Gary Keenan

Dark River#

Artist’s Statement#

Dark River began as a piano improvisation for use in a play Los Sapos (The Frogs) set in a village in Colombia where victims of political violence are dumped into a local river. I processed the piano track with echo, delay, and reverb, then layered recordings of wind and flowing rivers with the piano. A bassoon and a string section improvisation were added. The main conceptual inspiration for this piece is Harold Budd. I’m hoping this piece will serve as the introduction to Los Sapos, which is currently in rehearsals.

La Campesina#

Artist’s Statement#

La Campesina was inspired by the women of Tunia, Colombia, where I live. The song began with a guitar improvisation that states a descending pentatonic motif using two chords, E major and D major. I then used a Yamaha keyboard to build up the song with restatements of the melody in various voices including strings, trombones, oboe, and bass. The song was performed live in two March 2026 concerts by members of my band, American String Conspiracy, collaborating with young Colombia musicians.

Variations on a Theme by Miles Davis#

Artist’s Statement#

Variations on a Theme by Miles Davis uses part of the theme for his song Lonely Fire for melodic improvisations in the B pentatonic scale. Davis had various songs in which the trumpet and reeds repeat a melody over and over while piano, bass and drums improvise; Nefertiti is one such song by his 1967 quintet, and his electric bands of the 1970s performed in a similar style on Sanctuary, Ife, Black Satin, and Great Expectations. In my demo, the motif from Lonely Fire is usually stated only once by each instrument before a variation on it becomes the main theme. I’m hoping this demo serves as a model for a live performance of the song later in 2026.

About the Artist#

Gary Keenan is a poet and musician living in Tunia, Cauca, a village in the Colombian Andes. His poems have been published in journals in the United States, Ireland, England, Denmark, Germany, India, and Australia since 1979. His book Rotary Devotion (Fordham University Press) won the 2016 Poets Out Loud Award. With guitarist Shu Nakamurae, he founded the musical ensemble American String Conspiracy in 2003, performing in the United States and Colombia. The band’s album Help the Poor (4th Avenue Records) is available on iTunes. Keenan has also composed and arranged music for plays with theater groups in New York City and Tunia, Colombia.

Find more of his music at revberbnation.com/americanstringconspiracy.