Bass CDs
New Album: Bassist Or Bareket, Sahar
Celebrated Bassist Or Bareket Announces the Release of His Third Album as a Bandleader, Sahar.
Enja Records is pleased to announce bassist and composer Or Bareket’s enthralling third album as a bandleader, Sahar. Bareket, who is known widely as a first-call bassist for such artists as Leon Parker, Joel Ross, Ari Hoenig, Etienne Charles and Camila Meza, demonstrates his compositional mastery and instrumental acuity onSahar. The album’s tracks are adorned with potent (and sometimes wistful) melodic refrains, rife with deep harmonic intrigue bubbling with intensity. Composed and recorded during the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, a rare moment of rest for Bareket, Sahar captures the bassist on a decidedly new and fresh artistic trajectory, performing with a new generation of virtuosic talent including Morgan Guerin on tenor saxophone, EWI and organ, Jeremy Corren on piano and Fender Rhodes and Savannah Harris on drums and percussion. Prominent vibraphonist Joel Ross produced the recording, co-arranged the music and added some auxiliary percussion.
The album’s title ‘Sahar’ holds multiple definitions in semitic languages. In modern Hebrew, ‘Sáhar’ simply translates to ‘crescent’ while in various Arabic dialects, it translates to ‘just before dawn,’ ‘early morning,’ and ‘insomnia.’ On Bareket’s record, he explores the poetic meaning of ‘Sahar’ — the dream-like state one arrives in after staying up all night ruminating and yearning; an encounter that feels suspended in infinity, outside the waking experience of the passage of time.
In many ways, ‘Sahar’ describes Bareket’s lived experience during the creation of this material. Amidst the pandemic’s imposed isolation, a moment Bareket refers to as “the complete disruption of the experience of linear time”, the bassist found solace in creation. “I entered March 2020 in a state of exhaustion and reflection, wrapping up a six-month run of nearly seamless back-to-back tours with different bands …including a week in Morocco with trumpeter Etienne Charles.”
The theme of reflection runs deep on Sahar and the compositions were inspired in part by Bareket’s own ruminations on those that he has lost, namely, both his maternal and paternal grandfathers. Perhaps, this reflective period began that week in Morocco with Charles. Bareket remarks “This was my first time visiting the country, specifically Tangier, the hometown of my maternal grandfather, Rabbi Mordechai Marcos Edery… I was really excited to visit the place where he was born and grew up, the place where the Edery family had lived for as far back as our family records could tell. I expected that some missing puzzle piece would be revealed while I was there.” After finding that the entire neighborhood had been demolished and rebuilt, Bareket called his mother, Mordechai’s daughter, to ask if her father had ever talked about Tangier. She revealed that he didn’t much, and that he left for a reason – just like she left her home of Argentina, drawing a parallel to Baraket’s own experience leaving Israel. “I felt the closest to Mordechai I’ve ever felt, upon hearing this. I accepted this moment as my missing puzzle piece,” he realized. Upon his return to the United States, Bareket received the news that his paternal grandfather, Asher Bareket, had now passed away as well. As he waded through the emotions of a recent loss, he was reminded that Asher had given him his very first bass. Spurring a direction and an outlet for grief and reflection, the bassist turned to composition.
Sahar begins with the pared-down “Root System”, a reflective piece with Bareket at the helm, his bass spinning a melodic narrative, inviting the listener into his inner world of sonacy and rhythm. The composer braids his roots (both familial and musical) and those found in nature. “It occurred to me while working on this album that when people refer to “roots” in the context of music or cultural heritage, we think of something fixed and final … But the actual roots of a tree have a reciprocal and dynamic relationship with the rest of the tree, circulating water, nutrients, and light back and forth throughout the organism.”
“SOIL” demonstrates the deeply soulful and decidedly modern sound of the full ensemble. Corren doubles the melody line that Guerin presents on the EWI and then the two engage in some striking trades during the solo section, while Bareket and Harris supply an unshakable groove. “TEMPERANCE” begins in an intimate fashion with Corren stating a melodic motif which gets doubled by Guerin on tenor sax and becomes a repeated motif throughout the piece, building in intensity throughout. The piece climaxes at Harris’ solo over the stated melody. “Kapara” features a stunning bass intro by Bareket, his melodic invention on full display. A lyrical melody stated by Guerin on the EWI leads to a solo from the bandleader, showcasing his distinct lyricism, rhythmic dexterity, and groove-centric approach. A full demonstration of the dynamic capabilities of the ensemble, the group’s bravado broadens while Guerin takes a solo over the tune’s harmonic changes.
