On March 4, renowned clarinetist Evan Ziporyn will release his latest album; POP CHANNEL via Islandia Music Records, marking his first “solo” clarinet album in more than two decades.
Ziporyn who released his landmark Cantaloupe Music recording; ‘This Is Not a Clarinet’ in 2001, does the impossible on Pop Channel, taking us through some of the best iconic pop songs during the last 5 decades, imagined through a compendium of clarinets and all arranged, layered, and performed by Ziporyn. Every sound on this album – the lead vocals, guitar solos, backing horns, and even the drum parts - is played by Ziporyn, on a clarinet of one size or another.
?Pop Channel’s sonic landscapes chronicle 45 years of music history. Beginning with a tour-de-force arrangement of Paul McCartney’s “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,” Ziporyn progresses through a staggering range of repertoire, from one-hit wonders such as “Ride Captain Ride” and iconic funk masterpieces like “Shining Star,” and “Strawberry Letter #23”, to introspective meditations on Joni Mitchell’s solo version of “Woodstock” and B-side gems including; Steely Dan’s “Your Gold Teeth 2.”
Then there’s the fierce, virtuosic solo bass clarinet rendition of Jimi Hendrix’ live “Woodstock Improvisation,” with Ziporyn channeling Hendrix’ through a unique combination of his extended clarinet techniques and effects.
With POP CHANNEL, Ziporyn charts unknown territory for the clarinet inventing new expressive possibilities on the instrument, all the while extending a hand to a broad public. The result is a joyful, exhilarating - and mind-blowing - sonic celebration of some of the most iconic songs of the past fifty years.
Ziporyn is a multi-talented composer-performer with an eclectic resume that defies categorization. He is best known for his 20 years of touring and recording with the acclaimed Bang on a Can All-stars, and for his Nonesuch recording of Steve Reich’s New York Counterpoint. More recently, he founded the Ambient Orchestra to create and perform Bowie Symphonic: Blackstar (Islandia Music), a cello concerto for Maya Beiser, based on David Bowie’s final album. Ziporyn will debut POP CHANNEL on March 27 at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, where he’ll also give the first 21st century performance of Philip Glass’ 1968 Best Out of Three, a long-lost ‘missing link’ in Glass’ oeuvre, which has not been performed live in 54 years.