As many of you already know, I’ve got a dream job scoring the wonderful documentary film The Boys Who Said No! about the Viet Nam conflict draft resistor’s movement and how it was instrumental in stopping the war. Here’s the trailer, check it out! I believe it’s the best documentary I’ve ever worked on. Director Judith Ehrlich was nominated for an academy award for her doc film The Most Dangerous Man in America and she’s a delight to work with as is producer Bill Prince.
I’m currently putting the finishing touches on the score that includes strings, percussion, piano, and of course….clarinet. Ms. Ehrlich asked me early on to write a song for the end credits and I dove in with relish and came up with a very upbeat number entitled Say No!

Russian Telegraph is a new band I’m in founded by singer/guitarist David James with Keith MacArthur on bass, Diana Mangano, voice, Chris Grady, trumpet, Jordan Glasgow, keyboard, John Hanes, drums, me on voice/clarinets. This is one funky ensemble that I want to hire to record Say No! And YOU can chip in to make this happen. Your donation will help pay the musicians and recording engineer (Jeff Cressman). Donors of $500 or more will get their name in the credits of the film. No amount is too small…or too large! Please help me make my dream come true! And I thank you in advance.

Here’s the direct link where you can donate, please be sure and make a note that your donation goes towards the song: https://www.boyswhosaidno.com/support  

Any donations will be matched by the producers, thank you so much for your kind support of my latest endeavor.

I’ve been really looking forward to June: Trance Mission has five gigs and a week of mixing. We’re finally finishing a new recording that’s been in the works for about 3 years!

Trance Mission concerts will be with the full band: Stephen Kent, didgeridoos, Peter Valsamis, drums, and me on clarinets We’ve a bevy of new tunes and repertoire favorites, come out and shake it with us!

Lots of cool gigs coming up including my May premiere of Drawdown, a San Francisco Arts Commission supported new chamber work based on Paul Hawken’s seminal book on climate change solutions. I’ve composed for a unique ensemble featuring Cellista and her Juxtapositions ensemble, master drummer Jim Kassis, and me on voice/clarinets. It will be premiered May 15-18 in Berkeley, Palo Alto at the Art Center Auditorium, and San Francisco Center for New Music, come on down!

Club Foot Orchestra will be premiering Richard Marriott’s new score to the silent class Balinese film Goona Goona on May 4th, 2:30. Truly not to be missed!

And big resurgence of one of my very favorite ensembles that I play in, Trance Mission! We’ve almost finished our new recording and in celebration of that we’ve got lots of June gigs lined up in the Bay Area and at the beautiful Mariposa Music on the Green festival.

Hope to see you out there somewhere!

Hello there,

Thanks for stopping by. A few things to announce including a very exciting commission wherein I’ll be composing for 30 bass clarinets! The piece will be composed by five composers in dedication to legendary clarinetists Harry Sparnaay and Guido Six. It will be premiered at ClarFest 2018 in Ostend, Belgium this July. I hope to then arrange to have it performed in the Bay Area with the bevy of excellent clarinetistry we have around here. If you’ve got any spare change in your pocket you can become a part of commissioning this new work by donating here. Thanks in advance.

Trance Mission is toiling away at a new release in hopes of returning to Europe and the US in the fall. Meanwhile….Stephen Kent and I will be performing our duo version at the ever shiny Red Poppy ArtHouse on Saturday, May 12th, 7:30pm. Tickets are only available at the door that opens at 7pm.

Way in advance….Club Foot Orchestra will be doing a retrospective of our live music to silent film scores at the Castro Theatre on Saturday, September 15 at SF Silent Film Festival.

And closer to now…on June 9th, the as-yet-un-renamed Beth Custer/David James Ensemble (send me your ideas for a band name please!) will be making it’s premiere performance at the legendary Bird & Beckett music series. This is sponsored by the wonderful Jazz in the Neighborhood

…the organization that strives to help musicians garner living wages. Imagine that?I have seen some incredible musicians on this little stage in the back of a great, and I mean great, bookstore in Glen Park. More details as we get closer.

Peace love and harmony, please

Your,

B