Ed Pias - Ancestor's Halo (1997)

Ed Pias plays all instruments including: Remo Frame Drums, tar, riq, kanjira and tambourines, Sabian cymbals, Burmese gong, pakhawaj, tabla, drum set, voice, ankle rattles, shakers, jaw harps and ocarina

Composed and produced by Ed Pias
Ancestors Halo was produced and recorded by Scott Colburn at Gravelvoice, Seattle, Washington, March 1996 except for pieces 3,4,5 and 11 which were recorded by Doug Haire at Jack Straw Productions, Seattle, Washington, January 1996
Cover image by Doriana Corda, Extreme Graphics
"I believe when we study and use music from different cultures as a vehicle for our own self expression, we benefit from exploring the whole of those forms and cultures, not just borrowing what attracts us without compassion. When we let down the walls and allow the whole of the music to teach us about its own past, then we can connect life, nature and those things which we cannot see or touch, but only feel, to our own music future. At that point we may begin to approach the threshold of silence. Beyond that threshold of silence exists the ancestor's halo." - Ed Pias 1997
Seattle percussionist Pias assembles the sounds of world percussion from Burmese gong to ankle rattles, frame drum to tabla. Under his command, the unifying principle of this diverse array stands out. For Pias, the eclectic spectrum of rhythm produces a master's palette for the creation of masterpieces. Pias studied under craftsmen such as jazz bassist Charlie Haden and frame drummer John Bergamo, and worked with groundbreakers like John Cage and Henry Threadgill, which enriched and inspired his drum compositions. The background to each canvas (linked together, titleless, to form a mural) is a uniting drone. Included on this album is the resonant, Hindu two-headed barrel drum called pakhawaj, and high-end jingles arise from the riq, a Middle Eastern tambourine. Foot stomps come alive from the pods of West African ankle rattles. Ancestor's Halo is a tranquil, compelling and textured universe of percussion possibility. - Tom Schulte, AMG