Wildcard - Juanma Trujillo
Keith Jarrett - piano, soprano saxophone, tambourine, Dewey Redman - tenor saxophone, musette, maracas, Charlie Haden - bass, Paul Motian - drums, percussion, Danny Johnson - percussion
As I was thinking about music that I could write about for this segment, it seemed fitting with Charlie Haden’s recent passing to bring attention again to this phenomenal record. I remember the time when I first became acquainted with this band, Keith Jarret is such a established figure in music that it’s actually kind of easy to take him for granted. But it was through records like this one that I was reminded at the time how heavy he is. And this band! The adjective that I would categorize them with is mercurial. On sound alone these guys can give any music an immediate character, it seems (at least to me) that it’s coming from something bigger than just human beings, everything here sparks and it’s filled with such optimism, it’s beautiful and ugly at the same time, it has all the things that most people love about jazz and also the things that most people hate too! I love the profound simplicity of Keith’s writing and his downright absurd piano playing, Dewey Redman’s ability to play a melody and make it sound like nothing else matters in the universe and Charlie and Paul just being one of the most perfect teams ever, playing the most amazing time or completely letting go of it. I even love the fact that Danny Johnson was presumably just a guy who they let sit in on triangle, at the Village Vanguard!! What?? Crazy. Always recommend this record blindly to anyone who asks.
Muhal Richard Abrams - Levels and Degrees of Light (Delmark - 1968)
Muhal Richard Abrams - piano, clarinet, Anthony Braxton - alto saxophone, Maurice McIntyre - tenor saxophone, Leroy Jenkins - violin, Gordon Emmanuel - vibraphone, Charles Clark - bass, Leonard Jones - bass, Thurman Barker - drums, Penelope Taylor - vocals, David Moore - poet
I just got this record, I’m working my way through the AACM discography with the aid of George Lewis' astounding book “A Power Stronger Than Itself”, an extremely informative document for anyone interested in learning more about the avant-garde in the US but also a profound look at the social and racial issues that creative black american musicians faced and continue to face in this culture, definitely giving me a lot of perspective on a number of things I hadn’t considered before.
“My thoughts are my future - now and forever” It is pretty clear, these guys, more than just making music were defining themselves and pushing forward to create an environment in which they could be so much more than what it was expected from them during that time in history. This music reflects that, the compositions are about the arc of what happens in the music. PACING!! Huge factor here, there are very unsettling moments when there’s almost nothing happening and then when the s^$% finally hits the fan you find yourself at the center of a black hole of density. This is just a spectacular document, an excellent entry point for the AACM as it is THE entry point, right at the beginning when Muhal founded and lead the association.
Lewis Taylor - Lewis Taylor (Island Records - 1996)
I decided to write about this because I was playing it today for a friend. There’s this thing this guy has that I find hard to describe, obviously he is an insanely talented singer/songwriter and musician (he sings and plays everything here). But it is this absolute hipness that’s perfectly in balance with elements in the music/lyrics that you can find almost dull (or cheesy if you will). Like, every single song on this record is a love song (the word “baby” is used excessively here), or certain aesthetic choices remind me of things that you could hear more mainstream 90’s R&B groups like Boyz II Men or Take 6 do, but then he kind of filters it through this stranger use of sounds, odd forms, melody, counterpoint and harmony that in a way is not mainstream at all. I love this record from top to bottom, have a listen!
Domingo En Llamas - Harto Tropical (Independent - 2010)
This record is by my dear friend José Ignacio Benitez from Venezuela. José (or Jonacho as most of us call him back home) is one of the hidden treasures of the underground music scene in Caracas. As with the Lewis Taylor case here's a guy who makes records by himself, I've been there, he does it at his home with an old PC (yes, a PC) using the most archaic resources at times, he is an artist who doesn't have any lofty ambitions, his only goal is to continue making music in any way he can. A diligent researcher who knows about an enormous amount of music of all kinds, reflected in his clever arrangements that reference any number of things and go to many unexpected places, I always love to listen to his records because when I played in his band we played some of this music but with dramatically different arrangements. And as much respect I have for him as a musician his abilities as a lyricist are the thing that just completely blow me away! a truly virtuosic use of the spanish language, his songs are poems that with profound abstraction and flair talk about many universal realities while keeping true to many of the characteristic elements of Venezuelan idiosyncrasy (He has an encyclopedic knowledge of poetry and literature). Just really beautiful stuff from someone who’s also a beautiful human being. This record is only one of 11 he’s mande! and he already has 4 more that he’s about to release any time soon, so if you like it stay tuned!
