Henry Rollins once opined, "Where is Generation X's jazz?" Duly noted. Challenge accepted. And no, I didn't decide to do something funk or hip hop. I combined a lifelong passion for darker, soulful music with the beautiful simplicity of West Coast jazz. The original jazzers were heroin addicts and worked in bars where people got worked over with lead pipes if they crossed the wrong person. Cab Calloway's hit song was about a girl turned out after being hooked on opiates. Make jazz edgy again. The soundtrack of noir. The soundtrack of Burroughs. The soundtrack of two fingers of bourbon and looking out a window of an apartment in a sketchy part of town. It's also the heartbeat of some of the most glamorous venues in existence, the soundtrack to suits, expensive lounges. Bar tabs in the thousands, run up by guys who had more money than they knew what to do with.
I'm all about dressing well, getting quiet and sentimental. Gloomy. Blue notes are blue notes for a reason.
Some people want to be sponsored by equipment companies, I want to be sponsored by Brooks Brothers. Play gigs at art galleries. Play seldom, have a niche following who really digs what I do. Maybe be a clue on Jeopardy. Keep your stadiums.
Myself.
Breathe - Pink Floyd
Dave Brubeck, Thelonious Monk, Stan Getz, Pink Floyd. Skinny Puppy. Covenant. Ghost. Debbie Harry.
The sounds I hear in my head aren't out there.
I don't. Messages are for billboards.
Under pressure to give them the best time possible.
It's a thankless business where nobody's paying but everyone wants money. Find a way to make it financially viable.
So far all it is is "buy this from us! buy that!"
People's inability to care about it, or fund it.
I attend shows, support other arists.
The lowest common denominator, a face full of tattoos, and several high-profile arrests.
The Peanuts Gang Trio. The Young Trio. Yusef Lateef. 9 Lazy 9. Covenant.