FLAM! BLAM! MicroJam!

David Fiuczynski is on a mission to investigate and develop the integration of microtonal canons and techniques with Western grooves. He experimented early on with projects such as Hasidic New Wave, the Jack DeJohnette Group and Rudresh Mahanthappa’s “Gamak”— and after winning a 2011 Guggenheim Fellowship— Professor Fuze established the Planet MicroJam Institute at Berklee, and released a recording of the same name. His latest microtonal project, Flam! Blam! Pan-Asian MicroJam!, an ambitious venture jointly dedicated to 20th century classical composer Olivier Messiaen and innovative hip-hop record producer J Dilla, pushes the micro-tonal envelope even further in its pursuit of the notes that fall between the cracks of the Western 12 tone scale. The seven movements that comprise Flam! are all based on microtonal bird song transcriptions and show the connections between exotic bird calls and J Dilla’s famous ‘flam beats’ while also referencing the colors of Messiaen’s music, Gagaku, the ancient court music of Japan and other Pan-Asian ingredients.