Robert Muller - Peregrination (2018)

I recorded this in April of 2014 in the recording studio at Santa Fe University of Art and Design with then-student Willa Snow as the engineer. 

I didn't have anything too specific in mind, just to track a few loosely planned sketches. The arrangements are spontaneous, a combination of modern jazz and pop and classical and whatever else happened to be bouncing around this brainhole of mine. It's got some of the introspective vibe of the rainy Pacific Northwest where I grew up, some of the intensity of my time in New York City, and maybe some of the space and solitude of my current life in New Mexico. 

It was probably kind of a funny way to work; very little planning and one or two takes per track. It was an interesting challenge, and it inevitably comes with some inevitable imperfect moments. It also allows things to happen that would never happen in a carefully notated, extensively rehearsed kind of session. 

There's a certain kind of intensity or feeling that I hope to come across when I'm listening or playing music, and this little project documents the process of me trying to find "that thing" in a couple different ways. It's not perfect, but it's human and it's honest.

1. Papa Dog 07:36

2. The Black Sun Riseth 04:54

3. Count Shebula 04:56

4. Nixie 08:28

5. The Fifth Thing 09:09

6. Ool Blues 06:00

7. Stacks 09:29

8. Vilhelm's Revenge 08:05

Robert Muller, piano and composition 

Willa Snow, engineer

Giacomo Zanus Trio - Searching for the North (2018)

This Italian project was born in 2016 and it features Giacomo Zanus on guitar and compositions, the international doublebass player Mattia Magatelli (European Jazz Motion, Kaja Draksler, DUMItRIO, Sri Hanuraga, Filippo Vignato Quartet, Vitale/Magatelli/Windfeld Trio,ecc..) and the venetian drummer Max Trabucco (Oirquartett, Trabucco Bros, Max Trabucco 4th).

The result is a music inspired by contemporary jazz languages, which combines a lyrical writing approach founded on open spaces and more rhythmical ideas with a tension towards free improvisations too, maintaining dialogue and reciprocate interplay that converges in a well balanced musical conception.

The Trio is led towards a narrative dimension made of silences and densities, simple melodies from where create a compelling highly interactive sound space.

1. Prelude to the nature 01:33

2. Travenanzes 07:05

3. Searching for the North - Departure 07:03

4. To the Universe 05:30

5. One Way (feat. D.Boato) 09:13

6. Tre Cime (feat. D.Boato) 10:53

7. Scent of spring 05:37

8. In front of mountains 06:59

9. A glimpse from the top (feat. D.Boato) 06:36

10. This love 04:32

11. Searching for the North - Arrival (feat. D.Boato) 04:31

Giacomo Zanus: electric and classical guitar, effects, loops

Mattia Magatelli: doublebass

Max Trabucco: drums, percussions

Special Guest:

David Boato: trumpet, flugelhorn

All compositions by Giacomo Zanus except n°4 by Mattia Magatelli and n°9, a collective free improvisation.

Recorded at Artesuono Recording Studio, Cavallico (UD), Italy

Sound Engineer: Stefano Amerio

Mixed and Mastered by Stefano Amerio

Produced by Giacomo Zanus

Baydog - Dry Land (2018)

With the arrival of the third album, this time a few friends were invited to take a guest part in the project Baydog by Bart Bajda. 

Jacek Niziol - bass (Pitz, Straszydle, Flat Battery Sound Collective) musician associated with Polish avant-garde jazz scene, Danish-born jazz singer, composer, producer Astrid Engberg (Hugo Kant, Mattic, Berry Weight) and Kamil Klama - Polish guitarist and producer (Wolnosc Ptakow Drazni Drzewa). 

Dry Land is an album born from a fascination/love of perpetual sound structures coming from acoustic instruments as well as digital music devices resulting in a laid back yet disturbed body of a cinematic soulful blend.

