Jonathan
Uhls

Bio

I was born in Iowa but have lived primarily in the southern United States (currently in Alabama). I am focused on contemporary art music. I have paid most attention to jazz, postmodernist, and eastern music. I have also focused on ambient, electronic, hip-hop/rap, blues, country blues, bluegrass, rock, and american primitive music. My listening spectrum is broad and I am striving to further hone my own style. I have been playing and studying music for almost 30 years and have recently started to publish works. I am predominantly concerned with composition. I am a multi-instrumentalist although my primary instrument is the piano.

Introduction

I think of my current work as manifestations of dreams. It is abstract. So, as a listener, you are able to dream my dreams! I think of this art as a way of making connections in the listener's mind. These connections may be familiar or completely foreign. They may be preconceived or they may be completely new. They may be completely dissonant and weak or as clear as a resolved sadness. Therefore, my work is generally in the realm of emotion, the abstract, and the unconscious (collective or otherwise). The work is, for the most part, spontaneous, and it is an expression of my self.

I enjoy the space between two solitary notes as much as the arc of a piece from beginning to end. My process usually starts by selecting a scale or coalescing a theme, and then improvising an almost complete piece in one sitting at the keyboard. Occasionally I consider the piece 100% complete and publish it as it was conceived. Usually, however, the piece requires touchup. I am far from a virtuosic musician. I have a lot of bad habits, my trills trail off soon after they start, and my runs are sluggish and sloppy. So I fill in these intents, repair the mis-steps, trim away chaff and then publish a final piece. In future work I am anxious to see if I can expand on the ideas generated by the initial spontaneous session; to later add more ideas to the same work without the piece sounding artificial.

I am currently producing mostly solo piano pieces but hope to produce works for chamber and larger ensembles.

Current Work:

• Sheet music for first and second album
• Third album

Seeking:

• Someone to review/edit sheet music
• Improve piano musicianship
• Extend knowledge of theory, composition, and arrangement
• Work (commissions, film, etc.)