Chamber & Orchestral Music
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If you like Adams and Copland, you will most certainly find Weigel's music stimulating.

Jay Weigel was born in New Orleans and graduated from Tulane University in 1981, while studying composition privately with Roger Dickerson. After receiving a Masters of Music Degree in Composition from the University of Southern California, he returned to New Orleans. In 1984, he was appointed Music Director of the Contemporary Arts Center and Lecturer of Composition and Theory at Xavier University. Most recently, Weigel's work on the R.E.M. hit album "Out of Time" earned him a quadruple-platinum award. About his music, he writes: "The music on this compact disc was composed between 1987 and 1992. This music documents a period of personal discovery and revelation. As I wrote each work, I felt a step closer to discovering the elusive voice I've always strived to find. That voice is ultimately expressed through my use of the raw musical material present in New Orleans and its music. My personal experience with New Orleans music has shown me the wealth present in its musical culture, a culture that served as the catalyst for all modern, popular music; a culture whose melodic improvisations spawned jazz; a culture whose rhythmic patterns breathed new life into the field cries that turned into the Blues as it made its way up the Mississippi River to Chicago; a culture whose musical traditions are passed from parent to child and friend to neighbor; a culture still growing, experimenting, playing and influencing music world-wide; a culture whose emphasis on acoustic instrumentation defies the vagaries of modern electronic renderings; a culture relatively untapped by most composers working in the written tradition. The compositions on this disc reflect my New Orleans spiritual heritage. They reflect the unique feel of heart-pounding parade drumming, the smell of fresh rain on the sub-tropical streets; the unique blast of a heavy left hand on an upright piano." Wisdom from program notes on a CD and fine, accessible music as well.
Contents:
Jay Weigel, composer
Oh Yeah!
Sally Sherwin, flute, Carolyn Hultquist, violin, Mary Sayle, harp, Karen Ray, cello


Jay Weigel, composer
Power Press
Jay Weigel, multi-instrumentalist


Jay Weigel, composer
Augmented Break
David Kempers, violin


Jay Weigel, composer
Three Evocations
Anita Chang, piano


Jay Weigel, composer
Old Winds
Pam Dobson, flute, Carrie Vecchione, oboe, Gail Carpenter, clarinet


Jay Weigel, composer
In and Out of Light
David Kempers, David Kazmierzak, violin, Michael Gyurik, viola, Kaaren Makas, cello


Jay Weigel, composer
Take Me Home
Forth Worth Chamber Orchestra, John Giordano, conductor


Jay Weigel, composer
An Affirmation
Forth Worth Chamber Orchestra, John Giordano, conductor, Shields-Collins Bray, piano

Review:
"Jay Weigel, a native of New Orleans, teaches at Xavier University there. His music, he says, owes much to the jazz tradition in that great city...That's no reason to put the music down, of course, and the jazz influence is for the most part welcome and effective....All the works on this disc were composed between 1987 and 1992, which makes the youthful Weigel (no birth year given) fairly prolific. And the quality is high, showing that he is comfortable in a variety of idioms. And, more important (to me at least) there's evidence of a self-effacing quality rare in contemporary music. Weigel seems to write music because he wants to, not because he wants to be A Composer. The music does not seem pretentious. And it's lovingly performed. I'd check this one out." (American Record Guide)