Bareket touches on his feeling of loss and reflection in a more direct way with “A Lullaby For Troubled Ancestors”, a piece which lives within a quiet intensity, marrying a tender nuance with rhythmic and melodic interplay between his bass lines and melody. The album’s closing piece, the title track “Sahar”, offers sweeping melodies and – fitting to the meaning of the title – leaves space for reflection. Bareket seems to reflect on the notion of isolation with a piece that stretches the idea of time. On the pandemic, he says that while it was stressful and frightening, it uncovered new ways to exist within time and conceive of it, in life and in music. He asks: “If time is not linear but rather cyclical, spiral, static, or just non-existent, how does that affect our understanding of our personal and collective histories? And what kind of music might arise from different conceptions of time?”
“The experience of real kinship (not just a genetic one) with my grandfathers— men that I otherwise have deep differences and disagreements with— has shaped the music on the new album in subtle and literal ways. Working on it throughout the pandemic lockdown and the obliteration of the linear sense of time often felt like my ancestors and I were existing in parallel, simultaneous realities, rather than on opposite ends of a line”, the composer indicates. With Sahar, Bareket invites the listener to walk through time with him, reflecting on those that have been lost and celebrating them through song.
Visit online at orbareket.com
Bass CDs
New Album: Jake Leckie, Planter of Seeds
Bassist Jake Leckie and The Guide Trio Unveil New Album Planter of Seeds,
to be released on June 7, 2024
Planter of Seeds is bassist/composer Jake Leckie’s third release as a bandleader and explores what beauty can come tomorrow from the seeds we plant today.
What are we putting in the ground? What are we building? What is the village we want to bring our children up in? At the core of the ensemble is The Guide Trio, his working band with guitarist Nadav Peled and drummer Beth Goodfellow, who played on Leckie’s second album, The Guide, a rootsy funky acoustic analog folk-jazz recording released on Ropeadope records in 2022. For Planter of Seeds, the ensemble is augmented by Cathlene Pineda (piano), Randal Fisher (tenor saxophone), and Darius Christian (trombone), who infuse freedom and soul into the already tightly established ensemble.
Eight original compositions were pristinely recorded live off the floor of Studio 3 at East West Studios in Hollywood CA, and mastered by A.T. Michael MacDonald. The cover art is by internationally acclaimed visual artist Wayne White. Whereas his previous work has been compared to Charles Mingus, and Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet with Charlie Haden, Leckie’s new collection sits comfortably between the funky odd time signatures of the Dave Holland Quintet and the modern folk-jazz of the Brian Blade Fellowship Band with a respectful nod towards the late 1950s classic recordings of Ahmad Jamal and Miles Davis.
The title track, “Planter of Seeds,” is dedicated to a close family friend, who was originally from Trinidad, and whenever she visited family or friends at their homes, without anyone knowing, she would plant seeds she kept in her pocket in their gardens, so the next season beautiful flowers would pop up. It was a small altruistic anonymous act of kindness that brought just a little more beauty into the world. The rhythm is a tribute to Ahmad Jamal, who we also lost around the same time, and whose theme song Poinciana is about a tree from the Caribbean.
“Big Sur Jade” was written on a trip Leckie took with his wife to Big Sur, CA, and is a celebration of his family and community. This swinging 5/4 blues opens with an unaccompanied bass solo, and gives an opportunity for each of the musicians to share their improvisational voices. “Clear Skies” is a cathartic up-tempo release of collective creative energies in fiery improvisational freedom. “The Aquatic Uncle” features Randal Fisher’s saxophone and is named after an Italo Calvino short story which contemplates if one can embrace the new ways while being in tune with tradition. In ancient times, before a rudder, the Starboard side of the ship was where it was steered from with a steering oar. In this meditative quartet performance, the bass is like the steering oar of the ensemble: it can control the direction of the music, and when things begin to unravel or become unhinged, a simple pedal note keeps everything grounded.
The two trio tunes on the album are proof that the establishment of his consistent working band The Guide Trio has been a fruitful collaboration. “Santa Teresa”, a bouncy samba-blues in ? time, embodies the winding streets and stairways of the bohemian neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro it is named for. The swampy drum feel on “String Song” pays homage to Levon Helm of The Band, a group where you can’t always tell who wrote the song or who the bandleader is, proving that the sum is greater than the individual parts. Early jazz reflected egalitarianism in collective improvisation, and this group dynamic is an expression of that kind of inclusivity and democracy.
“The Daughters of the Moon” rounds out the album, putting book ends on the naturalist themes. This composition is named after magical surrealist Italo Calvino’s short story about consumerism, in which a mythical modern society that values only buying shiny new things throws away the moon like it is a piece of garbage and the daughters of the moon save it and resurrect it. It’s an eco-feminist take on how women are going to save the world. Pineda’s piano outro is a hauntingly beautiful lunar voyage, blinding us with love. Leckie dedicates this song to his daughter: “My hope is that my daughter becomes a daughter of the moon, helping to make the world a more beautiful and verdant place to live.”
