JOHN
BRUCE WALLACE
BIOGRAPHY
John
Bruce Wallace is a free
jazz solo performer interested
in freely improvised
music with a focus on generating extended sound statements within the
options afforded
through solo performance. His approach incorporates totally improvised
sound
expressions with emphasis on deconstruction of structure and pattern,
upon
which one can become comfortable and rely on during a performance,
while
generating a narrative of the moment. He is interested in the textural
aspects
of the sounds, in the physical dimensioning of each note, of the
geometric
quality of the sounds, as-well-as being concerned with the timbre of
every note
and passage, and with the rhythmic structure of the relationship of
each note
to its neighbors within the musical neighborhood. Compositions are
improvised
extemporaneously on solo electric guitar without the use of tape, tape
dubbing,
computers or synthesizers. The sounds are generated from the mind
through the
hands and fingers. The idea is to utilize a few basic tones and then
present
relational possibilities inherent in those tones. The improvised
compositions
often incorporate sonorous multi-tonal qualities, dense, interwoven
passages
embellished with harmonic and micro-tonal sound statements, or silence
further
defined by irregular syntaxed rhythms and primitive beats. These
extempore
compositions incorporate complex musical riddles wherein are displayed
the
qualities of multiple instrument arrangements, incorporating voicings
that
bring to mind horns, sax, chimes, cello and strings, and percussion as
well as
various guitar timbres: All in the service of exploring, exposing,
exhuming,
and exploding the human GEIST.
Critical
acclaim includes: "Wallace is one of those rare exceptions (Charles S.
Russell, EAR MAGAZINE, New York, NY). "[He
has]
An aggressive, wailing guitar sound—astonishing and extremely
individual—that one has never heard before (Grigory Valov,
TIF,
Arkhangel'sk, Russia). "Wallace
interprets the
improvised pieces with many harmonics, with inconsistent rhythms over
fractured
changes" (Philippe Renaud, NOTES, Nantes,
France.)
"[H]is
playing is a lot less predictable than that of many guitar warriors,
and the
best of it has a savage beauty that Eddie
Van Halen couldn't achieve with
six months of overdubs" (Mark Jenkins,
Washington City Paper,
Washington, DC).
"His sizzling electric distortion...thick and saturated tone captures a
kind of steel industrial sound, gently relating to the development of
the urban
situation, and technological society on which he comments, and to the
worldly
issues faced by modern development. Wallace’s music comes out
like a
giant question with no apparent answer...tapping the human
interior’s
post pro-harmonic feedback" (LaDonna
Smith, in the improvisor;
vol. XI, Birmingham, Alabama). "He invented a new technique of playing
while continuously changing the
pitch of his electric guitar" (Svetlana Korel'skaya, ARKHANGEL'SK,
Arkhangel'sk,
Russia).
"[A] composer working to create a new voice
for the electric guitar...creating a new approach to the instrument" (Tim
Brady,
Opus Novus, Bradyworks, Codes d'Access, Montreal, Quebec, Canada). "The
music is clearly developed, powerful, and expressive (Rick Petrie, WITR
Radio, Rochester,
NY).
"Really great improvisation for guitar' (Dwight
Loop, Earwaves Radio Network, KSFR
Radio, Santa Fe, NM).
He
has shared performance
billings with: Tim Hodgkinson,
Evan
Ziporyn,
John King, Vladimir Tarasov, ZGA, Enver Izmailov,
Burhan Ocal and Jazz
Band Arkhangel'sk. Tours have included festivals in Russia and
Lithuania, where he was awarded fourth place at
the Vilnius Jazz Festival.
His music was invited for performance consideration at the American
Pavilion during the 1991 São Paulo
Art Biennial, in São
Paulo, Brazil.
He has recorded and released seven albums of extended sound statements.
In the early 1990's John became afflicted with Meniere's Disease which presented unique challenges to performances and recording, the resolution of these allowed an expansion of thought as to how sound production was perceived in terms of amplification and microphone placement. In 2010 his right hand was severely mangled by a dog bite, again presenting unique challenges for John since his playing style incorporates use of fingers, pick, and various other sections of the right hand in bringing forth the tones he prefers.Perspectives
from Life:
John
exhibited an affinity for the performing arts at an early age, first in
acting,
playing the lead roles in grade school plays, later he expanded his
interests
to include singing solo for his grade school classmates. By high school
John
had found “the Guitar” and would perform almost
daily during
summers on his family’s front porch for the traffic passing
by.
Bands formed during this time were all short lived usually breaking up
due to
disagreements over the musical direction that the group members wanted
to go
in. Whereas, the musical influences of the other band members included
the
Ventures, the Beatles, Paul Reeve and the Raiders, and other Main
Stream
60’s Rock, John’s early influences included Sun Ra,
Pink Floyd,
Frank Zappa, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Jimi Hendrix. After high school,
John
moved to Portland, Maine, to pursue music. He started several groups
which all
failed due to musical differences, although one failed after the
band’s
equipment was stolen. However, during this time he would fill in on
guitar for
a number of traveling bands that were performing in night clubs in
Portland. He
was also at this time becoming more influenced by Experiential Rock and
Jazz.
