David Sulzer (born November 6, 1956) is an American neuroscientist and musician. He is a professor at
Columbia University Medical Center
NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center (NYP/CUIMC), also known as the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), is an academic medical center and the largest campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. It includes C ...
in the departments of
psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry.
Initial psych ...
,
neurology
Neurology (from el, wikt:νεῦρον, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine), medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of co ...
, and
pharmacology
Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...
. Sulzer's laboratory investigates the interaction between the synapses of the
cerebral cortex
The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in humans and other mammals. The cerebral cortex mostly consists of the six-layered neocortex, with just 10% consisting of ...
and the
basal ganglia
The basal ganglia (BG), or basal nuclei, are a group of subcortical nuclei, of varied origin, in the brains of vertebrates. In humans, and some primates, there are some differences, mainly in the division of the globus pallidus into an extern ...
, including the
dopamine
Dopamine (DA, a contraction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells. It is an organic compound, organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. Dopamine const ...
system, in habit formation, planning, decision making, and diseases of the system. His lab has developed the first means to optically measure neurotransmission, and has introduced new hypotheses of neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease, and changes in synapses that produce autism
and habit learning.
Under the
stage name
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
Dave Soldier, he is known as a composer and musician in a variety of genres including
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
,
classical, and
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
.
Scientific contributions
Studies on synapses
Sulzer works on basal ganglia and dopamine neurons, brain cells of central importance in translating will to action. His team have introduced new methods to study synapses, including the first means to measure the fundamental "quantal" unit of neurotransmitter release from central synapses. They reported the first direct recordings of
quantal neurotransmitter release Neurotransmitters are released into a synapse in packaged Vesicle (biology and chemistry), vesicles called quanta. One quantum generates what is known as a miniature end plate potential (MEPP) which is the smallest amount of stimulation that one neu ...
from brain synapses using an
electrochemistry
Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference, as a measurable and quantitative phenomenon, and identifiable chemical change, with the potential difference as an outco ...
technique known as
amperometry
Amperometry in chemistry is detection of ions in a solution based on electric current or changes in electric current.
Amperometry is used in electrophysiology to study vesicle release events using a carbon fiber electrode. Unlike patch clamp tec ...
, based on the method of
Mark Wightman, a chemist at the
University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
, to measure release of
adrenaline
Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands and ...
from adrenal
chromaffin cells
Chromaffin cells, also called pheochromocytes (or phaeochromocytes), are neuroendocrine cells found mostly in the medulla of the adrenal glands in mammals. These cells serve a variety of functions such as serving as a response to stress, monitori ...
. They showed that the quantal event at dopamine synapses consisted of the release of about 3,000 dopamine molecules in about 100 nanoseconds. They further showed that the quantal events could "flicker" due to extremely rapid opening and closing of the a synaptic vesicle fusion pore (at rates as high as 4,000 times a second) with the plasma membrane. This approach also demonstrated that the "size" of the quanta could be altered in numerous ways, for example by the drug
L-DOPA
-DOPA, also known as levodopa and -3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, is an amino acid that is made and used as part of the normal biology of some plants and animals, including humans. Humans, as well as a portion of the other animals that utilize -DOPA ...
, a drug so used to treat
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
.
Sulzer's lab, together with that of Dalibor Sames, a chemist at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, introduced "fluorescent false neurotransmitters", compounds that accumulated like genuine neurotransmitters into neurons and
synaptic vesicles
In a neuron, synaptic vesicles (or neurotransmitter vesicles) store various neurotransmitters that are released at the synapse. The release is regulated by a voltage-dependent calcium channel. Vesicles are essential for propagating nerve impul ...
. This is used to observe neurotransmitter release and reuptake from individual
synapses
In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or to the target effector cell.
Synapses are essential to the transmission of nervous impulses from ...
in video. Sulzer, along with his mentor Stephen Rayport, showed that the neurotransmitter glutamate is released from dopamine neurons, an important exception to the
Dale's principle
In neuroscience, Dale's principle (or Dale's law) is a rule attributed to the English neuroscientist Henry Hallett Dale. The principle basically states that a neuron performs the same chemical action at all of its synaptic connections to other c ...
that a neuron releases the same transmitter from each of its synapses.
Addictive drugs
By introducing the "weak base hypothesis" of
amphetamine
Amphetamine (contracted from alpha- methylphenethylamine) is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. It is also commonly used ...
action, for measuring amphetamine's effects on the quantal size of dopamine release,
intracellular patch electrochemistry to measure dopamine levels in the cytosol, and providing real-time measurement of dopamine release by reverse transport,
Sulzer's lab showed how
amphetamine
Amphetamine (contracted from alpha- methylphenethylamine) is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. It is also commonly used ...
and
methamphetamine
Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...
release dopamine and other neurotransmitters and exert their synaptic and clinical effects. They showed how methamphetamine neurotoxicity occurs due to dopamine-derived oxidative stress in the cytosol followed by induction of
autophagy
Autophagy (or autophagocytosis; from the Ancient Greek , , meaning "self-devouring" and , , meaning "hollow") is the natural, conserved degradation of the cell that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components through a lysosome-dependent re ...
,
and with Nigel Bamford of the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
, how these drugs activate long-term changes in the cortical synapses that project to the striatum. They call these "chronic postsynaptic depression" and "paradoxical presynaptic potentiation", which may explain
drug dependence
Substance dependence, also known as drug dependence, is a biopsychological situation whereby an individual's functionality is dependent on the necessitated re-consumption of a psychoactive substance because of an adaptive state that has develope ...
and
addiction
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...
.
Sulzer explains in an interview on ''
NOVA
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
'' that his interest in understanding mechanisms of addiction stem from crashing a talk by
William Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultu ...
at
Naropa Institute
Naropa University is a private university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, it is named for the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. The university describes itself as ...
in 1980, where Burroughs claimed that new synthetic opiates would be so powerful that users would become addicts with a single dose. In an interview in ''
Nature Medicine
''Nature Medicine'' is a monthly Peer review, peer-reviewed medical journal published by Nature Portfolio covering all aspects of medicine. It was established in 1995. The journal seeks to publish research papers that "demonstrate novel insight int ...
'' on his lab's discovery of the mechanism by which nicotine filters synaptic noise and can focus attention to tasks, he recalls his father's early death due to smoking, saying "if some idiot or drug company is going to twist things around, the only thing that would come out of
his researchthat I'd be horrified by is if people used it to advocate smoking. I think it would be a real travesty if that happened."
Neurological and psychiatric disease
Sulzer and his lab also studied nerve impulses in
Parkinson's
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
and
Huntington's
Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is a neurodegenerative disease that is mostly inherited. The earliest symptoms are often subtle problems with mood or mental abilities. A general lack of coordination and an unst ...
diseases, schizophrenia, drug addiction, and autism. They helped to establish the role of
autophagy
Autophagy (or autophagocytosis; from the Ancient Greek , , meaning "self-devouring" and , , meaning "hollow") is the natural, conserved degradation of the cell that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components through a lysosome-dependent re ...
by
lysosomes
A lysosome () is a membrane-bound organelle found in many animal cells. They are spherical vesicles that contain hydrolytic enzymes that can break down many kinds of biomolecules. A lysosome has a specific composition, of both its membrane prote ...
in neuronal disease. They showed the role of
neuromelanin
Neuromelanin (NM) is a dark pigment found in the brain which is structurally related to melanin. It is a polymer of Melanin#Eumelanin, 5,6-dihydroxyindole monomers. Neuromelanin is found in large quantities in catecholaminergic cell groups, catecho ...
, the pigment of the
substantia nigra
The substantia nigra (SN) is a basal ganglia structure located in the midbrain that plays an important role in reward and movement. ''Substantia nigra'' is Latin for "black substance", reflecting the fact that parts of the substantia nigra app ...
, in methamphetamine neurotoxicity,
and Huntington's disease. With
Ana Maria Cuervo
Ana Maria Cuervo (born 14 July 1966) is a Spanish-American physician, researcher, and cell biologist. She is a professor in developmental and molecular miology, anatomy and structural biology, and medicine and co-director of the Institute for Agi ...
of
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a research-intensive medical school located in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein operates as an independent degree-granting institution as part of t ...
they showed that a cause of Parkinson's disease could be due to an interference with a chaperone-mediated
autophagy
Autophagy (or autophagocytosis; from the Ancient Greek , , meaning "self-devouring" and , , meaning "hollow") is the natural, conserved degradation of the cell that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components through a lysosome-dependent re ...
caused by the protein
alpha-synuclein
Alpha-synuclein is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the ''SNCA'' gene. Alpha-synuclein is a neuronal protein that regulates synaptic vesicle trafficking and subsequent neurotransmitter release.
It is abundant in the brain, while smaller a ...
. His work indicates that a lack of normal pruning of synapses could underlie the development of autism, and that in turn may also my due to inhibited neuronal autophagy in patients, due to overactivation of the
mTOR
The mammalian target of sirolimus, rapamycin (mTOR), also referred to as the mechanistic target of rapamycin, and sometimes called FK506-binding protein 12-rapamycin-associated protein 1 (FRAP1), is a kinase that in humans is encoded by the ''MT ...
pathway during childhood and adolescence.
In 2017, his lab introduced the role of autoimmune response in Parkinson's disease patients, which answers a century-old mystery on the role of immune system activation in that disorder.
The Sulzer lab has published over 200 papers on this research. For his work, Sulzer has received awards from the
McKnight Foundation
The McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation, advances a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. Established in 1953, the McKnight Foundation is deeply committed to advancing climate solutions in ...
, the
National Institute on Drug Abuse
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a United States federal government research institute whose mission is to "advance science on the causes and consequences of drug use and addiction and to apply that knowledge to improve individual a ...
(NIDA), and
NARSAD
The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that funds mental health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It ...
. He ran the Basic Neuroscience NIH / NIDA (T32) training program for postdoctoral research in basic neuroscience at Columbia. He received a Ph.D. in biology from Columbia University in 1988. He founded the
Gordon Conference on Parkinson's Disease, the Dopamine Society (with Louis-Eric Trudeau) and the journal Nature Parkinson's Disease (with Ray Chaudhuri).
Awards and honors
2020 - Youdim / Finberg Award, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
2020 - Raymond D. Adams Lecture, Harvard University, Mass General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
2019 - Distinguished Lecture in Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota, USA
2017 - Presidential Lecture, Society of Neuroimmune Pharmacology
2013 - Helmsley Award for Scientific Research
2012 - Keynote Lecture in Cellular Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
2008 - McKnight Award in Neuroscience for Technical Innovation
1996 - James T. Shannon Award, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, USA
Art and Science projects
Sulzer wrote a book on scientific principles that underlie music and sound
Music Math and Mind olumbia University Press 2021), and teaches a related course at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
on the physics and neuroscience of music and sound.
He co-ran the original science cafe, "Entertaining Science" from 2012 to 2019, with its founder (2002), chemist and writer
Roald Hoffmann
Roald Hoffmann (born Roald Safran; July 18, 1937) is a Polish Americans, Polish-American theoretical chemistry, theoretical chemist who won the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He has also published plays and poetry. He is the Frank H. T. Rhodes P ...
in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
at the
Cornelia Street Cafe
The Cornelia Street Cafe, was a restaurant & bar at 29 Cornelia Street in New York City's Greenwich Village, opened in July 1977. The cafe closed at the end of 2018, due to rising rents from the gentrification of the West Village; ending on its ho ...
.
With
Brad Garton
Brad Garton (born 1957) is an American composer and computer musician who is professor of music at Columbia University.
He has written, or helped to write, a number of computer music applications, including Real-Time Cmix, music synthesis and si ...
, he developed the "Brainwave Music Project", which allows users to create music from neural activity and enable teaching on brain function.
Music
Sulzer uses the alias, Dave Soldier, for his alternate career in music.
Music by animals
Many of Soldier's works are collaborative, such as with the
Thai Elephant Orchestra
The Thai Elephant Orchestra is a musical ensemble consisting of as many as fourteen Thai elephants near Lampang in Northern Thailand. The elephants play music, essentially as conducted improvisations, on specially designed heavy-duty musical ins ...
which he co-founded with conservationist Richard Lair, based on the observation that elephants are said to enjoy listening to music. This ensemble consists of up to 14 elephants at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center near
Lampang
Lampang, also called Nakhon Lampang ( th, นครลำปาง, ) to differentiate from Lampang province, is the third largest city in northern Thailand and capital of Lampang province and the Mueang Lampang district. Traditional names for La ...
, and is listed by
Guinness
Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...
as the world's largest animal orchestra, with a combined weight of approximately 23 tonnes (50,706 lb). He built giant musical instruments on which he trained the elephants to improvise: they eventually played on 22 instruments. The orchestra has released three CDs and play an abbreviated concert daily at the Conservation Center.
He also created specially designed instruments for music played by
zebra finch
The zebra finches are two species of estrildid finch in the genus ''Taeniopygia'' found in Australia and Indonesia. They are seed-eaters that travel in large flocks.
The species are:
Previously, both species were classified as a single species ...
es and
bonobo
The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the comm ...
s, the latter in collaborations with physicist Gordon Shaw, who researched classical music's effect on the brain and introduced the
Mozart effect
The Mozart effect is the theory that listening to the music of Mozart may temporarily boost scores on one portion of an IQ test. Popular science versions of the theory make the claim that "listening to Mozart makes you smarter" or that early childh ...
.
Music by children
Soldier has made multiple recordings in which he coached child composers in different cultures. He and flutist Katie Down coached free improvisation with The Tangerine Awkestra featuring 2-10 year old Brooklyn schoolchildren. Da HipHop Raskalz featured rap and dub tracks performed (including the instrumental tracks) by 5-10 year old
East Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...
children,
who had no previous experience playing instruments. Sulzer and the santur player Alan Kushan produced Yol K'u with Mayan Indian children from the Seeds of Knowledge School in the high mountains of
San Mateo Ixtatan,
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
, a collaboration using giant marimbas. He produced two CDs by Les Enfants des Tyabala, with the jazz musician Sylvian Leroux who coached children in
Conakry
Conakry (; ; sus, Kɔnakiri; N’ko: ߞߐߣߊߞߙߌ߫, Fula: ''Konaakiri'' 𞤑𞤮𞤲𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭𞤪𞤭) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its p ...
,
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
to form an ensemble and create works with the traditional Fula flute, which Leroux has adapted to play chromatic scales.
The Soldier String Quartet
In 1985 he founded the
Soldier String Quartet
The Soldier String Quartet was a string quartet, founded by composer and violinist Dave Soldier, that specialized in performing a fusion of classical and popular music. The quartet proved a training ground for many subsequent experimental classical ...
, a punk chamber group that plays with amplification and a percussionist. As a leader, composer and violinist for the group, Soldier wrote and performed traditional pieces influenced by music styles including
serialism
In music, serialism is a method of Musical composition, composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other elements of music, musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, thou ...
,
Delta blues
Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...
and hip-hop. With inspiration from
Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
and
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
quartets, he explored anachronisms stemming from a classical ensemble playing in contemporary popular idioms, particularly rhythm and blues and punk rock. With a drummer incorporated into the quartet, Soldier found that string instruments could play the blues in the hands of players who understood the contrasting styles, including violinists
Regina Carter
Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter.
Early life
Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family.
She began piano lessons at the age of t ...
and
Todd Reynolds. The Soldier String Quartet also premiered and recorded works by other composers such as
Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer.
A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released ...
,
Iannis Xenakis
Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; el, Γιάννης "Ιωάννης" Κλέαρχου Ξενάκης, ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde ...
,
Alvin Curran
Alvin Curran (born December 13, 1938) is an American composer, performer, improviser, sound artist, and writer. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and lives and works in Rome, Italy. He is the co-founder, with Frederic Rzewski and Richard ...
,
Nicolas Collins
Nicolas Collins (born March 26, 1954 in New York City) is a composer of mostly electronic music, a sound artist and writer. He received his BA and MA from Wesleyan University, and his PhD from the University of East Anglia. Upon graduating from ...
,
Butch Morris
Lawrence Douglas "Butch" Morris (February 10, 1947 – January 29, 2013) was an American cornetist, composer and conductor. He was known for pioneering his structural improvisation method, ''Conduction'', which he utilized on many recordings.
B ...
,
Zeena Parkins
Zeena Parkins (born 1956) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist active in experimental, free improvised, contemporary classical, and avant-jazz music; she is known for having "reinvented the harp". Parkins performs on standard harp ...
,
Leroy Jenkins and
Phill Niblock
Phill Niblock (born October 2, 1933 in Anderson, Indiana) is an American composer, filmmaker, videographer, and director of Experimental Intermedia,Alan Licht, ''Common Tones: Selected Interviews with Artists and Musicians 1995-2020'', Blank Form ...
, as well as with jazz musicians including
Tony Williams and
Amina Claudine Myers
Amina Claudine Myers (born March 21, 1942) is an American jazz pianist, organist, vocalist, composer, and arranger.
Biography
Born in Blackwell, Arkansas, "Myers was brought up largely by her great-aunt, a schoolteacher, and her great-uncle, a c ...
. They recorded with the rock and pop musicians
Guided by Voices,
Lambchop,
Bob Neuwirth
Robert John Neuwirth (June 20, 1939May 18, 2022) was an American folk singer, songwriter, record producer, and visual artist. He was noted for being the road manager and associate of Bob Dylan, as well as the co-writer of Janis Joplin's hit so ...
,
Ric Ocasek
Richard Theodore Otcasek (March 23, 1944 – September 15, 2019), known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock ...
,
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle (album), Song Cycle'' and for his ...
, and
Jesse Harris
Jesse Harris (born October 24, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and guitarist. He has worked with Norah Jones, Melody Gardot, Madeleine Peyroux, Nikki Yanofsky, and Lizz Wright.
Early life and education
Harris and his twin sist ...
and were the touring and recording group for the
Velvet Underground
Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabri ...
's
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
from 1992 to 1998.
Experimental music
With
Komar & Melamid, and inspired by their art project, "
The People's Choice", Soldier wrote "The People's Choice: Music", with lyrics by Nina Mankin. It was written according to answers from a survey of over 500 Americans, resulting in "The Most Wanted Song" and "
The Most Unwanted Song
"The Most Unwanted Song" is an avant-garde novelty song created by artists Komar and Melamid and composer Dave Soldier in 1997. The song was written to incorporate lyrical and musical elements that were disliked by most respondents to a poll, inc ...
". The latter is over 22 minutes in length and features an operatic soprano rapping cowboy songs, holiday songs with a children's choir screaming advertisements, and political rants backed by bagpipe, banjo, tuba, piccolo, and church organ.
Soldier collaborates with the
computer music
Computer music is the application of computing technology in music composition, to help human composers create new music or to have computers independently create music, such as with algorithmic composition programs. It includes the theory and ap ...
ian
Brad Garton
Brad Garton (born 1957) is an American composer and computer musician who is professor of music at Columbia University.
He has written, or helped to write, a number of computer music applications, including Real-Time Cmix, music synthesis and si ...
for the
Brainwave Music Project, creating music played by performer's brainwaves using
electroencephalogram
Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The biosignals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in the neocortex ...
s.
He has a body of compositions using math derivations such as fractal manipulations, including a notorious 20 minute version of Chopin's
Minute Waltz
The Waltz in D-flat major, Op. 64, No. 1, sometimes known as "" (French for "Waltz of the puppy"), and popularly known in English as the Minute Waltz, is a piano waltz by Polish composer and virtuoso Frédéric Chopin. It is dedicated to the Co ...
.
Concert music
Soldier's compositions with classical musicians include a socialist-realist opera, "Naked Revolution", based on paintings by the Russian conceptual artists
Komar and Melamid
Komar and Melamid (pronunciation: ''Kómar and Melamíd'') is a tandem team of Russian-born American conceptualist artists Vitaly Komar (born 1943) and Alexander Melamid (born 1945). In an artists' statement they said that "even if only one of us ...
, commissioned for the 25th anniversary of "The Kitchen".
The opera "The Eighth Hour of Amduat" uses as its text Italian translations of the ancient Egyptian of the book of
Amduat
The Amduat ( egy, jmj dwꜣt, literally "That Which Is In the Afterworld", also translated as "Text of the Hidden Chamber Which is in the Underworld" and "Book of What is in the Underworld"; ar, كتاب الآخرة, Kitab al-Akhira) is an imp ...
and features
Marshall Allen
Marshall Belford Allen (born May 25, 1924) is an American free jazz and avant-garde jazz alto saxophone player. He also performs on flute, oboe, piccolo, and EWI (an electronic valve instrument made by Steiner, Crumar company).
Allen is best ...
of the
Sun Ra Arkestra
The Sun Ra Arkestra is an American jazz group formed in the mid-1950s and led by keyboardist/composer Sun Ra until his death in 1993. The group is considered a pioneer of afrofuturism. As of 2022, the Arkestra is led by saxophonist Marshall Alle ...
playing the part of
Sun Ra
Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...
.
Soldier wrote two chamber operas in collaboration with author
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
, "The Soldier's Story" and "Ice-9 Ballads", both recorded with Vonnegut playing characters in the operas.
Many of his chamber and orchestra works were recorded by the
Manhattan Chamber Orchestra under conductor
Richard Auldon Clark
Richard Auldon Clark is an American conductor specializing in music by contemporary composers. He is Conductor and music director of both the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, which he founded in 1987, and the Butler Symphony Orchestra. He has premie ...
and by the
Composer's Concordance orchestra. These include a collection of early Latin homoerotic lyrics in "Smut", and settings of
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
in "The Apotheosis of John Brown" and
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
in "War Prayer". The orchestra fanfare, "Samul Nori Overture", was commissioned by
Kristjan Järvi
Kristjan Järvi (, alternate (U.S.) spelling: Kristian Järvi) (born 13 June 1972, Tallinn) is an Estonian American conductor, composer and producer born in Estonia, younger son of the conductor Neeme Järvi and brother of conductor Paavo Järv ...
and the Absolute Ensemble.
Chamber works by Soldier have been recorded by violinists
Regina Carter
Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter.
Early life
Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family.
She began piano lessons at the age of t ...
and
Miranda Cuckson
Miranda may refer to:
Law
* ''Miranda v. Arizona'', an American legal case
* ''Miranda'' warning, an American police warning given to suspects about their rights, before they are interrogated
Places Australia
* Miranda, New South Wales
* Mirand ...
, cellist
Erik Friedlander
Erik Friedlander is an American cellist and composer based in New York City.
A veteran of New York City's experimental downtown scene, Friedlander has worked in many contexts, but is perhaps best known for his frequent collaborations with sax ...
, pianists Steven Beck,
Taka Kigawa and
Christopher O'Riley
Christopher O'Riley is an American classical pianist and public radio show host. He was the host of the weekly National Public Radio program ''From the Top''. O'Riley is also known for his piano arrangements of songs by alternative.
Early life
O ...
, accordionist
William Schimmel
William Schimmel (born 1946) is one of the principal architects in the resurgence of the accordion, and the philosophy of "Musical Reality" (composition with pre-existing music). He holds Bachelor of Music, Master of Science and Doctor of Musical ...
, the
PubliQuartet, singer
Eliza Carthy
Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy, MBE (born 23 August 1975) is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing the fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson.
Life and care ...
, the choir Ekemeles, and flutist
Robert Dick
Robert Dick (January 1811 – 24 December 1866), was a Scottish geologist and botanist.
Life
He was born at Tullibody, in Clackmannanshire. His father was an officer of excise in nearby Alloa.
At the age of thirteen, after receiving a good ...
.
Rock music
Soldier performed in the early 1980s with
Bo Diddley
Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...
and founded
The Kropotkins
The Kropotkins are an American avant-garde music collective based in Memphis and New York City founded in 1994 by drummer Jonathan Kane and Dave Soldier, who is best known as a violinist but plays banjo in the group. Its other members have includ ...
in the 1990s, a punk/country blues band with the Memphis singer Lorette Velvette and the drummers drummer,
Moe Tucker
Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who was the drummer for the New York City-based rock band the Velvet Underground. After they disbanded in the early 1970s, she left the music industry ...
of
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...
,
Charles Burnham Charles Burnham may refer to:
* Charles Burnham (politician) (1847–1908), American manufacturer and politician in the Wisconsin State Assembly
* Charles Burnham (geneticist) (died 1995), American plant geneticist
* Charles Burnham (musician)
...
of the James Blood Ulmer's Odyssey Band, and
Jonathan Kane
Jonathan Kane (born November 4, 1956) is an American musician and composer. Coming out of New York's Downtown Music scene of the early 1980s, Kane is known for his work with minimalist composers La Monte Young and Rhys Chatham, and was a found ...
of
Swans
Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometim ...
and
La Monte Young
La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14, 1935) is an American composer, musician, and performance artist recognized as one of the first American minimalist composers and a central figure in Fluxus and post-war avant-garde music. He is best kno ...
's band; the Kropotkins recorded four albums and developed a cult following. He continued collaborations with
Jonathan Kane
Jonathan Kane (born November 4, 1956) is an American musician and composer. Coming out of New York's Downtown Music scene of the early 1980s, Kane is known for his work with minimalist composers La Monte Young and Rhys Chatham, and was a found ...
in a symphonic minimalist blues duo known as Soldier Kane.
In the early 1980s, Soldier played guitar with
Bo Diddley
Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...
and various rock groups. He later worked as an arranger, violinist, or guitarist with
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
,
Guided by Voices,
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle (album), Song Cycle'' and for his ...
,
David Byrne
David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...
,
Ric Ocasek
Richard Theodore Otcasek (March 23, 1944 – September 15, 2019), known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock ...
,
Lee Ranaldo
Lee Mark Ranaldo (born February 3, 1956) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist, writer, visual artist and record producer, best known as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth (guitar and vocals). In 2004, ''Rolling ...
,
Eliza Carthy
Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy, MBE (born 23 August 1975) is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing the fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson.
Life and care ...
,
Maureen Tucker
Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who was the drummer for the New York City-based rock band the Velvet Underground. After they disbanded in the early 1970s, she left the music industry ...
,
Laurie Anderson
Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...
, the
Plastic People of the Universe
The Plastic People of the Universe (PPU) is a Czech rock band from Prague. They are considered the foremost representatives of Prague's underground culture (1968–1989), which defied the Czechoslovakia's Communist regime. Members of the band ...
,
Jesse Harris
Jesse Harris (born October 24, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and guitarist. He has worked with Norah Jones, Melody Gardot, Madeleine Peyroux, Nikki Yanofsky, and Lizz Wright.
Early life and education
Harris and his twin sist ...
,
Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...
,
Richard Hell
Richard Lester Meyers (born October 2, 1949), better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer.
Hell was in several important early punk rock bands, including Neon Boys, Television and T ...
, and
Bob Neuwirth
Robert John Neuwirth (June 20, 1939May 18, 2022) was an American folk singer, songwriter, record producer, and visual artist. He was noted for being the road manager and associate of Bob Dylan, as well as the co-writer of Janis Joplin's hit so ...
.
Soldier led the touring group for John Cale, consisting of the
Soldier String Quartet
The Soldier String Quartet was a string quartet, founded by composer and violinist Dave Soldier, that specialized in performing a fusion of classical and popular music. The quartet proved a training ground for many subsequent experimental classical ...
and
B. J. Cole from 1992 to 1996, writing the groups arrangements for tours and several CDs and films including for Cale's scores for the
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
films "Eat" and "Kiss": his metal violin playing is featured on "Heartbreak Hotel" on
Fragments of a Rainy Season
''Fragments of a Rainy Season'' is a 1992 live solo album by John Cale, performed at various locations during his 1992 tour. A 16-track DVD, recorded at the Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels (Palais des Beaux-Arts, now BOZAR) in Brussels, Belgium, ...
. He led an flamenco/Middle Eastern rock group, The Spinozas, featuring lyrics from Arabic and Hebrew poetry from medieval
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
released on the album "Zajal".
Jazz
Soldier performs as a multi-instrumentalist with the
William Hooker Trio with
Sabir Mateen
Sabir Mateen (born April 16, 1951) is an American musician and composer from Philadelphia. His musical style is primarily avant-garde jazz. He plays tenor and alto saxophone, B♭ and alto clarinet, and flute.
As a young man, Mateen was origi ...
and
Roy Campbell, and has performed and recorded with
Leroy Jenkins,
Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill (born February 15, 1944) is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in jazz but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He h ...
, drummer
Tony Williams,
Jonas Hellborg
Jonas Hellborg (born 7 June 1958) is a Sweden, Swedish bass guitarist. He has collaborated with John McLaughlin (musician), John McLaughlin, Sultan Khan (musician), Ustad Sultan Khan, Fazal Qureshi, Bill Laswell, Shawn Lane, Jens Johansson, Ande ...
,
Butch Morris
Lawrence Douglas "Butch" Morris (February 10, 1947 – January 29, 2013) was an American cornetist, composer and conductor. He was known for pioneering his structural improvisation method, ''Conduction'', which he utilized on many recordings.
B ...
,
Jason Hwang
Jason Kao Hwang (born 1957) is a Chinese American violinist and composer. He is known for his unconventional and improvisational jazz violin technique as well as his chamber opera ''The Floating Box: A Story in Chinatown'' which premiered in 2001 ...
,
William Parker (musician)
William Parker (born January 10, 1952) is an American free jazz double bassist. Beginning in the 1980s, Parker played with Cecil Taylor for over a decade, and he has led the Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra since 1981. ''The Village Voice'' ...
,
Billy Bang
Billy Bang (September 20, 1947 – April 11, 2011), born William Vincent Walker, was an American free jazz violinist and composer.
Biography
Bang's family moved to New York City's Bronx neighborhood while he was still an infant, and as a ...
,
Marshall Allen
Marshall Belford Allen (born May 25, 1924) is an American free jazz and avant-garde jazz alto saxophone player. He also performs on flute, oboe, piccolo, and EWI (an electronic valve instrument made by Steiner, Crumar company).
Allen is best ...
of the Sun Ra Arkestra,
Karl Berger
Karl Hans Berger (born March 30, 1935 in Heidelberg, Germany) is a German jazz pianist, composer, and educator.
Career
Berger played piano in Germany when he was ten and worked in his teens at a club in Heidelberg. He learned modern jazz from v ...
,
Teo Macero
Attilio Joseph "Teo" Macero (October 30, 1925 – February 19, 2008) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. He was a producer at Columbia Records for twenty years. Macero produced Miles Davis' ''Bitches Brew'', and Dave ...
,
Myra Melford
Myra Melford (born January 5, 1957) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. A 2013 Guggenheim Fellow, Melford was described by the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' as an "explosive player, a virtuoso who shocks and soothes, and who can m ...
and
Amina Claudine Myers
Amina Claudine Myers (born March 21, 1942) is an American jazz pianist, organist, vocalist, composer, and arranger.
Biography
Born in Blackwell, Arkansas, "Myers was brought up largely by her great-aunt, a schoolteacher, and her great-uncle, a c ...
.
Production
Soldier co-founded the EEG Records (formerly
Mulatta Records
Mulatta Records, which, in 2020, has changed its name to EEG Records, is a record label established in 2000 by the Nigerian record producer and DJ Ayo Osinibi and the American composer/performer Dave Soldier
It specializes in music created by un ...
) label in 2000, for which he has produced a wide variety of recordings including contemporary
flamenco
Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...
music by Pedro Cortes, Texas singer/ songwriter
Vince Bell
Vince Bell is a Texas singer-songwriter who has appeared on the PBS television program ''Austin City Limits'' along with NPR broadcasts such as '' Mountain Stage'', '' World Cafe'' and ''Morning Edition''. His songs have been performed and rec ...
with
Bob Neuwirth
Robert John Neuwirth (June 20, 1939May 18, 2022) was an American folk singer, songwriter, record producer, and visual artist. He was noted for being the road manager and associate of Bob Dylan, as well as the co-writer of Janis Joplin's hit so ...
, the 30 piece jazz string orchestra Spontaneous River by
Jason Hwang
Jason Kao Hwang (born 1957) is a Chinese American violinist and composer. He is known for his unconventional and improvisational jazz violin technique as well as his chamber opera ''The Floating Box: A Story in Chinatown'' which premiered in 2001 ...
, jazz drummer
William Hooker, the traditional group Wofa from Guinea with American R&B musicians including
Bernie Worrell
George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll ...
; the jazz French horn virtuoso
John Clark (musician)
John Clark is an American jazz horn player and composer. In Allmusic, Clark is described as "possibly the most fluent jazz French horn soloist since the great Julius Watkins in the 1950s."Scott YannoJohn Clark:Il Suono(review), accessed 2020-12 ...
, and released music by
David First
David First (born August 20, 1953) is an American composer. His music most often deals with drones and interference beats, the latter aligning his music with that of Alvin Lucier. He usually plays computer or guitar and has led the World Cas ...
, two albums of Fula flute music by Sylvain Leroux with children in Conakry, Guinea, Memphis musician Alex Greene, Ursel Schlicht, and
Twink.
Personal life
Sulzer grew up in Carbondale in southern Illinois where he was exposed to music common to the area, particularly country and R&B. His earliest influences included
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
and
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...
. He played viola, violin, piano, and eventually banjo and guitar. He moved with his family to Storrs, CT, at the age of 16, where he became enamoured with salsa music. He credits
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive.
Early life
Pal ...
's music as his inspiration to be a composer. He attended Michigan State University as an undergraduate and attempted a study of classical composition. He found that stultifying, however, and instead studied botany at the university and privately with the avant-garde jazz saxophonist/composer
Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell (born August 3, 1940) is an American composer, jazz instrumentalist, and educator, known for being "a technically superb – if idiosyncratic – saxophonist". ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' described him as "one of the key figures ...
. He lived in Florida briefly, where he played guitar in
Bo Diddley
Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...
's band.
He relocated to New York in 1981, and played in various salsa, classical, and rock-oriented bands in the early '80s. In New York he engaged in many collaborations with producer
Giorgio Gomelsky
Giorgio Sergio Alessando Gomelsky (28 February 1934 – 13 January 2016) was a filmmaker, impresario, music manager, songwriter (as Oscar Rasputin) and record producer. He was born in Georgia, grew up in Switzerland, and later lived in the Unit ...
, including running "The House Band",
the Russian conceptual artists
Komar and Melamid
Komar and Melamid (pronunciation: ''Kómar and Melamíd'') is a tandem team of Russian-born American conceptualist artists Vitaly Komar (born 1943) and Alexander Melamid (born 1945). In an artists' statement they said that "even if only one of us ...
, and co-wrote two extended musical theater pieces with author
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
. While attending graduate school in biology at Columbia University, he privately studied composition with the co-inventor of the synthesizer and "tape music"
Otto Luening
Otto Clarence Luening (June 15, 1900 – September 2, 1996) was a German-American composer and conductor, and an early pioneer of tape music and electronic music.
Luening was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to German parents, Eugene, a conducto ...
and formed his
Soldier String Quartet
The Soldier String Quartet was a string quartet, founded by composer and violinist Dave Soldier, that specialized in performing a fusion of classical and popular music. The quartet proved a training ground for many subsequent experimental classical ...
in 1985. He co-founded
Mulatta Records
Mulatta Records, which, in 2020, has changed its name to EEG Records, is a record label established in 2000 by the Nigerian record producer and DJ Ayo Osinibi and the American composer/performer Dave Soldier
It specializes in music created by un ...
in 2000 to document his projects, including the Thai Elephant Orchestra and recordings with child improvisers, and to produce a broad range of unusual musical styles.
Soldier performed, recorded, composed, and arranged for television and film (''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
'', ''
I Shot Andy Warhol
''I Shot Andy Warhol'' is a 1996 biographical drama film about the life of Valerie Solanas and her relationship with the artist Andy Warhol. The film marked the feature film directorial debut of Canadian director Mary Harron. The film stars Lil ...
''), and pop and jazz acts ranging from
Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...
to
David Byrne
David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...
and
Guided by Voices. In 2021, his book "Music, Math, and Mind" on the physics and neuroscience of music was published by Columbia University Press. Sulzer is married to biologist Francesca Bartolini.
Discography
Studio Albums as Leader
* 1988 ''Sequence Girls'':
Soldier String Quartet
The Soldier String Quartet was a string quartet, founded by composer and violinist Dave Soldier, that specialized in performing a fusion of classical and popular music. The quartet proved a training ground for many subsequent experimental classical ...
* 1990 ''Romances From the Second Line'' piano music performed by
Christopher O'Riley
Christopher O'Riley is an American classical pianist and public radio show host. He was the host of the weekly National Public Radio program ''From the Top''. O'Riley is also known for his piano arrangements of songs by alternative.
Early life
O ...
* 1991 ''Sojourner Truth'':
Soldier String Quartet
The Soldier String Quartet was a string quartet, founded by composer and violinist Dave Soldier, that specialized in performing a fusion of classical and popular music. The quartet proved a training ground for many subsequent experimental classical ...
* 1993 ''The Apotheosis of John Brown: oratorio with libretto from Frederick Douglass
* 1994 ''War Prayer''; with the
Manhattan Chamber Orchestra with libretto from Mark Twain
* 1994 ''Smut''; with medieval Latin lyric poetry
* 1996 ''She's Lightning When She Smiles'':
Soldier String Quartet
The Soldier String Quartet was a string quartet, founded by composer and violinist Dave Soldier, that specialized in performing a fusion of classical and popular music. The quartet proved a training ground for many subsequent experimental classical ...
* 1997 ''The People's Choice: Music'' with
Komar & Melamid: the Most Wanted and
The Most Unwanted Song
"The Most Unwanted Song" is an avant-garde novelty song created by artists Komar and Melamid and composer Dave Soldier in 1997. The song was written to incorporate lyrical and musical elements that were disliked by most respondents to a poll, inc ...
s
* 1997 ''Jazz Standards on Mars'':
Soldier String Quartet
The Soldier String Quartet was a string quartet, founded by composer and violinist Dave Soldier, that specialized in performing a fusion of classical and popular music. The quartet proved a training ground for many subsequent experimental classical ...
with
Robert Dick
Robert Dick (January 1811 – 24 December 1866), was a Scottish geologist and botanist.
Life
He was born at Tullibody, in Clackmannanshire. His father was an officer of excise in nearby Alloa.
At the age of thirteen, after receiving a good ...
* 2000 ''The Tangerine Awkestra'': with Katie Down and children from Fort Greene, Brooklyn
* 2001 ''
Thai Elephant Orchestra
The Thai Elephant Orchestra is a musical ensemble consisting of as many as fourteen Thai elephants near Lampang in Northern Thailand. The elephants play music, essentially as conducted improvisations, on specially designed heavy-duty musical ins ...
''
* 2001 ''Ice-9 Ballads'': with
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
as narrator and lyricist
* 2004 ''Elephonic Rhapsodies'': with the
Thai Elephant Orchestra
The Thai Elephant Orchestra is a musical ensemble consisting of as many as fourteen Thai elephants near Lampang in Northern Thailand. The elephants play music, essentially as conducted improvisations, on specially designed heavy-duty musical ins ...
* 2004 ''Inspect for Damaged Gods'':
Soldier String Quartet
The Soldier String Quartet was a string quartet, founded by composer and violinist Dave Soldier, that specialized in performing a fusion of classical and popular music. The quartet proved a training ground for many subsequent experimental classical ...
* 2005 ''Soldier Stories'': with
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
as actor and librettist
* 2006 ''Da Hiphop Raskalz'': with children from
East Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...
* 2006 ''Chamber Music'': classical works for small ensembles, double CD
* 2008 ''Yol K'u'' (Inside the Sun): Mayan Mountain Music with children from San Mateo Ixtatan, Guatemala
* 2011 ''Water Music'': with the
Thai Elephant Orchestra
The Thai Elephant Orchestra is a musical ensemble consisting of as many as fourteen Thai elephants near Lampang in Northern Thailand. The elephants play music, essentially as conducted improvisations, on specially designed heavy-duty musical ins ...
* 2011 ''The Complete Victrola Sessions'': works for violin and piano with
Rebecca Cherry
Rebecca, ; Aramaic, Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to ...
* 2012 ''Organum'': solo organ works inspired by patterns in nature, performed by
Walter Hilse
* 2015 ''In Black & White'': solo piano works, double CD, performed by Steven Beck
* 2015 ''In Four Color'': music for string quartet, performed by the
Soldier String Quartet
The Soldier String Quartet was a string quartet, founded by composer and violinist Dave Soldier, that specialized in performing a fusion of classical and popular music. The quartet proved a training ground for many subsequent experimental classical ...
and the PUBLIQuartet
* 2015 ''Smash Hits by the Thai Elephant Orchestra'': with Richard Lair and
Thai Elephant Orchestra
The Thai Elephant Orchestra is a musical ensemble consisting of as many as fourteen Thai elephants near Lampang in Northern Thailand. The elephants play music, essentially as conducted improvisations, on specially designed heavy-duty musical ins ...
* 2015 ''With Kurt Vonnegut'': radio opera and song cycle with
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
's narration and libretti, and the
Manhattan Chamber Orchestra
* 2016 ''Soldier Kane'': duos composed and performed by Dave Soldier with
Jonathan Kane
Jonathan Kane (born November 4, 1956) is an American musician and composer. Coming out of New York's Downtown Music scene of the early 1980s, Kane is known for his work with minimalist composers La Monte Young and Rhys Chatham, and was a found ...
* 2016 ''Dean Swift's Satyrs for the Very Very Young'': featuring singer
Eliza Carthy
Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy, MBE (born 23 August 1975) is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing the fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson.
Life and care ...
, Soldier's music for lyrics by
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poe ...
* 2016 ''The Eighth Hour of Amduat'': opera for mezzo, choir, and orchestra featuring saxophonist
Marshall Allen
Marshall Belford Allen (born May 25, 1924) is an American free jazz and avant-garde jazz alto saxophone player. He also performs on flute, oboe, piccolo, and EWI (an electronic valve instrument made by Steiner, Crumar company).
Allen is best ...
playing
Sun Ra
Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...
* 2017 ''History of the Kropotkins'' songs performed by the
Kropotkins
The Kropotkins are an American avant-garde music collective based in Memphis and New York City founded in 1994 by drummer Jonathan Kane and Dave Soldier, who is best known as a violinist but plays banjo in the group. Its other members have included ...
* 2017 ''The Brainwave Music Project''; with
Brad Garton
Brad Garton (born 1957) is an American composer and computer musician who is professor of music at Columbia University.
He has written, or helped to write, a number of computer music applications, including Real-Time Cmix, music synthesis and si ...
,
Margaret Lancaster
Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Indo-Iranian languages, Persian.
Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and r ...
,
William Hooker,
Dan Trueman
Dan Trueman is a composer, fiddle player, improviser, new instrument creator and software designer. He plays the violin and the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle. Trueman studied physics at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, composition and theo ...
, Terry Pender, compositions for improvisers and brainwaves
* 2018 ''Naked Revolution'': a socialist realist opera based on immigrant dreams, with artists
Komar and Melamid
Komar and Melamid (pronunciation: ''Kómar and Melamíd'') is a tandem team of Russian-born American conceptualist artists Vitaly Komar (born 1943) and Alexander Melamid (born 1945). In an artists' statement they said that "even if only one of us ...
and Russian singers
* 2019 ''Zajal'': songs from ancient Andalusia in medieval Arabic, Hebrew and Spanish with flamenco, middle eastern, salsa and jazz musicians
* 2019 ''Jaleo'': solo piano performed by Steven Beck
* 2021 ''February Meets Soldier String Quartet'': duos composed and performed by Dave Soldier with
Jonathan Kane
Jonathan Kane (born November 4, 1956) is an American musician and composer. Coming out of New York's Downtown Music scene of the early 1980s, Kane is known for his work with minimalist composers La Monte Young and Rhys Chatham, and was a found ...
* 2021 ''Calo: solo violin works in flamenco forms performed by
Miranda Cuckson
Miranda may refer to:
Law
* ''Miranda v. Arizona'', an American legal case
* ''Miranda'' warning, an American police warning given to suspects about their rights, before they are interrogated
Places Australia
* Miranda, New South Wales
* Mirand ...
with additional percussion by Jose Moreno and Pedro Cortes
* 2022 ''Motet: Harmonies of the World'': choir in just intonation performed by
Ekmeles according to the book by
Harmonices Mundi
''Harmonice Mundi (Harmonices mundi libri V)''The full title is ''Ioannis Keppleri Harmonices mundi libri V'' (''The Five Books of Johannes Kepler's The Harmony of the World''). (Latin: ''The Harmony of the World'', 1619) is a book by Johannes ...
also known as
Music of the Spheres
The ''musica universalis'' (literally universal music), also called music of the spheres or harmony of the spheres, is a philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies – the Sun, Moon, and planets – as a fo ...
by
Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler (; ; 27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws ...
with lyrics by
Proclus
Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor ( grc-gre, Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers ...
* 2022 ''LeWitt Etudes'': experiments in group composition, co-led with
William Hooker, featuring Etudes 7. 9. 16. 24, 39, 40, 43, 45, 48 with
Luke Stewart
Luke Stewart is a retired American people, American mixed martial artist. Holding a professional record of 6–3, Stewart competed in the now-defunct promotion Strikeforce (mixed martial arts), Strikeforce for his entire career.
Background
Luke ...
,
Kirk Knuffke
Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it.
Basic meaning and etymology
As a common noun, ''kirk' ...
, Rebecca Cherry, Alex Greene, Ken Filiano, Hans Tammen, Ishito Ayumi
Collaborations
* 1996 ''The Kropotkins''; performer, composer
* 2000 the
Kropotkins
The Kropotkins are an American avant-garde music collective based in Memphis and New York City founded in 1994 by drummer Jonathan Kane and Dave Soldier, who is best known as a violinist but plays banjo in the group. Its other members have included ...
, ''Five Points Crawl''; performer, composer
* 2009 the
Kropotkins
The Kropotkins are an American avant-garde music collective based in Memphis and New York City founded in 1994 by drummer Jonathan Kane and Dave Soldier, who is best known as a violinist but plays banjo in the group. Its other members have included ...
, ''Paradise Square''; performer, composer
* 2015 the
Kropotkins
The Kropotkins are an American avant-garde music collective based in Memphis and New York City founded in 1994 by drummer Jonathan Kane and Dave Soldier, who is best known as a violinist but plays banjo in the group. Its other members have included ...
, ''Portents of Love''; performer, composer
* 1997
Robert Dick
Robert Dick (January 1811 – 24 December 1866), was a Scottish geologist and botanist.
Life
He was born at Tullibody, in Clackmannanshire. His father was an officer of excise in nearby Alloa.
At the age of thirteen, after receiving a good ...
with the
Soldier String Quartet
The Soldier String Quartet was a string quartet, founded by composer and violinist Dave Soldier, that specialized in performing a fusion of classical and popular music. The quartet proved a training ground for many subsequent experimental classical ...
, ''Jazz Standards on Mars'': performer, arranger
* Arranger, performer:
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
, "Fragments From a Rainy Season", CD
* Arranger, conductor:
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
, "Paris S'Eveille", CD
* Arranger, conductor:
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
, "Antarida", CD
* Arranger, performer:
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
, " "Walking on Locusts" CD
* Arranger:
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
, "Dance Music" CD
* Arranger:
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
composed by John Cale "
Eat/Kiss: Music for the Films by Andy Warhol" CD
* Arranger:
Christina Rosenvinge
Christina Rosenvinge Hepworth (born 29 May 1964) is a Spanish singer.
A veteran of the music industry with a career spanning more than thirty years she was a member of the Spanish groups Alex y Christina and Christina y Los Subterráneos, whic ...
"Foreign Land" CD
* Arranger, performer:
Guided by Voices "Isolation Drills", CD
* Arranger, performer:
Guided by Voices "Hold on Hope", CD
* Arranger, performer:
Guided by Voices "Do the Collapse" CD
Recordings with the Soldier String Quartet
*''Last Day on Earth'';
Bob Neuwirth
Robert John Neuwirth (June 20, 1939May 18, 2022) was an American folk singer, songwriter, record producer, and visual artist. He was noted for being the road manager and associate of Bob Dylan, as well as the co-writer of Janis Joplin's hit so ...
, John Cale
*''Walking on Locusts'', John Cale
*''Eat and Kiss'', John Cale
*''Fragments From a Rainy Season'', John Cale
*''Hammer Anvil Stirrup'',
Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer.
A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released ...
*''Larynx'', Elliott Sharp
*''Tessalation Row'', Elliott Sharp
*''Twistmap'', Elliott Sharp
*''Abstract Repressionism'', Elliott Sharp
*''Cryptoid Fragments'', Elliott Sharp
*''Xeno-Codex'', Elliott Sharp
*''Rheo/Umbra'', Elliott Sharp
*''String Quartets 1986-1996'', Elliott Sharp
*''Early Winter'',
Phill Niblock
Phill Niblock (born October 2, 1933 in Anderson, Indiana) is an American composer, filmmaker, videographer, and director of Experimental Intermedia,Alan Licht, ''Common Tones: Selected Interviews with Artists and Musicians 1995-2020'', Blank Form ...
*''
Themes & Improvisations on the Blues
''Themes & Improvisations on the Blues'' is a live album by violinist / composer Leroy Jenkins. It was recorded in April 1992 at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City, and was released by Composers Recordings, Inc. in 1994. The album documents perf ...
'',
Leroy Jenkins
*''A Dark & Stormy Night'',
Nicolas Collins
Nicolas Collins (born March 26, 1954 in New York City) is a composer of mostly electronic music, a sound artist and writer. He received his BA and MA from Wesleyan University, and his PhD from the University of East Anglia. Upon graduating from ...
*''The Word'',
Jonas Hellborg
Jonas Hellborg (born 7 June 1958) is a Sweden, Swedish bass guitarist. He has collaborated with John McLaughlin (musician), John McLaughlin, Sultan Khan (musician), Ustad Sultan Khan, Fazal Qureshi, Bill Laswell, Shawn Lane, Jens Johansson, Ande ...
&
Tony Williams
*''Third Stone from the Sun'',
Robert Dick
Robert Dick (January 1811 – 24 December 1866), was a Scottish geologist and botanist.
Life
He was born at Tullibody, in Clackmannanshire. His father was an officer of excise in nearby Alloa.
At the age of thirteen, after receiving a good ...
Sideman
*
The Ordinaires
The Ordinaires was a nine piece experimental rock band from New York City. The band, which broke up in 1991, was composed of Angela Babin (guitar), Robin Casey (violin), Joe Dizney (guitar), Sven Furberg (bass), Kurt Hoffman (tenor saxophone), Bar ...
The Ordinaires (1987, Dossier) violin
* Lorette Velvette Lost Part of Me (1998, Veracity) banjo, violin
*
Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer.
A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released ...
& Carbon Larynx (1987, SST) violin
*
Bob Neuwirth
Robert John Neuwirth (June 20, 1939May 18, 2022) was an American folk singer, songwriter, record producer, and visual artist. He was noted for being the road manager and associate of Bob Dylan, as well as the co-writer of Janis Joplin's hit so ...
&
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
"Last Day on Earth" arranger, performer
* Le Nouvelles Polyponies Corses (Corsican Polyphony) Le Praiduisu (1999, Mercury) violin, arranger
*
Sussan Deyhim
Sussan Deyhim (born December 14, 1958) is an Iranian American composer, vocalist, performance artist and activist. She is internationally known for her invention of a unique sonic/vocal language. LA Times quotes her as "One of Iran's most potent ...
Madman of God (1999, Crammed Disc) violin, remixed by
Bill Laswell
William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, w ...
as Shy Angels (2008)
*''While the Music Lasts'',
Jesse Harris
Jesse Harris (born October 24, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and guitarist. He has worked with Norah Jones, Melody Gardot, Madeleine Peyroux, Nikki Yanofsky, and Lizz Wright.
Early life and education
Harris and his twin sist ...
*
William Hooker Trio''Yearn For Certainty'': performer, trio with
Sabir Mateen
Sabir Mateen (born April 16, 1951) is an American musician and composer from Philadelphia. His musical style is primarily avant-garde jazz. He plays tenor and alto saxophone, B♭ and alto clarinet, and flute.
As a young man, Mateen was origi ...
2010
*
William Hooker Trio ''Heart of the Sun'': performer, trio with
Roy Campbell Jr.
Roy Sinclair Campbell Jr. (September 29, 1952 – January 9, 2014) was an American trumpeter frequently linked to free jazz, although he also performed rhythm and blues and funk during his career.
Biography
Born in Los Angeles, California, in 1 ...
2013
*
William Hooker ''Aria'': performer, arranger 2016
* Mandeng Eletrik (2004, Mulatta) violin
* Elliott Sharp & Carbon Abstract Repressionism, violin (1992, Victo) violin
* Elliott Sharp & Carbon Syndakit, violin (1999, Zoar) violin
Film Scores
* Arranger:
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
film scores: "Paris S'Eveille", "Antarida", "Walking on Locusts", "Dance Music"
* Arranger: films by
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
composed by John Cale "
Eat/Kiss: Music for the Films by Andy Warhol"
* Arranger, Conductor:
Mary Harron
Mary Harron (born January 12, 1953) is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter, and former entertainment critic. She gained recognition for her role in writing and directing several independent films, including ''I Shot Andy Warhol'' (1996), ''Ame ...
director'' film score
I Shot Andy Warhol
''I Shot Andy Warhol'' is a 1996 biographical drama film about the life of Valerie Solanas and her relationship with the artist Andy Warhol. The film marked the feature film directorial debut of Canadian director Mary Harron. The film stars Lil ...
''
* Arranger:
Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel (born October 26, 1951) is an American painter and filmmaker. In the 1980s, he received international attention for his "plate paintings" — with broken ceramic plates set onto large-scale paintings. Since the 1990s, he has been ...
director, film score ''
Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement.
Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...
''
* Composer: Vanessa Ly, director, film score ''Mekong Interior''
* Composer: Nadia Roden, director, cartoon scores ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
''
* Composer: Winsome Brown, director, film score ''The Violinist''
* Composer:
Vicki Bennett, director, film score (partial) ''Gesture Piece''
* Composer:
Dave Soldier
David Sulzer (born November 6, 1956) is an American neuroscientist and musician. He is a professor at Columbia University Medical Center in the departments of psychiatry, neurology, and pharmacology. Sulzer's laboratory investigates the interact ...
, director, animation ''The Eighth Hour of Amduat''
* Composer: Deborah Kampmeier, director, film score (partial), "Hounddog"
* Composer: Kate Taverna, Alan Adleson, directors, film score, "In Bed with Ulysses"
* Performer:
Phill Niblock
Phill Niblock (born October 2, 1933 in Anderson, Indiana) is an American composer, filmmaker, videographer, and director of Experimental Intermedia,Alan Licht, ''Common Tones: Selected Interviews with Artists and Musicians 1995-2020'', Blank Form ...
, director, "China"
Producer
*
Jason Kao Hwang
Jason Kao Hwang (born 1957) is a Chinese American violinist and composer. He is known for his unconventional and improvisational jazz violin technique as well as his chamber opera '' The Floating Box: A Story in Chinatown'' which premiered in 200 ...
and Spontaneous River Orchestra ''Symphony of Souls'' CD, Mulatta Records, 2013
* Pedro Cortes ''Los Viejos Non Mueren'' CD, Mulatta Records, 2014
* Sylvain Leroux with children from
Conakry
Conakry (; ; sus, Kɔnakiri; N’ko: ߞߐߣߊߞߙߌ߫, Fula: ''Konaakiri'' 𞤑𞤮𞤲𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭𞤪𞤭) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its p ...
,
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
''Les Enfants de Tyabala'' and ''Tyabla'' CDs, Mulatta Records, 2015, 2019
* Archer Spade ''Orbital Harmony'' CD, Mulatta Records, 2015
*
William Hooker ''Aria'': performer, producer, 2016
*
John Clark ''Sonus Inenarrabilis'' (Mulatta Records), works for 9 piece chamber group, CD, Mulatta Records, 2016
*
Robert Dick
Robert Dick (January 1811 – 24 December 1866), was a Scottish geologist and botanist.
Life
He was born at Tullibody, in Clackmannanshire. His father was an officer of excise in nearby Alloa.
At the age of thirteen, after receiving a good ...
and Ulrike Lentz ''Are There?'' (Mulatta Records), flute duos CD, Mulatta Records, 2017
*
Vince Bell
Vince Bell is a Texas singer-songwriter who has appeared on the PBS television program ''Austin City Limits'' along with NPR broadcasts such as '' Mountain Stage'', '' World Cafe'' and ''Morning Edition''. His songs have been performed and rec ...
''Ojo'' (Mulatta Records), co-production with
Bob Neuwirth
Robert John Neuwirth (June 20, 1939May 18, 2022) was an American folk singer, songwriter, record producer, and visual artist. He was noted for being the road manager and associate of Bob Dylan, as well as the co-writer of Janis Joplin's hit so ...
, Mulatta Records, 2018
*
William Hooker ''Pillars ... at the Portal'', Multatta Records, 2018
Compositions for Classical Musicians
References
Additional sources
* Ratcliff, Carter. ''Komar and Melamid'', New York: Abbeville Press, 1988.
* Wypijewski, JoAnn, ed. ''Painting by Numbers: Komar and Melamid's Scientific Guide to Art'', New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1997.
* Komar and Melamid. ''When Elephants Paint: The Quest of Two Russian Artists to Save the Elephants of Thailand'', New York: HarperCollins, 2000.
* Weiss, Evelyn. ''Komar & Melamid: The Most Wanted and the Most Unwanted Painting'', Museum Ludwig Koln, Ostfildern: Cantz, 1997.
External links
Sulzer lab, Columbia University: homepageThe Department of Neuroscience , DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSCIENCEEntertaining Science – The Back Storyat
Mulatta Records
Mulatta Records, which, in 2020, has changed its name to EEG Records, is a record label established in 2000 by the Nigerian record producer and DJ Ayo Osinibi and the American composer/performer Dave Soldier
It specializes in music created by un ...
*
Dave Soldier Music BlogBrainwave Music Projectat
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
Interviews
PDONLINERESEARCH.ORGDave Sulzer , Secret: Elephant Music , Secret Lives of Scientists - YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sulzer, David
1956 births
Living people
American neuroscientists
Columbia University faculty
American male musicians
American multi-instrumentalists
People from Carbondale, Illinois
American classical composers
Songwriters from Illinois
Record producers from Illinois
American male songwriters
Michigan State University alumni
University of Florida alumni
Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni