CARTE BLANCHE
(a contrast music)

a contrast music / carte blanche is a project since 1993 for new music on guitar-solo and for jazz-trio with acc- & el- guit, b, dr-perc. In the beginning it was created out of the idea to find new ways for the classical guitar, later it got its own musical basis:

note - by -note interpretations ( Berio/Ohana/MacCombie/ Gismonti/Davidowsky/Koch-Raphael and many others ) are confronted and combined with improvisation and conceptions for trio. Various styles, forms, influences from different cultures as well as individual approaches to improvisation and composition are developped, also with various players.

Through this direct confrontation, "New Music" gets a playful,varying and free milieu.

Carsten Radtke, g

Peter Hops, b (since 1998, Carte Blanche)

Jürgen Schneider, dr/perc/vib

Andreas Bauer, b (until 1997)

Günther Basmann, dr/perc (until 1998)


guests:

Tom Eberhardt, drums (1999 Carte Blanche )

Carmen Cano, voc

Peter Michael Hamel, comp

Fun to play, individual expression and experiment are in the foreground of the common work .



COMPOSITIONS
by Carsten Radtke on CD Edition Collage 491/2

FROM UGANDA music for marimba / 3 players, uses the form of an "Amadinda".
Player #1:melody repeated
Player #2:melody repeated but played on off-beats
Player #3:doubles the two lowest notes heard from player #1 and #2. player #3 is situated on the opposite side of the instrument.
LURIECALa bluesy AABA - form piece with central note e and open harmonies with free tonal improvisations.
It is dedicated to the saxophone player and actor John Lurie.
SHANKARmusic for various instruments, here : g & (mini)-vibes
A repeated theme gives the background for alternating improvisations over the 7/4 meter. The solos are finished with a "tehai" like it is used in Indian classical music. An improvised rhythmical figure is repeated three times and has to end on the first beat of the theme. It is dedicated to the tabla player Shankar Lal.
JUNGLE & SONGJUNGLE is a collage of sounds derived from short waves on the radio. The parts were recorded, combined and delayed, reverb effects.
The band improvises freely and tries to react on the sounds from the live-tape.
SONG interrupts the situation and represents an easy - going music as contrast to JUNGLE.
PAS DE NUIT & TITUBER (stumbling)PAS DE NUIT is a ballad on a AABA form with harmonies selected with modal and traditional ideas. (V-I relationships).
The mood is strange and beautiful at the same time. TITUBER is the contrasting piece with two meters played simultaneaously ( dr:3/4 , g & b:5/4 )in part A. The B-part is funky and needs soloing ,it ends with the ascension of all produced sounds. For ending part A is repeated three times.
ABCis a funky piece that was composed while being played.

The bass guitar playes groove ,drums accompany ,gui- tar adds melody. Solos are played on a chromatically descending dominant 7#9 chord and lead into a swing groove of16 bars. Bass - solo, on funky groove again, theme for ending.
PAS DE NUITthe last piece is a reprise of the music interpreted with g/b/vib first ,here it is played with two guitars and a solo is added over the form.