During this time John met and became friends with Count Basie and
several
members of the Electric Light Orchestra (Wilfred
Gibson (violin), Colin Walker
(cello), Mike Edwards
(cello)). Lee Crabtree of the Fugs and Holy Modal Rounders was a friend
shortly
before his untimely death, as was Bill Chinnock.
Invited
upon a late night meeting in a Dunkin Donuts in Portland Maine by ABC
Vice-President for Late Night Programming Robert Shanks (producer of
ABC’s Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert) to come to New
York, John
embarked on the next phase of his musical saga. Six months after their
meeting
John arrived at ABC and was introduced to Shep Gordon of Alive
Enterprises
(Management for Alice Cooper). As is the norm in the World of Rock
Ascension,
much time was spent ‘wearing out one’s pants from
the outside
in’ bench sitting for auditions and interview appointments,
where looks
and attitude carry more weight than talent. The payment of dues was on.
During
this time John also met Elizabeth Gilbert of
Columbia
Records’ John Hammond’s office. Interesting
adventures from this
association included being sent to audition for the position of lead
guitar for
Bruce Springsteen and being the guitarist in a short lived jazz group
fronted
by Lewis MacMillan from Lionel Hampton’s organization. The
Springsteen
audition, arranged as a debt repayment due to John Hammond’s
influence in
Springsteen’s career, did not happen as Mike Appeal
(Springsteen’s
manager at the time) dismissed John out of hand saying that there was
“room for only One Star in the band”. These and
similar life
experiences, encountered while participating in the popular music
business with
an inside perspective greatly disillusioned John to the belief that the
importance of the quality of talent counted as a value considered in
the
priorities regarded as essential by A&R (Artists and Repertory)
executives
to achieving ‘Fame and Fortune’ as a rock star,
as-well-as
exemplifying the tremendous shallowness of the whole popular culture
within our
society. This moved him to look more closely at jazz and
‘free
jazz’ as practiced in Europe, by established artists such as
Ornatte
Coleman, Anthony Braxton, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, Derek Bailey, and by
certain
young artists at the time beginning to work in Alphabet-city on New
York’s lower East side, some of whom he has since shared
performance
billings with; music expressions that place great value on quality of
talent,
originality, and uniqueness, as the appropriate voice for his sound
statements. A brief association with David Amram further
influenced
John’s examination of contemporary classical music as an
ingredient in the
musical porridge in his head. Professional experience at the time came
from
involvement as a Jazz Guitarist for a band fronted by Lewis MacMillan,
noted
Jazz Historian, New York, New York; Recording Consultant to George
Bookhard
Management, New York; and Talent Scout to Elizabeth Gilbert,
Administrative
Assistant to John Hammond, Columbia Records, New
York.
John also renewed the acquaintance with Count Basie and met Helen
Humes. Also
an evening at Andy Warhol’s Factory and regular evenings at
CBGBs, as well
as the fabled Cedar Tavern and St. Mark’s in the East
Village, where John
engaged in the discussions of the moment, all proved most educational.
Regulars
met there included Allen Ginsberg. Adventures crossed paths with the
Ramones,
Blondie, Laurie Spiegel, and Meredith Monk.
John
finds supplemental expression through painting and computer generated
art. The
need to express graphically traces back to when he was in grade school.
As with
his musical sound statements the concern is with the human condition
and how we
find ourselves in an alienating environment. Figurative images have
explored
the emotional aspects of the human experience, painted in oil done in a
style
that incorporated the use of his fingers in lieu of brushes; abstract
images
have explored the definition of the surface, as–well-as
color. He has
exhibited in several shows in New York City and Washington, DC,
as-well-as,
shows in Chicago, Minneapolis, Missouri, Maryland, Maine, and Virginia,
with
positive reviews in the local art-press. Of his paintings and graphics
it has
been said: Like El Greco, Picasso and deKooning he paints distorted
figures
that inhabit mysterious, bleak, and alienating environments.
Some of his
figures seem to be working; others huddle together or stand in
contorted
postures. He is like Van Gogh and Monet in paint
application. His
vivid colors, blacks, and whites charge the work with a deep emotional
impact.
Since he uses up to twenty layers of color, there is an extreme tension
between
the layers of underpainting and a malaise in surface tone as well as a
uniquely
structured surface.”[He] produces harsh,
sometimes
frightening compositions in violent colors, evoking an atmosphere of
alienation
which bespeaks the human dilemma with painful clarity”
(Dennis Wepman,
“The Human Dilemma” in Manhattan Arts, March 1988).
