elliot humberto kavee

i wanted to start with myself and what i was actually hearing/feeling/seeing in the moment. expressive possibilities, not only of the drumset and the cello but of the various modes of interplay between them. drums are music. it can be good or bad like any other form, but it's always music. music is not just melody and harmony. as a matter of fact melody is an extension of speech, as is drumming. they have the same roots: there is no automatic heirarchy. an informal conversation. between me and the instruments, between the cello and the drums, between me and my ancestors. my mom's side of the family are italian and spanish settlers in nicaragua. she met my dad in san francisco in the 50's. his side were russian jews who came through ellis island at the turn of the century. i wanted to trace a personal, family, tribal, and ultimately - a simply human landscape. the last piece on the album shows me that russia is a gateway between europe and asia, and the mediterranean is a passage between europe and africa. improvisation as a discipline. the root meaning of improvisation means "not to forsee" and the root meaning of discipline is "disciple" which means "to learn". "learning through not forseeing". taking a journey not knowing where you're going in order to learn something new. about yourself. and through that, the world

©1996 Elliot Humberto  Kavee.