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Adam's Marble

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Adam's Marble --- 1995

Recorded in Israel, 1995 The Music: Adam's Marble was especially composed for a tour of Israel in 1986 by my own small group. The composition is dedicated to Adam Baruch, promoter of the 1986 tour, and now owner of JAZZIS, an important record label on the Israeli jazz scene. The piece was a difficult one to develop and its title grew out of a statement by Michelangelo: "There is nothing in the mind of the artist which is not already contained in the piece of stone before him. All that he has to do is to get rid of the superfluous." The composition has been expanded for this project to feature a larger group of 15 musicians. Bright As Silver (for Don & John) has been especially composed to accompany Adam's Marble for the concerts and recording. Although it was written as a dedication to two close friends of mine, whose long illnesses accompanied the writing and who passed away the day after the piece was finished, the composition is not meant to be morbid. Its title, a phrase about the sun, is meant to link my friends, who both lived in the Mediterranean, with this project in Israel. The phrase sums up the spirit of both men and that of the musicians involved here. Aberdeen Angus was originally written in 1967 and recorded on "Down Another Road" LP. Its revival for this project has acted as a welcome reminder that there was an inherent openness in such pieces, a precursor of the style that now dominates my writing. The Musicians: The musicians are all studying at either the Royal Academy of Music in London, England, or the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in Ramat HaSharon, near Tel-Aviv, Israel. They should be considered as young professionals, some on the threshold of their careers, some already in the process of getting established in their respective countries. I hope that this project will start them on the road to international recognition. (Graham Collier)