Album Notes

Tomato Sage Records announces its first release with William Roper's IF I RAN THE CIRCUS (TSCR-001), featuring compositions by Roper for solo instruments and small ensembles. IF I RAN THE CIRCUS is Roper's fourth project as a leader. His compositions most often combine substantial composed sections with extensive improvisation. His interest is in how performers will find and express freedom(s) within the context of structures. As a leader he has released JUNETEENTH, and ROPER'S DARN YARN'S on Asian Improv Records and STILL BILL'S CULINARY ENGINEERING on Artship Recordings. He is co-leader on THE LAMENT OF ABSOLAM and PURPLE GUMS on Asian Improv and DOUBLE YELLOW on Thank You Records. With IF I RAN THE CIRCUS, he launches his own label: Tomato Sage Consortium Records. With IF I RAN THE CIRCUS, composer William Roper, presents a program of varied compositions. Included are three programmatic works. Two of these works deal with violent death - "Three Guys On A Hilltop-The Ascension", a trio for flute, percussion and tuba, is a description of the events that supposedly took place on Golgotha many years ago. The other, "Poem for Emmett Till", for solo cello, depicts the life and 1955 murder of Emmett Till. The more impressionistic "Darkest Night-Balthazar Joins the Sacred Company", for tuba and prerecorded sound, describes the meeting of those three well-known kings as they prepare to follow that famous star. Not programmatic, but still displaying an obsession with violent death, Roper presents an elegy dedicated to the astronauts of the space shuttle Challenger. "Throttle-Up!-In Memorium 51L", is for violin, cello and glockenspiel. Roper presents a final piece for solo tuba, "Images of Issey Miyake", the result of a commission from the Gloria Newman Dance Company. Roper has enlisted the talents of some of Los Angeles' finest new music artists including flutist Dorothy Stone and cellist Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick of the E.A.R. Unit, percussionists Alex Cline and Joseph Mitchell, the sisters Zela Terry (France) on cello and Lesa Terry on violin. Roper does the performing duties on tuba. William Roper is a MIRAPHONE artist