Ned Rothenberg
Encyclopedia
Ned Rothenberg is an American
multi-instrumentalist and composer. He specializes in woodwind instruments, including the alto saxophone
, clarinet
, bass clarinet
, flute
, and shakuhachi
(Japanese bamboo flute). He is particularly known for his work in new music
and free improvisation
, as well as for his work in expanding the vocabulary of sounds of his instruments through the use of extended technique
s (for example, he has developed the ability to play chords
on the saxophone). His compositions show influences from such diverse sources as contemporary classical music, jazz
, rock, and world music
.
Rothenberg is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music
. He was a founding member (along with J. D. Parran
and Robert Dick
) of the experimental woodwind trio New Winds. He has performed with a wide variety of musicians, including Sainkho Namtchylak
, Samm Bennett
, Fred Frith
, Paul Dresher
, Yuji Takahashi
, Elliott Sharp
, John Zorn
, Katsuya Yokoyama
, Evan Parker
, Marc Ribot
, and Samir Chatterjee. He has been internationally acclaimed for his solo music which he has presented worldwide since 1978.
Rothenberg has lived in New York City
since 1978. He has recorded for the Lumina, Tzadik
, New World, Axiom, Sub Rosa, Intuition, Victo, Leo, and Animul labels.
's Electro-Acoustic Ensemble
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
multi-instrumentalist and composer. He specializes in woodwind instruments, including the alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, bass clarinet
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, and shakuhachi
Shakuhachi
The is a Japanese end-blown flute. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but versions now exist in ABS and hardwoods. It was used by the monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism in the practice of...
(Japanese bamboo flute). He is particularly known for his work in new music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
and free improvisation
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
, as well as for his work in expanding the vocabulary of sounds of his instruments through the use of extended technique
Extended technique
Extended techniques are performance techniques used in music to describe unconventional, unorthodox, or non-traditional techniques of singing, or of playing musical instruments to obtain unusual sounds or instrumental timbres....
s (for example, he has developed the ability to play chords
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
on the saxophone). His compositions show influences from such diverse sources as contemporary classical music, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, rock, and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
.
Rothenberg is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, located on the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, was founded in 1865 and is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Students of Oberlin Conservatory enter a very broad network within the music world, as the school's alumni...
. He was a founding member (along with J. D. Parran
J. D. Parran
J. D. Parran is an American multi-woodwind player, educator, and composer specializing in jazz and free improvised music. He plays the soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, and bass saxophone, as well as the E-flat clarinet, clarinet, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, contra-alto clarinet, flute, piccolo,...
and Robert Dick
Robert Dick (flutist)
Robert Dick is an American flutist and composer specializing in new music and extended techniques. He was a member of the experimental woodwind trio New Winds with Ned Rothenberg and J. D. Parran....
) of the experimental woodwind trio New Winds. He has performed with a wide variety of musicians, including Sainkho Namtchylak
Sainkho Namtchylak
Sainkho Namtchylak is a singer originally from Tuva, a small autonomous republic in the Russian Federation just north of Mongolia. She is known for her Tuvan throat singing or Khöömei.-Style:...
, Samm Bennett
Samm Bennett
Samm Bennett , is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.Samm Bennett is a singer and songwriter, a drummer and percussionist, and a player of string instruments such as the stick dulcimer and the diddley bow...
, Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
, Paul Dresher
Paul Dresher
Paul Joseph Dresher is an American composer. Dresher received his B.A. in music from the University of California, Berkeley and his M.A. in composition from the University of California, San Diego, where he studied with Robert Erickson, Roger Reynolds, Pauline Oliveros, and Bernard Rands.He also...
, Yuji Takahashi
Yuji Takahashi
is a Japanese composer, performer, pianist and author.Studied under Roh Ogura and Minao Shibata at the Toho Gakuen School of Music. In 1960, he made his debut as a pianist by performing Bo Nilsson's Quantitaten. He lived in Europe from 1963 to 1966 where he worked with Iannis Xenakis. He gave the...
, Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and performer.A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released over eighty-five recordings ranging from blues, jazz, and orchestral music to noise, no wave rock,...
, John Zorn
John Zorn
John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
, Katsuya Yokoyama
Yokoyama Katsuya
was an internationally renowned player and teacher of the shakuhachi, a traditional vertical bamboo flute of Japan.Katsuya Yokoyama is one of the greatest masters of the shakuhachi in Japan today...
, Evan Parker
Evan Parker
Evan Shaw Parker is a British free-improvising saxophone player from the European free jazz scene.Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free jazz and free improvisation, and has pioneered or substantially expanded...
, Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer.His own work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and composer John Zorn.-Biography:Ribot was...
, and Samir Chatterjee. He has been internationally acclaimed for his solo music which he has presented worldwide since 1978.
Rothenberg has lived in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
since 1978. He has recorded for the Lumina, Tzadik
Tzadik Records
Tzadik Records is a record label based in New York City specialising in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by the eclectic composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995; Zorn is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases...
, New World, Axiom, Sub Rosa, Intuition, Victo, Leo, and Animul labels.
Discography
With Evan ParkerEvan Parker
Evan Shaw Parker is a British free-improvising saxophone player from the European free jazz scene.Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free jazz and free improvisation, and has pioneered or substantially expanded...
's Electro-Acoustic Ensemble
- The Moment's EnergyThe Moment's EnergyThe Moment's Energy is an album by British saxophonist and improvisor Evan Parker's Electro-Acoustic Ensemble recorded at the Lawrence Batley Theatre in 2007 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...
(ECM, 2007)
External links
- Ned Rothenberg official site
- Ned Rothenberg discography
- [ Allmusic entry]
- Ned Rothenberg interview by Sasha Burov (April 23, 2004), from Paris Transatlantic Magazine
- Video interview with Derk Richardson for radiOM
- Interview in Spanish for El Intruso