Bagel on the Malecon

Bagel on the Malecon (2005)

take a listen - hear an audio preview:

My favorite paradox of Cuban music is that the bass is never "on the beat", while everything else feels groovy and relaxed. In "Bagel on the Malecon", I tried to lift the Cuban "son" grooves from their solid grounding, beyond dancing steps, to a place where the melody and the bass take flight - and memorably, at that. The title is a flight in itself - a utopian fantasy that one day soon, I will be able to enjoy a Bagel - a favorite New York bread creation - on the Malecon, the main boardwalk in Havana, Cuba.
CATEGORY Chamber music, multi-track viola music
INSTRUMENTATION Original instrumentation: multitrack violas.
Arrangements available:
-- string quartet (plus bass)
-- string trio
-- three violas and bass
-- four cellos.

Also available as a jazz "lead sheet", which includes a separate sheet for the bass line. Arrangements for other combinations may be commissioned upon request.

DURATION 2 minutes 25 seconds
WORLD PREMIERE Om Factory Yoga, New York; June 16 2006
WORLD PREMIERE PERFORMERS Ljova & the Kontraband: Ljova, viola; Patrick Farrell, accordion; Mike Savino, bass; Mathias Kunzli, percussion
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES Enso String Quartet, at the Library of Congress, and at venues throughout the US. [see video]; Ljova and the Kontraband at Joe's Pub [see video]
RECORDING Recorded on Ljova's debut CD - Vjola: World on Four Strings[album details], forthcoming release on the debut CD by Ljova and the Kontraband [sign up for updates]
SCORE AVAILABILITY All arrangements are available for sale via PDF or mail delivery; lead sheet & bass part available; arrangements for combinations not listed above may be commissioned on request. [contact for more info]
CLICK TO ORDER & DOWNLOAD:
Version for String Quartet -- two violins, viola, cello
score & parts -- $15
Version for String Trio -- violin, viola, cello
score & parts -- $15

hear Ljova's very first demo sketch of what later became Bagel on the Malecon, with a less developed middle section: