Preface
"Ode to Signor Rubini.
Great vocalist! that tak'st with wondrous ease,
A rapid passage on the
highest C's;
Thy compass beats the mariner's quite hollow,
For where
it leads none but thyself can follow;
And then the wind, at will, 'tis
thou canst raise,
by gentle airs, for which the public pays;
Thy
skill e'en that of Orpheus far surpasses,
He charm'd wild beasts, but
thou enchantest asses,
As in their stalls - places for donkeys fit -
With ears erect the dilettanti sit.
When hanging on the honey of
thy lip,
Mellifluous harmony we seem to sip;
And, listening to the
strain sent forth by thee,
A paradise the opera would be,
But for
the little truth our purses teach,
That we are minus half a
guinea each."
from The Comic Almanack 1st Series 1835-1843
Texts
Recorded
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
Album d'un voyageur, S. 156, Book II "Fleurs mélodiques des Alpes": No. 7b, Lento - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
pieces of different musics in specious haphazard
to violate the norms of
stately gallant practice
Szene aus Goethes Faust, Part 3 - Robert Schumann - English Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Britten, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Elizabeth Harwood, John Shirley-Quirk, Peter Pears, Jennifer Vyvyan, Felicity Palmer, Meriel Dickinson, Pauline Stevens, Robert Lloyd, Alfreda Hodgson, Aldeburgh Festival Singers, Wandsworth School Choir, Russell Burgess
a music of moves and halts
to make a difficult sense
leans into the male-presenting voices
from bass to boy soprano
women's voices appear first
when the chorus enters
that is
in conjunction with the men's
after which there are some solo bits
when it grows
it does so from its middle
like a fountain
Faust's resolution is by slow stepwise ascent
a big work to end so
peacefully
Second Modern Suite, Op. 14 - Edward MacDowell - James Barbagallo
1
full sweeping drama
to make an impact on the recital stage
2
fugue ferociously
3
from the heart
4
busy busy
lunch break
back to it
5
time for the courting of sweethearts
and the making of heroic
declarations
a whole scene unfolds
6
molto doings to be done in short order
you have no idea
but time is stolen
to gaze out the chamber window at the land
so
back to it
hurry hurry
ta da!
Norwegian Peasant Dances, Op. 72: No. 17, The Maidens of Kivledal. Gangar - Edvard Grieg - Håkon Austbø
an artist's sketch of a dancer in dance
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
How's Chances - Rusty Dedrick Orchestra [from Irving Berlin, All By Myself: Notable Compositions 1926-1933]
melodic figures assist the internal rhymes
of which there are more than
just a few
making explicit
the connection between phonemic and
tonal
Radio Free Europe (Live in Toronto) - REM [from Murmur]
the experience of a song such as this
as a studio recording
or as
a recording of a live event
or as a live event
are three different
things
from the studio
the engineers are presumably in control
of all
aspects of the finished sound
they have lost some control
even when recording a live event
and
certainly
in some respect
lost even more
as a live event
though in that case
they have control over the total volume in the
room
I Want To Hold Your Hand - The Beatles [from Past Masters 1]
who was clapping their hands?
Dreams Come True - Scott Robinson [from Thinking Big]
this music looks back in imitation
without serious challenge
to
its models
So Young and In Love - Bruce Springsteen [from Christmas in Asbury Park]
the purpose of a count-off
after the tempo has been established
escapes me
nothing but theater
a simulacrum
of "I'm in
charge"
Frenetic Interlude #4-Griffin - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
one can be taught the tools of production
without teaching any notion
of what music is made of
at a more primitive level
Medea - Steve Layton [from The Composer Plays Revisited]
to the point
the means of production here
are not the most crucial
point
of the doing of this
that is
it wasn't made in order
to use a tool
Silhouettes - Brenda Ray [from Original Songs/1950s Music]
the absolute cultural constancy
of certain kinds of structural aspects
is of the essence
of the kind of music this is
if it isn't stanzaic
it isn't music
Phonography No. 2 - S. Eric Scribner [from Sketches: Electronic Music]
several layers of sound are apparent
at any one time/space
some
might be named
such as bird tweet
or distant machinery
or
crackling
at times the layers might be countable
one might tell a
story of moving from place to place
each place with its unique set of
sound layers
life as a sequence of dins
I Hadn't Anyone Till You (Take 2) - Thelonious Monk [from The Complete Columbia Studio Solo Recordings]
taking times between apart
Autumn Leaves (Stanford) - King's Singers [from My Spirit Sang All Day]
mood painting and metaphor painting
chromatic harmony
colored
leaves
Gap 1st Batch [260821 & 0923] - J. K. Randall - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded August 21, and September 23, 2026]
this one ends with a little clot of 32nd notes
that were giving me
trouble
the otherwise solid take I had from August
messed up the
clot
so I redid it last week
finishing up the set
Donatella - Lady Gaga [from Artpop]
all about fashion as power play
Düül - Blazzed [from Blazzed]
set controls to throb
we'll take a long drive through the dark night
interminable blocks of vacancy
Interlude - Unattributed [from Dirt Cult Records: You Don't Have To Be Cool]
when there's but two people in here
must be a dead bar
Art is Either a Complaint or Do Something Else, Mesostic 9 - John Cage
the melodic rhetoric of making a statement
joins phrases
that add
up
to occasional images of meaning something
but
the melodic
rhetoric of adding statements together
militates against that
sense
my 'drothers would be
to speak it
as a list of unrelated words
more honest?
