Following
Filaments-named Top Jazz Debut in 2012 by Peter Hum of Ottawa Citizen and
described as "an assured, organic debut from a pianist/composer who beyond
the obvious elegance of his playing has a clear sense of the bigger artistic
picture"-Julian Shore asks Which Way Now? Far from a statement of
uncertainty, he poses the question to focus his record on the process of
artistic exploration and the joy of musical discovery. Says Shore, "while
I used to concern myself with writing a song that captures the minutia of a
single person or memory, now I seek to show the world from which a person or
feeling comes."
With his
second album (February 12, Tone Rogue Records), Shore builds on the sonic
foundation of his first, recognized for its "full use of a wide open
musical palette" (All About Jazz) and "sense of space usually
reserved for more veteran players" (DownBeat). The band features a group
of young but acclaimed musicians reflecting many eras of Shore's playing and
familiar to anyone closely following contemporary jazz. A combination of Dayna
Stephens, Noah Preminger, and Godwin Louis helm his horn arrangements, riffing
off of each other in dazzling interplay. Aidan Carroll on bass and Colin
Stranahan on drums accompany him in the rhythm section, along with the
burgeoning star guitarist Gilad Hekselman.
Shore
highlights the diversity of his musical connections and sources of inspiration
with a number of guests featured for a single track. On "Pine
Needles", he brings a touch of roots music with long time friend and
Nashville mainstay Kurt Ozan on dobro and acoustic guitar. His arrangement of
Dizzy Gillespie's "Con Alma" makes fresh a familiar tune, showing how
comfortably a classic of the tradition sits within an album of more contemporary
compositions. He taps Jorge Roeder on bass and Samuel Torres on percussion as
musicians up to the task of conveying the song's hybrid roots from throughout
the Americas. Edward Perez, writer and arranger for Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road
Ensemble, lends his deft pen on the string arrangement of the record's opener
"Our Story Begins on a Mountain." Shore carries forward his affinity
for writing compelling vocal pieces, with Alexa Barcini returning as a singer
and lyricist for "Alpine." Michael Mayo, currently studying at the
Thelonious Monk Institute for Jazz, voices the main part beautifully, with the
two harmonizing to drive home the song's message. Finally, the layering of
Michael Thomas's sure-handed woodwind work into the western swing of "Back
Home" perfectly complements the shades of chamber music interwoven
throughout the album.
Which Way
Now? offers a snapshot of a particularly rich point in the evolution of a
maturing composer/ musician and a burgeoning community of players around him.
Shore is a critical part of a rising generation of New York jazz musicians,
who, as each successive wave must, are crafting their approach to making the
tradition fresh for listeners. The styles and sounds on the record open out in
many directions, showcasing his wide ears and range of sources from which he
draws. He has had the opportunity to play with many of the musicians whose work
have inspired him like Gretchen Parlato, Ferenc Nemeth, Chris Cheek, Matt
Wilson and, on his last record Kurt Rosenwinkel, but here he draws on his own
community of collaborators. "Most of the songs on Which Way Now? I wrote
with the members of my band in mind," Shore explains. "There came a
point in the process of the record where I entrusted the music to them, knowing
it would flourish in their hands." Each musician shaped the arrangements
and compositions they played, with Shore integrating elements of their
performance into the final scores.
Speaking on
the immediate influences during the time period of the record, Shore says he
was still listening heavily to his life long hero Wayne Shorter's last record
Without A Net and performances he saw of Shorter with chamber ensembles.
"I kept thinking about the way Shorter transformed his music working with
woodwinds and strings, bringing it into a whole new context." Shore says
this emboldened him to incorporate the classical inflections into several of
his songs. At the same time Shore worked on Which Way Now?, Gilad Hekselman was
recording his recently released Homes and the two frequently discussed their
approaches to making an album, benefitting from each other's ears and input.
Shore credits Hekselman for years of support and camaraderie in developing as a
leader and composer.
While the
songs have grown and been nurtured from years of shows and sessions, the
recording process itself germinated over the course of a year. "I work to
create an environment, making sure all the elements work together within each
track and across the album" says Shore about the recording process. He
recorded with Michael Perez Cisneros, a brilliant engineer responsible for many
classic records including Rosenwinkel's Heartcore and The Remedy and the works
of John Ellis, Matt Penman among others. "For example, I could tell him I
was looking for a choir, but made entirely of pianos and he knew exactly how to
translate that into the recording." The collaboration between them shines
throughout, drawing the listener into the world of the record from the
hauntingly cinematic opening piece, straight through until the echoing refrain
of "Lullaby" that brings the record tenderly to a close.
Returning to
the album's central theme, Shore reflects "I didn't realize, until I
finished writing the last song included on the record, that all the music
explored that same moment of discovery. It reminds me of being a kid loving the
work of Leonardo Da Vinci; not for the figures in the foreground, but for the
way he created these layered rippling backgrounds composed of fantastical
landscapes. I'm interested in how, when you look past the subjects you can see
the backdrops laid behind them that lend them their power."
Born and
raised in Narragansett, Rhode Island Julian Shore grew up listening to his
father playing Bach on his home piano and would often sing along as a toddler.
After starting piano lessons at a young age he began studies with famed
educator Hal Crook as a teenager. In 2005 Shore was awarded a full scholarship
to Berklee College of Music. During his time there, under the mentorship of
Danilo Perez, he performed in a young musicians ensemble in the Panama Jazz
Festival, learning from Wayne Shorter, Brian Blade and many others. After
graduating in 2009 he moved to New York, where he was soon hired to perform
with singer Gretchen Parlato's band. He
has since continued to appear as both leader and sideman in NYC and across the
globe. He has performed or recorded with musicians such as Ferenc Nemeth, Kurt
Rosenwinkel, Gilad Hekselman, Chris Cheek, Kendrick Scott, Mark Giuliana among
many others.
Shore's 2012
debut recording "Filaments" which features Kurt Rosenwinkel, Tommy
Crane, Phil Donkin, Jeff Miles, Alexa Barchini, Shelly Tzarafi and guests Noah
Preminger, Kurt Ozan and others, earned
wide critical acclaim.
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