Joining Lederer on Guilty!!! is the ensemble previously known as Swing n’ Dix — cornetist, slider trumpeter, and magic keyboardist Kirk Knuffke, tubist Bob Stewart, and drummer Matt Wilson. Here, the group is augmented by trombonist and electronicist Curtis Hasselbring and vocalist/lyricist Mary LaRose (“Cheapening the Process,” “And She Speaks”). All vocalize; Wilson plays a well-timed gavel.
“I’d hoped it wouldn’t be just another progressive, Democratic jazz musician preaching to the choir,” Lederer says wryly. “Although since making this record, I’ve had a couple of surprises pop out within our own jazz community.” And, sometimes, the choir’s not singing loud enough — especially during this critical election — an undeniable pivot point in modern American history.
Given his resumé as a conceptualist — he’s tackled sacred Shaker songs (Shakers n’ Bakers), sea shanties meets Albert Ayler (Brooklyn Blowhards) and Schoenberg (Schoenberg on the Beach), Lederer was uniquely positioned to nail this project. Despite being ripped from the headlines, Guilty!!! is bound to stick with you, through this nail-biter election and beyond. Guilty!!! originated in a residency Lederer taught last March at a preparatory high school in our nation’s capital, which culminated in a performance at the nearby performance space Rhizome DC. “I wanted to focus on the idea of telling the truth and lying, both in public speech and playing music,” he says — stressing that while the MAGA Republicans are the most flagrant liars on the scene today, truth-damaged discourse is coming from all directions.
The songs on Guilty!!! that represent truth rely on organic instrumentation; the ones signifying lies are bathed in electronics and clashing, chaotic political soundbites. “Buzzsaw” features the voice of Marjorie Taylor Greene, who Lederer grinningly calls “the illustrious congressperson from Georgia.” “She was talking about her lack of support for the Ukraine war effort, and somehow she got on this word ‘buzzsaw,’ and repeated it over and over again,” Lederer says.
“Buttigieg vs. Sanders” thematically harkens back to two elections ago — by all accounts, a simpler time. “I love Bernie’s voice. It’s an amazing sound,” Lederer says. “It harkens back to the time when the biggest issue that we had in leadership for this country was whether it was going to be Pete Buttigieg or Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination. If you recall, that was actually a hotly contested point for a minute, and it’s so nostalgic and sweet to think back on.”
“Cheapening the Process” is a tip of the hat to former Rep. and current convicted felon George Santos — one of the GOP’s resident Dadaists, and one who Lederer has particular fondness for. “I set the song for George Santos as a bossa nova, because he is kind of a fake Brazilian,” Lederer explains. “Curtis Hasselbring made the clutch move of finding a clip where a woman asks him, ‘How do we make you go away?’ And he says, ‘Well, stop inviting me to your gigs.’”
A reworked version of a piece formerly known as “Baby Cakes,” “Deportation Operation” derives from a quote from our current Republican nominee, whose name Lederer is loath to evoke. “He was outlining his immigration policy, and describing this grand deportation operation that was going to happen once he was back in office,” Lederer says. “You don’t hear the Orange One’s voice, but it was based on his speech.” (In fact, the former president’s voice is found nowhere on the record; Lederer is sensitive to those potentially triggered by that awful sound.)
“Piccolo Buster” reflects the unconventional (for jazz) instrument that Lederer’s been rocking with lately. “The filibuster is definitely one of the most bizarre traditions in American politics,” Lederer reflects. “So, I thought to myself, I wonder what would happen if I just continued to play the piccolo non-stop. How would people make me stop?” As such, the methodology for “Piccolo Buster” was, “Do whatever gestures you want to try to make me stop.” (Dig Wilson’s gavel at the end.)
The title track, “Guilty!!!,” is a co-write between Hasselbring and Wilson. “Curtis transcribed the melodic cadences of Adam Schiff’s great speech, where he gave us the 34 guiltys in kind of a deadpan way,” Lederer says, obviously referring to Trump’s felony convictions. “But it has a nice shape to the melody.” The following track, “And She Speaks” — by Lederer’s hero and onetime clarinet teacher, John Carter — takes a far less light-hearted turn.
“This one speaks to violence against African American women by police officers,” Lederer says, citing the tragic case of Breonna Taylor. “We do know a lot about young Black men [in these situations], but sometimes, people forget about the violence against Black women.” “We the People” follows, featuring Sen. Katie Britt’s rebuttal to President Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address. “She’s such a strange character in American public life, and from that MAGA wing of the Republican Party,” Lederer observes. “She espouses this new Stepford Wives, Handmaid’s Tale version of women’s roles in American family life.”
Guilty!!! starts to wind down with Charles Mingus’s “Fables of Faubus.” “It’s incredible how close we are to the politics of the late 1950s once again,” Lederer says. “The frightening thing about ‘Fables of Faubus’ is when you get those Mingus spoken word and sung parts, they resonate with the same relevance today as they did in the late 1950's.”
The program concludes with “Truth is Marching In,” by Lederer’s longtime lodestar Albert Ayler — which brings us back to the core concept of Guilty!!!. “This album has eight lies and two truths, and I wanted to end with a truth,” Lederer shares. “I wanted to end with something that feels really good.”
Jazz diehards will immediately recognize the album art for Guilty!!! (created by Jamie Breiwick); it plays off It’s Time!, Jackie McLean’s 1964 classic on Blue Note Records with Charles Tolliver, Herbie Hancock, Cecil McBee, and Roy Haynes. They’ll also want to mark their calendars: on Election Eve, November 4, Lederer is throwing a special event in five cities (info above) in which local musicians will perform cuts from the record from 8 pm to 9.30 pm EST.
At 9 pm EST, the separate groups will join together for a mass stream, where they ALL perform “Truth is Marching In.” Indeed it is, and Lederer is a musical ambassador for the truth. Is his new album extremely of its moment? Well, see the album title. Regardless, Guilty!!! Is an innovative, ear-bending Molotov cocktail, hurled into the noise, where Lederer hopes for the best. And if you not only turn up this record loud, but bring its energy to the polls, something tells him November 5 will be a glorious day.
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