Composer and saxophonist Dan Plonsey from the San Francisco Bay Area Improv Scene first got to know Toychestra in 1998 when he booked them at his Beanbender's music venue in Berkeley, California. He was intrigued by their performance, and decided to team them up with fellow Bay Area Improv Scene member and experimental guitarist, Fred Frith. Plonsey wrote a concerto for electric guitar and toy orchestra for Toychestra and Frith to perform.[1][3][4] The concerto turned out to be a challenge for Plonsey because most of the members of Toychestra could not read sheet music.[3] He said that he "started out writing some simple, repeating bits to play. I wanted to see what would happen, because they'd never worked with written music before. It was all totally aural."[3] Plonsey was impressed with the result.[3]
Casey Rae-Hunter of Dusted Magazine said that the collaboration of Toychestra and Fred Frith on What Leave Behind is "hilarious, stunning, intense, and highly listenable", and described the music as "polyphonic bedtime music for the half-forgotten child within".[4] Joshua Glazer of AllMusic had reservations about this Frith / Toychestra liaison, but was surprised at the result, saying that it was "far more palatable than one would initially expect."[1] Glazer described the concerto as "an experimental piece that never gazes too intently at its own weirdness or technique."[1]
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