Akropolis Reed Quintet, Pascal Le Boeuf & Christian Euman - Pascal Le Boeuf: Are We Dreaming The Same Dream? (2024)

Akropolis Reed Quintet, composer/pianist Pascal Le Boeuf, and drummer Christian Euman join forces on the electrifying album Are We Dreaming The Same Dream? Le Boeuf’s album-length composition examines what Ralph Ellison calls “the unity of American experience” by recognizing his musical ancestors — Geri Allen, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, Bill T. Jones, and Leonard Bernstein. His composition asks: Are we really dreaming the same American dream, or is our consumer culture overshadowing our own sense of belonging?

"Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?" is an examination of what Ralph Ellison calls “the unity of American experience” and draws upon a selection of my musical “ancestors” — Geri Allen, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, and Leonard Bernstein — each of whom have historically represented a variety of perspectives concerning the unity of American experience. Following this chain of artistic ancestry leads to Duke Ellington, Mary Lou Williams, Aaron Copland, and beyond.

This project was prompted by a quote from choreographer Bill T. Jones. When I first worked with Bill in 2014, I was taken by his fearless approach to creating socially engaged art, and the myriad ways in which he married improvised and planned material throughout the collaborative process. That same year, he published Story/Time (Princeton University Press) which examines his artistic relationship to John Cage, whom he both admires and questions.

“If one were to examine[…] the DNA of one’s influences[…] in terms of how the various strands interact to create the artist, one would see how important conflict between strands is. I don’t think any artist can come to who they are without experiencing this conflict.[…] In some cases, one has to accept an uncomfortable fit in order to become the artist one truly is.”

On a personal level, this music represents my struggle to understand, as Bill puts it, the artist who I truly am, the context in which I exist, and the strands of influence that form my identity. But this work also begs the audience to consider the unity or disunity of their American experience and to examine the strands that contribute to our collective identity, for as Ellison once pointed out, “the most agonizing mystery sponsored by the democratic ideal is that of our unity- in-diversity, our oneness in manyness. American culture is of a whole, for that which is essentially ‘American’ in[that] it springs from the synthesis of our diverse elements of cultural style.”

Program note by Pascal Le Boeuf: Are We Dreaming the Same Dream? was commissioned by the Akropolis Reed Quintet with support from the National Endowment for the Arts “Art Works” program, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music Recording Program, the Alice M. Ditson Fund Recording Program, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. This work was completed by Pascal Le Boeuf while in residence at Copland House, Cortlandt Manor, New York, as a recipient of the Copland House Residency Award.

Tim Gocklin, oboe
Kari Landry, clarinet
Matt Landry, saxophone
Andrew Koeppe, bass clarinet
Ryan Reynolds, bassoon
Pascal Le Boeuf, piano
Christian Euman, drums

Tracklist
01 - Prelude (Theme)
02 - All Consuming
03 - Interlude (Retrograde)
04 - Unity At Intervals
05 - Interlude (Mashup)
06 - Strands
07 - Processional
08 - Ambassadors (Swing)
09 - Ideals and Disillusions
10 - Invisible America (Theme)
11 - Ancestors (Fast)
12 - Interlude (Loop)
13 - Ancestors (Slow)
14 - Almost a Duet
15 - Dedications (Ballad)
16 - A Joyful Tribute
17 - Recessional