Matt Lavelle and the 12 Houses - Crop Circles, Pt. 1 (2024)

In the mid 90’s I exiled myself from the straight-ahead jazz scene in NYC to upstate New York where the trees ruled the land. I had met a spiritual teacher who had become a mentor, Stephanie Gouveia. I had questions about who I was, and especially what life was. During this period my playing was only sporadic so that I didn’t lose my trumpet embouchure completely. I spent most of my time studying metaphysics, numerology, astrology, tarot, and beyond. I was invested in trying to figure out life just as much as I spent the majority of my adult life on a music quest. During this period I learned about the Crop Circles phenomenon. The sacred geometry inherent within them gave me a connection to music through yes, the math. An idea was born in me back then to one day double down on the metaphysical properties in the numerology of the Crop Circles in music, but how?

The 12 Houses were formed originally with the idea to one day reach a point musically where we could go all the way in, or out. The 12 Houses are the 12 houses of astrology. My original idea was for 12 musicians, one representing each sun sign by way of birth would comprise the band. I first sought out musicians for their sounds and when running their astrology charts I had to abandon that level of specificity, though maybe someday I can achieve it.

In 2022, the 12th year of the orchestra after hundreds of live concerts and 2 studio recordings in 2017, Chad Fowler made it possible for the dream and idea I’ve had since the mid 90’s to finally manifest. In the universe’s usually maddening methodology, it was the Covid pandemic that gave me the time and resources to write the music. While Crop Circles 7-12 are still in development, 1-6 presented here, are my life’s work. The Music is the meaning of my life.

In order to vibrations the Crop Circles are showing us, we have to start somewhere, and what we're doing here is taking the math in music to the extreme, one number at a time. Time signature, bar lines, melody notes, chords, and intervals especially, are all based on the numerology of the piece. All of these tools have been used for a very long time of course, but we’re looking at each one up close and staying on it. You could say this is the beginning of the establishment of a new paradigm. You could say that by doing so, we are attempting to make eye contact with God and thus to look inside their mind without going insane. The Crop Circles suite is an attempt to musically see, feel and understand human life, as we are attempting to tell the story of the human race-especially in the future. The deeper realities of our true and future existence contain art, science, and some natural chaos in good measure.

Music is the bridge between science and art.

Crop Circle one opens in a tree just packed with birds overwhelmed with joy. They are so happy to be alive and exist together. Birds get nature so much better than us. They are born to sing. The Circle itself is the divine, the eternal flow of life from birth through death. As such the circles of fourths and fifths are our melodic concept. In the studio the 12 Houses manifested as 4 groups of 4 humans. A sax quartet, a brass quartet, a classical quartet, and a rhythm quartet. In establishing the reality of the orchestra I broke the circle into 4 parts, be they the seasons or the elements. In this piece each element and season are established as they work with each other in deep exchange that I cultivate. Jack Desalvo is a master of harmony who delves into the core of the circle as the wind and rain. Crop Circle one culminates with an all out embrace of every known musical interval, in order mind you.

Crop Circle two-the division of unity and the power of 2. Light and dark, order and chaos. The piece opens featuring the 2 beautiful sounds of Cheryl Pyle on alto flute and Mary Cherney on bass flute in conjunction with an all out assault of orchestral whole tone possibilities. The mastery of Jeremy Carlstedt came through when I asked him to change the rhythm every time I moved the orchestra to the next step. It’s like time travel through an entire day, every 12 seconds or so.

Crop Circle three, the triangle. Three is seen in the opening with myself, Ras Moshe, and Charles Waters before a transition to Stephanie Griffin, Chris Forbes, and the orchestra itself with Charles Waters as the lead as a third element. The holy trinity, beginning, middle and end all begin to juxtapose and collapse on each other before a balance is restored and renewed by the piece's end. The highlight of the piece for me is my favorite sound, Stephanie Griffin in her lower register on viola that brings forth the emotion that only comes from lifetimes of experience-a musical moment where it is understood that humans throughout history experienced loss no matter what time period. A sound that breaks and unifies and transcends time simultaneously.

Crop Circle four is an unabashed unapologetic foray into fourths, where Woody Shaw was king. Four brings depth and volume in being, a solid equality. There’s a reason life is felt so strongly in 4/4 time. To swing is to be alive. The Zodiac sax quartet opens with an all out exploration of the world of fourths. Matt Lambiase is featured here as a true representative of planet brass. Matt's tone contains a sanctified honest purity that drills down into what a true brass sound is all about. Timelessness is again present in his sound.

5 fingers. 5 toes. A head with 2 arms and 2 legs. Why 5? It makes the most sense of course but based on who’s or what logic? The power of 5 is the power inside life manifestation. Crop Circle 5 opens with the well known Fibonacci sequence. The Golden section is utilized throughout the harmonic properties of the piece. Musically Stepahnie Griffin was called on again as she embraced the full power of fifths before the orchestra just erupts within the concept. In the clearing it was time for my brother Ras and I to drop one of our long term most powerful devices: His lowest note on tenor sax and mine on Bass clarinet might be the strongest perfect fifth in the entire world. We then indulge in what being brothers is really all about to the point where the great Art Baron leads the orchestra in conducted support. As the lava cools, Chris Forbes shows why sometimes you must destroy in order to create as he plays music from a newly created world. Chris solo music here encompasses the wonder of life, and I believe, I know, this was the world my father experienced as he left here for the vibration above this (3rd dimension to 4th) in January of this year

Finally Crop Circle 6 closes part one, with part two, crop circles 7-12 to be recorded in the future. The Hexagon in musical form. In true 12 Houses fashion, six opens with Jack DeSalvo playing a duet with himself on banjo and oud! A second duet follows with Art Baron on didgeridoo and myself on bass clarinet. All of this before a maddening orchestral bass line of 6ths in 6/4. We become a honeycomb. We’re the natural force that turns water to ice. Jeremy Carlstedt again plays what I call the groove of the entire human race, just the perfect amount of true blues. Claire Daly then represents humanity sailing on an ocean of blues as only she can. Finally, I received the greatest gift of all in conversation with trombone master and Ellingtonion Art Baron. Charles Waters joins in to activate the original jazz holy trinity.

There it is my friends. Here is what we all could, should, and will be. We’re stumbling right now more than ever, but as in my own life, we must and will keep growing.