A Response to the Recent Shooting at Café Racer, Track 13 - Neil Welch
a thought is not a piece
and a piece is not a thought
necessarily
for either to be a complete piece or thought
All Day Preachin' - Bettye Crutcher [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
dinner on the ground
singing gloryhallelujahamen
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
Touch Me I'm Sick (Live in Berlin) - Mudhoney [from Superfuzz Bigmuff]
edging toward punk self-parody
Tear Shaped Bruise - Your Mother Should Know [from Demo Album]
sour grapes
bit back
Let It Snow - Smokestack and the Foothill Fury [from Smokey's Jugband Christmas]
between sung stanzas
the guitar works its way through several registers
low to high
RatedXen - Kraig Grady [from Possible Worlds 2]
trombone intervals
into reverberant space
add wood chimes
to
build a dance groove
then add pipe organ sounds
always adding
without transformation
Album d'un voyageur, S. 156, Book II "Fleurs mélodiques des Alpes": No. 7c, Allegro pastorale - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
imitating music he hears everywhere
Sonata F.A.E., Zweite Bewegung - Robert Schumann - Jean Mouillère, Jean Hubeau
turbulent undercurrents
gentled by calm above
Serenata, Op. 16 - Edward MacDowell - James Barbagallo
stretches into brief outer tonal territory
passion reserved for the mid
part
Heat Wave - Rusty Dedrick Orchestra [from Irving Berlin, All By Myself: Notable Compositions 1926-1933]
certainly can
Can Can
We Walk (Live in Toronto) - REM [from Murmur]
stanzas that repeat and fade in real sound
light touch vocals
Day Tripper - The Beatles [from Past Masters 2]
lots of tambourine
On a Turquoise Cloud - Scott Robinson [from Thinking Big]
smooth portamento in the high winds and voice
Tonight on Union Street - Bruce Springsteen [from Christmas in Asbury Park]
probably not the actual title
seems to be about looking for a person
from the past
Not Done!!!-Michael - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
solid impact sound
You and I - Lady Gaga [from Born This Way]
count the mentions of fashionable accessories
trucks and high heels and
lipstick
Sad Clown - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]
my immediate image of sad clown
is a paint-by-number thing my mom did
back when crafts were (beginning) to be sold in kits
this music heaves its bulk
grimly stolid
SoundScroll VI (Part Three) - S. Eric Scribner [from SoundScrolls V-IX (Live)]
a careful entry is made
beneath the observance of the passing drums
but now that we're all here
we circle warily
and change
cover in crablike scurries
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
Dinah (Take 1) - Thelonious Monk - [from The Complete Columbia Studio Solo Recordings]
some notes say words
some notes keep the rhythm
some notes tickle
ivories
the distinction is always clear
Quick! we have but a second (Stanford) - King's Singers [from My Spirit Sang All Day]
all these notes say words
and tarry not
Gap 1st Batch (complete) [260821-0923] - J. K. Randall - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded from August 21 to September 23, 2026]
no part is off topic
though topics can lurch to the side
or not be
the main topic
though always a subtopic
of a more main topic
so plain in their self presentation
they might be simple minded
but can't be
until we can discern
how it is they manage such
plainness
and what
is what
they present
about?
if they present variations on a topic
what is it?
it never ceases to demand
acts of comparison
acts of plain
hearing
I think I did a rather fine job on these!
A Response to the Recent Shooting at Café Racer, Track 14 - Neil Welch
direct comparison of these tracks
with the 1st batch of Jim's Gap pieces
is instructive
(both directions)
Sentimental Journey - Brenda Ray [from Original Songs/1950s Music]
packaged for play along
what if the point is not proficiency?
