Album Notes

Roy Dunlap -Piano
Pete Chmielewski -Drums
Dan Nicholson -Sax
Jeff Hanley-Bass

This CD is the result of an experiment I had in finding ways to produce new ideas.

I found a way to write music by letting the music write itself.

When I sit down and write a song or theme based on a situation or emotion, this involves a conscious process imposing judgement on the themes as they are being written.

Often this conscious imposition changes their outcome to fit a norm or musical style, sometimes resulting in a piece that sounds banal or contrived.

I wanted to find a way to create music without the interference of the conscious mind making themes fit into a cultural norm or expectation..

Instead of composing themes and judging the melodies as either good, bad, classical, or jazz, thereby shaping their outcome, I just let them come.

My daily routine would begin with sitting quietly and writing down sounds as they would come.

In a sense, I stepped to the side and got out of the way.

And after months of doing this I had sheets of themes and ideas that seemed random, but after listening to them repeatedly, certain melodies and themes stuck out giving me material that never would have surfaced through a more traditional approach to composing.

Each piece is one of the children that this process gave birth to.

I hope you enjoy listening to it.

-Roy Dunlap