Sounding Our Depths: The Music of Morgan Powell

Sounding Our Depths: The Music of Morgan Powell is a collection of essays about a ground-breaking contemporary composer's solo works. Every work discussed is included on the CD that accompanies the book. Starr writes in accessible prose not only for music theorists but also for any audience interested in artistic process and in the personal genesis of contemporary art. She examines the deep connection between Powell's individual world-view and his unique, independent approach to composition: Both are based in improvisation. In the 1960's, at North Texas State University, Powell picked improvisation out of jazz structure as he turned away from big band jazz under Stan Kenton's influence. Moving forward, he experimented with group improvisation in a modernist mode, establishing the Tone Road Ramblers sextet. Starr reveals Powell to be a thinker whose composition connects experience, philosophy, and fine art in a broad, humanistic tradition.