We Begin

We Begin (1987) is a collaborative album by the American jazz musicians Mark Isham and Art Lande. It is a highly experimental album featuring a wide range of compositional styles.

We Begin
Studio album by Mark Isham and Art Lande
Released	1987
Recorded	January, 1987 at Rainbow Studio in Oslo, Norway
Genre	New-age, jazz fusion
Length	41:51
Label	ECM
Producer	Manfred Eicher
Mark Isham chronology
Film Music (1985) We Begin (1987) Castalia (1988)
Art Lande chronology
As Time Goes By (1986) We Begin (1987) Hardball (1987)

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The first track on the album is a piece titled “The Melancholy of Departure”. It consists of a soft and mournful trumpet melody set against a harsh and almost mechanical rhythm. “The Melancholy of Departure” takes its title from a 1916 work by the Italian metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico.

The two most experimental tracks on the album are “Ceremony in Starlight” and “Surface and Symbol”. “Ceremony in Starlight” is an eerie avant-garde composition with muted trumpet, piano and synthesized bells. “Surface and Symbol” is a complex arrangement of looped trumpet, piano and percussion with synthesizer accompaniments.

Track listing

1. ”The Melancholy of Departure” (Isham) – 6:32
2. ”Ceremony in Starlight” (Isham) – 7:34
3. ”We Begin” (Lande) – 6:19
4. ”Lord Ananea” (Lande) – 2:42
5. ”Surface and Symbol” (Isham, Lande) – 10:45
6. ”Sweet Circle” (Lande) – 4:09
7. ”Fanfare” (Lande) – 3:26

Personnel

• Mark Isham – trumpet, fluegelhorn, piccolo trumpet, synthesizer, percussion
• Art Lande – piano, synthesizer, percussion