Bass CDs
Debut Album: Nate Sabat, Bass Fiddler
In a thrilling solo debut, bassist Nate Sabat combines instrumental virtuosity with a songwriter’s heart on Bass Fiddler…
The upright bass and the human voice. Two essential musical instruments, one with roots in 15th century Europe, the other as old as humanity itself.
On Bass Fiddler (Adhyâropa Records ÂR00057), the debut album from Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and bass virtuoso Nate Sabat, the scope is narrowed down a bit. Drawing from the rich and thriving tradition of American folk music, Sabat delivers expertly crafted original songs and choice covers with the upright bass as his lone tool for accompaniment.
The concept was born a decade ago when Sabat began studying with the legendary old-time fiddler Bruce Molsky at Berklee College of Music. “One of Bruce’s specialties is singing and playing fiddle at the same time. The second I heard it I was hooked,” recalls Sabat. “I thought, how can I do this on the bass?” From there, he was off to the races, arranging original and traditional material with Molsky as his guide. “Fast forward to 2020, and I — like so many other musicians — was thinking of how to best spend my time. I sat down with the goal of writing some new songs and arranging some new covers, and an entire record came out.” When the time came to make the album, it was evident that Molsky would be the ideal producer. Sabat asked him if he’d be interested, and luckily he was. “What an inspiration to work with an artist like Nate,” says Molsky. “Right at the beginning, he came to this project with a strong, personal and unique vision. Plus he had the guts to try for a complete and compelling cycle of music with nothing but a bass and a voice. You’ll hear right away that it’s engaging, sometimes serious, sometimes fun, and beautifully thought out from top to bottom.”
While this record is, at its core, a folk music album, Sabat uses the term broadly. Some tracks lean more rock (‘In the Shade’), some more pop (‘White Marble’, ‘Rabid Thoughts’), some more jazz (‘Fade Away’), but the setting ties them all together. “There’s something inherently folksy about a musician singing songs with their instrument, no matter the influences behind the compositions themselves,” Sabat notes. To be sure, there are plenty of folk songs (‘Louise’ ‘Sometimes’, ‘Eli’) and fiddling (‘Year of the Ox’) to be had here — the folk music fan won’t go hungry. There’s a healthy dose of bluegrass too (‘Orphan Annie’, ‘Lonesome Night’), clean and simple, the way Mr. Bill Monroe intended.
All in all, this album shines a light on an instrument that often goes overlooked in the folk music world, enveloping the listener in its myriad sounds, textures, and colors. “There’s nothing I love more than playing the upright bass,” exclaims Sabat. “My hope is that listeners take the time to sit with this album front to back — I want them to take in the full scope of the work. I have a feeling they’ll hear something they haven’t heard before.”
Available online at natesabat.bandcamp.com/album/walking-away
Bass CDs
New Album: Avery Sharpe, I Am My Neighbors Keeper
Avery Sharpe and his Double Quartet to release, I Am My Neighbors Keeper
A new recording will be released on JKNM Records by internationally renowned bassist/composer Avery Sharpe, “I Am My Neighbors Keeper” is scheduled for release in June 2024.
Sharpe has composed a new work that highlights our commitment to one another. Avery initiated the project as a response to the political and racial division that has grown over the past seven years in the country. “The U.S political climate has drastically changed in the past 40-plus years, especially during the last seven of those years. In this age of greed, which Sharpe refers to as “IGM,” I Got Mine, basic human compassion has been eroded. Racial, economic and social strides are being turned back.
“We have food insecurity, the unhoused, pandemics, school shootings, domestic violence, and an opioid problem, just to name some. There is a need to remind people that each of us is here on this planet for a very short period of time. It doesn’t matter if one has a religious approach or a secular approach, it all comes down to concern and compassion for each other. Through these compositions and recordings, Avery’s mission as an artist is to remind us that we all are interconnected and that ‘We Are Our Neighbor’s Keeper.’ When we help to uplift one, we uplift everyone,” Sharpe said.
Each movement in the piece describes the values we should strive for to help one another for this multi-media (video slide show during performance) and multi-discipline performance.
Many of Sharpe’s projects and recordings have been about “standing on the shoulders of ancestors, heroes and sheroes.” Among his recordings and projects, include “Running Man” (celebrating the athlete Jesse Owens), “Ain’t I A Woman” (about Sojourner Truth), and his most recent project “400: An African American Musical Portrait” (marking the 400 years from 1619 to 2019).
