Pascal Le Boeuf: Are We Dreaming The Same Dream? Akropolis Reed Quintet, Pascal Le Boeuf, Christian Euman

• 1Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Prelude (Theme)01:40
• 2Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: All Consuming08:08
• 3Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Interlude (Retrograde)02:00
• 4Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Unity At Intervals03:11
• 5Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Interlude (Mashup)01:48
• 6Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Strands07:33
• 7Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Processional02:34
• 8Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Ambassadors (Swing)03:07
• 9Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Ideals and Disillusions05:42
• 10Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Invisible America (Theme)03:32
• 11Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Ancestors (Fast)01:33
• 12Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Interlude (Loop)02:44
• 13Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Ancestors (Slow)02:06
• 14Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Almost a Duet01:58
• 15Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Dedications (Ballad)02:26
• 16Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: A Joyful Tribute05:33
• 17Euman, Boeuf, Quintet: Recessional02:48
• Total Runtime58:23

Info for Pascal Le Boeuf: Are We Dreaming The Same Dream?

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

Akropolis Reed Quintet
Celebrating their 15th year as “a sonically daring ensemble who specializes in performing new works with charisma and integrity” (BBC Music Magazine), Akropolis has “taken the chamber music world by storm” (Fanfare). As the first reed quintet to twice grace the Billboard Charts (2021, 2022), the untamed band of 5 reed players and entrepreneurs are united by a shared passion: to make music that sparks joy and wonder.

Winner of 7 national chamber music prizes including the 2014 Fischoff Gold Medal, Akropolis performs “works that brilliantly exploit their unique instrumentation” (Gramophone). Remaining the same 5 members since their founding in 2009, Akropolis delivers 120 concerts and educational events worldwide each year and has premiered and commissioned over 130 works by living artists and composers.

Their 23-24 15th anniversary season includes their UMS debut this fall; premieres of the music of Derrick Skye and Stephanie Ann Boyd; imaginative renditions of music by Ravel and Stravinsky; and touring their upcoming 6th album, Are We Dreaming The Same Dream? with Grammy-nominated pianist and composer Pascal Le Beouf.

World premieres of music by Pascal LeBoeuf, Annika Socolofsky, Kate Pukinskis, Corey Dundee and 10 Detroit high school student composers.

Pascal Le Boeuf
Described as “sleek, new” and “hyper- fluent” by the New York Times, Pascal Le Boeuf (composer and pianist) is a Grammy- nominated composer, jazz pianist, and electronic artist whose works range from modern improvised music to hybridizing notation-based chamber music with production-based technology.

Recent compositions include Triple Concerto for violin, percussion duo and orchestra featuring Barbora Kolářová and Arx Duo; Imprints with Alarm Will Sound; I Am Not A Number commissioned by New World Symphony; and Out of the Gate commissioned and premiered by Nu Deco Ensemble.

Recent commercial recordings and videos include collaborations with Tasha Warren & Dave Eggar, Friction Quartet, Akropolis Reed Quintet, Christian Euman, JACK Quartet, Hub New Music, Shattered Glass, Todd Reynolds, Sara Caswell, Jessica Meyer, Nick Photinos, Four/Ten Media, Bec Plexus featuring Ian Chang (of Son Lux), Dayna Stephens, Allan Harris, Linda Oh, Justin Brown, and the Le Boeuf Brothers Quintet (co-led by Remy Le Boeuf) praised by the New Yorker for “clearing their own path, mixing the solid swing of the jazz tradition with hip-hop, indie rock, and the complex techniques of classical modernism.”

As a keyboardist, Pascal has played as support for D’Angelo’s Black Messiah tour and Clean Bandit’s Rather Be tour with Australian pop artist Meg Mac. He actively performs with Le Boeuf Brothers, saxophonist Jeff Coffin, jazz vocalist Allan Harris, and his piano trio “Pascal’s Triangle.” Pascal’s most recent awards include a 2023 Grammy nomination for “Best Instrumental Composition,” a 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship, a 2020 Copland House Residency Award, and various Independent Music Awards in “Jazz,” “Eclectic,” “Electronica,” and “Music Video” categories. Pascal has received commissions and grants from NEA, New World Symphony, Nu Deco Ensemble, the Lake George Music Festival, Lincoln Center Stage, Chamber Music America, New Music USA, and ASCAP. He composed music for the 2008 Emmy award-winning movie King Lines, and won first place in the 2008 International Songwriting Competition. Pascal is currently an assistant professor of the practice of music and technology at the Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music, and a “Harold W. Dodds Honorific Fellow” and Ph.D. candidate in music composition at Princeton University.

Christian Euman
is an important emerging voice on the drum set, and his unique style, creative approach to performance and improvisation, and infectious energy keeps him in high demand. His musicianship was shaped during his tenure as a student at Western Michigan University, as well as at the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA (now known as the Herbie Hancock Institute), where he studied and shared many stages with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Chris Potter, John Patitucci, Stefon Harris, and many more.

Christian has since performed and toured worldwide with Kurt Elling, Billy Childs, Walter Smith III, Jacob Collier, Sara Gazarek, Will Vinson, Mike Moreno, and many others. Christian has also contributed his distinct voice to the Hollywood scene, being the featured drummer for “La La Land Live” at the Hollywood Bowl and in Taiwan, as well as in scores for major award-winning films, such as Green Book and Ford v. Ferrari.

He has enjoyed performances on stages around the world, including in the White House for the Obamas and at the Playboy Jazz Festival, alongside Hancock and Shorter. Christian has also established himself as an appreciable bandleader and composer, leading different projects at performance spaces throughout the US.

This album contains no booklet.