Neil Leonard live at Cloud Place: May 5, 2pm :: Cloud Foundation, 647 Boylston st., second floor, Boston, MA.

For the past twenty years, Neil Leonard has used the computer to redefine jazz performance. Along the way, he has created a number of custom software-based systems to extract thematic material from his improvisations to allow a computer to respond and jam with him in real-time. Leonard’s work as a cutting-edge technologist is grounded in years of performance and studies with seminal jazz composers Bob Brookmeyer and George Russell.

His latest solo work, Echoes and Footsteps, toured Israel, NYC and Boston in 2006. The computer modifies recordings of Roman cowbells and songs of Italian butchers to create an electronic soundscape invoking a blanket of smoke, the beating of propellers and a flock of deep drones. Rito features a melodic counterpoint between saxophone and computer where both live and virtual players ‘listen’ to each other and improvise responses in real-time.

Listen to Neil Leonard-Gadi Sassoon Duo; Vibration :: Inscription :: Transmission; Live 2005 – electronics / bass clarinet
excerpts from a live performance: