Evil Clown: Leap of Faith

On Leap of Faith: "Alien yet familiar, bizarre yet completely fascinating. Expanding, contracting, erupting, settling down, always as one force..." - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG

On Metal Chaos Ensemble: "... using unique strategies to yield densely active and eerily surreal music, an incredible excursion through experimental improvisation." - Squidco website staff

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Recording Summary

Streaming, Downloads and CD Orders

Recording Summary

Streaming, Downloads and CD Orders

Leap of Faith 1 2 3 4

1993-2001; 2015 to present

Leap of Faith 1 2 3 4

Recording Summary

Streaming, Downloads and CD Orders

Leap of Faith 1 2 3 4

Recording Summary

Streaming, Downloads and CD Orders

1993-2001; 2015 to present

Leap of Faith 1 2 3 4

Killian Hall, MIT - 1996 - unknown photographer

Harriet Tubman House, Boston MA - 1996 - Photo by Bailey

Lily Pad, Cambridge MA - May 2015 - Photo by Raffi

Leap of Faith is a long-term collaboration active from 1993 to 2001, resuming in 2015, between Glynis Lomon (cello and voice) and PEK (clarinets, saxophones, double reeds and voice) along with a few other regular members and many guests. The music is almost always pure improvisation with little or no discussion or planning prior to performance.

The story of Leap of Faith starts with PEK’s move from California to Boston in 1989 to study performance with George Garzone at the Berklee School of Music. Glynis, who studied at Bennington College in Vermont with Bill Dixon in the 70s, was from the Boston area and was already very active in the Boston New Music scene. By mid-1990, Glynis and PEK were both in the Masashi Harada sextet which featured the composition and piano of Masashi as well as John Fugarino on trumpet, Atemu Aton on bass, and Lawrence Cooke on drums. The sextet also had a performance with William Parker on bass. The interaction between Glynis and PEK developed in this band to include multi-phonics, glissando, microtones, close imitation and many other extended techniques.

Starting in 1993, Glynis and PEK’s next project was the Leaping Water Trio which also featured Sam Lobel on clarinets and saxophones. They further developed their highly specialized interaction in this smaller chamber ensemble which had neither a drummer nor a bass player. This band is really the first incarnation of Leap of Faith, although it did not carry that name.

The first lineup named Leap of Faith started in 1995 as a trio with Glynis, PEK and Mark McGrain on trombone. Sydney Smart (drums) and Craig Schildhauer (double bass) became frequent guests during this period. A few unusual venues in the Boston Area (the Bookcellar Café, the Zeitgeist Gallery, and Twisted Village record store) allowed this group and the later versions of Leap of Faith to perform frequently.

They started to have multimedia performances with dancers including Adrian T Hawkins, live action painter Guadulesa, and the computer fractal artwork of PEK and Martha Ritchey. Guadulesa directed a 3 day performance by this multimedia ensemble at the artist space Mobius in May 1997.

In January 1997, they recorded Linear Combinations and Transformations at Killian Hall, MIT. This album featured three lengthy pieces: A quintet with guests Craig and Sydney, a trio, and a septet with Rob Bethel on cello, Forrest Larsen on viola and electronics, Craig on bass and Lawrence Cooke on drums.