Daniel Panasenko's 'The Composer' explores many facets of the compositional process across a variety of styles and genres. First there are the solo piano pieces presented here with the aid of a sequencer. 'Prelude', 'Canon', and 'For Piano' are a few of the CD's pieces written 'randomly' - using dice to determine notes, octaves, and duration. Other songs utilizing this technique are the saxophone quartet 'Chamber', the marching band of 'Parade', and the sound collage 'Nails in Cement'. Spontaneous composition is the launching point for the electric sounds of 'Thwack' and 'Broken Glass', and continues into the Free Jazz of 'Power Roots I & II' where the roles of rhythm and lead instruments are reversed. Rounding out the CD are the lush, orchestral sounds of 'Song for Nancy', 'The Rapture', 'The Garden', and 'Sangre de Toro' - composed for classical guitar, accordion, clarinet, and the homemade instrument Cehlis. The Musicians: Daniel Panasenko - classical & electric guitar, cehlis, piano, alto & PVC saxophones, percussion Martin Birke - drum kit Chuck Ehlis - fretless bass, thwackoleum, tapes, lap steel Christian Heilman - drum kit Tony Passarell - clarinet, saxophones Mark Wyman - accordion Bio: Daniel Panasenko is a multi-instrumentalist, improviser, and composer best known for his work with sandbox trio, an improvisational group dedicated to experimentation and instrument building. He has recorded and performed with a number of like-minded musicians from around the world, including: Beth Custer, Christian Heilman, Percy Howard, Roman Leykam & Frank Mark, and Tony Passarell. Daniel is currently focusing on a collaboration with singer / guitarist / composer Peter James and guitarist David Lofton, as well as sporadic performances with the electro-improv trio, MicroSphere with Martin Birke (electronic drums) and Stephen Sullivan (guitar synthesizer). multi-instrumentalist Daniel's musical training started at age 12 when he began studying classical guitar with Jack Warren in Sacramento, California. By 16, he had discovered Jazz and began studying with teachers Boyd Phelps and Russ Abraham. During his early 20's, Daniel began to explore percussion and saxophone, and in 1992, alongside Martin Birke and Chuck Ehlis in sandbox trio, he fully embraced the idea of instrument exploration and experimentation. Since 2000 Daniel has been primarily performing and recording with the Chapman Stick, electric upright bass, and harmonium. improviser Daniel has been a proponent of Improvisation from the beginning starting with his high school "art-rock" band with drummer Martin Birke and bassist David Netz. Before joining sandbox trio in 1992, he played with Thwack, an electric jazz-fusion thing with Martin Birke (electronic drums), Art Chivis (alto saxophone), and Chuck Ehlis (fretless bass), followed by BUB Orchestra, a more traditional jazz line up focusing on Free Jazz. composer In addition to composing music for former bands Thwack and BUB Orchestra, Daniel has explored various compositional settings and techniques. He has written music for piano, saxophone quartet, classical guitar & accordion, as well as less conventional instrumentations. Having utilized traditional methods, he has also explored random compositional techniques inspired by John Cage involving the use of various multi-sided dice. He has scored 2 films in collaboration with sandbox trio: "Animals" and "Heartbeat".