John
holds a BA in Philosophy Magna Cum Laude from the University of
Southern Maine
and a BS in Information Systems Management Magna Cum Laude from the
University of
Maryland University College. He was a National
Student Exchange participant at the University of Oregon, and has a
Certificate
in Legal Studies from Antioch School of Law. His philosophy
background
combines focus on both Phenomenology and Analytic Philosophy. He has
conducted
his continued philosophical interests within a focus that considers
examining
philosophical questions from both perspectives. Philosophers of
interest
include: Husserl, Merleau-Ponty, Wittgenstein, Geach, P. Strawson,
Fodor,
Davidson, Block, Andy Clark, Searle, Carruthers, Tye, and Boden. He is
interested in issues in the Philosophy of Mind, Consciousness,
Philosophy of
Psychology, The Self, Thought, Creativity, Imagination, Artificial
Intelligence
(“AI”), Epistemology, Logic, Perception, and Time.
He has continued
to read and do research in these areas. Recent areas of attention have
focused
on issues that involve consciousness, quantum physics, and cognitive
science
including: questioning the notion of time-bundling with regard to
neuronal
firings as correlates of consciousness and the adequacy of modularity
of mind
theories in view of recent research that has shown that there is not a
direct
correlate of mental activity, neuronal firings within a specific area
of the
brain, with specific thought, when observation has been MIR verified
for both
male and female test cases. The fact that these studies
display a
disjunctive neuronal firing pattern that does not appear to be modular
situated
raises serious questions regarding the notion of modularity as being
basic to
brain functionality, as specified in Evolutionary Psychology Theories
of Mind,
or as being the prime basis for a Philosophy of Mind as one reading of
Fodor
can imply. These investigations have also raised questions regarding
the
correctness of Representation Theories and memory storage of tokens.
Other
discussions have revolved around the issue of the non-locality of
consciousness, when one considers the essentialness of information as
an
element of Phenomenal-consciousness and the difficulties with the
localization
of information. Currently John has been working on a manuscript
examining the
role of Imagination as the foundation for thought, drawing on theories
of
creativity and improvisation through spontaneous thought
expression. He
has also recently been focusing on the issue of Artificial Intelligence
and the
notion that Access Consciousness, as flushed out by Ned Block, might
serve as a
foundation for ascribing a form of consciousness, emphasizing the
functional
process of making information available to the central control process
(executive program) module, unique from human consciousness, to AI. His
undergraduate senior thesis on Solipsism, Consciousness, and Philosophy
of Mind
was published by Rowman & Littlefield as a 136 page monograph
in Philosophy
titled: Genesis: Involvement: Generation.
“[Genesis] deals with the
philosophical issues concerning the problems of solipsism:
the search for the 'self' and its relation to the world. Addressing
such
traditional questions as the nature of epistemological
certainty,
metaphysics,
and the adequacy of logic and science as foundations of thought, the
author
expands his investigation to include an examination of the individual
and the
social sciences. The author draws upon the thought of various
philosophers,
contending that both metaphysical and epistemological solipsism are
faulty
notions seeded in an equally faulty endeavor 'The Quest for Certainty',
concluding that it is necessary to return to the Socratic maxim, 'Know
Thyself', as a pluralistic field of consciousness.”
(Review at Amazon.com) Other
publications include: “Bioterrorism: Anthrax, Sarin, and
Smallpox What
Can Be Done”, Paper on the prospects of disaster recovery in
the event of
a bioterrorism attack, to be reprinted as a chapter in an ICFAI
anthology
tentatively titled Bioterrorism forthcoming, and
“Can Access
Consciousness Qualify as Computer Consciousness? Or, So What If My
Computer
Can't Cry!”, Philosophy paper on ascribing Access
Consciousness, as
presented by Ned Block, to Artificial Intelligence, accepted for poster
presentation at Toward a Science of Consciousness Conference 2009 (TSC)
in Hong
Kong, the Center for Consciousness Studies, University of Arizona.
Additional
occupations and life experiences have included; work as a Mental Health
Worker
attending to the developmentally disabled in a state institution,
provided
first hand observation of the effects of various illnesses and adverse
conditions upon the mind and the development of consciousness in each
of those
individuals in particular and as applied to the notion of what
constitutes a
person in general; twenty-five plus years of experience in the legal
profession
as a Paralegal in a general practice firm where he managed the
firm’s
Social Security Denial Appeals cases; Legal Analyst for the Justice
Department’s Naval Shipyard asbestos cases defense;
Chief Paralegal and Information coordinator for an ERISA
law firm; Technical Trainer with Lockheed Martin on the Justice
Department’s Mega 3 Litigation Support contract;
work in auto parts
and tobacco warehouses; textile factory; funeral home; day-laborer;
jewelry
salesman; jewelry engraver; watch repairman; museum assistant
in the
Curatorial Department at the Corcoran Gallery of Art; political
campaign
worker; art organization board director and advisor; producer of record
demos;
sound technician; and street urchin. John has published poems
in poetry
rags in Maine, Texas, and New York, as-well-as a volume titled
Gleanings for
Monday. He shares with the late Columbia Records Producer and
Jazz
impresario John Hammond, Sr. the distinction of being the subject of a
volume
of poems, titled John Poems, by the former New York and Nashville poet
El
Gilbert.