Videos

'Constable' aims to capture Mother Nature's spirit in sound and tap into the same power that John Constable used to impact me. From utter serenity to unthinkable enormity, Mother Nature can bring about inner peace, tragedy, insignificance, understanding, or all of the above. As I biked an 80 kilometer circle from Amsterdam through Zuid Kennermerland National Park and back, I saw the widest fields of green, a sunset to die for, and bone-chilling rainstorms all in a single day. I remember being totally soaked, drained of all my energy, and shivering only to turn a corner and see the most beautiful bird I'd ever seen angelically floating in a stream. That day, exhaustion and loneliness stood right beside complete euphoria, and I hope this project can bring you even half of the restoration and joy it brought me while making it.

“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery — air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, 'This is what it is to be happy.'” ― Sylvia Plath

FOR FULL RELEASE NOTES: https://austinzhangstudio.com/2019/12/01/constable-release-notes/
(Less than 5 minute read)

PERSONNEL:
Robinson de Montmollin - Piano
Niklas Lukassen - Bass - https://www.niklaslukassen.com/
Josh Roberts - Drums - https://www.joshuarobertsmusic.com/
Austin Zhang - Alto Saxophone, Composition, Audio/Visual - https://austinzhangstudio.com/

SOCIAL LINKS:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/austinzhangstudio/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austinzhangstudio/
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/austinzhangstudio/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/austinzhangstudio/

Not the main purpose of this video, but I have to mention that everything you see in this video will likely be underwater due to rising sea levels within the next 100-200 years. Read more about the dire situation the Netherlands is soon to face here: https://www.vn.nl/rising-sea-levels-netherlands/

This video is my first attempt at using visuals to bring out a message in the music (sort-of a reverse film score). Between planning, composing, rehearsing, recording, mixing, filming, and editing literally hundreds of hours (granted, it was my first try) are in this 9 minute video. The exciting part though, is that this is just the beginning! Since taking some time away to clear my mind, streamline my process, and clarify my artistic vision, I now have so many more stories to tell and tons of music to share. Expect a project similar to this one once a month! I will also be sharing 2 live performance recordings monthly and writing blogs on my website. Please subscribe for more:)

This composition, Invisible Cities, was named by my friend, Dylan Reis (an amazing bassist in NYC/Philly), after the famous novel by Italo Calvino. You'll have to ask him to know exactly what he meant by that, but I loved the name and kept it.

The Honesty Band is a project I started in New York with the goal of overlooking sensationalism and clickbait culture. The musicians involved on this project, are some of the most authentic and true-to-themselves young artists I know. However, I want to iterate that Honesty Band is an approach and a mindset even more so than it is a specific group of people. The musicians in this video are my "Amsterdam" incarnation of Honesty Band and are all studying at Conservatorium van Amsterdam here in the Netherlands.

Roenik Roa - Guitar
Julian Wittich - Bass
Chen Har Even - Drums
Austin Zhang - Saxophone, Composition

For more information on Honesty Band: https://austinzhangstudio.com/home/honesty-band/

One of the best nights of my whole life was seeing Harold Mabern and George Coleman play together at the Jazz Standard earlier this year with Yotam Silberstein, Gerald Cannon, and George Coleman Jr. All my friends will tell you I wouldn't stop talking about that concert for a whole week and haven't stopped thinking about it since. My favorite part was when they played the melodies of several ballads one after another, no solos, just the most beautiful interpretations of melodies I'd ever heard. With everyone talking about the craziest solos or what substitutions to put where, it was so refreshing to hear so much music being made from the song itself. One of those melodies was Hoagy Carmichael's The Nearness of You, so I wanted to play this melody for Harold. No, this is not anything profound or flashy but it's what I felt like playing today after hearing the news.

I've had the pleasure of seeing Harold play live on many occasions and have never met a man as full of joy, charm, and goodness as him. Looking back, I can't believe I saw him playing at Fat Cat at 2AM to a bunch of drunk New Yorkers playing pool (at 83 years old), he should've been treated like the national treasure he was and is. Rest in Peace Harold Mabern!

Recorded by Anthony Najera at the Kitchen Cafe Dallas, on June 23rd, 2019

Ethan Ditthardt - Guitar
Dave Meder - Piano
Young Heo - Bass
Quinton Cain - Drums

austinzhangstudio.com

Recorded by Anthony Najera at the Kitchen Cafe Dallas, on June 23rd, 2019

Ethan Ditthardt - Guitar
Dave Meder - Piano
Young Heo - Bass
Quinton Cain - Drums

austinzhangstudio.com

Here is a beautiful tradition song from the country of Latvia I arranged for my final project for Jim McNeely's Studio Orchestra class. Hope you enjoy this!

Arta Jēkabsone - Vocal Solo
Ben Feldman - Video
Stefan Haerle - Mixing

austinzhangstudio.com

I didn't realize at the time of writing, but some of the melodies in here are actually from Imants Ramins famous arrangement of this song. Being an outsider to this tradition, I wasn't able to decipher what was the traditional song and what was added later by others. Hopefully, as I'm not profiting off this in any way and wrote it for a school project, there won't be any issues with this.

Jerome Kern's All The Things You Are

Joseph Block - Piano
Kimon Karoutzos - Bass
Andreu Pitarch Mach - Drums
Austin Zhang - Alto Sax

Joseph Block - Piano
Kimon Karoutzos - Bass
Andreu Pitarch Mach - Drums
Austin Zhang - Alto Sax, Composition

Thank you to Manuel Oliver, Joaquin’s father, for giving me permission to create this song and for your continued activism and push for change. Your undying courage is an inspiration to us all. You can follow and contribute to Manuel’s efforts at www.changetheref.org

The purpose of this project is to inspire action and combat the desensitization that has accompanied this now commonplace occurrence. These numbers we see, “17 dead”, don’t do these lives any justice. While the cliche, “I’d take a bullet for you”, is thrown around quite a lot, some of these 14 and 15 year olds actually did. 15 year old Peter Wang, held a door for his peers while he was being shot at and unfortunately, did not survive because of his own selflessness. How many congressmen would do that? Each of these students and teachers had passions, ambitions, loved ones, and human spirit.

The first part of this song, “In Freedom Halls”, calls for more acceptance and love in America’s schools. Written from the perspective of an isolated and troubled individual, it describes the feeling of not being able to fit in with the distinct norms and social cliques of the American high school. I want to make clear, that this is NOT a justification of the actions of a shooter, of course, that can never ever be rationalized. However, if we pay attention to those who separate themselves and show them undying love and acceptance, maybe some of these can be prevented. We all know who these people are. In almost every case, red flags have been glaring for years before any violent action takes place. Recognize these situations early. Love. Love. Love.

Part 2 is a commemoration of Joaquin Oliver’s life and legacy. His message to love all will not be in vain. This is not meant to be a sob song. For the joy and vivacity he was known for, I don’t think he would have wanted that. Since he was a lover of hip-hop and rap music, I wanted to incorporate that into the music.

In truth, all of these individuals deserve a song written for them and so much more (and maybe one day I will). For this specific project I chose Joaquin because of his love of artistry, music, and expression.

Joaquin was taken from us on Valentine’s Day, 2018, in Parkland, Florida, alongside debater and soccer captain, Alyssa Alhadeff, Navy veteran and wrestling coach, Chris Hixon, geography teacher and courageous hero, Scott Beigel, Star Wars lover and JROTC member, Martin Duque, recruited athlete and competitive swimmer, Nicholas Dworet, football coach and loving mentor, Aaron Feis, dancer and frequent volunteer, Jaime Guttenberg, chicken nugget fan and baller, Luke Hoyer, dancer and beach lover, Cara Loughran, Harry Potter lover and artist, Gina Montalto, JROTC member and bubbly church volunteer, Alaina Petty, graduating senior and beloved daughter, Meadow Pollack, cat lover and K-Pop enthusiast, Helena Ramsay, trombone player and Miami Heat loving, Alex Schachter, advanced pianist and National Merit Scholar, Carmen Schentrup, and selfless leader and JROTC member, Peter Wang.

Write your political representatives, discuss this issue with your community, and be a part of the solution. This problem runs way deeper than AR-15s or Democrats vs. Republicans. Guns have have been around for centuries but never have we seen school shootings with such frequency in our history. Background checks and gun restrictions are a first step for sure, but I fear that will not be near enough. America and American schools are in need of love today.

Please discuss in the comments below, we need to get an open conversation going. Whether you’re left or right, I think we can all agree that we need to act urgently, we all want this to stop, right? So let’s talk, what do you think will work and why? Don’t discount the ideas of others without considering them first. If you disagree, describe why in a constructive way.

Bijan Taghavi - Piano
Malte Arndal - Drums
Niklas Lukassen - Bass and Vocal
Rap written and performed by Julian Robertson
Austin Zhang - Lyrics, Composition, and Woodwinds

Watch in HD with headphones if possible!
Etude 1 by Rick Condit 0:04
Etude 2 by Warren Sneed 0:41
Etude 3 by Russell Haight 2:25
Performed by Austin Zhang
For questions or Skype lessons: https://austinzhangstudio.com/contact/