3*6*9 – Completed
A collection of jazz rock and atmospheric compositions
After reading the book “Tesla – Inventor of the electrical age”. I decided to write a song (Moonlight On Knob Hill) based on the iconic 1899 photograph of Nikola Tesla sitting in front of his generator in his Colorado Springs Laboratory. From there it was very easy to keep writing material about the life of the inventor.
Musicians on this project:
Accordion – Mario D’Amario, Italy – Track 10
Alto Sax – Manuel Trabucco, Italy – Tracks 3 & 5
Bass Fretless – Giuseppe Zanca, Italy – Track 10
Bass Fretless & Fretted – Stefan Pavlov, Serbia – Tracks 1 & 5
Bassoon – Javier Cereda, Spain – Tracks 2 & 9
Clarinet – Cecilia Dottore, Argentina – Track 9
Clarinet – Nirvana Villegas, Venezuela – Track 2
Drums – Nicola Polidori, Italy – Tracks 6 & 10
Flute – Donata Greco, Italy – Track 5
Flute (Wooden) – Dumindu Dassanay, Sri Lanka – Track 6
Flute & Piccolo – Miguel Vargas, Venezuela – Tracks 2, 4 & 9
Oboe – Maria Virginia Espinoza, Venezuela – Track 2
Percussion – Gabriel Rever, Spain – Track 8
Percussion – Larry Salzman, US – Tracks 2, 3 & 10
Percussion – Luca Giacobbe, Italy – Track 8
Persian Santoor – Ben Beheshty, England – Track 6
Violin – Luisana Hernandez, Venezuela – Track 4
Vibes – Walter Yones, Argentina – Track 8
Vocals – Andrea Stocchino, Italy – Track 10
Vocals – Caleb Cabiness, US – Track 3
Vocals – Kate Nord, Finland – Track 11
Vocals – Tetem, Japan – Track 6
Vocals – Volodymyr Chyzhovych, Ukraine – Track 2
“If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6 and 9, then you would have a key to the universe.” – Nikola Tesla.
After reading the book “Tesla – Inventor of the electrical age”. I decided to write a song (Moonlight On Knob Hill) based on the iconic 1899 photograph of Nikola Tesla sitting in front of his generator in his Colorado Springs Laboratory. From there it was very easy to keep writing material about the life of the inventor
3*6*9 can be streamed or downloaded from Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, YouTube Music, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer, Tidal, iHeartRadio and Soundcloud.
About The Songs
An Evening Walk In The Varosliget
In reading about Tesla’s time in Budapest a story jumped out and inspired this piece. In 1882 Tesla suffered a breakdown. A friend, Anthony Szigeti, helped Telsa get back on his feet. Szigeti convinced Tesla to walk with him each evening in the Varosliget (the city park). During one of these walks Telsa (while reading: Goethe’s “Faust”) had the idea for the rotating magnetic field which is at the heart of the induction motor and Tesla’s Polyphase Alternating Current.
As they would walk around the park every night, I decided to put the main melody in a “round” section with each woodwind instrument playing the motif.
The musician’s on this are Miguel Vargas on flute and piccolo, Maria Virginia Espinoza on oboe, Nirvana Villegas on clarinet, Javier Cereceda on bassoon and Larry Salzman on percussion.
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Moonlight On Knob Hill
After viewing the photograph of Nikola Tesla sitting on a chair in his Knobe Hill, Colorado Springs laboratory it made me wonder what the night sky must have looked like in 1899 while Tesla was performing his experiments. The photo also reminded of the James Whale’s 1931 Frankenstien movie’s lab designed which included Kenneth Strickfaden’s movie machinery prop, his own Tesla coil that he called the Megavolt Senior.
The marvelous bass solo is performed Stefan Pavlov and vocals by Volodymyr Chyzhovych. The intro has an actual recording of a Tesla coil charging.
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Four Cents And A Pocket Full Of Poems
When I read that Nikola Tesla first arrived to the United States with only four cents and a pocket of his own poems, I thought what a song that would make! Thinking about the loneliness, trepidation and anticipation he must have felt made this pretty easy to write.
This song features Donata Greco on flute, Manuel Trabucco on alto sax, Stefan Pavlov on the fretless bass and Nicola Polidori on the drums.
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3-6-9 (A Key To The Universe)
As I started writing material for this project I knew I wanted to write something around the Vortex Math that Tesla considered the enigmatic code of creation and universal energy. As a note, I have no clue how Vortex math works, although it does seem interesting.
This piece features Luca Giacobbe on percussion.
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A Series Of Moments
A prelude for piano and woodwinds.
When I read the quote “Our lives consists of a series of moments” describing Emily Dickinson poem “Forever – is composed of nows” I thought that would make a wonderful idea to write about. In this small piece, I wanted to convey the sadness of the moments of Nikola Tesla’s life. Still today Tesla’s success as an inventor is barley known however his impact on our modern life is all around us.
Thanks to Miguel Vargas on Flute, Cecilia Dottore on Clarinet and Javier Cereceda on the Bassoon.
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Olympus Mons
While on the NASA website I found an image of Olympus Mons from the Viking 1 Orbiter which gave me the idea for this song. Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in our solar system, over 25 miles high from it’s base to it’s summit. The base is as large an area as the state of Arizona.
I have included into this number recordings from Mars by the Perseverance rover. These recordings include the Ingenuity helicopter on April 30, 2021 as it flew on Mars for the fourth time, sounds of the Perseverance rover driving on Mars, the Perseverance rover as it laser zaps a Mars rock and wind sounds on Mars.
Special thanks to Kate Nord for the wonderful vocals on the track.
These Days
I always love close harmony, think of Debussy or Ravel but in vocals it sounds especially wonderful. I wanted to write something that I could use close harmonies in, so I came up with the idea of a song that harkens back to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago. This fair is where Tesla was introduced to the world.
This song features Caleb Cabiness performing the 6-part harmonies and lead vocal, Mannuel Trabucco on alto sax and Larry Salzman on percussion. The lyrics were written by my daughter Cecilia.
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Ever Silent Friend
I wrote this piano, violin and flute trio piece after reading about Katharine McMahon Johnson (the wife of poet Robert Underwood Johnson.) She was one of the many female admirers of Nikola Tesla. Some say she was the only woman Tesla ever loved. In one of Katharine’s letters to Tesla she called him “my ever dear and ever silent friend.” I thought how sad she must have been.
This piece features Luisana Hernandez on the violin and Miguel Vargas on Flute.
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Stairs To Derinkuyu
I love a good mystery, especially an ancient one. When I was researching Sibyl’s Cave I ran across the story of 3,000 year-old underground city in Derinkuyu, Turkey.
This song features Ben Beheshty on the Persian Santoor, Vocals by Tetem and Dumindu Dassanay on the Indian flute.
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Aeolus, Thanks For Nothing
I have always loved the story of Odysseus and Aeolus. A story that shows us why we need patience and vigilance!
This song features Walter Yones on vibes and Gabriel Rever on percussion.
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The Serbian Prometheus
After reading about Nikola Tesla I wrote a song called Moonlight Over Knob Hill (Knob Hill is where his lab in Colorado Springs was located). As it often happens one thing leads to another and I now have five pieces about Tesla on my newest project called 3*6*9. This was the last number I wrote.
The piece features Mario D’Amario on accordion, Giuseppe Zanca on fretless bass, Andrea Stocchino performing the vocals and Nicola Polidori on the drums.
Chart to all 7 vocals on “These Days”