At the Ends of the World

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Liner Notes

This record is the outcome of myself (Adam Michael Terry) reaching out to Lloyd Miller to see if he’d be interested in playing some live shows in Salt Lake City, Utah. This interaction would lead to us becoming pals and spending time together, talking about his unbelievable life, music, culture, religion, and as always, the current state of modern society. Lloyd would often direct our conversations into topics of the looming apocalypse and “the last days”, with his theories of such occult. More importantly Lloyd would suggest how we could lighten the darkness of the world through his beautiful music. We discussed releasing some music, either from archive or making new recordings, that would lend itself to this agenda.

I spent weeks going through Lloyd’s vast vault of recordings, on his website, D.I.Y. CDs, and tapes. I was intoxicated by the possibility of unearthing an unreleased masterpiece similar to “Oriental Jazz”, but I soon became interested in his later work during the 80s and 90s. Some of this later music is surprisingly more subtle, calm, with almost New Age sensibilities, and often with his signature global touch. When I asked him what type of music he currently wanted to create, Lloyd mentioned this relaxing style of music. To oppose the franticness of 21st century life, and help people feel at peace. We decided to set off to record some new music with this in mind, instead of trying to curate something out of his catalog labyrinth. We descended into Lloyd’s basement (or “bass-meant” like he put it) to experiment creating something new.

Multi-instrumentalist Ian Camp was already a friend of mine and had been playing jazz with Lloyd in live gigs for over a decade, so they already had chemistry. My role was to produce, record and maybe play some percussion for timing and texture purposes as I am not a seasoned jazz musician. Our first session was mainly trying out these softer Smooth jazz, New Age ideas with Lloyd on piano, Ian on bass, and myself using brushes on the drum kit. Lloyd and Ian would discuss some geographical modes to work in and improvise around an intended mood. Since both artists play multiple instruments, we planned on going back and multi - tracking additional instruments over their improvisations to round out the songs and shape the geographical textures. Although Lloyd was motivated to create more restrained and meditative, even healing music, it seemed the energy of our experiments would frequently drift the music down a different direction.  

While setting up our instruments for our last recording session on the evening of August 29, 2019, Lloyd was giving one of his famous doomsday rants. I thought to quickly hit record and try to document at least part of it; this would later become the introduction to the album, as it is a perfect thesis statement for what this esoteric musical endeavor was shaping up to be. Lloyd’s prophetic sermon would later prove to be quite eerie as I was mixing the recordings during the winter months in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, realizing that Lloyd had predicted that “within days, within months”, there would be a deadly disease brought to Utah from the far East. All while Ian tunes his bass unknowingly scoring Lloyd’s grim prophecy.

Setting the record’s tone with the predictive intro “A New Clear Vision” and evolving into the three Near - East influenced song ideas that follow, the first side of the record documents the ethereal evening of August 29th, 2019, entirely recorded that night and in the same song order. Ian suggests during the previous introduction: “should we meditate for a minute, try to summon our genius, summon some inspiration” and as they do so, they channeled something so raw and emotional, no second take or multi - tracked additional instruments were needed to fulfill the following song. Track 2 is a gripping improvisational duet with Lloyd on oud and Ian on upright bass and was given the characteristically academic title by Lloyd “Ode to Oud”. Whether intentional or from the subconscious, Lloyd throws out a nod to his global music counterpart from the 60’s Tony Scott. 

In the third track Lloyd invites his first love to the dance -  his piano -  while keeping the oud on his lap, going back and forth between each and even at times playing both simultaneously. “Dystopia Wind Dance” continues to expand upon the moody album theme and introduces more instruments to create the atmosphere of Lloyd’s mind; the warning winds of some apocalyptic storm brewing on the desert horizon and the singing alarm of the dancing chimes of time.

The last song from that mystical night session, also the last on side A of the record, is another bizarre account of Lloyd’s prophetic aurora. Lloyd performs simultaneously on an Iranian Zarb hand drum, piano and oud, while Ian improvises on upright bass. While discussing what type of additional instruments to add to the song, Lloyd posited an idea: he pulled out a trumpet which he said he had not played in 10 years. Astonished (but not surprised), Ian and I had no idea he even played trumpet. Lloyd pulled it out and laid down the track in the first take.

