NU DAWN RESEARCH
Experimentation regarding how music is organized through time.
Andrew Wilson’s scholarship connects jazz analysis, additive rhythm, microtonality, composition, and computational musicology. Explore the ideas behind the recordings.
Don Ellis analysis
Complex meter
Additive 2/3 & Padovan
Hierarchical meter
Early Don Ellis analysis led to systematic complex-meter research, additive-rhythm and Padovan investigation, and hierarchical metric theory; current doctoral research and composition continue that trajectory.
Rhythm, Meter & the Padovan Sequence
2026 reference PDF of all admissible ordered 2/3 compositions through 16 and their Padovan counts. Click the title to read.
In progress
Doctoral research
Additive rhythmic systems, combinatorics, hierarchical analysis, and complex/multi-metric music.
Don Ellis Research Collection
A developing collection spanning historical writing, corpus cataloging, and close analytical study. Resources are presented according to their current scholarly status.
Don Ellis Metric Index
A developing corpus by Andrew Wilson, with assistance from Nick Di Scala. Source, attribution, and timestamp verification continues.
In review
In review
Variations for Trumpet: Analytical Paper
Original course paper, November 18, 2020. Close analysis of meter, harmony, temperament, and improvisation; editorial and source review continues.
Archive
Lecture slides, circa 2020–2021, on metric cycles and superimposition. The linked archival PDF adds a 2026 context note and citation correction.
In revision
The Man With the Multimetered, Microtonal Heart of Jazz
Earlier undergraduate-era Ellis essay. Editorial revision underway; original voice and historical context preserved.
Composition & Artistic Research
Prospectus
Public extract
Selected public prospectus, 2026 edition. Future titles, timing, scope, and collaborations remain provisional. Click the title to read.
Seven portraits connected by interludes. Click the title for the 2026 public movement-data extract; the compositional notebook remains private.
- Domino — 14/8 — 140 BPM — D-flat Lydian
Solo — 10/8 — 100 BPM — E-flat harmonic minor
Clover — 24/8 — 124 BPM — F major
Cairo — 18/8 — 180 BPM — G Dorian
Snickers — 31/8 — 65.5 BPM — A/A-flat altered
Floof — 22/8 — 211 BPM — B-flat Mixolydian
Stella — 83/8 macrocycle — C whole-tone/diminished field — exploratory, luminous, “out there”