Michael S. Wright: 'Ed Bland opened my eyes to a whole new concept of music.'

Michael S. Wright:

I have known Ed Bland since 1996 and we have met on several occasions and shared numerous discussions on music and sometimes politics! Ed Bland opened my eyes to a whole new concept of music. Musically, he was an innovator and made a permanent mark on my musical ideas. He was also a good friend and I will very much miss him. I have reprinted below, an essay he gave at the University of Pittsburgh almost 14 years ago*. I believe that really summed up an important part of his musical ideas. I would also like to do what I can to ensure his music lives on. His death comes less than a week before I am going to read out his valuable commentary he made on my paper I gave on musical temperament at the same Conference. This will be at an Institute of Acoustics meeting on 19^th March on the same subject.

Kind regards

Mike

*Towards An African Pianism:  Keyboard Music  of Africa and the Diaspora

Volume One - Essays

 Volume Two - Music Scores - CDs

http://www.music-research-inst.org/html/pubs/pianism.htm

Edited by Cynthia Tse Kimberlin and Akin Euba

 Published by the MRI Press 2005

422 pages, 35 photographs, numerous music examples and other illustrative material.  ISBN  0-9627473-6-X

Volume 1 includes the following:

Ed Bland - An African American Composer's View of African Connections

Mike Wright - Is it the Right Pitch or the Right Temperament? "Comments from Ed Bland"