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Iridescence
Ken Field sopranino saxophone, flute, percussion
Eric Glick Rieman prepared piano
Karen Stackpole percussion, gongs
“I was on my way back home to Massachusetts in early 2019 from what has become an annual gig for me in Australia, and we had a 2-night stopover in San Francisco. I had my sopranino saxophone and my flute with me for that trip.
I had inquired with a few friends a few months earlier to attempt to take advantage of the stop by setting up a performance opportunity for myself. I learned that there was a great house-concert situation at “Tom’s Place” in Berkeley, and was able to secure a date. I was also very lucky to be able to contact and enlist the wonderful keyboardist Eric Glick Rieman, who works often with prepared keyboards. I had some familiarity with his work through my years of hosting the weekly radio program of “creative instrumental music” called The New Edge, on WMBR in Cambridge, MA. A few musicians were suggested to round out the trio, and we were fortunate to end up with fantastically creative percussionist and gong player Karen Stackpole.
The three of us had never met or played together, so it was an evening of totally spontaneous improvisation. Our host Tom made a high-quality stereo recording, Peter Kaars took some amazing photographs, and NY based Erdem Helvacioglu subsequently did some wonderful work mastering the live tracks.
While I was in Australia the following year, in early 2020, I met the visual artist Joel Tonks, and when I saw his beautiful painting (which I originally thought was a photograph!) of an array of iridescent beetles, I thought that it would not only make for a great cover image, but that the title Iridescence was a good fit for this music. I’m grateful that Joel gave me permission to use the image for this release.”
— Ken Field, Cambridge, MA, May 2020
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Track Listing & Credits
| # | Title | Composer | Performer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Inside (Live) | Ken Field, Karen Stackpole | Ken Field, sopranino saxophone, flute, percussion; Karen Stackpole, percussion, gongs | 4:34 |
| 02 | Ice (Live) | Ken Field, Eric Glick Rieman, Karen Stackpole | Ken Field, sopranino saxophone, flute, percussion; Eric Glick Rieman, prepared piano; Karen Stackpole, percussion, gongs | 18:19 |
| 03 | Cinders (Live) | Eric Glick Rieman, Karen Stackpole | Eric Glick Rieman, prepared piano; Karen Stackpole, percussion, gongs | 8:15 |
| 04 | Rise (Live) | Ken Field, Eric Glick Rieman | Ken Field, sopranino saxophone, flute, percussion; Eric Glick Rieman, prepared piano | 8:01 |
| 05 | Recede (Live) | Ken Field, Eric Glick Rieman, Karen Stackpole | Ken Field, sopranino saxophone, flute, percussion; Eric Glick Rieman, prepared piano; Karen Stackpole, percussion, gongs | 15:36 |
Recorded 19 February 2019 at Tom’s Place, Berkeley CA
Live stereo recording Tom Duff
Mastering Erdem Helvacioglu (erdemhelvacioglu.com)
Live performance photo Peter B. Kaars (PeterBKaars.com)
Original artwork: “A Selection of Australian Christmas Beetles”
Painting by Joel Tonks (joeltonks.com). Used by permission.
Produced by Ken Field (kenfield.org)
Ken Field is a Vandoren Performing Artist, and uses Vandoren reeds and mouthpieces for performance and recording. (vandoren.com)
Executive Producer Bob Lord
Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Director Brandon MacNeil
A&R Mike Juozokas
VP, Audio Production Jeff LeRoy
Audio Director Lucas Paquette
VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Patrick Niland, Sara Warner
Artist Information
Ken Field
Ken Field is a saxophonist, flautist, and composer. Since 1988 he has been a member of the internationally acclaimed electronic modern music ensemble Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, with whom he has recorded eight CDs. He leads the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, an experimental & improvisational brass band, and performs with the community-based Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band. Since 2015 he has annually led a pick-up band of unafiliated musicians at the HONK!Oz Festival in Wollongong, NSW, Australia. His solo releases document his work for layered saxophones and his soundtracks for dance and film. Field was named a 2017 Finalist in Music Composition by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Karen Stackpole
Drummer/percussionist Karen Stackpole began her career as a rock drummer in the late 1980s and soon became fascinated with improvised music and multimedia collaboration. She joined forces with San Francisco Bay Area musicians, playing new music and stretching beyond established boundaries as well as working with dancers and experimental film. In 1991 she was exposed to the wonder of gongs (Paiste in particular) and immediately altered her trajectory to include these incredibly versatile instruments into her musical vocabulary.
Eric Glick Rieman
Eric Glick Rieman is a composer, improviser, teacher, and instrument manipulator from Berkeley CA. His fascination with putting sounds into space has led him into performing with the amplified innards of a modified Rhodes electric piano which, as well as piano, has been his primary performance instrument for the past 20 years. He is also a synthesist, recording and performing electronic music using modular synthesizers.
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