Months after that session, on the evening of March 17th, 2020, I was mixing and editing this song that still did not have an official title. We had previously discussed title ideas, but nothing seemed to capture the song. Lloyd mentioned the drone sounded like bees (and with Utah being the Beehive State that made a local connection) but it still didn’t feel right. Lloyd had expressed that he trusted me and insinuated I would come up with a good title. I went to bed that night leaving the track nameless.

Frighteningly, the next morning I was awoken at 7:09am to a 5.7 earthquake that shook the dormant Salt Lake Valley. About a mile from my home is the Salt Lake City LDS temple, and on top of it stands a giant golden statue of the scriptural figure Moroni pointing a trumpet to the East, prepared to sound in the second coming and the following apocalypse. Coincidently, that morning Moroni’s golden trumpet was found broken off and fallen to the ground, as if its purpose had been served. Did the earthquake shake it and break it off, or was it mystically dropped, causing an earthquake of divine nature?

When I “shook” off the nerves of the earthquake and was able to continue working on the song that afternoon, the theme of this track finally struck me. Additionally, I noticed the tone of Lloyd’s trumpet sounding especially wonky that morning, as if it had literally fallen from a hundred foot high temple. I also was thinking about the initial form of the song; Lloyd wanted to start with a traditional Persian style hand drum performance, the likes of which people have been doing for thousands of years in the Middle East since the days of Christ.

This again reminded me of the time, about a year prior, when I was driving Lloyd home and he had half - jokingly tried to convince me that he was a shoe - in for the position of Band Leader of the Second Coming. He laughingly argued that, because he is a Christian and an expert in the traditional Middle Eastern music of Christ’s time (as well as music from all over the world) he would be perfect to conduct the people of the planet and the heavens. He also added that traditional Iranian music would be favored by Jesus, and not those “sappy Western church hymns old ladies sing on Sunday”. Thus, it all finally came together. As we developed and finished the song, “Earthquake of the Fallen Trumpet” began to sound like Lloyd triumphantly playing the trumpet with musicians and people from all ends of the world, and at the ends of time.   

As you flip the record over, we begin the migration from the Near -  East to the influences of the Far - East. “Bassmeant Blues at the Apocalypse” transitions these modes nicely as the B side begins with another meditative introduction on flute then slowly develops into a swingy jazz tune. This was the earliest song we recorded for this record, acting as yet another thesis statement for Lloyd’s jazz foundation and global sensibilities. Lloyd solos beautifully on the bowed dilruba over broken percussion, following with an Eastern - style flute solo as the bass line develops and cymbals begin to swing. Lloyd’s piano eventually leads you to Ian’s bluesy, yet sophisticated, koto solo - landing you feet - down in the far East.

Recording this track down in Lloyd’s basement was like a surreal nostalgia for some primitive future. His half - century old, live jazz posters and pictures from around the world, all boasting his name and lining the walls. World instruments piled up around us next to his self - canned food storage; I felt like we were playing live in some funky fallout, a dystopian speakeasy on the other side of time and the world -  where people gathered not to secretly drink, but to indulge in a music forbidden by the pop dictators of the world. “The Apocalypse” might as well been the name of this imaginary night club. A dark and dusty hole in the ground where we worshipped and played this pestilent blues fusion.

“Yūrei no Uta” is an improvisation based on traditional Japanese ideas. Ian and Lloyd again express themselves emotionally on multiple instruments. This song is powerful and melancholic, with a weeping supernatural presence. It sounds like traveling through a haunted bamboo forest in the Japanese countryside while one reflects on the fleeting moments of our lives. It is a wailing reminder not to fear the skeletons of the past, but to be mindful of the present; bidding farewell to the mistakes we’ve made and the people we’ve lost, to move forward with joy until it's our turn to sing “The Song of the Ghost”.

Among many of the topics Lloyd often discusses, one is his feeling of being overlooked and under-appreciated among the music world. This is not due to his obviously stunning music abilities, but possibly the result of a life spent in the world of academia and research. The path of education doesn’t often align with the road to fame and the spotlight. Even more so, when one creates their own path, a unique and innovative path outside of the mainstream as Lloyd did, it is often a lonely journey. I can sense these feelings in the next song we recorded.

Influenced by traditional Chinese modes, Lloyd and Ian improvise on piano and koto while I splash around with brushes on the drum kit. Lloyd added the beautiful bowed kamancheh underneath the previous take and I added the meditative bass pulse and ambiance. This song acts as a soundtrack to a drawing and story that Lloyd had hanging on his wall. Lloyd wrote this touching fairy tale and illustrated it on a music graph. The myth is about a sad blue dragon who had been banished and chased out of town, eventually saves a drowning emperor, and is later accepted back to his town, loved and praised for his heroic act. Apparently Lloyd wrote this abroad in a hotel, and it feels very introspective, but I’m still uncertain which character represents him in this musical tale called “Drowning Emperor Blue Dragon”.