Juanma Trujillo is a guitarist, composer, and improvisor and is a relative newcomer to New York City. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Juanma studied music intently with Maria Eugenia Atilano and Gonzalo Mico. He moved to Los Angeles, CA after becoming well established in Caracas, and has since toured throughout the United States and Europe. His music is ever encompassing, diverse, yet wholly original and engrossing.
Podcast 29 - Jerome Sabbagh
This week on the podcast, we feature the great saxophonist and composer Jerome Sabbagh. He’s releasing a brand new record of original compositions titled The Turn on Bee Jazz and Sunnyside Records. It features original music played by a band of incredible musicians that have been together for ten years. They are Ben Monder on electric guitar, Ted Poor on drums, and Joe Martin on acoustic bass. We talk about who the kid really is in the photo used for this incredible album cover, the blend of tenor saxophone with electric guitar, and how the experience of playing with Paul Motian at the Village Vanguard was life changing.
The record release show is this Friday, September 12th at Cornellia Street Cafe in NYC. Please go out and support this band! If you love this music as much as I do, be on the lookout for a Kickstarter campaign that would allow this music to be pressed on vinyl! Can you imagine that album cover on vinyl??
If you like what you hear, please Subscribe in iTunes and give us feedback. That will help us out tremendously. Also, feel free to email me with any suggestions or questions. Thank you for listening!
Office Playlist - Spoon - Inside Out
Podcast 28 - Travis Laplante
We’re back! I’m happy to sit down and talk with tenor saxophonist Travis LaPlante. He just released a new album with his band Battle Trance entitled Palace of Wind which was released on New Amsterdam Records and NNA Tapes. Can we start with the fact that this band has 4 TENOR SAXOPHONISTS (Jermey Viner, Matt Nelson, and, Patrick Breiner) that play almost continuously during this fourty-five minute through-composed piece? That is insane. This is one of the most interesting and powerful albums that will be released this year. Travis and I talk about how he came up the idea for a tenor saxophonist quartet, how he had not really heard any of them play before the band was formed, and how his band worked on dissolving their individual influences to develop a group sound. We also listen to three clips from the record itself. Travis is one of the most interesting musicians on the new music scene and talking to him was nothing short of inspirational. Enjoy!
If you like what you hear, please Subscribe in iTunes and give us feedback. That will help us out tremendously. Also, feel free to email me with any suggestions or questions. Thank you for listening!
Office Playlist - Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra
Rest in peace, Charlie Haden
Podcast 27 - John Ellis and Andy Bragen
This week, I talk with saxophonist John Ellis and playwright Andy Bragen about their newest collaborative work titled Mobro. The Mobro 4000 was a trash barge that traveled internationally looking for a place to dump its contents. John and Andy used this as a jumping off point and wrote a 75 minute through-composed, narrative driven suite of music about the journey. They do their best to tell me how they define this ambitious project. We talk about how Andy uses the metaphors of trash and seagulls in these songs to tell a bigger story and why John decided to work with this many musicians. We find out that the processes of being a creative musician and creative playwright are not that different from each other. Finally, we try to get to the bottom of who actually named the Mobro 4000.
If you like what you hear, please Subscribe in iTunes and give us feedback. That will help us out tremendously. Also, feel free to email me with any suggestions or questions. Thank you for listening!
Office Playlist - Meet the Composer - John Luther Adams
A fascinating conversation with a really interesting composer over at Meet the Composer at WQXR. There are a lot of great musical segments from his early influences and his teachers throughout his life. Check it out!