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Em (M) 12:02
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about

I used to do a lot of theater, did strange things with the tuba -- talked through it, danced with it. For one piece I even feigned making love to it. One director often said, "I want to see what happens when he comes out from behind the tuba."

On other stages there would come times during sets when I just didn't want to play another solo -- I had said all I has to say musically. But some leaders are hardheaded. When they tell you to take a solo, they expect you to take a solo. So I came out from behind the tuba.

"Darn! Yarns," is an outgrowth of those experiences. "Em (M)" is an expansion of an instant poem I created for someone with whom I was very taken. I created it in the middle of her performance. To protect the innocent, she is camouflaged among a myriad of M names. "Golden Gate Park," happened extemporaneously in the middle of a session. We had to repeat the session due to some technical issues. For that second time around I added the standard "You Don't Know What Love Is," as a coda. Glenn Horiuchi called me late the night before one of his sessions: "Your going to do a spoken-word piece. The first line is, 'Once upon a time', the rest is up to you." He was generous in letting me have the track.

Glenn's piece is the only one that was notated. As was true with a lot of his music, not very much was notated. The other two pieces were made up on the spot. All the pieces were recorded direct to two-track, so for all intents and purposes these are live performances.

Why tales of love and woe? They're the best.

credits

released March 5, 2021

Flatterzunge Trio:
William Roper - tuba/spoken word
Francis Wong - woodwinds
Elliot Humberto Kavee - drums, percussion, cello (at the same time!)
Judicanti Responsura:
William Roper - tuba/spoken word
Joseph Mithchell - percussion/vocals
Special Guests:
Glenn Horiuchi - piano/shamisen/vocals
Francis Wong - woodwinds/erhu/vocals

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about

William Roper Los Angeles, California

William Roper is a multi-disciplinary artist residing in Los Angeles. His primary foci are music composition, music performance and improvisation, and the visual arts. He has toured Japan, Europe, and the two Americas, as soloist and ensemble musician. He is represented on 60+ recordings, twelve as leader. ... more

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