“Ian’s Tune” falls next in the line - up as the album begins its close. This tune is the most straight - ahead jazz tune of the bunch and the most composed inclination. Ian channeled his magical imagination and composed this right there on the spot as we were looking for something else to try out in the Eastern modes. Ian grooved out the bass line theme, laying it down while Lloyd played on piano. He had the main koto theme in his head and executed it flawlessly, following it with some groovy soloing. Lloyd really lets loose on this track as well, playing some of his finest piano and flute on the whole record.

While we know Lloyd for making himself comfortable in almost any musical tradition across the world, this track reminds us of his love for modal jazz. To confirm the song as truly “Ian’s Tune”, Ian dubbed in a drum performance to actualize the drum arrangement he had in mind and also to show he’s nasty on the sticks as well. Ian’s cute children fancifully named this song “Philosiphertoggy” (and only they would know its true meaning!).

The conclusion “Pleasantly Persian” was part of a live performance at Peasantries and Pleasantries: Record Hausu recorded during the time of these sessions. This outro cycles us back to finish in a Persian mode - the starting point of the record. In an academic sense, this returns us to the historical origin of many of the ancient musical developments the world has seen. Lloyd has spent his life in Persian studies; earning a doctorate degree in the field, and stressing that Persian music is of the oldest and purest forms of music. 

This final recording documents one of the most transcendent moments of that intimate summer evening and again returns me home by reminding me what we had initially set out to do: create a sense of peace and tranquility for the world through music and to try to “keep us from blowing ourselves up”. Ian makes his bass gently sing while Lloyd angelically plays the santur in a way that fills the room with divine elegance and charm, commanding respect for a music tradition thousands of years old. This is what it is all about for Lloyd, especially playing live for an audience. He truly believes in the power of music, for both good and bad. I believe everyone that night was moved slightly into a permanently more peaceful state of being -  I know I was.

Throughout the years, the majority of Lloyd’s releases had an academic purpose and geographical perspective - always with a subtle undertone of radical attitude. He’s made records with clumsy students like myself and unsung talents like Ian Camp. This record is similar in those regards however it does travel somewhere a little different, a bit further, and even deeper.

True to Lloyd’s process, we started with geographical modes and scales, but we never completely succumbed to traditional music. I feel that Lloyd utilized his vast knowledge of ancient tradition and modal charts to explore his own cerebral geography; expressing, discussing and releasing much of the troublesome terrain of his own mind. Lloyd has driven this world around the sun over 80 times, suffered strokes, and lived an extraordinary life. He pays close attention to world affairs and is wary of the control systems of power, evil, and consumerism. Lloyd is mindful of religious prophecy and scripture that warns the world of all of these snares and their outcomes. Whether intentional or not, I hear it all in these recordings.

I feel this record to be Lloyd’s most personal musical project to date. Even while the inevitable outcomes of age and health have slightly affected him, he plays with as much and at times more feeling than I have ever heard from him. Each of these songs on this album are sketches from the subconscious, internal stories shared, and an improvisational dialogue with Ian and myself. Lloyd invited us into his basement, and all of us into part of his psyche. This intimate album, recorded using a Casio piano, some cheap mics and a bunch of old instruments from all around the world, inadvertently follows Doc Miller's legacy of unique, DIY, homegrown LPs that somehow possess a vast reach.

I write these last words on May 30th, 2020 while the uncertain world still isolates from the pandemic. In America even more turmoil grows, as last night’s race riots flooded public spaces and police cars burned in the streets of Salt Lake City in protest of police brutality and racial inequality. Now, more than ever, we need comfort, peace, empathy and understanding for each other. Lloyd has been championing the various cultures and heritages of the world for nearly 60 years, converting every listener he has to a fan of world music and appreciator of global culture.

We set off to make music for others to recalibrate their hectic minds with, and maybe we achieved that. But even more, I believe this experiment became an exercise for Lloyd to clear his own head and reset his own anxieties and to transcend through his own playing - a true semblance of spiritual jazz. I believe Lloyd had a lot of energy to get out, uneasy feelings and moods to express. This is why “At the Ends of the World” is Lloyd's most atmospheric record to date.