Artist description Spiritpark, led by Ronald Thompson is a project of various intrumentations, (in this case 8 string guitar, percussion and Tenor Saxophone, interested in expanding the vocabulary of musicians in the field of creative music. Through the use of graphical instructions and traditional notation, one of the goals is to allow the musicians to "be themselves" and bring as much of themselves to a particular composition with a minimum of restraints, while keeping the overall goal of the piece in mind.

Music Style Jazz - Creative Music, Avant Garde, Experimental

Musical Influences Anthony Braxton, Derek Bailey, Elliott Carter, Morton Feldman

Similar Artists Anthony Braxton, Morton Feldman, Roscoe Mitchell

Artist History The band was founded in March of 1999 and the original recording was done with Karen Stackpole on percussion, Larry Ochs on Tenor Saxophone and Ronald Thompson on 8 string guitar. Larry is a founding member of the Rova Saxophone Quartet and while that and other projects take most of his time, Dan Plonsey has ably assumed the role. In the last year the group has grown immeasurealby and plans to release live recordings from Venue 9 in San Francisco and the Starry Plough in Berkeley Ca. as well as studio recordings. A sextet session augmented with bassist George Cremaschi and instrument inventor Tom Nunn is also schedule for release in the near future.

Group Members Ronald Thompson plays 8 string guitar. Information about him can be found at www.bayimproviser.com..click on artists and then find his name. Dan Plonsey is a graduate of Yale University with degrees in mathematics and music. Dan also has a Master's Degree in Music from Mills College. Dan has numerous cd's out under his own name on various labels. Karen Stackpole is a percussionist and frequent contributor to Drum Magazine and Electronic Musician. Her credits include work with leading creative musicians.

Instruments 8 string guitar, reeds, percussion

Albums Spiritpark Vols. 1, 2 and 3

Press Reviews Spiritpark hacks away at the boundaries of modern music - Derk Richardson, East Bay Express

Additional Info Check out "Neon Egypt" by my friends Steven Miller and Harrison Goldberg

Location Oakland, California - USA

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