The 3 Generations Trio
Terry Riley

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INFO

In addition to my large catalogue of completely composed pieces written for orchestras and chamber music ensembles, I have many compositions that have not been notated and that were intended to be played solo or with small improvising ensembles.

Some of these works are simply charts with just a few performing directions.

I like to work with these more open forms in order to bring out the best in my own playing as well as that of my collaborators, freeing up our abilities to improvise in diverse ways and for the music to exist in the moment.

The music might encompass Asian, African, Western Classical, Jazz or other aesthetics as Tracy and Gyan have the ability and awareness to shift genres as the music calls for it. The 3 Generations Trio is one of my favorite ensembles because of the basic layers of violin, guitar and piano give a wonderful sonic transparency. There is a resonant composite sound coming from the individual strands of violin, guitar and piano that spontaneously emerge to generate a unique fabric. The addition of the Indian style vocals have allowed us to explore musical avenues nourished by the ancient rivers of North Indian Ragas.

I have the privilege of being the father of Gyan Riley, who from an early age manifested prodigious musical abilities. He began playing in my groups while still a teenager. Not only a world class guitarist and improviser, he is also a composer of note whose performances and recordings have gained him a huge following worldwide. Gyan has an uncanny intuitive sense of where the music is going at any given moment and in the fire of live performance he always adds distinctive ideas to the musical flow.

Composer/violinist Tracy Silverman and I have worked together for around 20 years. Tracy, a prodigious talent, has elegantly designed his 6-string electric violin to a state of enormous beauty and originality. His sound has an unmistakable personal warmth that can move a listener to states of deep emotion and he spontaneously unearths melodic ideas of great subtlety.

Tracy has a unique arsenal of sounds and effects that manifest anything from orchestral textures to grungy biting sound clouds and he knows when and where to use them. My electric violin concerto, The Palmian Chord Ryddle, was written for him and was premiered at Carnegie Hall in May of 2012.

The music on this CD was selected from two live concerts given in Lugo and Modena in May 2013.

Terry Riley  (October 2015)