Until I Lost You - March Wind [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
sharing apologies
(compliment department)
Art is Either a Complaint or Do Something Else, Mesostic 10 - John Cage
if we forget the process
what is it?
Don't Make Me Lie - Your Mother Should Know [from Demo Album]
lining events on a string of beats
signals of expression are arbitrary
theater
Spaceship - BLDNGS [from Dirt Cult Records: You Don't Have To Be Cool]
the theater might be the gap
between the words and their
expression
an amusement
Need (Live in Berlin) - Mudhoney [from Superfuzz Bigmuff]
a flavor of disparity
might be an acquired taste
and follow
fashion
Jingle Bells - Smokestack and the Foothill Fury [from Smokey's Jugband Christmas]
blues
is a different kind of theater altogether
it involves
absolute investment
can't be pretended
Rainy Day (Piedmont Rag No. 2) - Lewis Krauthamer [from Possible Worlds 2]
theaters of notes have their adherents
and they come in many stripes
as many stripes as there are adherents
and then some
this piece has two parts
so I have listened twice
oh well
Album d'un voyageur, S. 156, Book II "Fleurs mélodiques des Alpes": No. 8a, Andante con sentimento - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
telling of what one heard abroad
Franz's big book of vacation slides
great narration though
like dreaming of being there
transported captivated
Gesänge der Frühe, Im Ruhigen Tempo, Op. 133 #1 - Robert Schumann - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded December 1, 2021]
this performance explains what I like about the piece
yes
Supper Time - Rusty Dedrick Orchestra [from Irving Berlin, All By Myself: Notable Compositions 1926-1933]
slinky little number
torch song
into the rafters
and down
the alley
1,000,000 (Live in Toronto) - REM [from Murmur]
jabs words at notes
it doesn't matter which verse it is
it keeps
coming back
Janey, Don't You Lose Heart - Bruce Springsteen [collected from Neal Kosály-Meyer's Springsteen Miscellany]
words of comfort writ large
and long
Basso Profundo - Scott Robinson [from Thinking Big]
that's pretty darned low
jazz has a structural theater
Oleriotery-Kai - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
this one kept me interested
Lumbre - Steve Layton [from The Composer Plays Revisited]
so
here is electronic piano in its native headphones
key strokes
at any sparkle point one chooses
they form little
figuration locations
inter-reverberance indexes a unity of originary place
Moonglow - Brenda Ray [from Original Songs/1950s Music]
there must have been a book that came with the keyboard
25 Favorite
Melodies or the like
pre-programmed to just play along with you
Side B Outro - Unattributed [from Dirt Cult Records: You Don't Have To Be Cool]
advice from the stars
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
this piano is understood by a pianist
you can tell
We Can Work It Out - The Beatles [from Past Masters 2]
as strong as the songwriting is
the segregated tracks are a
mistake
this song is two songs conversing
The Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga [from Born This Way]
social ecstasis aspiration
this must be the light show
mid costume
change
show ender
pre encore
Free Improvisation Quartets Project (my recording) (beginning) - Amelia Love Clearheart, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Bruce Greeley, Ha-Yang Kim, Aaron Keyt, Jim Knodle, Carol Levin, Neal Kosály-Meyer, S. Eric Scribner [recorded live at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, September 3, 2018]
life in the meadow of a morning
pondering dreams
an argument about pain with the creator
ends in harmonica
Drown Yourself - Bettye Crutcher [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
an accusation and dismissal (harsh)
Art is Either a Complaint or Do Something Else, Mesostic 11 - John Cage
what is a what is a whole?
entity splitting
permeating text space
with diced statements
A Response to the Recent Shooting at Café Racer, Track 14 - Neil Welch
an embouchure enacting the tones of a column
is a different sort of
activity
than plunking notes on keys
separate articulations
Album d'un voyageur, S. 156, Book II "Fleurs mélodiques des Alpes": No. 8b, Andante molto espressivo - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
as the poet
for whom experience
when felt
is felt utterly
and out flows eloquence
ex tempore
plays the part
without peer
the consummate puppet poet
now we'll have moral guidance
and the bliss of edifying discourse
at their banner we'll muster
at their woe we'll weep
Gesänge der Frühe, Op. 133 - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
1
a noble clarity opens into glory
2
coyly
from behind the hollyhocks
a sudden passion
and flirt
and . . .
