Rosendale’s Dean Jones has always loved the sounds of pros and amateurs, the savvy and the naïve, the superskilled and the maybe-not-so-much, playing together, making a racket possessed of both musical sophistication and the raw and aboriginal musical impulse. It reflects the twin sides of his own unique (and Grammy-authenticated) musical personality: part skilled trombonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger, part eternal child to whom every sound is the first of its kind.
Jones’ newest project is Curling for Amateurs, in which a highly skilled core band (featuring cellist-to-the-stars Jane Scarpantoni) is accompanied by Jones’ Hocket Workshop. Various sets of instruments – end-blown wooden organ pipes, pitched wood blocks, PVC tubes, bottles and the human voice – are played hocket-style. Hocket is a musical technique that has been used in many parts of the world for millennia. Each person plays or sings a single note, which, in collaboration with others, creates melody and rhythm.
Curling for Amateurs performs at the Elting Memorial Library in New Paltz on Thursday, July 13 at 6:30 p.m. as part of the Music in the Garden series. For more information, visit www.eltinglibrary.org. The Elting Library is located at 93 Main Street in New Paltz.