{"id":2737,"date":"2015-11-12T16:12:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-12T16:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alzand.com\/?page_id=2737"},"modified":"2026-02-03T09:56:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T14:56:44","slug":"karim-al-zand-music-stomping-grounds","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/?page_id=2737","title":{"rendered":"Karim Al-Zand: Music: Stomping Grounds"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"columns-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"two-columns\">\n<h2>Stomping Grounds<\/h2>\n<h5>for clarinet trio<\/h5>\n<p><span class=\"drop-caps\">I<\/span>n early music, a \u201cground bass\u201d (or simply, a \u201cground\u201d) is a composition built upon a repeating melodic phrase or harmonic progression. <i>Stomping Grounds<\/i> comprises four diverse character pieces, each one using a repeating <em>rhythmic<\/em> idea as its musical basis. The first movement, <em>hop | skip\u200a|\u200ajump<\/em>, is playful and animated, with a fanfare-like theme and a persistent seven-note chord that serves as the movement\u2019s musical \u201cclock.\u201d Behind its exuberant surface is a fourteen-beat rhythmic scheme (2+3, 2+3, 2+2) that is followed <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"left alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/alzand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/stomp-e1481839080747.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\"\/>throughout. The second movement, <em>dog days dirge<\/em>, is slow and languid, the instruments seeming to move as little as possible. The piano repeats thick chords in a pattern which moves ever-so-slowly, while the violin and clarinet echo each other\u2019s motives lazily. A welcome freshness arrives in the next movement, <em>mbira song<\/em>. The mbira, or \u201cthumb piano,\u201d is an indigenous percussion instrument of Central and Southern Africa. Its music is characterized by numerous rhythmic layers, superimposed and interwoven to create a sort of syncopated \u201cmusic box.\u201d The third movement tries to capture the charming grooves of this musical texture. Rhythmic performance anchors the last movement even more prominently. In early jazz, \u201cstop time\u201d is the term for a sparse, punctuated accompaniment, one usually meant to support a showy tap dance routine. In <em>sto(m)p time dance<\/em>, the trio provides both the song and the dance. The players trade solos, bang out rhythms with their feet, and bounce along briskly in a spirited finale.<i>Stomping Grounds<\/i> was commissioned by Brian Connelly and CONTEXT, with grant support from the city of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style>\n<div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Kkr5wgABZr0' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><\/br><\/p>\n<div class=\"pricing-box three-columns\">\r\n          <h4><span>purchase score &amp; parts<\/span><\/h4><span class=\"price\"> <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/alzand.com\/?page_id=4372\" class=\"button\"><span>Learn More<\/span><\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"two-columns nomargin\">\n<p>DATE<br \/>\n2015<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>DURATION<br \/>\n15 minutes<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>INSTRUMENTATION<br \/>\nclarinet, violin, piano<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>MOVEMENTS<br \/>\n1. hop|skip|jump<br \/>\n2. dog days dirge<br \/>\n3. mbira song<br \/>\n4. sto(m)p time dance<\/p>\n<p>COMMISSION<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/musicincontext.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CONTEXT<\/a> with funds from an Individual Artist Grant from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.houstonartsalliance.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Houston Arts Alliance<\/a><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>PREMI\u00c8RE<br \/>\nOctober 25, 2015, Houston TX<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/musicincontext.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CONTEXT<\/a><br \/>\nBrian Connelly, piano | Richie Hawley, clarinet | Eric Halen, violin<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>AUDIO<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Frey, cl | Sam Park, vln | Michael Clark, pno<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"compact_audio_player_wrapper\"><div class=\"sc_player_container1\"><input type=\"button\" id=\"btnplay_69f9b00bba1e96.72259581\" class=\"myButton_play\" onClick=\"play_mp3('play','69f9b00bba1e96.72259581','http:\/\/alzand.com\/SG_1_hop_skip_jump.mp3','80','false');show_hide('play','69f9b00bba1e96.72259581');\" \/><input type=\"button\"  id=\"btnstop_69f9b00bba1e96.72259581\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"myButton_stop\" onClick=\"play_mp3('stop','69f9b00bba1e96.72259581','','80','false');show_hide('stop','69f9b00bba1e96.72259581');\" \/><div id=\"sm2-container\"><!-- flash movie ends up here --><\/div><\/div><\/div> 1. hop|skip|jump<br \/>\n<div class=\"compact_audio_player_wrapper\"><div class=\"sc_player_container1\"><input type=\"button\" id=\"btnplay_69f9b00bbcd7f7.33841453\" class=\"myButton_play\" onClick=\"play_mp3('play','69f9b00bbcd7f7.33841453','http:\/\/alzand.com\/SG_2_dog_days_dirge.mp3','80','false');show_hide('play','69f9b00bbcd7f7.33841453');\" \/><input type=\"button\"  id=\"btnstop_69f9b00bbcd7f7.33841453\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"myButton_stop\" onClick=\"play_mp3('stop','69f9b00bbcd7f7.33841453','','80','false');show_hide('stop','69f9b00bbcd7f7.33841453');\" \/><div id=\"sm2-container\"><!-- flash movie ends up here --><\/div><\/div><\/div> 2. dog days dirge<br \/>\n<div class=\"compact_audio_player_wrapper\"><div class=\"sc_player_container1\"><input type=\"button\" id=\"btnplay_69f9b00bbf3395.22061227\" class=\"myButton_play\" onClick=\"play_mp3('play','69f9b00bbf3395.22061227','http:\/\/alzand.com\/SG_3_mbira_song.mp3','80','false');show_hide('play','69f9b00bbf3395.22061227');\" \/><input type=\"button\"  id=\"btnstop_69f9b00bbf3395.22061227\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"myButton_stop\" onClick=\"play_mp3('stop','69f9b00bbf3395.22061227','','80','false');show_hide('stop','69f9b00bbf3395.22061227');\" \/><div id=\"sm2-container\"><!-- flash movie ends up here --><\/div><\/div><\/div> 3. mbira song<br \/>\n<div class=\"compact_audio_player_wrapper\"><div class=\"sc_player_container1\"><input type=\"button\" id=\"btnplay_69f9b00bc1ac70.11387978\" class=\"myButton_play\" onClick=\"play_mp3('play','69f9b00bc1ac70.11387978','http:\/\/alzand.com\/SG_4_stomp_time_dance.mp3','80','false');show_hide('play','69f9b00bc1ac70.11387978');\" \/><input type=\"button\"  id=\"btnstop_69f9b00bc1ac70.11387978\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"myButton_stop\" onClick=\"play_mp3('stop','69f9b00bc1ac70.11387978','','80','false');show_hide('stop','69f9b00bc1ac70.11387978');\" \/><div id=\"sm2-container\"><!-- flash movie ends up here --><\/div><\/div><\/div> 4. sto(m)p time dance<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>SCORE<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/alzand.com\/scores\/Stomping_Grounds_SCORE.pdf\">PDF<\/a><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>VIDEO<\/p>\n<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style>\n<div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/\/WbNCgrEDHCQ' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>SCORE + RECORDING VIDEO<\/p>\n<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style>\n<div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_6CenVWSx4s' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/hr>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stomping Grounds for clarinet trio In early music, a \u201cground bass\u201d (or simply, a \u201cground\u201d) is a composition built upon a repeating melodic phrase or harmonic progression. Stomping Grounds comprises four diverse character pieces, each one using a repeating rhythmic idea as its musical basis. The first movement, hop | skip\u200a|\u200ajump, is playful and animated, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2737","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2737"}],"version-history":[{"count":51,"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7097,"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2737\/revisions\/7097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}