projects and media

big dog little dog (2019)

big dog little dog is the mind-melding duo project of violinist/composer Jessie Montgomery and bassist/composer Eleonore Oppenheim. Their music has been described many ways, but perhaps the most apt so far has been "post-minimalist groove americana." The pair use an improvisational composition technique that draws on many genres and their experience as native New Yorkers to create lush, cinematic soundscapes that are by turns sweeping and achingly intimate. This album is both a deep dive into the meditative space of the interior and an exploration of our place as humans in the natural world.

Out now from New Amsterdam Records. Available here and/or your favorite streaming and downloading platform.

THE HANDS FREE (2018)

The Hands Free is a new acoustic band featuring composer/performers James Moore (guitar/banjo), Caroline Shaw (violin), Nathan Koci (accordion) and Eleonore Oppenheim (bass).

They draw on ideas and material from folk music, the contemporary classical world, jazz and free improv, a natural arrival point for a group of musicians with a variety of experiences and interests. Caroline Shaw is a multi-instrumentalist, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and vocalist for Roomful of Teeth; bassist Eleonore Oppenheim performs regularly with adventurous groups such as Glasser, Victoire, and big dog little dog; multi-instrumentalist Nathan Koci cruises the worlds of chamber music, folk sessions, and musical theater; and Moore is a founding member of the praised electric guitar quartet Dither, and a frequent collaborator with John Zorn. The four performers became friends while collaborating in different contexts for 10-12 years, but found the most joy performing together in scrappy late-night folk jams, which is how The Hands Free came to be.

Out now from New Amsterdam Records. Available here and/or your favorite streaming and downloading platform.

HOME (2016)

Home, the debut solo album from bassist Eleonore Oppenheim, is a musical core sample in which each track represents a different approach to the double bass as a modern solo instrument, and to the ways in which it can interact with electronic media. By turns glitchy and pure, gritty and shimmering, Home releases the bass from its traditional obligations and takes the listener on a surprising, unfettered journey through several strata of sound which explore the breadth of the instrument’s emotional and physical range. This album is part of a years-long collaborative commissioning project that Oppenheim embarked on in 2006, that includes works by some of today’s most innovative and original early- to mid-career composers. Not beholden to any one style, all of the pieces draw from a variety of influences, from noise rock to jazz and synth pop. Several of the pieces also incorporate Oppenheim’s unadorned, folky voice, which blends and dialogues with the bass, acting both as another texture and as an offshoot of the instrument.

Out now from Innova Recordings on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Google Play, and anywhere else weird music is sold. Purchase links here

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