Biography
Ernest Hood (1923) is a musician and composer from Portland, OR, United States. He was a jazz guitarist in the Portland area in the 1940s, playing with his brother Bill and saxophonist Charlie Barnet. Hood contracted polio in the early 1950s, which confined him to using a wheelchair for the rest of his life. As he could no longer hold a guitar, he started playing the zither. He actually played zither on some of Flora Purim's early albums.
Hood started making field recordings as early as in 1956 and eventually discovered the synthesizer. Using the zither and a Roland SH-3A synthesizer, Hood turned these nature sounds into a unique blend of ambient music, gorgeous nostalgic soundscapes. His music became imbued with optimism and subtle cultural critique. This ethos and technique - refined over the years - would lay the groundwork for a sprawling body of radio work and mail order recordings for homebound listeners.
Two privately pressed albums of Hood's work were finally re-released in recent years: Neighborhoods (recorded in 1975) in 2019 and Back to the Woodlands (recordings from 1972-1982) in 2022.
In the words of Hood himself…
"My purpose in creating this album is to pay a debt to some beautiful and loving people. To older folks everywhere, but especially the ones who put up with my childhood pesters, those who played such an important role in the formation of comfortable memories… I hope this brings back something warm and joyful to your hearts. It saddens me to know that the predominately commercial music purveyors of today give such scant consideration to the enrichment of your gentle spirit. Perhaps they have forgotten where it dwells. Young people looking for something other than plastic novelty music played on military weapons may find here a balm for the mind. It hardly matters in which neighborhood you sprouted. The games we played, the mocks, the terminology and the feelings we experienced as youngsters are tantalizingly familiar. If I didn't exactly capture your territorial terms forgive me and just let the mood suffice.
"This is not a social record in the sense that it be played at a gathering. Indeed, it is a rather personal thing to be reflected upon (as musical cinematography) alone, or with a dear close friend. It is a social record in that it reminds us of the fact that most of us made our first social contacts and early transactions in our neighborhood streets. How familiar, how indelible the pictures are: aromas of soft velvet days, strong friendships, fears, hates, loves… our first brush with such mystical elements as sex and power. If the music seems a little bittersweet, well… isn't that the taste of nostalgia? Mostly it is meant to bring joy in reminiscence. It's for all of you who still have that little kid inside you, robust and eager to be let out to play. I sincerely hope you enjoy it." - Ernest Hood
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