Jared Sims Change of
Address After two decades in New England, where multi-reed virtuoso Jared Sims
made his mark as an instrumentalist, bandleader, educator, and all-around
musical provocateur, Sims celebrates his return to West Virginia with Change of
Address, his fifth album as a leader. On the new CD, which will be released
April 14 by Ropeadope Records, Sims sticks to his favorite instrument -- the
baritone sax -- in the company of an airtight, organ-dappled quintet.
Change of Address commemorates Sims's homecoming to his alma
mater, West Virginia University in Morgantown, which has named him Director of
its Jazz Studies Department 20 years after he earned his own jazz studies
degree there.
The music on the album is notable for instilling the
jazz-soul tradition with an up-to-the-minute sensibility and is deftly
interpreted by the leader, joined by an intriguing collection of players for
whom he wrote its tunes, Ellington-style. They include the wife-and-husband
team of organist Nina Ott and bassist Chris Lopes (a longtime crony of
guitarist Jeff Parker), and a pair of young Boston-area veterans in guitarist
Steve Fell and drummer Jared Seabrook (older brother of guitar provocateur
Brandon).
Among the highlights on Change of Address are "Ghost
Guest 1979," which showcases a full range of textural effects from Fell
and seamless interaction between bass and Hammond B-3; the sprightly, wide-open
"Lights and Colors"; and "Forest Hills," inspired by the
Boston neighborhood in which he lived.
Jared Sims Sims (b. 1974) started playing the baritone in
the fifth grade in his hometown of Staunton, Virginia, but only became
dedicated to this most colossal of saxes after bringing a tenor to a class at
the New England Conservatory (NEC) and having his instructor chide him he would
never be great on it because he would be following in the footsteps of too many
legends.
Far from taking offense, Sims took his teacher's words to
heart. "There are a lot of gold standards on tenor," he says. "I
was trying to find a way to move past those influences. Playing the baritone
felt really natural to me. I felt like I could do something personal and interesting
with it." A compelling example of this is Sims's "Seeds of
Shihab," a tribute to baritone great Sahib Shihab, which like the other
tracks on Change of Address luxuriates in the brawny, bottom-rich sound of the
instrument.
Sims attended his first jazz concert, by Michael Brecker, in
tenth grade, and saw the World Saxophone Quartet perform the following year.
His fascination with the saxophone went "over the top" after he spoke
with members of the WSQ following the show.
At WVU, he had a strong saxophone teacher in David Hastings,
who schooled him in traditional styles. At NEC, where he played clarinet in
addition to baritone, alto, and tenor, he tried to catch up to all the kinds of
music he hadn't been exposed to, including Third Stream, under the wing of
distinguished faculty members Gunther Schuller, George Russell, and Ran Blake.
Sims went on to study for his doctorate in classical music
performance at Boston University, where his lecture recital was on the modern
Italian composer Luciano Berio and his solo Sequenza pieces. He also did
research work on Igor Stravinsky, Charles Ives, and American popular music.
While in Boston, where he earned a reputation as a
"saxophone colossus," Sims roomed for four years with standout
baritone saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase, a cog in Either/Orchestra, who turned
him onto Shihab. One of his mentors at NEC was Allan Chase, with whom he
continues to play in a band, Blow-up!, dedicated to the music of bebop baritone
legend Serge Chaloff (they recorded in March 2017). He also played in numerous
Boston-based bands including the Afro-Latin group Mango Blue (in which he
continues to perform); the organ funk outfit Akashic Record; Blueprint Project
with guitarist Eric Hofbauer, and the jazz-rock quartet Miracle Orchestra. The
list of artists he has collaborated is an eclectic one and ranges from the late
Bob Brookmeyer, Han Bennink, Matt Wilson, Dave Liebman, and Anat Cohen to the
Temptations, 10,000 Maniacs, and Oasis's Noel Gallagher.
Sims made his recording debut as a leader with the trio
effort Acoustic Shadows (2009). He followed it with another three-man outing
Convergence (2011), the collective quartet album The New Stablemates (2012),
and Layers (2016), on which he overdubs himself playing saxophones, clarinets,
and flute on tunes by Ellington, Monk, and Mingus.
Jared Sims will celebrate the release of Change of Address
at the following engagements: 4/14 James Street Gastropub, Pittsburgh; 4/27 The
Bitter End, NYC; 4/28 Third Life Studio, Boston (with same personnel as the
CD).
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