The story of
bassist/composer Michael Blanco's third album as a leader, Spirit Forward,
available on Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records on October 7, 2016, is primarily
the story of how Blanco assembled this particular group of musicians, and how
they in turn inspired the composer to write compelling music for this very
special and unique combination of musical personalities; the Michael Blanco
Quartet, featuring John Ellis (tenor saxophone), Kevin Hays (piano) and
Clarence Penn (drums). The album title Spirit Forward is a bartending term for
a type of cocktail made with strong spirits (like the Manhattan or Martini)
that seeks to highlight and enhance the flavor of the base spirit, not to mask
its flavor. These cocktails are harmonious and balanced, yet bold. "When
choosing Spirit Forward for the album title, I had this definition in mind and
how it relates to my music. It's a good metaphor for how strong musical
personalities can come together and create a dynamic unit, while still
maintaining their individuality. I also had a few other meanings in mind: I
like the idea that the act of releasing an album of original music is akin to
putting your 'spirit forward' out into the world, as well as the way the word
spirit can be used to mean motion (like 'spirit away'), so Spirit Forward also
means forward motion and continuing progress," explained Blanco.
John Ellis
is a longtime friend and musical comrade whose soulful and melodic style is the
perfect "voice" for Blanco's melodies. Ellis has a deeply personal
and well-developed sound, and is always tasteful and musical above all else.
Blanco elaborated, "there's no pretense in his playing and everything he
plays sounds like a melody to me. I first met John at a jam session at Aaron
Goldberg's Brooklyn apartment sometime around 2002. We hit it off musically and
personally and have worked together a lot over the ensuing years. He played on
my previous 2013 CD release, No Time Like the Present, and I still close most
of my gigs with 'Ellis Island,' a tune I wrote for him that has become a
frequently requested 'hit' among the people who come to hear my group."
It was
during gigs supporting No Time Like the Present that Blanco connected with the
other members of the Spirit Forward quartet. "I had admired Clarence
Penn's playing for years, but it wasn't until a 2013 gig I led that we first
played together. Clarence showed up to the gig and blew me away. He approached
the music in a way that both challenged and supported the band, while adding a
level of rhythmic and dynamic complexity that really brought the music to
another level. Our musical chemistry and bassist/drummer hookup was apparent
from the first tune of the night, and by the time the gig was over I knew that
I had found my new favorite drummer. Clarence has been on every gig that my
group has performed since that night, and even though finding dates that work
with his busy schedule can be difficult, I plan to try to keep it that
way!" said Blanco.
Blanco met
Kevin Hays as sidemen on a 2014 gig (at SubCulture) with vibraphonist Anthony
Smith's band. "After being a fan of Kevin's for many years, it was a
thrill to finally play with him, and I could hear exciting possibilities for my
music in his playing. His incredible harmonic and rhythmic flexibility, his
lyricism, and sense of adventure all appealed to me - and I had a feeling that
Kevin, Clarence, and John would be a really potent combination," said
Blanco. And he was right of course, evidenced in the music on Spirit Forward.
After
assembling his "dream team" the band played several gigs together
over the course of 2015, leading up to the August 2015 recording session for
this release. "I was able to experiment with my compositions during the
gigs and rehearsals, and make small tweaks between gigs to make the music work
better for the band. We even had a really fun 'pre-recording celebration' gig
at The Cornelia Street Cafe the night before heading into the studio, which
fine-tuned the music even more. I hope the listener enjoys it and digs it as
much as we do," said Blanco.
More on the
music on Spirit Forward from Michael Blanco:
The Mystic Chord is a six-note chord used by Russian composer Alexander
Scriabin, and believed by Scriabin to have mystical properties. While practicing
at home one day, I discovered that I could create a bass line with an
interesting 6/4 groove by spelling out this chord one note at a time. The
melody has a kind of funky, lopsided quality, and the rest of the song explores
the possibilities of the "Mystic Chord" sonority, with a melodically
contrasting "B" section that is in 5/4 time - juxtaposing nicely with
the 6/4 groove.
Notes From
Underground was originally written for a gig at The Cornelia Street Cafe. The
Cafe has been a wonderful home base for my group while I was developing the
music for this album and continues to be the main spot where I lead my group in
town. With this tune, I tried to capture the feeling I have when I'm performing
there - and also the feeling that I have when I'm in the audience of any of my
favorite jazz clubs. When coming up with a title, I thought of the low register
piano/bass counter-melody that offsets the tenor lead at various points of the
tune, as well as the fact that so many of my favorite jazz clubs are in basement
rooms - hence the double entendre.
