ISM - CF2

I've had the pleasure over the past several months of playing with a new, exciting central Florida band. The band is "ISM" to be pronounced like the "ism" in "pluralism" or "embolism" (there's been some talk of changing the branding to include a hyphen before a lower case "-ism" in order to dissuade some from calling the band "I. S. M."). As esoteric as the name may seem it's actually derived from the initials of the vibraphonist/band founder/leader Ian (S-name ?) Mcleod.

ISM is a funk/fusion/etc band that does a little bit of everything, like a lot of instrumental bands out there in the post Snarky Puppy universe, though probably a bit more strongly rooted in funk than SP. Much of the bands material comes straight from the pen of Mr. Mcleod, but we have a penchant for covering some good tune-age from time to time, ISM has tackled compositions from Soul Live, The Gap Band, Nas, John Scofield, and some traditional latin tunes. I didn't compose for the band (besides a bit of horn arranging) until recently.

On June 29 (2014) we had the pleasure of performing at the Orlando White House, aka the personal home turned concert venue of Orlando Cirque Du Soleil music director Benoit Glazier. The show was a collaboration between the band and the Central Florida Composers Forum (CF2). It was primarily an opportunity for CF2 members (most of whom are contemporary classical composers) to compose for a funk/fusion band that has the capability to realize their creations at a high level. As a member of the band and CF2 I was all but obligated to compose for the concert. I wrote a piece titled "Mind Grapes" which is a nod to mine and Ian's mutual love of Tina Fey's 30 Rock (you'll get the reference if you're a "true" 30-rocker).

I had a blast writing for the band and playing the tune, not to mention pieces by other talented composers from ISM and CF2.

Click here to view a preview of all songs from the show: