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Solo for Bass Flute, Ron Korb
When you think of California, what’s the first thing you think of?
Upon arrival for a few days helping friends dog-sit in sunny Sunnyvale, a bedroom community south of San Fran, we sat down with maps to figure out my plan of attack for conquering this amazing area in three short days. My second visit to the area – I had once been to Palo Alto conducting music exams for the RCME – this was my first opportunity to actually get to San Francisco proper, and needless to say I was stoked.
It’s odd being a tourist though, and this was a classic case of testing my skills at the Art of Travel: I had just arrived and already I felt that I was out of time! The magic of the area was soon to win me over, however, in part due to the unexpected direction that the conversation took over a glass of wine. I was chomping at the bit to get north and wander the hilly streets of San Fran, guidebook in hand, and my friends were pitching the idea of driving south to the coast, maybe pay a visit to Pebble Beach…uh, whatever!
At a bit of an impasse in the discussions, we were talking about general directions for getting around the local neighbourhood, hours for the outdoor pool, etc, when one of the main streets – El Camino Drive – caught my attention. I mentioned my fascination and respect for the late fiddle-player Oliver Schroer, and how his seminal recording of walking the famous Spanish Camino, violin in hand, recording in historic spaces and capturing the ambient soundscapes of dusty streets and courtyards, well I conveyed how Ollie’s work continues to be a real inspiration for me.
So talk turned to the early Spanish settlement of the area, which established the chain of missions that would, one by one, dot the entire California coastline: a true American Camino. So it was decided, perhaps counter-intuitively, that we would head away from San Francisco the first day, south to Monterey, 17 Mile Drive at Pebble Beach, maybe hit the top of Big Sur…and pay a visit to the second oldest mission located in Carmel-by-the-Sea (yeah gotta love a place with a name like that!).
I think we made the right decision! The next day, after driving through the coastal mountains, between strawberry fields in the lower coastal flat lands that stretched as far as the eye could see on either side of the highway and wandering the piers of Monterey Bay, we then drove inland. Stepped back from the Pacific and the historic harbour at Monterey and tucked in off the main highway, you will find the Carmel Mission nestled in the wooded hills. Here is a meditative solo written by Toronto-based flutist and composer, Ron Korb, recorded from a pew in the sanctuary while a few hushed visitors wandered the dimly lit interior of the building pictured above. Ron had given me a new collection of pieces he had written just a few weeks prior. Although intended as a solo for Bass Flute – imagine what that would have sounded like – I believe this is one of the first recordings of this wonderful, improvisatory composition…hey, a world premiere, and I can’t think of a better setting!
Yes, despite the pull of the ocean and these veritable rip-tides of history, I did eventually make it to San Francisco!
