Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

CONSTANTEN, Tom

(b Thomas Charles Sture Hills, 19 March '44, Long Branch NJ) Keyboardist and composer active where rock meets contemporary classical music and the avant garde. His name changed on his mother's remarriage '49. The family moved to Las Vegas '54; he was first violinist in the All School String Orchestra '59-61 and the orchestra premièred his 'Serenade For String Orchestra' '61. He attended U of NV in Las Vegas '60-61, moved to U. of CA Berkeley; studied under Luciano Berio there, also studied in England, Italy and Germany with Pierre Boulez, Henri Pousseur and Karlheinz Stockhausen. He had met Phil Lesh at Berkeley; they took part in four 'Music Now' performances with the San Francisco Mime Troupe '64. In the USAF he used air force computers in the composition of 'Propagations'; then joined the Grateful Dead '68, who were steered in new directions by his and bassist Lesh's classical and avant-garde proclivities. He contributed keyboards and prepared piano to albums Anthem Of The Sun '68 (made before he formally joined the group while on furlough from the air force), Aoxomoxoa '69 and Live Dead '69. He left the Dead '70, worked with the Incredible String Band on their U project; became composer/musical director for off-Broadway mime show Tarot. Formed group Touchstone, worked with them '70-2. He worked as composer on Jeremy Paul Kagan's The Love Song Of Charles Faberman (the working title of which was Palindrome), for the Electric Guitar Quartet and the Kronos Quartet. His 'Dejavalse' appeared on The Waltz Project on Nonesuch '79.

He performed live solo or with the Take One Ragtime Ensemble, was appointed to a professorship in 20th-century music at the San Francisco Art Institute '84 and accompanied Dead lyricist Robert Hunter on his translation of Rilke's Duino Elegies '87. He performed and recorded with guitarist Henry Kaiser in various ensembles; Alternative Versions included an appearance by Constanten on an alternative take of the then-unreleased Dead song 'Mason's Children', and an album version Those Who Know History Are Doomed To Repeat It both '88 on SST. As a full member of Kaiser's band he contributed to the live double album Heart's Desire '89 on Reckless, the repertoire including Constanten originals, the jointly composed 'Designer Chaos' by Bruce Anderson, Kaiser and Constanten, and Stockhausen's 'Nr 2 Klavierstück III'. He contributed as the Henry Kaiser Band to an album of Rolling Stones covers called Stoned Again on Imaginary Records '90. He went on to appear on variously textured works including own Fresh Tracks In Real Time '89, Embryonic Journey '95 with Jorma Kaukonen, The Siamese Stepbrothers and Eternity Blue both '95 with Kaiser, and the solo classical Piano Sonatas '91 and At The Piano '96. With Bob Bralove he formed the piano duo Dose Hermanos, whose debut album Sonic Roar Shock appeared '96 (working title Sonic Rorschach). His biography Between Rock And Hard Places '92 puts aspects of his career into context.