About the Code Ensemble

Available Compositions | Available Recordings
Booking and general info: contact Keesje Fischer (Co-Director) at (917) 251-8992

Steve Horowitz's Code ensemble plays contemporary American music with energy and passion. Founded in 1993, The Code has developed a cutting edge repertory with instrumentation that combines traditional acoustic and contemporary electronic instruments. Mr. Horowitz and the Code have released ten CDs over the years, and the ensemble has included many well known musicians. The Code's unique blend of electric and acoustic instruments, is helping to re-define contemporary chamber music.


Digital Press Kit

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Steve Horowitz

Code Ensemble
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About the Code Ensemble

About the Pieces

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Pelham 1-2-3 Quotes Steve Horowitz's Bio Steve Horowitz & The Code Ensemble


February 17th, 2008

The recording phase is over!

Well at least the music part. We still have to record the script for Invasion from the Chicken Planet but, both discs have now moved into the mix phase & that is really exciting. I am really looking forward to going thru every track with a fine tooth comb & sprinkling in just the right amount of herbs & spices along the way.

All the overdubs took place at the MPA and were engineered by Rob Carpenter.

We started out with the FLUX QUARTET. This is not the first time they have been over to the studio & trust me it will not be the last. The FLUX helped launch Pelham back in 2005 at the Kitchen in Manhattan and it was only fitting that they be the group to record the studio album. By the way, they have also recorded a masterful version of my second string quartet "PA KUA" Check it & them out on My Space when you get a chance.


Next, Margaret Dorn, singer from the ACCIDENTALS dropped in. She was perfect singing the title theme for Chicken Planet. Check her & her group out here.

She was a joy to work with & really helped to bring to life and greatly improve several sections of the piece. I can't say enough good things about her, she is a DIVA!!! Go see her sing every chance you get.

Then, Ron Caswell (Tuba) & Squanch (Trombone) both pictured here, did their usual off the charts awesome job. Needless to say, the low end is well tended in both pieces. I love working with these guys & a huge shout out must go to Violinist Ralph Allen for playing the parts to perfection, and laying the vibrato on nice & thick.



The last overdub we did was none other then the best Sax player in the whole world. That's right Mr. Lenny Pickett (Music director for the Saturday Night Live band & founding member of Tower of Power) blew the roof off the place & laid down his signature sound for the tenor feature on PELHAM. I can't tell you how thrilled I was that Lenny was into being a part of this project. I have been a huge fan ever since I heard his Borneo horns way back in the 80's. With both of us being transplanted Bay Area dudes, it was a treat to finally work with him. Here we are pictured here after the session at the MPA.



The folks from Electronic Musician were back & are still covering the whole thing on video for a piece they will run on their site when the disc is ready for release in March.

Meanwhile, the mix begins!

More updates soon...

-SHout


December 13th, 2007

Well, I am here to report, that we just finished up 3 amazing days at Kampo Studios on Bond Street in lower Manhattan. After 2 months of rehearsal, the Code Ensemble nailed the basic tracks for two new discs. "The Re-Taking of Pelham 123" & "Invasion from the Chicken Planet". Huge kudos must go to the players, they rocked the house & I could not be more pleased with the results!

Andy Barbera - guitar
David Nadal - guitar
Nate Shaw - keys
Daniel Kelly - Keys
Devin Maxwell - percussion & conductor
Michael Evans - drums

They all played their asses off & I am humbled to work with such talented musicians. Their musicianship & dedication is un-surpassed, hats off to ya fellerz!


Also, let us not forget our engineer Rob Carpenter who also worked his bootay off to make these tracks sound great. They really do, warm & clean, like a new puppy.

The room at Kampo is sweet. Check them out on line at http://www.kampo.com/kampo/index.html. Matt who runs the place is off the charts nice & they really took great care of us. Bill Lazwell has recorded there, along with a laundry list of who's who's.

It all started with a 4 hour setup on Saturday night the 8th. We then came back in bright & early on the 9th & 10th for tracking. We started with "Invasion" and finished the basic by around 5pm. Then after a short break we jumped right into Pelham & finished the Title Theme, credit roll & an intense little short number called "Stop Frame" in record time, out the door by 8pm. On Monday, we jumped right back into Pelham & finished up the other sections by about 3pm. Then, we did overdubs and any re-tracking for clams (bad notes) from 3-5.

