An Improvisation on New Years Day - Bill Koehler - Double Bass

My Improvisation for New Years Day centers around a series of minor tonalities. I enjoyed the time in contemplation. It was originally over 5 minutes longer, but I trimmed it down a bit. Delight in the activities that make us human and enjoy the New Year! As always, I hope you enjoy the music! If so, please subscribe, post a comment, and share. I will respond!

Recorded on January 1, 2025 at the Sonic Ashram - Studio 2

Recorder: Sound Devices Mix Pre6II
WA 47jr. mic
Schertler Dyn-B Pickup

Dr. Bill Koehler
Bassist, Composer, Author
Professor Emeritus
Illinois State University

Check out Bill Koehler’s new Album Bass Alone - When Stillness and the Quantum Soup Merge, available on:

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/search/Bill%...
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bill+koehl...
Gobuz https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/bas...
Isrbx https://www.isrbx.me/3138109193-bill-...
…and over 150 other sites work wide

Also, Check our our new Album “Timeless Flow” featuring J Kyle Gregory, Trumpet, and Bill Koehler, Double Bass (available on the same sites world-wide).
And, Winterreise Song Cycle for Double Bass and Piano - Bill Koehler, Double Bass, Amanda Huff McClure, Piano (available on the same sites world-wide).

Bill Koehler on iTunes
 
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Bill Koehler on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/06pTU...
https://open.spotify.com/album/7N3CLC...

Author of "A Guide to the Developmental Processes of Composition and Improvisation"
CDs:
Living Time - Bill Koehler, double bass & Manpreet Bedi, tabla
Syzygy – Bill Koehler with the Sonic Exploration Society
Vandana – Journey2gether – Bill Koehler, double bass & Manpreet Bedi, tabla
Glimpse – Bill Koehler – double bass - solo, duo, and quartet

CD's and book are available by writing Bill at [email protected]

Read a CD Review of Vandana - Journey2Gether by Joshua Kleine in Double Bassist Magazine - London, England:

Double bassist Bill Koehler, Professor of Music at Illinois State University, here joins forces with Indian Percussionist Manpreet Bedi to create a blend of polyrhythmic and mixed meter sounds which will be new to many listeners. This intrepid duo weave a brightly-coloured patchwork of original pieces based on a fusion of jazz, Western contemporary classical music, and Indian classical music. The result is a sound that is at once transcendental, joyous, serious, contemplative, and mystical.
Koehler's playing uses an intriguing mixture of influences from Indian Rag scales to modal harmonic progressions to the blues. One moment he'll be bowing a theme in the upper registers, the next he'll slip into a wistful and wandering solo. At other times his playing resembles the exotic sounds of the Indian sitar, which he creates by using the low string of his bass as a drone while simultaneously playing on the upper strings. The absence of any chordal accompaniment means that harmonies are generally implied, and Koehler takes full advantage of this to explore linear configurations that are rich with many musical influences. Journey2Gether is an exotic and inspirational release that successfully brings together the sounds of two very different cultures. A high note for world music.