Transporting Transmittance: Music of J.B. Floyd

J. B. Floyd

Much of pianist/composer/improviser J. B. Floyd’s music is keyboard centered and in the last 10 years he has explored the fascinating musical possibilities of the YAMAHA Disklavier in his works. The music presented here combines voice and other instruments with the Disklavier and, as in all of Floyd’s work, reveals his abiding interest in jazz and free improvisation. The musical materials are developed from and gently guided by a serial plan.

A Transporting Transmittance for Transverse Flute and Disklavier was written for Lisa Hansen. The piece captured the feeling of an improvisation in a dialogue between the flute and piano. Though all of the notes are written, the performers should feel the experience of spontaneous creativity.

From: A Hundred Little 3-D Pictures
These Daniel Moore poems describe a mystical world of spirit and fantasy, street scenes and death and vividly guide the composer in his search for musical representations.

Improvisations on Robert Ashley’s “El/Aficionado” for Disklavier and E-Mu Sampler
This most successful opera by Robert Ashley began its life with a 2-piano accompaniment and was performed for three years in this version. Mr. Ashley agreed to this experiment, adapting the 2-piano score for YAMAHA Disklavier and Sampler and replacing the vocal solos with keyboard improvisations.

Solos and Sequences II
This composition reveals a strong influence from my early infatuation with Boogie-Woogie. The working title used throughout its creation was PETE AND ALBERT, referring to the great Boogie piano team of Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons. There are at least two versions of “Solos and Sequences II”, as a Disklavier solo and as a duet for Disklavier and marimba/vibraphone.