A note six years later

When I was 20 years old, I very ambitiously produced my own debut recording, paying out of my own pocket to bring in three of the most trustworthy musicians and engineer I knew, commission artwork from the hippest stylist I could make contact with, and order a pizza to the rehearsal room at school where we recorded. I could not afford nor felt prepared to delve into the complexity of getting the copyrights for the music we recorded, so I never charged for the EP (so-defined by it’s unintentionally sub-thirty-minute runtime). I instead relied on Bandcamp’s handy “artist donation” feature to generate revenue from supportive listeners, which to date has not quite allowed me recoup my total cost.

I considered every aspect of the project great care. The programming was done in the fashion of the “hard bop” albums I had fallen in love with, particularly those of baritonist Pepper Adams whose composition “Reflectory” I included very scrupulously as I wanted to reflect his major influence on me without playing copy cat. In an effort to achieve the latter in the absolute safest way possible, the theme is stated in a bossa feel (the original swings). Other factors I had borrowed from Pepper were the inclusion of a Thad Jones composition (“Three and One”), a Duke Ellington or Billy Strayhorn piece (the latter in this case having written “Chelsea Bridge”), and two originals (“Malocclusion” inspired by my crooked teeth and “Dunning-Kruger Blues” titled by flugelhornist Dmitri Matheny) which attempt to speak as coherently in the vernacular of the surrounding selections as I could then manage.

One thing I have always loved about this project is Pollux’s contribution to the cover which sets a decidedly midcentury tone. With reference photos of the band and recordings from the session, he captured our essences brilliantly (I also own the original canvases which are preserved, for now, in a cardboard tube). Combined with the intimate energy of the session, I think the whole package encapsulates a singular and palpable “mood” which is all the more deeply I felt equipped to artistically explore at the time.