Alejandro Viñao - Tristano Toccata from "Relative Riffs"

MITT3N Percussion (Brendan Betyn, Mark DeMull, and Ben Mapes) perform the third movement of Alejandro Viñao's "Relative Riffs."

Recorded by 2x1 Media in the DeMeester Recital Hall: York College of Pennsylvania.

About the piece:
A rock or jazz riff is supposed to be a short melodic/rhythmic phrase that repeats unchanged, becoming more powerful with each repetition. By contrast, I have treated the riffs in this work as themes that develop and transform in time. This approach may seem to undermine the very nature of a riff. Yet, I was interested in exploring the possibility of retaining the dance-like power of the riff while subjecting it to processes that follow paths quite different from that of popular music. In this way, the function of the riff in this composition is no longer fixed as it is in a rock song but becomes 'relative' to the changing context as the music unfolds.

About the movement:
This movement is based on a riff by Lennie Tristano. It pays homage to this innovative and influential jazz musician whom history has neglected to some extent. Tristano's riff is longer and melodically and harmonically more complex than a typical rock riff. For that reason I have chosen to repeat it more or less consistently throughout the movement. In this way, at any give moment the listener may latch on to it while other new complex phrases are being introduced. The music is less about 'what' happens to the riff than about what happens 'with' the riff at any point in time. The term 'toccata' in the title refers to the fast-moving rhythmic figures that feature in the many virtuosic passages that require a dexterous 'touch'.