This was an insane amount of music to record in such a short time (over 60 minutes) & would never have been possible without the months of rehearsal before hand. The cool thing is, that the band peaked in the studio & that almost never happens. It was a really fantastic music experience.

Thankfully, the folks from Electronic Musician were covering the whole thing on video for a piece they will run on their site when the disc is ready for release in late January/Early February. Also David Weiss, Writer Extraordinaire (Mix, Among others) was seen lurking around & digging the sounds.

Now the process of editing the best takes together will start, from there I will bring the session over to the studios of the Manhattan Producers Alliance (http://www.manhatpro.com).

for overdubing & mixing. We still need to record String Quartet, Tuba, Trombone and Voices as well as adding the secret sauce to finish the final recording off. It will be a lot of work, but well worth it, trust me.

Dig this, as I was sitting there the next day, completely fried from the most intense 3 day session of my life & checking the tracks, the phone rings & it is from the RUMOR festival in Utrecht, Holland, They are interested in booking the full ensemble for a tour in May, how cool is that!

Stay tuned for CD's, Downloads, Video & live performances all coming your way in 2008.

Happy Holidayz, Happy New Year & till soon...
-SHout


    September 18th, 2007

Today marked the kick off rehearsal of the Code Ensemble in mid-town Manhattan. It is a tremendous feeling to have such an accomplished group of musicians playing together. The band will be rehearsing diligently for the next two months. Current plans are to record in late November or early December and then tour live in 2008 (dates & venues TBA).

 

The Code Ensemble features core members Andy Barbera (Guitar), David Nadal (Guitar), Nate Shaw (Keyboards), Daniel Kelly (Keyboards), Michael Evans (Drums & Percussion) and Devin Maxwell (Percussion & Conductor).

Pieces on the docket are:

  • The Re-Taking of Pelham 123 (see below for much more detail on this piece)
  • Child of Amerika (for Clarinet & 7 players)
  • Invasion from the Chicken Planet (a sci-fi multi-media extravaganza featuring 2 sopranos & 4 actors!)
  • Entertainment Tonight (for Harp & 7 players)
  • Vivo for Mr. Powell (a Re-Traslation of a classic Mel Powell woodwind Quintet)

You can get more information on all these pieces at the American Music Center.

More updates to follow as things progress. You can also check out Steve's MySpace blog.


nypress.com, 1/29/2005 - Playing off the old cliche that imitation is the truest form of flattery, composer Steve Horowitz has penned The Re-Taking of Pelham 123, a 30-minute rethink of the classic film and score with a film/video projection by Jane Brill. The new music is a mash-up of... (read more at nypress.com)

The Re-Taking of Pelham One Two Three


Click here to download the new trailer for
The Re-Taking of Pelham 1-2-3.
It will take a minute or two to load,
but it's well worth the time spent!

Quotes:

"What most struck me about Steve's music is that if I were hired to score this picture today instead of in 1974, I would hope that my score would come out sounding the way that Steve's does." - David Shire, composer

"Steve Horowitz' creation is an imaginative updating of composer David Shire's score for the 1974 film The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. At a winter performance at NYC arts stronghold The Kitchen, Horowitz and a 14-piece orchestra -- with everything from violins to electric guitar and laptop sampler in the mix -- performed the swelling, tense car-chase jazz-funk piece live against the backdrop of a new short film by filmmaker Jane Brill." - David Weiss, Mix magazine


Photos from the 1/29/2005 premier
David Garland of WNYC moderates a pre-concert talk with David Shire, Steve Horowitz, and Jane Brill The Code International performs the world premier of
Pelham in front of the big screen


The Re-Taking of Pelham One Two Three
The Kitchen
Music by Steve Horowitz
Film by Jane Brill
Title theme by David Shire, re-orchestrated by Fluffy Schwartz
Sampler programming by Christopher Romero

The Re-Taking of Pelham 123 is a 30 minute piece for 14 instrumentalists, sampler and film/video projection.

THE CODE ENSEMBLE
String Quartet     The FLUX Quartet
Trumpet Dave Smith
Trombone Squanch
Tuba Ron Caswell
Guitars Andy Barbera & David Nadal
Bass Fluffy Schwartz
Keyboards Kathey Supove & Dred Scoitt
The Hand Christopher Romero
Drums Michael Evans
Percussion/Conductor Devin Maxwell
 
photo by Don Henze

Composers Steve Horowitz and David Shire prepare for a wild ride with the RE-TAKING of PELHAM 123.

For booking information, please visit the contact page.
Read the press release