Avery Sharpe has recorded and performed with many jazz greats from Dizzy Gillespie to Yusef Lateef. He had an illustrious run of 20 plus years with the legendary Jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, of which he recorded more than 25 records with Mr. Tyner and performed countless worldwide concerts.
Visit online at averysharpe.com/
Bass CDs
New Album: Killing Bees, Racing Towards Ruin
Killing Bees Racing Towards Ruin out May 10th via Tonequake Records.
There are some records where the first note grabs you and doesn’t let go. Before the first lyric is sung, Killing Bees pull you into Racing Towards Ruins via the sheer power of TONES, MAN, TONES. Brown-note bass reverberations and gut-punch kickdrum snap the listener out of daily reverie instantaneously. Together, bassist/vocalist Nic Nifoussi and drummer Ray Mehlbaum (both of Automatic 7) and producer Andrew Scheps (Mars Volta, Audioslave, Adele) have crafted a piece of art that fuses low-rock minimalism, post-hardcore aggression, and SoCal throttle rock urgency into, well, a real ass-kicker.
The bones of Killing Bees began their calcification when Nifoussi started a high school punk band called Automatic 7. They signed to BYO Records upon graduation and soon found themselves in need of a new drummer. Enter Ray Mehlbaum. Tours with Bad Religion, Social Distortion, Face 2 Face, Bouncing Souls, Suicide Machines, Unwritten Law, Youth Brigade, DOA, and others followed, as well as a deal with A&M Records. A&M got bought by Universal, the band moved to Vagrant Records, cut a new record, toured, then broke up.
“Eventually, Ray and I decided to start a two-piece band” explains Nifoussi. “I was trying out a new sound using 2 amps and an A-B switch. Overdrive through one amp and playing a lot of chords to get a guitar-like sound. After years of playing together, we were already tight and used to writing together. The songs came quickly and easily.”
Via Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, the band had come to know Grammy-winning producer and engineer Andrew Scheps. Though originally recommended as a producer for Automatic 7, when the band played him the Killing Bees songs, he loved the concept and the trio got to work on their self-titled debut. Following the record’s release on Guano Loco/Loose Fang Records, “we played a bunch of shows and eventually started writing the new record in our North Hollywood lockout” says Nifoussi.
Recorded once again at Scheps’ studio, drums and bass were recorded live, the only overdubs being vocals and some bass and accordion textures (Nifoussi is an accomplished accordionist). “We tracked the two together over 4 or 5 days and everything you hear was played live by talented humans, not put together after the fact. I think that live energy is what makes the record so compelling!” says Scheps. “Andrew wanted to challenge us. We came in wired towards traditional songwriting – he wasn’t interested in that” explains Mehlbaum. “He encouraged us to think about instrumental bits that would drive the tune, as opposed to the sing-along chorus of a traditional song. As a drummer, he kicked my ass. I remember him saying “we’re gonna turn the click off. I want you to go completely ‘out of time’ then come back in.” That’s some crazy shit! But I fucking loved it.”
Thematically, the record deals with the dangers of love and politics in equal measure. As Nifoussi puts it, “if there’s a takeaway, it’s to be careful with who you love… and vote into government.” So, Racing Towards Ruin. A concise, compelling listen, arresting at first blush, and deeply moving upon completion. A modern rock record (not a modern-rock record), unrelentingly heavy and sonically immaculate. And loud. Super loud.
Bass CDs
New Album: Lucy Clifford, Meeting Place
Bassist and composer Lucy Clifford has announced the release of her new EP ‘Meeting Place’.
This live studio recording was captured at Golden Retriever Studios in Sydney, and features Australian guitarist Felix Lalanne and Swiss drummer Jessie Cox.
As a bassist who has dedicated many years to accompanying artists of different kinds, Lucy shares some of her own music in a kaleidoscope of sounds and influences that have shaped her creative identity. The trio explores Lucy’s compositions, which weave between both energy and repose, lyrical soundscapes colliding with dynamic grooves that are sure to occupy your mind. This 4 song EP is presented as an uninterrupted musical odyssey and serves as a dedication to the places and people that hold a profound ability to anchor us in the present moment, our meeting places.
For Lucy, this meeting place created with Felix and Jessie is a “celebration of collaborative spirit and the immersive spatial movements of sound. In an era where connections are more crucial than ever, this music emerged while reflecting on the many borders, barriers, and structures that currently hold back human connection and communal bonds. We need reminding to rediscover our meeting places, that bring us the love, comfort, truth, and creativity we so urgently need.”
‘Meeting Place’ will be out April 5th on digital platforms, along with the live studio performance for viewing on Youtube.
Visit online at www.lucycliffordmusic.com