Sara Schoenbeck - Sara Schoenbeck (2021) [Hi-Res]

This record documents long-term musical partnerships; duets with artists who have helped me refine my creative vocabulary. Yet my deepest musical relationship is with the bassoon itself, the kernel of my inspiration. It is the nurturer, the supporter, the quiet glue in an ensemble. It is awkward, huge, and demure. Even as a child, I was drawn to its uniqueness—its textures, timbres, and a sound that inspires movement.

While I certainly appreciate orchestral playing in the Western classical tradition, I felt boxed-in by the specifics of execution in a bassoonist’s traditional career path. I realized that the jumble of keys on the instrument encouraged microtonal exploration—as a young artist I made a book of multiphonics, and found that my other true love was experimental music. I dedicated myself to playing in as many different settings as possible, introducing my ears and my bassoon to jazz, hip hop, rock, electronica, creative improvisation, North Indian classical music, Carnatic music, Ghanaian music and dance, Haitian dance and Javanese dance. These experiences (including my Western classical origins) have informed my musical language and notion of line and melody. Whether improvising, interpreting, or composing, I question how to use extended technique to enhance the meaning of a phrase, deepen the emotional content of a melody, and create a narrative.

This is a journey over time, through a global pandemic, in different recording studios across North America to reach each collaborator.

Sara Schoenbeck, bassoon
Harris Eisenstadt, drums
Nicole Mitchell, flute
Nels Cline, guitar
Roscoe Mitchell, soprano saxophone
Matt Mitchell, piano
Mark Dresser, bass
Wayne Horvitz, piano
Peggy Lee, cello
Robin Holcomb, piano