Song Without
Words is a tuneful composition that I could easily imagine being sung. I wanted
to write something overtly lyrical and pretty - something that can seem like a
bold move in today's jazz climate. After recording one take with all of us
sticking very closely to the melody in our improvisations, we took a lunch
break and then recorded the take that is heard on the album. We loosened up and
stretched out a little more, but still captured the heart-on-your-sleeve
lyricism that I was going for.
Spirit
Forward has a swinging, open feel, and an optimistic vibe. The form has a few
mixed meters, and some harmonic twists and turns that make it both challenging
and fun to play. Kevin, John, and I all stretch out with solos on this one.
Acrobat gets
its name from the wide, acrobatic leaps in the bass line of the "B"
section of the tune. It has a driving straight-eight groove, a hummable melody,
and features great solos by both Ellis and Hays.
Last Stable
Orbit is a somewhat quirky blues, that doesn't ever quite resolve in the way
that you expect it to. The title is an astronomy term for the last orbit
possible before an object (planet, spaceship, etc) gets sucked into a black
hole!
Reasons To
Be Pretty is named after a play by Neil LaBute that I went to see on Broadway
in 2009. The performance really moved me, so I bought the script and read it
again at home. This song actually differs in mood quite a bit from LaBute's
play - but I thought the title was a good fit for this piece. Hays (once again)
plays a gorgeous solo.
The
Boulevardier is the name of one of my favorite spirit-forward cocktails, as
well as old-school French slang for a stylish "man about town." The
unison tenor sax/bass melody was inspired by a lick I heard guitarist Jonathan
Kreisberg play on a gig we did together. The form and harmony are loosely
inspired by Thelonious Monk's Green Chimneys, and it's a straight ahead,
swinging piece.
Michael Blanco is a two-time recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz
Composer Award (2005, 2006), moved to NYC in 2000, and has since worked with
many artists at the forefront of the contemporary jazz scene, including
saxophonists John Ellis, Rich Perry, Donny McCaslin, Jon Irabagon, and Will
Vinson; guitarists Lage Lund, Jonathan Kreisberg, Gilad Hekselman, and Mary
Halvorson; pianists Kevin Hays, Aaron Goldberg, Adam Birnbaum, and David Cook;
and drummers Clarence Penn, Donald Edwards, Ari Hoenig, Mark Ferber, and Tomas
Fujiwara. He has been a member of bands led by Alan Ferber, Bob Reynolds,
Shayna Steele, Russ Nolan, Doug Wamble, Patrick Cornelius, John Chin, Richard
Doron Johnson, and Frank Basile, among others. Blanco's debut album In The
Morning was released in 2006. JazzTimes Magazine called the album, "a
remarkable introduction that leaves one eager to hear more," and described
Blanco's compositions as having a, "dusky, imploring quality, with catchy,
insistent hooks and compelling harmonies," while Bass World declared that
"His approach to composition is fresh and the arrangements are lush and
compelling." Blanco's second album, No Time Like The Present, was released
in 2013. The album made Ralph A. Miriello's "Best of Jazz 2013" list
in the Huffington Post, while Marc Meyers at JazzWax described it as, "a
beautiful album with compositional depth and technical maturity," and
proclaimed, "Blanco understands the meaning of originality - tastefully
rolling out your creative vision while keeping the customer satisfied."
Blanco has been selected twice by the U.S. Department of State to be an
artistic representative for the U.S. abroad. Blanco is also in high demand
outside of the world of jazz: he has performed in the orchestras of over thirty
Broadway shows and is currently the bassist for the 2015 Broadway revival of
Fiddler on the Roof. Recent highlights from his busy freelance career include a
recording with the legendary violinist, Itzhak Perlman, performing on the
soundtrack to the Cohen brothers' major motion picture, Hail Caesar!, and a
television appearance on USA's Royal Pains, alongside violinist Joshua Bell.
Blanco has performed at major NYC venues including Carnegie Hall, Radio City
Music Hall, Town Hall, Birdland, Iridium, Smoke, and Blue Note, as well as
smaller important laboratories for jazz like The Cornelia Street Cafe, Smalls,
ShapeShifter Lab, Barbes, Korzo, IBeam, and The Bar Next Door at La Lanterna.
Although he spends most of his time in NYC, Blanco has also had the pleasure of
performing around the world.
