Music by Michael Pelz-Sherman (BIO)
All of the material on this site is free.
Ph.D. Disseration: A Framework for the Analysis of Performer Interactions in Western Improvised Contemporary Art Music.
| Title | Musicians | Date/Place | Notes | Play/Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Footprints | MPS, piano; Carl Blackwell, Drums; Seth Barden, Bass | Feb 2008, Cary NC | Download | |
| Work In Progress | All by MPS using GarageBand | July 2007, Cary NC | Sketch of an idea using GarageBand | Download |
| Joy Spring | As Is: MPS - Piano, Tracy Rose - Drums, Andre LaVelle - Bass | January 2003. Terra Linda, CA | Trad Jazz instrumental rendition of the classic Clifford Brown standard | Download |
| Autumn Leaves | As Is: MPS - Piano, Lynne Clyde - Vocals, Mike Greenfield - Bass, Peake Saunders - Drums | October 2005. Sebastopol, CA | Original arrangement by MPS. Recorded at Mesa Recording. | Download |
Scores for the following original chamber music works are available upon request.
| Title | Musicians | Date/Place | Notes | Play/Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| For Thomas | MPS, Piano | Feb. 1982, Bloomington, Indiana | Piano solo piece composed for my father's birthday. I was listening to a lot of Bartok and Aaron Copeland at the time. | Download |
| Day | MPS, Piano; David Emerson, French Horn | Dec. 1986, Bloomington, Indiana | Piece for french horn and piano incorporating elements of serialism and jazz. | Download |
| Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town | IU Contemporary Vocal Ensemble | Jan. 1984, Bloomington, Indiana | An a cappella setting for small vocal ensemble of e.e. cummings' wonderful poem of the same name. | Download |
| Boxes, Bubbles, and Butterflies | Nathan Howard, Piano | 1982, Bloomington, Indiana | Solo piano piece dedicated to mime/contact improv artist Nell Weatherwax. | Download |
| Field of Melting Snow | Mike Eads, Tenor Sax; Carol Fry, Cello | 1982, Bloomington, Indiana | A somber and reflective piece. | Download |
| Love in the Moonlight | MPS, Piano; IU Contemporary Vocal Ensemble | 1985, Bloomington, Indiana | A setting of an ancient Chinese Poem I translated myself , composed after returning from a year of teaching English and music in Hangzhou, China. 3 sopranos, 3 flutes, strings (vln, vla, cello, doublebass), piano, hammer dulcimer, and electronic tape. Roll over
these
links
to see some excerpts from the
score .
|
Download |
Improvisation Analysis Videos
| Title | Musicians | Date/Place | Notes | Play/Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Study In Light | MPS, synthesizers and "M" software | Fall 1990, San Diego CA | Improvised live performance using Joel Chadabe's M software. | Download |
| MPS & MC | MPS, Piano and Mark Culbertson, Bass | July 2, 2006. Terra Linda, CA | Pensive atonal improvised duet, recorded just before departing the Bay Area for North Carolina. | Download |
| Jane and SIVA | Jane Rigler, flute, with SIVA interactive computer music system | 1992, San Diego, CA | SIVA = Synthetic Interactive Virtual Automoton. Original software written by MPS in Max/MSP controlling Yamaha TX7 synth module. Careful with those Sys/Ex commands! | Download |
| Title | Musicians | Date/Place | Notes | Play/Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Circus | Michael Sherman, piano & synthesizers; Charlie Erickson (now known as Chuck Love, Bass and audio engineering; Brian Lind, guitar; Dodd Johnson, drums & percussion | Minneapolis, Minnesota 1981 | An instrumental progressive jazz/rock fusion fantasy a la Return to Forever/Gentle Giant. Still one of my favorite compositions. Not too bad for a bunch of stoned high school kids! Sorry about the poor audio quality on this one... my old tapes are pretty damn noisy. | Download |
| Minimum Wage | The "Rough Edges": Ted Rider, lead vocal, Tom Skamina, Drums, Mark McCormick, Guitar, Michael Sherman, keyboards/backing vocals, "Buzz" Cottingham, bass | Bloomington Indiana, 1983 | Pure 1980's DEVO-influenced New Wave | Download |