C3: Motion Study

Continuous Improvisation: from 2012, with videography by Bret Hamilton

C3 was a long-term collaboration between Seattle musicians Steve Ball and Paul O’Rear, active from 2010 through 2015. C3 was an inevitable evolution of the Steve Ball Roadshow, a “songs for guitar-based ensemble” that had been performing in and around the Seattle area in various formats since 1997.

Before settling in Seattle in 1993, Steve Ball was a long-time member of the League of Crafty Guitarists, founder of the Seattle Guitar Circle, and core member of international guitar ensembles Los Gauchos Alemanes and Electric Gauchos.

In 2016, C3 disbanded and he founded Tiny Orchestral Moments (TOM), a global ensemble exercising the principle of Continuous Improvisation.

C3 music was also embodied by the spirit of Continuous Improvisation, often unfolding with odd, intricate and interlocking guitar parts complemented with stacked vocal harmonies.

C3 performances featured a constantly morphing line-up of world-class guest musicians who collaborate to present improvised songscapes and multi-layered story-songs. Arrangements, tempos, keys, and harmonies unfold dynamically and musically in the moment, and no song or show is ever performed exactly the same way twice.

C3 performed woven arrangements of both new and familiar songs by the group as well as carefully chosen covers by Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, Jane Siberry, Kate Bush, and Todd Rundgren. And in this case, we extrapolated and improvised parts based upon a bass line from Nik Bärtsch’s RONIN “Module 17.”

C3 2013-2014 live collaborators also included: Jaxie Binder, Stephen Thompson, Nathan Grigg, Igor Abuladze. This particular improvisation was done one night in Steve’s studio with Paul, Nate, Lee and Steve improvising in and around Nik’s bass line that had been stuck in Paul’s head and hands for a few days.

This (joyous) improvisation poured right out, and Bret Hamilton later constructed this videography to accompany the piece.

Motion Study features:

Nathan Grigg, keys
Paul O’Rear, bass
Ivan Lee, guitar
Steve Ball, guitar, vox, collage
JGB, spoken word

The 12 vocal excerpts mashed into the Motion Study improv are each from one of the 12 songs on the C3 CD.

You can learn more or purchase the exclusive, limited C3 Book + CD package here:

www.steveball.com/C3

Thank you for your time and attention.

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