Anonymous Inventions
WELCOME! All six Anonymous Inventions albums are available on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer and several other streaming and downloading services.
LATEST ALBUM RELEASE - "2020 Blues" is Anonymous Inventions' sixth album release (released 2021). Written and recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic, political turmoil in the US, and my insomnia the music is predominantly somber, subdued and intimate in mood and often explores slow tempi and the space created by it. The pieces are for classical chamber ensembles or solo piano. Organ, piano and electric wind instrument: glh. Front cover painting "The Pumpkin Patch" by glh; painting photographed by Guy Black. Recorded at Repeat As Needed Studios Melbourne, FL. Recorded, mixed and mastered by P. Heaver and Sandy Foreverwater. A list of the pieces follows:
- Abendmusik I - Piano & EWI (Soprano Sax)
- Abendmusik II - Organ & EWI (Soprano Sax)
- Abendmusik III - Piano & EWI (Soprano Sax)
- Sleepless - Piano & EWI (Soprano Sax)
- Playing Hide and Seek Alone - Piano solo
- 2020 Blues - Piano solo
- Nocturne I - Piano & EWI (bassoon)
- Quintet I - Piano & EWI (flute, oboe, clarinet & bassoon)
- Quintet II - Piano & EWI (flute, oboe, clarinet & bassoon)
NOTES ON PREVIOUS ALBUM RELEASES
"CRUISING AROUND THE SUN" is Anonymous Inventions' fifth album release (released 2019). As with the previous four albums "Cruising Around the Sun" consists of diverse musical influences: contemporary music, funk, music from the baroque and classical periods, jazz, rock, blues and on and on...either in separate pieces or fused together within one piece. There is no "one" genre of music, no "one" musical style represented on this album or on any Anonymous Inventions album. For the listener this most probably represents a dilemma because the listener may like "one genre" represented but not others. However, it is what it is, take from it what you like and leave the rest. All works were composed by glh. Keyboards and EWI: glh. Drums & percussion: GaGa. Bass: Wenge Bubinga. Recorded at Repeat As Needed Studios, Melbourne, FL. Recorded, mixed and mastered by P. Heaver and Sandy Foreverwater. Front cover painting "Monsieur George Cruises with a Bent Oar at Eventide" by glh. A list of the pieces follows:
"IT IS WHAT IT IS" is Anonymous Inventions' fourth album release (released 2017). Notes from the "It Is What It Is" album appear below: "Black and Blue" is a funky, upbeat blues tune for a big band: drums, bass, piano, guitar, clavinet, organ and horn section (2 Trumpets, a Tenor Sax and a Baritone Sax). It was an enjoyable piece to play/record and flows from years of playing and listening to blues, R&B and funk. "Behind My Eyes (3 Variations)" - The musical material for these three variations was taken from "Look Behind Your Eyes" which appeared on the "Lac Qui Parle" album which piece was, itself, a set of four variations. The two pieces could be played consecutively as if, combined, they were a set of 7 variations. The first two variations are upbeat and rhythmic. The second variation is in 12/4 time. The third variation is sad and contrasts with the first two. Instrumentation for the piece consists of drums, bass, Rhodes piano, synthesizer and a 5 piece horn section (2 Trumpets, Soprano Sax, Tenor Sax and a Tenor Trombone). "Ms. Wu's Been Forgotten in the Elevator". This piece was inspired by a horrific event that took place in Xi'an China in March of 2016, a city of 8,700,00 people, in which a woman, identified only as Ms. Wu in news reports, was in an elevator of her apartment building when repairmen turned off the power to the elevator after a malfunction, but didn't thoroughly check to make sure no one was in the elevator. Ms. Wu, who lived alone and kept mostly to herself, was found dead in the elevator a month later when repairs to the elevator were being done. Needless to say, the piece is not exuberant but morose. The piece is a jazz ballad and is scored for soprano sax, piano, bass and drums using brushes/mallets. "Who Said Earth Was Your Planet?" is a piece of program music (it tells a story). The story line is aliens come to Earth, find the planet has worth to them, but the indigenous life forms do not, so they obliterate all life here, then move on to find more planets of worth to them. This is an analogous theme that has run through movies and literature such as "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and "War of the Worlds", "The Three-Body Problem" etc. It is scored for 2 Akai electric wind instruments, drums, bass and Rhodes piano. "Old Ladies Wearing Fingerless Gloves" is a quirky jazz fusion piece for a quartet: drums, bass, Rhodes piano and organ. The title has no significance other than to point to my sense of the absurdity of life. The piece follows suit with a somewhat unconventional harmonic and overall structure. "I Love to Funk" pays homage to all the R&B and funk I've listened to and played over the years. It's an upbeat, fun, funky, rhythmic piece with a very basic chord structure and form (rondo form). It is scored for drums, bass, Rhodes piano/organ (one player playing both at the same time), an EWI and a three piece horn