(dim the lights for modesty)
3
restless in every limb
manic
4
we all so love a stormy night
5
and now to chapel
and visions
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
Easter Parade - Rusty Dedrick Orchestra [from Irving Berlin, All By Myself: Notable Compositions 1926-1933]
music meets fashion
on the big-time music hall stage
Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars) (Live in Toronto) - REM [from Murmur]
metrical rhyming
accented syllable patterns
upon the beat cycles
This Boy - The Beatles [from Past Masters 1]
statement of unchanging devotion
in unchanging harmony
Moonlight and Roses - Scott Robinson [from Thinking Big]
a lullaby to close
You Say You Want a Revolution (Jesse Mallen ({sp?}) - Bruce Springsteen [from Christmas in Asbury Park]
a tenor
not pushing his voice as much as some
might be called
Queen of the Underworld
if I heard it correctly
OMG-Michael - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
sprinkler rhythm
presto
Fashion! - Lady Gaga [from Artpop]
Easter Parade
Century 21 Edition
When My Dream Was Near The Moon - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]
parts to be summed
in order to be
more than
it
a poem of tones
SoundScroll VIII - S. Eric Scribner [from SoundScrolls V-IX (Live)]
sustained sounds of reed and synth
doing pipe organ sound
in the
form
of a kind of document
on rolled media
Ask Me Now - Thelonious Monk - [from The Complete Columbia Studio Solo Recordings]
measuring out the intervals in half steps
Art is Either a Complaint or Do Something Else, Mesostic 12 - John Cage
any statement means something
even if irregularly formed
even if
irregularly derived
but then it is clear
that I hear this wrongly
I'll See You at The Next Show - Your Mother Should Know [from Demo Album]
the dive-bar music scene
as a social meeting place
I Believe - Brenda Ray [from Original Songs/1950s Music]
no prepackaged sound apparent
If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) - Homer Banks [from Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
fragments of day to day speech
discovered to have a rhythm that sparks
in this case
two sets of four syllables
the first with
accents on 1 and 3
the second with accents on 2 and 4
Dead Love (Live in Santa Barbara) - Mudhoney [from Superfuzz Bigmuff]
an extended mosh
a mosh is a species of mass dance
emphasizing
close physical contact
a release into communal physicality
something like an asexual orgy
(not my thing but interesting)
a mass celebration of corporality
generally
from what I have observed
folks take care not to harm
each other
tear shaped bruises notwithstanding
the music of a mosh
enables and supports this activity
takes its
ritual part in it
it would be interesting
to make a study
of the spread of genders
within various moshpits
is it statistically partial
to a
particular set of gender identities
however one might characterize them
is it a particular bonding dance
within a group of such
I
would guess probably yes
though defining the group
beyond
mosh-positive
is likely unprofitable
of course
I'm only
presuming there was moshing in mind
for this nearly 15 minute long
onslaught of expulsive expression
for all I know
it was just them
and the engineers at the radio station
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas - Smokestack and the Foothill Fury [from Smokey's Jugband Christmas]
rule number one
sing it close to how you would just say it
keeps
it real
the tune will take care of itself
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
building a place for a song to occur
with announcing flourishes
this music is all about fanfares and ceremony
Sonata pour Piano, Op. 14b - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
this music concerns itself
with all the locations within the meter
sometimes called the Concerto for Piano Without Orchestra
but it's more a concerto for piano with itself
melodies of
entrances
musics within musics
spilling out at all its seams
Everything Happens To Me - Thelonious Monk [from The Complete Columbia Studio Solo Recordings]
each twist of the melody
is examined thoroughly
Stand On It - Bruce Springsteen [from Tracks]
a celebration of motor racing
going fast in machines
another
activity for a set of gender identities
Paperback Writer - The Beatles [from Past Masters 2]
selling ones life as a story
(will accept edits)
Overdrive-Tom - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
to make music
is to make a beat
use one off the menu
a
method of givens
Born This Way (The Country Road Version) - Lady Gaga [from Born This Way]
self empowerment talk
Take Pictures - Steve Layton [from Próxima Estación]
frogs of regular size
and
more like dragons
we descend by
cyclic announcement
into the dregs
of late night broadcasts
of sci fi schlock and horror
I Get To Be Myself - Carl Smith [from Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
vocalist having a good time experimenting
Art is Either a Complaint or Do Something Else, Mesostic 13 - John Cage
it
to be
what
you can't avoid saying
Songs from Deep Silence - S. Eric Scribner [recorded live at the Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, November 22, 2008]
a space appears
between a sound and another
it is not bridged
it is opened
it invites calm movement
a space
with
sounds to attend within it
we move within
to where they are
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
Don't Black Out - Your Mother Should Know [from Demo Album]
played for laughs
but could be serious
Blue Moon - Brenda Ray [from Original Songs/1950s Music]
plain tunes ask to be reinterpreted
Here Comes Sickness (live in Santa Barbara) - Mudhoney [from Superfuzz Bigmuff]
fear of what exactly
are we moshing to?
