I went looking for Boismortier cello duets to buy online... typed everythingcello . com, found danieldelaneymusic.com and now, as an excuse to stop my blah practicing and as a diversion from the reality of my current cello chop weaknesses, I'm listening to Skye and Folk Suite. So many cellists are finding their own personal bands now. They record and layer their own sound; the cello, their voice, their own rhythmic accompaniment of chopping... A perhaps easier and more satisfying band experience for the contemporary cellist trying to fit into a band; a way to avoid the stereotypes... token cellist as a sex icon in a traditional band filling out harmonies, cello as the new electric guitar, cello as the new double bass, cello as the bridge between classical, folk and rock. Perhaps this last the most authentic in its recent roles even if it still fills a stereotype. Delaney sings well in tune with rich chords and choppy rhythms, intimate personal words. His piece September is interesting because it has more jazz than rock influence and isn't so stuck where cellos have landed even with the chop and hand slaps reminiscent of Julie-O. I could do without the full-out arco chords. What I like is the jazzy 'bach-ness' of September and this makes me listen to it again, and again. It is thick and dexterous with a swing. Edit, Delaney and we'd be cool! 

7/8/16 Just watched Maya Beiser on Tiny Desk Concerts NPR. She also creates her own ensemble through her own sound. I enjoyed her piece but have to say I reacted to the girl cellist stereotype image despite huge respect for her career. 

Today I found a blue sticky note sideways posted in between Yampolsky scale studies, Haydn, Britten, Melinda Wagner parts and other random papers on the sofa chair next to where I practice. The little reminder note said: HANK ROBERTS  
GENTLE GIANT
I don't recall who told me about Hank Roberts, or why I wrote down both his name and the 1970 band Gentle Giant. I wonder if they are connected in some way, but my initial look at Wickepedia didn't give any clues. Gentle Giant was formed from the music of three Scottish-Jewish brothers who lived in Portsmouth, England. Hank Roberts is an American electric cellist about ten years younger than the brothers and said to have 'emerged with the New York Downtown jazz scene in the 1980's.'

'Ultimate Music Store' labels Roberts as part of the jazz genre and has his album  With Marc Ducret & Jim Black-Green posted and available for a pre-listen. I'm listening to it now. Mr.Roberts covers quite a range of musical ground I'm not quite sure how to label... blues, funk, experimental, folk, pretty, ugly, bracing, soothing, out-there, intricate classical string voicing, wailing guitar chops, contemporary extended technique, quirky, jarring... clearly a cellist with ears for a wide expanse of stylings and meaning.

Wickepedia states:
"In the early '80s he made a number of recordings for the defunct JMT label, was a featured member of the Bill
Frisell Quartet, and was an important voice in many groups of saxophonist Tim Berne. He also recorded three discs with the Arcado String Trio, an improvisational chamber group featuring Mark Feldman, violin, and Mark Dresser, double bass. In the early '90s he left Frisell's group and stopped touring widely. Roberts continued to release recordings, if sporadically, including with the progressive folk group, Ti Ti Chickapea. In 2008 Roberts' was again touring and performing regularly, releasing Green (with Jim Black and Marc Ducret) on Winter & Winter, Stefan F. Winters subsequent label to JMT. In December 2011, Winter and Winter released Roberts'
Everything Is Alive, as well as re-releasing Roberts' entire JMT catalogue."

The photos on Mr.Roberts website are oddly familiar and I wonder if I've seen him perform somewhere. In London? No... where? Maybe I just looked him up once... but I never listened, and I think, that here is something any cellist can appreciate and learn from. Just listen to these reviews from his site! It was a good sticky note...
er

 Nürnberger Zeitung: 
the American cellist [Hank Roberts] dares to present
magical musical field tests, which sound as delicate as a moribund musical box
or intoxicating emotional like a pop song. Grumpy, but yes, ingenious.“      
January 10, 2012

 Südkurier: “From the beginning this music opens the horizon. […] Since
the 80s Hank Roberts has achieved for his instrument […] a completely new
position that he keeps on strengthening. Genre limits are too narrow for him,
important is his own fusion of elements, which are brought together in an
improvisational way…

 Music full of air, lightness and delight in playing, characterized by
listening and reacting to each other, sustained by a natural sound and elevating
the listener to comforting spheres.”            January 13, 2012

http://www.hankrobertsmusic.com/

Live from Hochstein on October 31 will feature Chroma Piano Trio including cellist Robert deMaine who recently was offered the principal chair position in the LA Philharmonic. Robert was a child prodigy cellist and since 1993  has played principal with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and also plays a lot of chamber music, solos with the DSO, records, and teaches. His website is  http://www.robertdemaine.com/index.php. Beautiful soundbites... and an interesting interview with Hilary Hahn. I'm looking forward to hearing him play and maybe even sneaking into a masterclass with him at the Eastman School. I'll report back then! 

I was sitting at Rochester Contemporary School of Music last Saturday waiting for a meeting about summer camps when I  struck up a conversation with a parent waiting for his son who was having a drum lesson. The father mentioned Break of Reality Quartet and what great work they were doing as performers and teachers.

I recalled an article in the Democrat and Chronicle about this Eastman grads band. Three cellists and a drummer... Their website has this amazing quote: "Break of Reality’s sound is cinematic, subdued and heavy all at once. Their live audiences are equally diverse; fans of Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, and Yo-Yo Ma are finally getting acquainted." Wow!

I finally went to hear Break of Reality live out at Victor Schools and I was impressed with the integrity of the cellist's technique and honest playing. Amazing what amplification can do to the cello sound! Some interesting original pieces and so great to see an auditorium full of teenage fans!

Check them out here: www.breakofreality.com