“Musikawi Silt” is from the Either/Orchestra’s 2000 record More Beautiful than Death.  This was one of those pivotal, incredible moments that musicians sometimes have where things just sort of line up in a way where it all makes sense.

When I joined the Either/Orchestra in 1997, we immediately started working on what we called “The Ethiopian Suite”, because it was a multi-movement work that was joined a tacca, or through segue.  This was the middle movement, which Russ Gershon likes to introduce as “about music,” whereas the other two songs are “about love”.  It was originally an instrumental, which obviously we kept, and it contains an awesome time warp: Notice that the bass line is in some sort of 3, but the drums are in 4, so we come out even every now and then, rather than always starting from the same place.  Love that.  It reminds me of what Bob Moses calls groove cannon – check out his song “For Miles” for an example of that.

But another thing that happened that really changed the path on this piece, and for me, opened my ears to my own writing and arranging, was the bass line that I play after my solo.  I played it spontaneously one night when were playing at the Regattabar in Cambridge, MA, and we kept it in the act.  I love that line.