Recorded at The Loove in Brooklyn in 2011-2012, Songs Of The Tree Of Destiny is Apfelbaum’s first full-length solo piano recording and also marks the first time he has recorded music by others on his own - the recording includes five covers along with three originals.
Check out Peter's version of the Beatles classic "For No One"
The continuation of the Hieroglyphics Ensemble, the 14-piece New York Hieroglyphics has been Apfelbaum's main vehicle for his large-ensemble music since 2003. In 2007 Apfelbaum wrote and toured "Aural Histories - Nine Lives", a suite commissioned by Chamber Music America and featuring Malian vocalist and griot Abdoulaye Diabate.
In 2003 composer John Zorn celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his band Masada by inviting Apfelbaum and various other artists to each pick a composition from the vast Masada repertoire to cover for the CD Voices In The Wilderness (Tzadik). Apfelbaum chose "Acharei Mot", rearranging and recording it with a Septet of NY Hieroglyphics musicians. After the initial statement of Zorn's darkly majestic theme, the piece develops into something entirely different, growing and building and finally falling apart before the reprise of the theme at the end.
Peter Apfelbaum
(tenor sax/organ/drums)
Charlie Burnham
(violin)
David Phelps
(guitar)
Patrice Blanchard
(bass)
Dafnis Prieto
(drums)
Hiawatha Lockport
(de-tuned organ)
Aaron Johnston
(recording engineer)
Formed in 1977 while Apfelbaum was still a student at Berkeley High School, the Hieroglyphics Ensemble featured young improvising musicians from diverse stylistic backgrounds and was Apfelbaum's main outlet for composing and performing through the mid-1990's. The Ensemble - which included brass, reeds, violin, two or three guitarists, two drummers and several percussionists typically numbered around 17 musicians (though from 1980-81 it swelled to 22).
PETER APFELBAUM
Drums, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Tenor Saxophone, Synthesizer
PECK ALLMOND
Alto, Baritone, Soprano and Tenor Saxophones, Trumpet
WILL BERNARD
Guitar
STEVEN BERNSTEIN
Trumpet
DESZON X. CLAIBORNE
Drums, Percussion
JEFF CRESSMAN
Bells, Percussion, Trombone
RACHEL DURLING
Violin
STANLEY FRANKS
Guitar
BO FREEMAN
Bass
PAUL HANSON
Bassoon, Alto & Tenor Sax
JAMES HARVEY
Trombone
SEKOU HEATH
Bata, Percussion, Vocals
BUDDHA ROBERT HUFFMAN
Bata, Bells, Bell Tree, Congas, Gong, Vocals
JOSH JONES
Congas, Drums, Timpani, Vocals
TONY JONES
Tenor Saxophone
BILL ORTIZ
Flugelhorn, Trumpet
NORBERT STACHEL
Clarinet, Flute, Piccolo, Alto, Baritone, Bass, Soprano and Tenor Saxophones
JAI UTTAL
Dotar, Guitar, Harmonium, Percussion
Apfelbaum reunited the Septet which he led through the mid- to late nineties, the core of which appeared on the CD Luminous Charms (Gramavision, 1996) for a performance at the 2013 Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on July 7 (the day after SPARKLER). The line-up included Paul Hanson (bassoon), Rachel Durling (violin), Will Bernard (guitar), John Shifflett (bass) and Josh Jones (congas/percussion) in addition to Apfelbaum (tenor sax/piano/percussion).
Peter and his longtime colleague from Hieroglyphics and Don Cherry's Multikulti, drummer/percussionist Josh Jones, have been performing as a duo since 2013, revisiting material from both bands as well as music from Apfelbaum's solo piano CD.