section (2 trumpets and a tenor sax). "While You Were Asleep" has a melodic, nostalgic character which pays homage to the style of several American composers during the 1930s and the early part of the 1940s: Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Howard Hanson and others. It is scored for string orchestra, harp, flute & piano. "The Witch in the Haunted Woods" was composed in 1999 after watching the movie "The Blair Witch Project". It is a piece of "program music" (tells a story): first we encounter the Witch (W = synthesizer) in her haunted woods, the Victim (V = soprano sax) enters with the W buzzing all around the V, eventually the V and the W have a duet accompanied by the W's smarmy companion, the celesta, they play together until the W gets tired of it, becomes violent killing the V. As the V fades away the W gives a final snarky punctuation at the end. The piece is scored for soprano sax (the Victim), a synthesizer lead (the Witch), string orchestra, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets, 1 French horn, 2 trombones, tuba, celesta, tubular bells and timpani. In the original 1999 version a clarinet was used for the witch and a flute for the victim. "Distracted by the Moon" was originally composed in 2006 as the middle movement of a string quartet. The present version is scored for string orchestra and a woodwind quartet consisting of flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon. "Until the Wind Blows It All Away" is scored for piano and a wind quartet consisting of flute, English horn, euphonium and bassoon. The general tenor and feel of the piece is contemporary classical, dissonant, desolate and despairing for when you feel that way. "Nobody's Home" is scored for string orchestra, harp, flute and clarinet. It was composed in the early 1980s at a busy time in my life when work and family consumed most of my time. The piece originated when I was home alone one afternoon and, although I enjoyed the time alone, I reflected on missing the hustle and bustle of my family. All works composed by glh. Keyboards and EWI: glh. Drums & percussion: GaGa. Bass: Wenge Bubinga. Recorded at Repeat As Needed Studios, Melbourne, FL. Recorded, mixed and mastered by P. Heaver. Front cover painting "Boy in Candlelight" by glh; painting photographed by Guy Black. "LAC QUI PARLE" is Anonymous Inventions' third album release (released 2015). All works composed by glh. Keyboards and EWI: glh. Drums & percussion: GaGa. Bass: Wenge Bubinga. Recorded at Repeat As Needed Studios, Melbourne, FL. Recorded, mixed and mastered by P. Heaver. Cover photo of Lake Zumbro, MN by glh. A list of the pieces follows: "APPARITION" is Anonymous Inventions' second album release (released 2013). Little Blue Cars - A rock-jazz fusion piece for large ensemble with a solid rhythm section. Evening - A moderately tranquil jazz-fusion piece which grooves in five-eight meter for Rhodes piano, bass, drums, flute and sax. Next Year - An experimental piece of jazz for bass, sax, piano and featuring the drums. Apparition - A scary jazz-fusion piece for large ensemble in fifteen-four meter (grouped 4+4+4+3) with the harmony being solely derived from the two whole tone scales. Parental advisory for musically sheltered children. French Suite No. 1, Menuet II by J.S. Bach - Bach's French Suite played at the opening and closing with a piano trio jazz treatment of the chord progression sandwiched in between. Forests - A fusion piece using classical, rock and jazz elements for strings, piano, B3, trumpet, synth lead, bass and drums. Beaver Island Bounce - A bouncy, upbeat jazz-fusion piece in seven-eight meter for piano, B3, horn section, sax lead, synth lead, bass and drums. The name comes from Beaver Island, MI, a beautiful, quiet island in Northern Lake Michigan. Dark & Cool - A rather raw jazz trio piece for B3 organ, drums and sax with the melodic content being derived from, but not strictly following, the twelve-tone system. La Port Entrouverte - An experimental jazz-fusion piece for piano, synth sax, bass and drums with some funk in the middle. Rain - A melancholy fusion piece for synthesizer strings, flute, trumpet, Rhodes piano, bass, drums, percussion and synth chorus with a medieval middle section. Produced by Anonymous Inventions. All compositions by glh except "French Suite No. 1, Menuet II" by J. S. Bach, arranged by glh. Keyboards & EWI: glh. Drums and percussion: GaGa. Bass: Wenge Bubinga. Recorded at Repeat As Needed Studios, Melbourne, Florida. Recorded, mixed and mastered by P. Heaver. Front cover painting "Hieronymous Bosch in New England I" by glh; painting photographed by Guy Black. Inside cover photograph of Christian Suddendorf and friends by anonymous circa 1908. "LIGHTER THAN AIR" is Anonymous Inventions' debut album release (released 2010). Produced by Anonymous Inventions. All compositions by glh except "Lighter Than Air" by Guy Black and glh. Recorded at Repeat As Needed Studios, Melbourne, FL. Mixed by glh with additional mixing and mastering by Guy Black. Front cover painting "Whales" and back cover painting "Whales With Balloon" by glh; photographs of paintings by Guy Black. Special thanks to Caleb. A list of the pieces follows:
