The Golden Lock Travis Laplante

• 1 The Golden Lock: I-II 14:25
• 2 The Golden Lock: III-VI 19:00
• 3 The Golden Lock: VII 04:59
• Total Runtime 38:24

Info for The Golden Lock

Saxophonist and composer Travis Laplante releases his latest project merging compositional and improvisational impulses. He is joined by pianist Erika Dohi, harpist Charles Overton, percussionist Eduardo Leandro, and double bassist Lizzie Burns for an album length piece in three parts that seeks to circumvent the self-critical voice that so often comes with the creative process, and, channeling the 12th century Taoist acupuncture practice that is the source of its title, "snap open" the path to connection.

"The Golden Lock is composer/saxophonist Travis Laplante’s latest album-length work, featuring Erika Dohi- piano (Wadada Leo Smith), Charles Overton- harp (Shabaka Hutchings), Lizzie Burns- double bass, and Eduardo Leandro percussion (Bang on a Can All Stars). Laplante has been quietly and tirelessly cultivating his vision as a composer by releasing epic, album-length compositions for over a decade, including a trilogy of compositions for his saxophone quartet Battle Trance along with album-length works for Subtle Degrees (his duo with drummer Gerald Cleaver), Yarn/Wire, and The JACK Quartet. The Golden Lock is Laplante’s eighth album-length composition in his ever-evolving body of work. While still infused with Laplante’s signature sonic intensity, the recording marks a distinct shift for Laplante, as he turns towards a more lyrical sound, venturing into territory that is innocent, gentle, and love-filled. The NYC album-release celebration will take place on Thursday, October 3rd @ Roulette in Brooklyn, NY. The evening will also include three Laplante premieres featuring The JACK Quartet, Sō Percussion, and Erika Dohi.

“The compositional process of the Golden Lock began during October of 2021 at a nine-day artist residency in Maine at the School of 3 Lights: a school devoted to the training of artists’ inner muse. There were approximately 20 artists participating; choreographers, painters, poets, etc. all working in our own spaces but also coming together on a regular basis for conversation and performances. I was fortunate enough to be able to work in a small cottage and be in close proximity to my teacher during this time. I believe it was because of the energetic container of the residency that I was able to begin composing from a place of innocence and oneness, without my self-critical mind interfering as much as if we were at home. I felt vulnerable enough to compose simple melodies and harmonies without feeling the need to demonstrate technical skill to prove myself as a musician or to feel self-worth. Between October and now, composing The Golden Lock has been at the center of my creative practice. Part of my practice for this piece has been to play the harmonic/chordal parts over and over, and then when I’m too tired, play a recording of them on repeat, so I am living inside of them for many hours at a time. As I am living inside of the various harmonic motions, I wait for the melody to arrive. Sometimes this arrival literally happens in a moment with seemingly no effort, and at other times I have to wait many months, just listening to the harmony, trusting that there is a melody in the air somewhere but it has yet to be heard despite my best efforts. I have lived inside the harmonic currents of The Golden Lock for more hours than I care to admit, but I am happy that the melodies for the piece did all finally arrive, even though some waited until much closer to the first performance than my nervous system would have preferred. The piece began as seven distinct movements but as time progressed the movements began to communicate with each other, as if the composition itself was teaching me how to write it. The seven individual movements ended up marrying into one, while still maintaining some semblance of the initial structure. This process is congruent with the title of the piece which is from a Taoist Ode/esoteric acupuncture protocol (medical protocols and odes/songs used to not be considered separate from each other) that is said to be able to heal all the many diseases. In the ode, entitled The 12 points of the Starry Skies and Able to Heal All of the Many Diseases, it states that “the golden lock teaches us to snap it open.” This accurately describes my experience of how the composition has come to its current state.” (Travis Laplante)

Travis Laplante, tenor saxophone
Erika Dohi, piano
Charles Overton, harp
Lizzie Burns, double bass
Eduardo Leandro, percussion

Recorded on January 13th and 14th 2023 at Guilford Sound
Recording Engineer: Dave Snyder
Assistant Engineer: Matt Hall
Mixing Engineer: Joseph Branciforte, Greyfade Studios
Mastering Engineer: Matt Mehlan
Produced by Travis Laplante

Travis Laplante
is a composer, improviser, and saxophonist. Laplante leads the acclaimed tenor saxophone quartet Battle Trance, as well as Subtle Degrees, his duo with drummer Gerald Cleaver. Recently, Laplante has composed long-form works for new music ensembles such as the JACK Quartet, Yarn/Wire, and the ~Nois Saxophone Quartet. Laplante is also known for his raw solo saxophone concerts and being a member of the avant-garde quartet Little Women.

He has performed and / or recorded with Tyshawn Sorey, Yuniya Edi Kwon, Wendy Eisenberg, Caroline Shaw, Ches Smith, Peter Evans, Sō Percussion, Ingrid Laubrock, Mary Halvorson, International Contemporary Ensemble, Nate Wooley, Tyondai Braxton, Darius Jones, Mat Maneri, Julia Bullock, and Matt Mitchell, among others. Laplante has released 13 critically acclaimed albums as a leader or co-leader on New Amsterdam Records, Aum Fidelity, Skirl, Tripticks Tapes, Out of Your Head Records, New Focus Recordings, and NNA Tapes.

Laplante has toured his music extensively and has appeared at many major international festivals such as The Moers Festival (Germany), Jazz Jantar (Poland), Saalfelden (Austria), Jazz em Agosto (Portugal), Earshot (Seattle), Hopscotch (North Carolina), and the NYC Winter JazzFest.

As a composer, Laplante has been commissioned by the Lucerne Festival (Switzerland), the JACK Quartet, Roulette Intermedium, Yarn/Wire, the Yellow Barn Music Festival, the MATA festival, and The Jerome Foundation.

This album contains no booklet.