Todd Bishop's Pop Art 4
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Todd Bishop's Pop Art 4

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"Brilliance without words"

“...meticulously molding musical soundscapes that can alternately seduce you to sleep, get you stoned, and make you feel all slinky and sexy. Brilliance without words.”
- Anodyne (Portland, OR)


"Brilliance without words"

“...meticulously molding musical soundscapes that can alternately seduce you to sleep, get you stoned, and make you feel all slinky and sexy. Brilliance without words.”
- Anodyne (Portland, OR)


"Also by Todd Bishop"

Lower Monumental, “Mayday Session”

by Adam Greenburg
VIEW THE CD DETAIL PAGE
Two-thirds of the group formerly known as Flatland return for a new debut with this one, a recording of a live improv session on one of Seattle's better avant-garde radio stations. The music is relatively similar to that of Flatland, with the notable removal of a bass and addition of a sax, courtesy of Saul Cline, a session player occasionally with Matt Jorgensen + 451. The atmosphere is particularly spacey here, but generally aims for the relaxed mood rather than the excited improv of the classic free jazzers (Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, etc). There is some movement here and there, generally clashing sounds until a coherent whole can emerge from the wreckage. It's a nice romp through contemporary electric free jazz, a subgenre that too often finds its way into rock fusion anymore. - All Music Guide


"Also by Todd Bishop"

Lower Monumental, “Mayday Session”

by Adam Greenburg
VIEW THE CD DETAIL PAGE
Two-thirds of the group formerly known as Flatland return for a new debut with this one, a recording of a live improv session on one of Seattle's better avant-garde radio stations. The music is relatively similar to that of Flatland, with the notable removal of a bass and addition of a sax, courtesy of Saul Cline, a session player occasionally with Matt Jorgensen + 451. The atmosphere is particularly spacey here, but generally aims for the relaxed mood rather than the excited improv of the classic free jazzers (Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, etc). There is some movement here and there, generally clashing sounds until a coherent whole can emerge from the wreckage. It's a nice romp through contemporary electric free jazz, a subgenre that too often finds its way into rock fusion anymore. - All Music Guide


"Another CD by Todd Bishop"

Flatland, “Origin of Species”

by Adam Greenburg

VIEW THE CD DETAIL PAGE
A trio of musicians from Oregon working without one of the usual lead instruments can make for an interesting sound in the world of jazz. The fact that they're primarily electric and working on their own songs adds to that. The sound on Origin of Species is surprisingly atmospheric, working its way through sinuous grooves, long preludes, and the occasional punch of energy from Donald Corey's bass. The music, if comparable to anything, would have to be said to have parallels with the Mahavishnu Orchestra and those surrounding the Mahavishnu. The waves of sound are reminiscent of Birds of Fire at times, and at times Miles Davis' electric era is evoked (especially in the Joe Zawinul-penned "In a Silent Way"). An interesting sound, definitely not in the mainstream of jazz but in the mainstream of a strong alternative. - All Music Guide


Discography

69 Année Érotique (2009) - Origin 82530

Other CDs by Todd Bishop:
Mayday Session (2004) - Origin 82441
Origin Of Species (2002) - Origin 82374

Photos

Bio

Pop Art 4 is a new project by Portland, OR drummer Todd Bishop. We've assembled some of the most powerful and distinctive voices in jazz in the US Pacific Northwest for a series of recordings beginning with 69 Année Érotique, a new Origin CD of jazz interpretations of the music of French pop icon Serge Gainsbourg. The album features many of Gainsbourg's most popular numbers, including " Je t'aime... moi non plus", "Bonnie & Clyde", and "Ballade de Melody Nelson."

Drummer, producer and bandleader Todd Bishop, with a series of experimental, cinema-inspired CD releases to his credit, has been a unique musical presence on the Portland jazz scene since the mid-1990's. The band of Seattle musicians includes saxophonist Rich Cole (Dr. John, Randy Brecker, Dave Holland), keyboardist Steve Moore (aka Stebmo- Bill Frisell, Sufjan Stevens), and bassist Geoff Harper (Wayne Horvitz, Skerik).

Todd Bishop's Pop Art 4 will be appearing throughout the region in promotion of the album through the summer of 2009, and will be touring France/Benelux in late 2009. See our calendar page for details.

This is the first CD in a series to include: "Oh!" More French Pop, free interpretations of the music from Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo, the monumental Dirty Harry soundtrack by Lalo Schifrin, as well as a CD of original material, Candy.

Serge Gainsbourg (1928-91) was a controversial but ultimately triumphant figure in French popular culture. A kind of Gallic hybrid of Leonard Cohen, Neil Diamond and Charles Bukowski, his lyrics featured existential, erotic and surrealist themes. Musically, his work spanned a swathe of genres including French chanson, jazz, rock, reggae and techno. His influence outside of France has been until recently largely limited to the 1969 hit "Je t'aime, moi non plus", which topped the charts and was instantly banned by the Vatican due to its risqué content. Since his death, he has gained a cult following in the U.S. and U.K., and artists such as Beck, Stereolab, Portishead, and others have recorded his material.

Musician bios:

Todd Bishop (b. 1967) has been performing and teaching professionally in Portland, OR, the west, and internationally since 1985. He has led jazz, avant-garde and indie rock groups and produced five CDs of original music for Seattle's Origin Records and for independent release. With his multi-layered, organic style, he is a compelling musician, and has thrilled audiences with visceral performances owing as much to Keith Moon or Haitian Vodoun as to the jazz masters.

He released two CDs with the jazz power trio Flatland. The Satellite is a largely groove-based album with early Bishop arrangements of two Don Cherry tunes, and produced by Tony Lash (Elliot Smith, Dandy Warhols). The second CD, Origin of Species, bore Bishop's stamp as producer and arranger, highlights including several dark, cinematic soundscape pieces, and "Malheur", a propulsive drum solo. The group was a significant regional presence, and shared bills with such acts as Galactic, Charlie Hunter, Wayne Horvitz, and Herbie Hancock's Headhunters.

Next came the ambient, delicately-textured free improvisations of Lower Monumental, which released Mayday Session, a live broadcast performance on Seattle's venerable Sonarchy Radio. Features a spontaneously rendered Bishop composition, "Headlights."

The movie-music/international pop-oriented Pop Art 4 is Bishop's most ambitious project to date, with an European tour in the works and at least four additional CDs worth of material currently in development, including free interpretations of the music of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo, Lalo Schifrin's Dirty Harry soundtrack, and Candy, an album of original music.

Before dropping out to perform professionally, Bishop studied classical percussion with Charles Dowd at the University of Oregon, and, under scholarship, jazz studies with Gregg Field (Count Basie) and John Thomas (Woody Herman, Chick Corea) at the University of Southern California. He also completed six national tours with DCI-affilliated drum and bugle corps, including the famous Santa Clara Vanguard, which finished second nationally that year. He was instructed by drum corps greats Ralph Hardimon, George Tuthill, and Fred Sanford, as well as marching specialist Alan Keown.

Also accomplished in visual media, he is a prolific photographer of Pacific NW musicians, has returned several times to Italy to photograph the city of Rome, and is one of the major providers of photographic imagery for Origin Arts. As a painter, Bishop creates richly textured abstract landscapes echoing Oregon farm country and wilderness in oils. He is represented by the Provenance gallery (Eugene, OR), and his work has been collected by buyers on four continents. He is also the creator of the Skulli and My Sweet Fiend character designs, which are currently selling well in several large chains in North America and Japan.

Fans, critics and musicians place Richard Co