Jamie Saft has been a significant
presence on RareNoiseRecords since the label's inception: as band leader on New
Zion w. Cyro's Sunshine Seas (on piano, analogue keyboards, bass and guitar
with percussionist Cyro Baptista) and on The New Standard (on piano and organ
with bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bobby Previte), on celebrated quartet
collaborations with Wadada Leo Smith (Red Hill, on piano) and Roswell Rudd
(Strength & Power, on piano), as well as on a number of deep free music
collaborations involving Joe Morris (Slobber Pup, Plymouth, The Spanish Donkey,
on organ and analogue keyboards).
Now, on Serenity Knolls, he stakes out some completely
different territory. An intimate duo project with guitarist Bill Brovold, a former
member of such New York no-wave bands as the Rhys Chatham Ensemble, the East
Village Orchestra and the Zen Vikings, it features Saft alternating between
playing dobro and lap steel on a set of 12 ambient type tunes with a
distinctive heartland undercurrent to them.
An accomplished keyboardist-composer who has been widely
acknowledged for his work with various John Zorn projects, including The
Dreamers, Electric Masada and Moonchild, the Queens native and current resident
of Kingston in upstate New York has nonetheless has maintained a longstanding
relationship with the guitar. As he explains, "I've played guitar since I
was a youth as well as bass guitar, so this isn't something new for me at all.
In fact, my guitar playing is featured on many of my albums such as Breadcrumb
Sins (Tzadik), Sunshine Seas (RareNoise) and Black Shabbis (Tzadik) as well as
being prominently featured in my original score for the Oscar nominated film
Murderball."
On Serenity Knolls, Saft is paired with the legendary improviser,
woodworker, instrument builder and leader of Larval, an influential Detroit
improvising post-rock ensemble. "I met Bill in upstate New York where we
both currently live in the Hudson Valley," says Jamie. "Bill is a
beautiful and diverse friend and it's a pleasure to improvise music with
him."
On spacious tracks like "Sweet Grass,"
"Saddle Horn," "The Great American Bison" and the title
track, Saft creates that high and lonesome feel with his expressive slide
guitar playing. He switches to lap steel on the droning "Bemidji",
"No Horse Seen" and the minor key "Greybull."
"I've been fascinated by slide guitar styles for many
years," he says. "Initially I was exposed to these sounds through Bob
Dylan's music, which quickly led me to the universes of country and bluegrass
music. I wouldn't say I have specific role models for slide guitar - for me it
is a means to produce sustained events from a guitar. I take a more orchestral
approach to the instrument. I'm far from a great technician on these instruments.
I'd never profess to be in the same league in any way as the legends of pedal
steel and dobro. But to me, they are sonic tools to achieve a particular
goal."
Recorded at Potterville International Sound in Kingston, New
York and mixed there by Saft and his colleague Christian Castagno (the same
engineer who co-produced and mixed 2016's Sunshine Seas), Serenity Knolls
carries a compelling vibe created by Brovold's atmospheric guitar in
combination with Saft's melodic gems on dobro and lap steel. "This concept
came from improvisations Bill and I were doing at house parties," Saft
explains. "Combining the ambient feeling of Bill's unprocessed big hollow
body Guild guitar through a Silverface Fender Vibrolux amplifier and the liquid
sound of the dobro and lap steel guitar through a 1950's Alamo Amplifier with
subtle tape echo enhancements was the intent. We sought to capture something
inspired by the American landscape - the Great American Bison, endless
highways, Plains drifting - filtered through a distinctly psychedelic lens. It
began with the idea of making music that was 'Country Ambient' and arrived at
something of an alternative state of consciousness."
As for the evocative album title, Saft explains:
"Serenity Knolls is both an ideal state of mind as well as the name of the
rehab center where Jerry Garcia died." That perfectly captures both the
serene nature and expansive, searching attitude heard throughout this beautiful
free-flowing recording of strictly guitar music. Serenity Knolls is not only
unique in Saft's oeuvre, it holds a unique place in the ever-expanding
RareNoise catalog.
TRACKS
1. Sweet Grass
2. Mitchimakinak
3. Saddle Horn
4. Wendigo
5. Thermopolis
6. The Great American Bison
7. Bemidji
8. No Horse Seen
9. Splintering Wind
10. Greybuli
11. Serenity Knolls
12. Silent Midpoint
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