Teddy Raven Music

My brass band Raven’s Day Parade just released our debut album featuring original music and two arrangements of songs by the Bulgarian Women’s Choir. The album is a fun and eclectic mix of songs highly influenced by the Klezmer and Balkan traditions, as well as jazz, funk, and rock. The music was recorded in Los Angeles on Oct. 2nd, 2011 and features many amazing up-and-coming musicians. This project is also special in that it represents several years of growth and experience for me as a composer and bandleader, as Raven’s Day Parade has been in existence for over two years. Listen to it here:

http://ravensdayparade.bandcamp.com

and if you like it, help support the ensemble by purchasing a copy!

Hello! I just arrived back in the states Sunday night 11/13 from an amazing tour of Norway with Sound Circus. We played five concerts throughout the southern half the country, which culminated in a packed show at the National Jazz Scene in Oslo as part of their “Uhort!” (unheard) series featuring upcoming groups. After traveling and talking with several artists/musicians, it was very clear that the Norwegian government supports the arts in many ways such as offering grants and scholarships for artists, distributing performance royalties for ANY live performance of a registered piece, and giving travel stipends to up-and-coming and established artists to learn else-where, to name a few. Norwegian artists are very lucky that they live in economically thriving social democracy, where the government values the importance of art and culture on a community level, regardless of its capitalistic value. Norway is also extremely beautiful and mostly covered with forests, as the cities are few and far between. Wow, this sounds like an advertisement. The only bad thing is that its really expensive- a hotdog at 7-eleven would be around $9 USD to give you an idea! Anyways, stay tuned for potential summer or fall Sound Circus happenings!

The band after a show in Vinstra, and a pretty open-air museum in Lillehammer

Hello,
I have a few very exciting projects that I want to share with you. Firstly, I’ve been preparing for the past few months for a recording session with my brass band Raven’s Day Parade. We recorded all day on Sunday Oct. 2nd at an amazing home studio in Los Angeles, and I was honored to be joined by some amazing musicians and engineers. We played six of my original songs, and two arrangements of songs by the Bulgarian Women’s Choir; one of my all-time favorite ensembles. The album should be finished within the next three months, so stay tuned for the finished product. Secondly, I’m happy to announce that Sound Circus will be touring Norway this November in support of our recent release Raise the Curtain

Sound Circus has just finished the production of our debut album “Raise the Curtain,” which features some beautiful and interesting compositions, as well as inspired playing by all of the band members. Go to our bandcamp site to listen to the songs and download the record as well.

On April 30th, I finished my installation and performance as part of my Artist in Resident program at Lobot. The process was a very rewarding experience, as I was able to produce something larger and grander than I ever had before, given the time and space I was allotted. In addition to delving into and trying discover how I feel about our interaction with natural disasters, I made an immersive tunnel out of fabric and sounds, hung images from the ceiling, assembled a tsunami-devastated area, and put on a performance with music, dance, and video. I had help from the wonderful and talented residents of Lobot, as well as the others who were directly involved in the project, and I’ve uploaded two videos that document the first out of three songs so you can get an idea of what went down.

“The Earth is One Big Natural Disaster”

This month, I have the good fortune of being the resident artist at LoBot Art Gallery in Oakland, CA. There is a resident artist who resides at the gallery/warehouse every month, and the stay culminates in some sort of show. On Saturday April 30th, I will be putting on a multi-media installation and performance expressing my thoughts about preparedness, paranoia, and collective awareness in relation to natural disasters. The topic was inspired by the recent events in Japan in addition to constant media coverage and the possibility of earthquakes and other catastrophes in our own backyard. I will be performing on saxophone and electronics along with Aaron Wacks on keyboards, and dancers Caroline Alexander and Andrew Ward (other musicians TBA). Come out if you’re in the Bay Area!

Saturday April 30th- Opening at 6pm, performance at 8pm. All proceeds will to the Red Cross to help Japan rebuild. 1800 Campbell St. Oakland, CA 94607.

Wow, the Sound Circus band played five concerts in four countries, recorded a full-length album, and had a professional photo-shoot all within one-and-a-half weeks. It was one of the most intense and amazing experiences of my life. In addition to performing and rehearsing, there was a lot of time spent traveling and hanging out with the other awesome people in the group. The band also established much tighter musical bonds and we were really able to develop our sound, which I am thankful for since we all live in different countries. Also, a special thanks to everyone who supported us via kickstarter.com. This would not have been possible without you.

Stay tuned for our record!

I’m extremely excited to be announcing the new release of my first album entitled Magic Road. It has been a work almost six months in progress, both rewarding and inspiring. Go to the projects page to find out more about the band, and music to listen to some of the songs. This is the album cover, by my sister and amazing artist Lucy Raven.

Stay tuned for order information.

I’m extremely excited to be going to Brussels next week to tour with European jazz ensemble Sound Circus.  I met these lovely people at the Banff Centre in Canada in the summer of ’09, and we have been working hard the past several months writing music,  booking shows and raising funds. Listen to some of our music and get more info here.