an overweening message. The tracks include open-form compositions in which the duration was not specified." -- Peter Zummo, June 2016.
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CD
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XI 116CD
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1995 release. Experimenting With Household Chemicals explores a trombone-specific method for generating melodic movement, as well as a collection of related, "spinoff" melodic material for ensemble. This method is a new way of seeing and combining slide and lip movements, so that performance can precisely follow well-defined mental diagrams while generating unexpected melodic material not conditioned by other, more common musical habits.
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LP
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FOOM 003LP
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Peter Zummo's Lateral Pass suite continues on stylistically from where Zummo With With an X (OMZUMMO 001LP) left off, with four unique and arresting movements: "Sci-Fi," "Slow Heart", "Song VI," and the original quintet version of one of the most acclaimed of Zummo's collaborations with Arthur Russell, "Song IV." Originally written as the score for the Trisha Brown Dance Company production of the same name, Lateral Pass prominently features Russell on amplified cello and vocals, as well as regular Russell collaborators Bill Ruyle on tabla and marimba and Mustafa Ahmed on marimba and percussion, the acclaimed accordionist Guy Kluvecsek (collaborator of John Zorn and Alvin Lucier), and Zummo himself on trombone. Peter Zummo is best known for his work with John Lurie's Lounge Lizards, Peter Gordon's Love of Life Orchestra, and Arthur Russell. Zummo's signature trombone style, renowned for its rich and soothing tone, has become one of the most beloved features of Russell's celebrated sound. As well as being close friends, their musical symbiosis was so complimentary that they almost seemed to form a single entity at times, to the point where it would be hard to imagine one's music with the other. Lateral Pass provides another example of the fruits of this relationship, as well as a further insight into Russell's cello-dominated World of Echo period. Recorded live at Battery Sound, NYC, in 1985, Lateral Pass was mastered in Brooklyn by Paul Gold from the original ΒΌ" tapes in the summer of 2013, exclusively using analog equipment for the vinyl edition and foregoing compression in order to preserve the original dynamics of the recording. In contrast to the version released by New World Records with Zummo With an X in 2006, these arrangements are previously unreleased and exclusive to Foom. Lateral Pass is now presented on vinyl for the first time, accompanied by American artist Nancy Graves's artwork from the original shows.
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LP
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OMZUMMO 001LP
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2017 repress. Originally released in 1985 in an edition of 500 copies, this is the first time this album has been available on vinyl for nearly 30 years. Peter Zummo (born 1948) is an American composer and musician. He plays the trombone, valve trombone, euphonium, synthesizer, other electronic instruments, and also sings. He is associated with the post-minimalist and Downtown aesthetics, and he describes his music as "minimalism plus a whole lot more." "I first discovered Peter Zummo when I first discovered Arthur Russell. I kept hearing THAT trombone sound throughout Arthur's music and through scanning through various label credits made the connection that this Peter Zummo character was a constant collaborator with Arthur. Zummo's trombone sound is one of those things that if I am feeling anxious or pissed off will instantly soothe me and make everything feel alright. So, as well as wanting to hear everything Arthur had touched, I now also wanted to hear everything Mr. Zummo had created too. It's worth bearing in mind that at this point, in the mid- to late '90s, there was almost zero information online about Arthur or his music or his collaborators. The upside of this was that all his records weren't too hard to track down and weren't going for crazy money. I randomly found Zummo With An X in New York around 1999 and wasn't sure what to expect. I instantly liked the first side, 'Lateral Pass' but side 2's 'Song IV' took my breath away and remains to this day one of my most listened-to records. Despite the minimal elements, I hear more in it every time I listen to it, and sometimes the perfect interaction between cello, trombone and percussion sounds like the voice of Arthur being beamed in from the aether. It is 20 minutes of sheer bliss that feels as if it could go on for twice as long. Unavailable on vinyl since 1985, it's a great honor to be making this record available again and I can't imagine anyone with even a passing interest in Peter Zummo or Arthur Russell's music failing to be beguiled by this." --Twitch
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