the age of snakes

The Dan Rosenboom Polarity Quintet // Sept 21, 2022

My favorite aspect of creating music with a band is the spontaneous and unpredictable interaction that makes each performance unique. Whether recording in a studio or performing on stage, I like to leave space for each musician to bring their own creative ideas into the mix.

“The Age of Snakes” is an open canvas. The floating, evocative horn line is the only “written” part of the composition, and when I went into the studio to record my new album Polarity with drummer Damion Reid, pianist John Escreet, bassist Billy Mohler, and saxophonist Gavin Templeton, we left a lot up to chance. While we were sound-checking, Billy and Damion started playing this hypnotic groove, and immediately I knew that was the opening section of this tune. On the album, that launched a 20-minute exploration that flowed through a variety of moods, tempos, and textures, and became the opening track and the centerpiece of “Polarity.”

Since that recording, we’ve performed the piece several times in public, and every time the journey is unique! So, we thought it would be a blast to set up at my home studio and film another version.

Over the last 6 years, I’ve worked steadily on building a home studio in my garage where I could record full groups performing creative music together as they would live - no headphones, no isolation, just responding to one another in the space. In September of 2022, we filmed “The Age of Snakes” as the first “live” performance video in the space. It all came together beautifully, so be on the lookout for more performances coming from the garage…

Thank you for jumping in and I hope you love the music!