Hoodoo Zephyr

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Unique among the composer’s recordings, Hoodoo Zephyr is an electronic solo work created in the studio, released as a definitive “final cut.” Says Adams, “I was able to enter an imaginative world that I could never inhabit writing orchestral music.”

Description

Hoodoo Zephyr, the October 8, 1993, Nonesuch release by John Adams, features a behind-the-scenes look at the Grammy Award-winning composer of Nixon in China and The Death of Klinghoffer. Five Yamaha keyboards and a rack of samplers have served Adams in his recent composition and orchestration activities. Here he brings these midi synthesizers to the forefront, in a CD of seven short compositions inspired by Western landscapes.

Produced in the upstairs studio of Adams’s Berkeley home, Hoodoo Zephyr extends the range of a composer whose versatility is well documented. From the lyrical guitar solo of “Disappointment Lake” to the propulsive bass clarinets and tympani of the title track, Adams’s recognizable style is joined with an array of sampled sounds in a high-end romp through numerous musical vocabularies.

 

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by John Adams
Engineer: Mark Grey
Consultant for mixing and production: Paul Dresher
Mastered by Robert Ludwig

Composed and produced January 1992 to May 1993 in Berkeley, California, utilizing the Korg Wavestation, Yamaha Electone, Yamaha SY77 and SY99, E Mu Systems Proteus I and E-Max II, Kurzweil K-2000 and Lexicon LXP-15.

Design by John Heiden
Photography by Deborah O’Grady

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Nonesuch Selection Number

79311

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
ns_album_artistid
2
ns_album_id
8
ns_album_releasedate
ns_genre_1
0
ns_genre_2
0
Album Status
Artist Name
John Adams
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
All songs composed and performed by John Adams

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
603497098866
  • 79311

Track Listing

News & Reviews

  • “In many ways, John Adams is the quintessential California composer,” Nadia Sirota writes in the introduction to Adams’ audio interview with the California Festival, a statewide initiative showcasing contemporary classical music, including live performances at venues across the state over the past three weeks. Adams, a resident of Northern California since moving there from New England in 1971, talks about his early days in the area and the inspiration behind some of his most influential early works, like Christian Zeal and Activity, Phrygian Gates, Shaker Loops, and Harmonielehre. You can hear what he has to say here.

  • Composer John Adams talks about his acclaimed opera Doctor Atomic and the aria “Batter My Heart” in a new video from Boosey & Hawkes. The opera, with a libretto by Peter Sellars drawn from original sources—including, for this aria, the John Donne sonnet—tells the story of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and the first atomic bomb explosion in New Mexico in July 1945. The video features scenes from the Dutch National Opera production starring Gerald Finley, who originated the role of Oppenheimer in 2005 and can be heard on the Nonesuch first recording of Doctor Atomic, with the composer leading the BBC Singers and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Julia Bullock as Kitty Oppenheimer. You can hear “Batter My Heart” from the recording here as well.

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  • About This Album

    Hoodoo Zephyr, the October 8, 1993, Nonesuch release by John Adams, features a behind-the-scenes look at the Grammy Award-winning composer of Nixon in China and The Death of Klinghoffer. Five Yamaha keyboards and a rack of samplers have served Adams in his recent composition and orchestration activities. Here he brings these midi synthesizers to the forefront, in a CD of seven short compositions inspired by Western landscapes.

    Produced in the upstairs studio of Adams’s Berkeley home, Hoodoo Zephyr extends the range of a composer whose versatility is well documented. From the lyrical guitar solo of “Disappointment Lake” to the propulsive bass clarinets and tympani of the title track, Adams’s recognizable style is joined with an array of sampled sounds in a high-end romp through numerous musical vocabularies.

     

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    All songs composed and performed by John Adams

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by John Adams
    Engineer: Mark Grey
    Consultant for mixing and production: Paul Dresher
    Mastered by Robert Ludwig

    Composed and produced January 1992 to May 1993 in Berkeley, California, utilizing the Korg Wavestation, Yamaha Electone, Yamaha SY77 and SY99, E Mu Systems Proteus I and E-Max II, Kurzweil K-2000 and Lexicon LXP-15.

    Design by John Heiden
    Photography by Deborah O’Grady

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

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