Joy To The World - Smokestack and the Foothill Fury [from Smokey's Jugband Christmas]
the hymnal tune is there
behind this
but casually regarded
Album d'un voyageur, S. 156, Book II "Fleurs mélodiques des Alpes": No. 9a, Allegretto - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard]
pacing out tonal motions
holds admirably still
Drei Clavier-Sonaten für die Jugend, Op. 118 #1, in G Major - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
even holding still
shadows fall
movements linked
by a falling figure
that opens each
Introspection (Take 3) - Thelonious Monk [from The Complete Columbia Studio Solo Recordings]
play
that
some 700 times
Brothers Under the Bridges - Bruce Springsteen [from Tracks]
stories from early youth
anthemic glory
in retrospect
Rain - The Beatles [from Past Masters 2]
any weather will do for weather
from the
it's all in your head
era
PoWWWW!!!-Duncan - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
sound widgets
Unseen Figure - Steve Layton [from The Composer Plays Revisited]
the harsh light of high brow fashion torments
its imagery infects the
hands-mind
Free Improvisation Quartets Project (my recording) (continued) - Amelia Love Clearheart, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Bruce Greeley, Ha-Yang Kim, Aaron Keyt, Jim Knodle, Carol Levin, Neal Kosály-Meyer, S. Eric Scribner [recorded live at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, September 3, 2018]
low simmer
intoning instant ritual formulas
You're Spreading Yourself a Little Too Thin - Bettye Crutcher [from Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
like a 50 cent loaf of bread
Art is Either a Complaint or Do Something Else, Applause - John Cage
gets its own little fade out
Judas (DJ White Shadow Remix) - Lady Gaga - from Born This Way]
composing with tracks on a grid
Naughty Lady of Shady Lane - Brenda Ray [from Original Songs/1950s Music]
presumably the words
(not presented)
tell her story
Mudride (Live in Santa Barbara) - Mudhoney [from Superfuzz Bigmuff]
you got it right here
this is it
you're on
Silent Night - Smokestack and the Foothill Fury [from Smokey's Jugband Christmas]
this music
is antithesis of uptight and smarmy
there is not
barrier between you and it
no staged interval
Songs Your Mother Should Know - Your Mother Should Know [recorded June 24, 2013]
now I remember
this was a rehearsal
for their performance at
Composers' Salon early in July
recorded in our living room
where
the piano is
not sure where all the extraneous noise is coming
from Karen singing Neal playing piano
Album d'un voyageur, S. 156, Book II "Fleurs mélodiques des Alpes": No. 9b, Allegretto - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard]
against the stereotype of fistbanger Franz
this is quite direct and
lovely
it earns its sonorous moments
Drei Clavier-Sonaten für die Jugend, Op. 118 #2, in D Major - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
a busy adventure of starts and stops
a quiet moment in the middle
Ruby, My Dear (Take 1) - Thelonious Monk [from The Complete Columbia Studio Solo Recordings]
somehow always coming back to the beginning
Trapped (live) - Bruce Springsteen [collected from Neal Kosály-Meyer's Springsteen Miscellany]
the long introductions
help to pace out his voice for a long evening
Pretty Celeste Suite-Gabby - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
accumulation
is a temptation from transformation
 |
| doodle referenced below |
this is stage music not porch music
to the extent it's social
it
seeks to be an overwhelming presence
rather than any kind of shared
intimacy
Ballet Blanc - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]
tight little circles jutting limbs
here comes the heavy
the
circles are stilled
though the limbs jut yet
the heavy stares
then strikes
In Session at The Tintinabulary
September 27, 2026
Maitland - Keith Eisenbrey
September 28, 2026
Gradus 438 - Neal Kosály-Meyer
a dearth of C-sharps in the first rung
made good in the second
{see
doodle above }
September 29, 2026
Detritus 17 - Keith Eisenbrey
September 30, 2026
Detritus 16 and 18 - Keith Eisenbrey
October 1, 2026
Detritus 15 - Keith Eisenbrey
this one is darned pesky
every note a trap
Postscripts
Drops
Keith Eisenbrey 35
Sabbatical Improvisations 2014-2015
Another album of solo improvisations for you.
recordings of my compositions (and more!) can be found at keitheisenbrey.bandcamp.com - free to download or stream.
