Bass CDs
Debut Duo Album: Vocalist Sofia Rei and Bassist Jorge Roeder, Coplas Escondidas
Coplas Escondidas…
Neither folkloric nor avant-garde, straight ahead or Latin jazz, Coplas Escondidas is a singular creation by Argentine-born vocalist Sofia Rei and Peruvian-reared bassist Jorge Roeder, two of the foremost cosmopolitan improvisers on the international jazz scene. Slated for release on Friday, August 25, 2023, the duo project celebrates the depth of Latin American song forms, and it’s wonderfully original — unlike anything in their varied discographies.
Seizing a moment afforded by the pandemic shutdown, Rei and Roeder met up in Brooklyn at Mark Goodell’s studio for a musical communion drawing on two decades of oft-intersecting exploration. Coplas Escondidas continues a creatively charged musical conversation between two longtime friends and intermittent collaborators who’ve been influencing and inspiring one another since they met two decades ago at New England Conservatory. The songs and rhythmic settings span South America, drawing on an array of styles and traditions interpreted through an improvisational jazz ethos.
A classically trained mezzo-soprano, Rei has earned numerous awards and widespread esteem with five albums under her own name, most recently 2021’s electronica-laced Umbral. But she’s equally hailed for her collaborations with masters such as Brazilian composer Clarice Assad, guitarist Marc Ribot, vocal wizard Bobby McFerrin, composer/arranger Maria Schneider, and, most prolifically, John Zorn, including 2018’s acclaimed, The Book Beri’ah: Keter, with JC Maillard. Born and raised in Buenos Aires and based in New York since 2005, Rei was singled out by the Boston Globe for “possessing a voluptuously full voice, comprehensive command of Latin American rhythms, and encyclopedic knowledge of folkloric forms from Argentina, Peru, Colombia, and Uruguay.”
Like Rei, Jorge Roeder is a conservatory-trained artist who was only 20 when the Lima Philharmonic and Opera orchestras appointed him assistant principal bassist in 2001 (while he also played electric bass with the Lima heavy metal band Ni Voz ni Voto). Since moving to the U.S. to study at NEC in 2002, he’s forged deep and lasting ties to several extraordinary artists, performing widely and recording with saxophonist/composer John Zorn, guitarist Julian Lage, Israeli-born pianist Shai Maestro, and trombonist Ryan Keberle. Among the busiest bassists in jazz, he’s also collaborated with vibes legend Gary Burton, guitarist Nels Cline, vocalist Thana Alexa, guitarist Brad Shepik, and saxophonist Dan Blake, among many others.
Coplas Escondidas— Featured Compositions
Coplas Escondidas extends a dialogue that started almost the moment Roeder and Rei met at NEC, where they were “two of just three Latin Americans in the entire program, so it was easy to make a first connection,” Rei recalls. “I invited him to a session to try songs, ideas and improvisations just the two of us. We felt a strong musical connection and kept playing together ever since.”
Both players contribute an original piece to the program, which also features two jazz standards, Thelonious Monk‘s “Ask Me Now” (lyric by Jon Hendricks) and Jimmy Rowles‘ “The Peacocks” (lyrics by Norma Winstone). A brief first take with no solos, the former dances on a precipice to a 5/8 Venezuelan merengue, distilling a tale of regret. “We always feel we are about to crash and fall into the abyss, but we tend to manage each time,” Rei says. “There is humor, regret, conflicted thoughts and feelings, all going at light speed.”
Over the past few decades “The Peacocks” has become a proving ground for jazz’s most adventurous vocalists, but even by that daunting standard there’s nothing quite like Rei and Roeder’s high wire act, which calls to mind legendary Sheila Jordan‘s early duo adventures with bassist Harvie S (then known as Swartz). “It’s hard enough for a vocalist to perform it with a fixed-intonation chordal instrument like a piano or guitar,” Roeder says, marveling at Rei’s navigational skills. “It’s a double layer of difficulty when the accompanying instrument is a double bass!”
Ruffling through the Latin American Songbook, they transform one gem after another. The songs often directly reflect and celebrate the lives of working people so often overlooked and neglected by governments. The classic Peruvian waltz “Callejón de un solo caño” (One-faucet Alley) by the Afro-Peruvian siblings Nicomedes and Victoria Santa Cruz captures the joyful camaraderie of an informal alley jam session, while Jorge Fandermole‘s “Oración del remanso” (Backwater Prayer) describes the hard life of fishermen on the Paraná river. It’s a graceful example of chamamé, a folk tradition from northeastern Argentina combining schottische and indigenous Guaraní influences.
“Since we were students in Boston we’ve always wanted to show our American and international peers and audiences that there was much more variety in musical styles in Latin America than what they had been exposed to,” Rei says. “In a way this record, even as a snapshot, fulfills that goal given the intimate, non-traditional setting in which we framed them.”
The duo draws generously from Argentina’s deep trove of anthems, from Eduardo Lagos‘s harmonically expansive chacarera “La Oncena” (The 11th) to Argentine poet and composer Maria Elena Walsh‘s “Serenata para la tierra de uno” (Serenade For One’s Own Land), a stirring song indelibly linked to Mercedes Sosa and resistance to military repression delivered with quiet passion by both Roeder and Rei. With every track offering a series of decisions each song contains surprising moments, like Roeder dropping away in the midst of “Gallo Camarón” (Feisty Rooster) by the great Peruvian poet, singer and composer Chabuca Granda, then coming back in with hand claps.
Two of Brazil’s foundational songwriters are represented by masterworks. The duo deliver an exquisite take on the heartbroken lament “Silencio De Um Minuto” (One Minute Silence) by the prolific but short-lived Noel Rosa (1910 – 1937), while Pixinguina “Rosa” retains its joyous bounce even as they subtly recast the Brazilian waltz into a Peruvian vals. “I fell in love with the melody of this song and realized how challenging it was when I learned it,” Rei says. “Then it became part of a series of technical exercises for my advanced students at Berklee.”
Both artists contribute deeply personal original pieces. An anxious, existential reflection on Roeder’s experience of lockdown in New York, “Días de Sitio” (Siege Days) generates delicious tension with Rei’s rising vocals soaring over his headlong, double time bass line, which he composed “as a direct consequence of having so much time to practice,” he says. And Rei’s “Prestados” (Borrowed) fulfills her longtime ambition to introduce tango into her repertoire. “The lyrics talk about a sense of exhaustion about political manipulation,” she says, offering her own reflection on our recent civic traumas.
In an encore to the Brooklyn session, Rei and Roeder met in Buenos Aires to record a live session with audio and video, capturing the essence of the project, live, intimate, free, and minimalistic. Working with Eric Dawidson’s production crew they recorded three songs from Coplas Escondidas at one of the city’s iconic recording studios, Romaphonic (formerly Circo Beat) in one-shoot takes. It’s an invaluable addition to a project that brings to fruition a seed planted on Rei’s debut album, 2006’s Ojalá, which included their duo performance on the Argentine chacarera “Alma del Pueblo.”
Fully exploring the potential of the duo setting, “there is trust,” Rei says. “There is freedom. There is enough space and silence. There is the possibility of hearing every nuance, every detail that both the bass and the voice are making.”
Sofia Rei and Jorge Roeder will celebrate the release of Coplas Escondidas at Joe’s Pub on Friday, August 25, 2023 >>> VIEW
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
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