Sgt. Richard Johnson plays trumpet and creates a melodic sound.
September 24, 2010
Musical performances get creative this weekend, with two artists who use non-traditional techniques to create their sounds.
First off, on Friday evening, Joe Driscoll shows how one person can make a heck of a lot of sound when he performs at 2 Alices Coffee Lounge. Driscoll is a one-man band who effortlessly fusges hi-hop, reggae, soul, folk and rock to create a completely original and unique sound. He is an innovator not only for the genre-defying music he creates, but for the groundbraking way in which he performs it.
When he performs Driscall is a lone figure on stage yet he is able to create the complete soundscape of a full band utilizing heavy vocal percussion, an array of instruments, a loop pedal and a lot of imagination. See him do his thing in the clip below, or just come see him perform on Friday night at 2 Alices.
Discover Acousmatic Jazz Music at West Point
Then on Sunday, Sgt. First Class Richard Johnson puts his laptop to work to accompany him on trumpet in a performance entitled “Do Trumpets Dream of Electric Sheep? And Afternoon of Acousmatic Improvisation.”
Acousmatic music is a form of electro-acoustic music that gets its name from acousmatic sound, or sound one hears without seeing where it comes from. The practice dates back to the Greek mathematician Pythagoras who reputedly hid from his students when he made sounds, but it is more often generated today by computers and played through loudspeakers. The compositional material is not restricted to musical instruments or voices but can include bird songs and ambient sounds.
Sgt. Johnson performed earlier this week at the Whitney Museum of American Art and he is an accomplished jazz trumpeter, playing with the USMA Jazz Knights as well as other musicians.
On Sunday, in a free concert at Egner Hall at 3 pm, Johnson will perform original compositions that will engage the listener with its melodic sound. Visit Johnson’s website www.igniteanoise.com for a sample of his work.
