John Lester — Archive

0 Letting Go

I had a rehearsal with a new quartet yesterday for the April 6th Somethin’ Jazz show in NYC. With me on piano this time is Dahveed Behroozi and on sax is Dayna Stephens. Tim Bulkley is back on drums. As a singer-songwriter at heart, my return to the world of jazz playing rock covers (as jazz) and my originals has challenged me to do one thing…let go of any preconceived notion of how the song will sound on stage and go with the moment. This is, after all, what jazz is all about.

As a singer-songwriter working in a band context in folk or rock, there are subtle shifts in the way any given song will sound with the other musicians. It is usually a very rehearsed band that goes on stage together and every note is in its place. Things can vary slightly, causing good nights (or bad nights) but generally as a singer, I know what to expect of the music that is built around the song.

Yesterday, I provided charts (sheet music) for the musicians and we gave each tune one run through, mainly to make sure everyone understood the “road map” of the chart (repeat signs, when you solo, where you go back to in the song when the vocal returns). Some tunes we only played about 1/3 of the way through and then talked through the rest of the directions.

This band is a very different one from my last NYC outing with the fiery Michael Wolff on piano and modern sax playing of Joel Frahm. Dahveed was hunched over the piano playing long chords and seemed to be trying to crawl inside each one of them and to squeeze out it’s full potential. Like the jazz pianists before him, he constantly searched for new ways to connect each chord using the chart only as a sketch. As a bassist, I needed to have my ears wide open and be ready to turn on a dime should I hear a new passing chord (all while singing the tune as well).

Dayna’s sax playing was very in tune with Dahveed’s approach. He reminded me less of the modern sax style that I am accustomed to and more of Coltrane. He blew through the changes (chords) and not over them. Every time Dahveed threw something at him, he simply raised an eyebrow and headed into the new direction effortlessly.

I was amazed at just how different the material sounded from my last gig. Not better or worse…just different. The influence of the players takes the forefront and the chart and any preconceived idea of what each song should be is only a sketch to be colored in by each player and in the end, the group as a whole.

I found myself to be a little stronger than on my last gig too, as each new excursion with these great New York musicians teaches me not to try to dictate what they should do with my material, but to let go and explore what we can do together with our music.

446 Kid in a Candy Store

Wednesday I flew out of New York to Berlin to begin the first leg of my European tour. For the first time in my career as a musician, I left without an instrument. Sarah (my 90 year old acoustic bass) had to stay home because she’s too big and heavy to take on a plane (don’t tell her I said that). Also, as I’ll mostly be playing tunes from my new album “Jazz?”, which was played entirely on the acoustic bass, I did not need take one of my electric basses with me. It was nice not to have to hassle at the airport with the usual arguments about how I needed to bring my electric bass onto the plane in it’s backpack soft case and it could not be gate checked.

It was an odd feeling though. I had my suitcase full of gear, CDs, and clothes…but not a single musical instrument. It made me a bit nervous to say the least. I’d made arrangements to rent basses in Germany and for my London show, the cost actually being less than the overweight and over size charges that Sarah would be dinged with! Plus bringing Sarah on a plane means she has to be in her flight case, which simply wouldn’t be possible to take on the trains from gig to gig in Germany and Switzerland.

So, after a missed connection in London (which turned out to be a good excuse to have a Full English Breakfast), I arrived in Berlin, checked into my room, and made my way to Berlin Strings across town.

I had been in touch with the storeowner, Wolf Settgast, by email and I was excited to see his shop. Germany is Sarah’s home country. She was made here circa 1920. I’m not sure when she moved to America but I bought her in LA in 1982.

Wolf had told me he had a number of basses and that I could have pick of the litter to take on tour. Wow, kid in a candy store! A whole room full of German acoustic basses…a bassists dream come true. When I walked into the shop it smelled like fine aging wood. There where cellos, violas, violins, and about 8 basses. One in particular was leaning against a stool, waiting for me. Much darker than Sarah, this bass was almost a chocolate color. Having already discussed what I was looking for, Wolf had this bass ready first. He went to his kitchen to make us a cup of tea and I picked up the bass. It was what they call a “flat back” where the back of the instrument was not carved out rounded like the top. It was lighter than Sarah and the neck a little thicker.

I played a low G and just let it ring and the first thing I noticed was it’s fantastic sustain. The note seemed to grow in volume before decaying, something that happens with fine acoustic basses. It had a very vocal quality that really had some ‘growl’ to it. Wolf had set it up with the same type strings I use and it was extremely easy to play. It was very different from Sarah but the difference was like comparing a fine Zinfandel to a Cabernet, both are great. I played through some songs, ‘Mr. Jones’ and ‘Typical Situation’, then a few originals, including ‘I Saw You’, the ultimate test for playability. I was hooked.

Then I almost felt obligated to try some other basses, and of course I did, but I kept coming back to that first chocolate-colored bass. I made my decision final and Wolf put a pickup on it, so I could play through my amp, and asked if I wanted the action lower. He even offered to shave the fingerboard down if I wanted it…I was definitely in a German luthiers shop!

As I was leaving, I asked one last question, “What’s this basses story?” Wolf said, “Story, what do you mean?” I rephrased it, “When was she made?” Wolf smiled and told me, “1880”. There’s no place like Germany when you’re a bassist on tour and you need to rent an instrument!

1014 Jazz?

The new album, “Jazz?”, is almost here. With the release date set for October 2nd,
I thought I’d take a moment to let you know a little about it. “Jazz?” sets ten rock
songs into a late 1950’s jazz context. The new album brings together my love of
modern contemporary songwriting and my favorite musical art form; jazz. Make no
question about it, “Jazz?” is a jazz album and pays homage to swing, ballads, and up
tempo jazz alike. This collection of covers stays true to the songs themselves while
finding something new in each and every one.

The concept for “Jazz?” began over three years ago when I was living in Amsterdam.
I had already experimented with writing my own lyrics to instrumental jazz
standards and really liked the juxtaposition of a modern lyric over a classic jazz
tune. For this project, I started exploring rock songs that resonated with me
personally and could find a new home in the jazz format. Some artists were those
who had inspired my own songwriting while others were bands with whom I felt
a certain common ground. The initial list of artists and bands included Counting
Crows, Pink Floyd, Seal, Tori Amos, Tears for Fears, Train, Yes, Sarah McLachlan,
Tom Petty, Crowded House, Dave Mathiews Band, Ben Harper, Tom Petty, The Cure,
and Pearl Jam. I learned a few songs from each of these artists, using just my voice
and bass, to explore which ones felt natural for me in a jazz setting.

The elements I was looking for in each song were first and foremost the lyrics and
emotional content of the writing. I think we all know that feeling when a great song
hits us and we can relate to its emotional core. The ten songs that I would finally
select all move me personally and were not chosen to create a specific theme.
Simply put, I wanted songs I could make my own.

Another important deciding factor for each song was its ability to swing. If the swing
feel did not come naturally, the tune was left behind. I always kept in mind that this
project could either be very cool or go horribly wrong…there could be no middle
ground.

Finally each song had to give an opportunity for the musicians to improvise and
interpret the lyrical stories through instrumental solos. Rather than just “blowing
through the changes”, I wanted the band members to be able to reach inside the
tunes and tell a story of their own.

I’ll start introducing a selection of the songs from “Jazz?” in the coming weeks.
Today, you can have a pre-release listen to the opening track ‘Mr. Jones’ by Counting
Crows. Check back to listen and hear more about “Jazz?” and let me know what you
think.