Hysteriology (2009) Commissioned by Griffin Campbell and Michael Straus Instrumentation: alto saxophone, baritone saxophone and electronics Length: 1:40 Premiere:      November 1, 2009      The Ant's Elbow Duo Project      Lousiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA      Griffin Campbell and Michael Straus, saxophones Audio: Excerpt from Demo Recording Program Note: Hysteriology was my contribution to a project in which saxophonists Michael Straus and Griffin Campbell commissioned 27 different composers to write pieces of 100 seconds or less for two saxophones and electronics. These pieces would then all be played continuously in one program. I don't generally work with fixed electronics and instruments, in live situations I prefer the use of live electronics which offer a greater degree of flexibility and dynamism in performance. Since this commission specified the use of fixed electronics, I thought it might be fun to play with this idea of live instruments playing along with an inflexible backing track by using what is to my mind a similar musical experience: the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Play-A-Long series. To create the electronics part I used samples taken from several Aebersold CDs as well as other musical sources to create an Aebersold backing track like no other. The saxophones then "play along" with this track, in a crazy, fragmented version of what a jazz tune might sound like in another dimension.