Jack Vees (born 1955) is an American composer and bassist from
Camden, New Jersey
Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...
.
Biography
Both a performer (electric bass
/guitar and electronics) and a composer, Vees has written music for his own ensemble, Chez Vees,
and for groups such as Ensemble Modern,
California EAR Unit,
and
Zeitgeist (ensemble). He has collaborated with performers Ashley Bathgate,
Libby Van Cleve,
Amy Knoles,
Jeffrey Krieger, and
Ben Verdery, as well as various choreographers and video artists. Influences include
Louis Andriessen
Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...
,
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...
,
George Crumb
George Henry Crumb Jr. (24 October 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an American composer of avant-garde contemporary classical music. Early in his life he rejected the widespread modernist usage of serialism, developing a highly personal musical ...
,
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, actuary and businessman. Ives was among the earliest renowned American composers to achieve recognition on a global scale. His music was largely ignored d ...
,
Erik Satie
Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (born 17 May 18661 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoire but was an undi ...
,
Joel Thome, and
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet (; born 'Don Glen Vliet'; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as the M ...
(Don Van Vliet).
Vees holds an undergraduate degree from
Glassboro State College and an M.F.A. from
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...
. Previous composition teachers include
Louis Andriessen
Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...
,
Vinko Globokar
Vinko Globokar (born 7 July 1934) is a French-Slovenian avant-garde composer and trombonist.
Globokar's music uses unconventional and extended techniques, places great emphasis on spontaneity and creativity, and often relies on improvisation. H ...
,
Stephen L. Mosko,
Bernard Rands, and
Morton Subotnick
Morton Subotnick (born April 14, 1933) is an American composer of electronic music, best known for his 1967 composition '' Silver Apples of the Moon'', the first electronic work commissioned by a record company, Nonesuch. He was one of the fo ...
.
Vees currently resides in Guilford, Connecticut with his wife
Libby Van Cleve. He was formerly the operations director and instructor of the Center of Studies in Music Technology at the
Yale School of Music
The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joi ...
.
Notable compositions
Solo (with or without electronics)
''National Anthem'' (2000) for guitar and electronics
''Surf Music Again'' (1996) for guitar and electronics
''Rocket Baby'' (1994) for electric cello and midi cellos
''Apocrypha'' (1986) for oboe and electronic tape
''John Henry'' (1984) for bass guitar
Small ensemble
''Piano Trio (Hulk Smash!)'' (1994) for three players on two pianos
''Tattooed Barbie'' (1991) for 12-string guitar, oboe, and computer
''Saints Before the Vanishing Point'' (1990) for small ensemble
''Colorized Chaplin'' (1989) for electric guitar and harpsichord
''Child Bride'' (1988) for cello, electronics, and midi
Theatrical works / opera / multimedia
''Feynman'' (2003-2005), chamber opera
''Piece for Composition'' (1987) for multimedia and percussion
Discography
2001: Ben Verdery – Soe-Pa. CD Baby.
* ''Strummage''
2000: The Restaurant Behind the Pier.
Recommended Records
Recommended Records (RēR) is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler with Nick Hobbs in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected musi ...
.
* ''The Restaurant Behind the Pier''
* ''John Henry''
* ''Monsiur Piñata''
* ''Surf Music II''
1998: Emergency Music.
Composers Recordings, Inc.
* ''Prom Face Devotion''
1997: Surf Music Again.
Composers Recordings, Inc.
* ''Tattooed Barbie''
* ''Stigmata non Grata''
* ''Piano Trio''
* ''Rocket Baby Electric''
* ''Piano Trio (Hulk Smash!)''
* ''SPNFL''
* ''Surf Music Again''
Publications
The Book on Bass Harmonics. Alfred Music Publishers. 1981.
References
21st-century American composers
1955 births
Living people
Musicians from Camden, New Jersey
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