1. Particles (ft Astrid Engberg) 03:12

2. Grit In My Eyes 02:41

3. Rise Up (ft Astrid Engberg) 04:16

4. Perhaps 03:33

5. Cluff Court 03:07

6. Noise Above My Head (ft Astrid Engberg) 03:17

7. Slow Traffic 03:16

8. Stay Dreaming 02:54

Astrid Engberg : astridengberg.bandcamp.com

Jacek Niziol : pitz1.bandcamp.com

Kamil Klama : wolnoscptakowdraznidrzewa.bandcamp.com

Mastered Minoo Krakow 2017

William Flynn and Tim Fischer - Cross Country (2018)

  

Cross Country (2018, Artists Recording Collective) 

represents another facet of the musical partnership 

between guitarists William Flynn and Tim Fischer, a 

partnership that has spanned over four years and 

multiple states. The shared aesthetics and priorities that 

have guided their previous teaching, writing, presenting, 

and playing are present on Cross Country’s eight tracks. 

Never living in the same state, Flynn and Fischer have 

maintained their collaborations through regular phone 

meetings and annual in-person collaborations. The 

album receives its title from these meetings. Cross 

Country’s music is the result of a 1,300+ miles trip in 2017 

between Kansas and South Carolina. Both are jazz guitar 

educators at colleges (Flynn at Wichita State University, 

Fischer at Coastal Carolina University) and have cowritten 

a book on the subject of guitar duets (Jazz Guitar 

Duets, Mel Bay 2016). 

Cross Country eschews the traditional jazz rhythm section 

of bass and drums in favor of the more intimate and 

interactive guitar duet format, a rich tradition that dates 

back to the beginnings of jazz guitar. Flynn and Fischer 

have taken a conversational approach to performing this 

material, while still presenting plenty of opportunities for 

their guitar pyrotechnics. The album consists exclusively 

of original compositions, equally representing the 

writing of each performer. The album’s compositions 

reference bebop, samba, modern jazz, vand even 

classical counterpoint, helping to frame the performer’s 

improvisations in a variety of settings. Fans of jazz guitar 

and composition are sure to enjoy William Flynn and Tim 

Fischer’s Cross Country. 

1. Dawn 05:42

2. Wildacres 06:32

3. Rose Creek 05:43

4. Prince's Waltz 05:42

5. Stargazing 06:27

6. Winter Ballad 06:16

7. Anacapa 05:16

8. Homecoming (for Colleen) 05:32

William Flynn - guitar (left channel)

Tim Fischer - guitar (left channel)

Engineering - Tim Fischer

Mixing/Mastering - Cynthea Kelley

Compositions by:

Tim Fischer - tracks 1, 4, 6 & 7

William Flynn - tracks 2, 3, 5 & 8

Recorded July 17, 2017 - Wheelwright Recording Studio at Coastal Carolina University

Peripheral Vision - More Songs About Error and Shame (2018)

JUNO-nominated Canadian jazz quartet, Peripheral Vision launches their fourth album, More Songs About Error And Shame. "A rules-breaking quartet made up of some of the best modern players around" (CBC), Peripheral Vision extends their no-holds-barred performance aesthetic into the production concept on this album. Once again, they have teamed up with mad-scientist engineer, Jean Martin (Barnyard Records) to orchestrate a bigger sound for the record, adding layers of overdubs and studio treatments to the live-off-the-floor recordings. Peripheral Vision has always been a live show band, and the seven new Herring and Scott originals on More Songs About Error And Shame show what can be gained from years of touring, including three recent tours throughout Europe as well as many trips across Canada.

Co-leaders Michael Herring (bass) and Don Scott (guitar) delve into their own neurotic psyches, finding inspiration not only in music, but also in art, literature and standup comedy. The album title is a reference to the iconic album by famously neurotic band, Talking Heads, and this cross genre nod is indicative of how they like to mix genres and themes, blending classic and modern jazz, the rock music of their youth, and non-musical influences such as the Catalonian artist Miró, and British comedian Stewart Lee. 

This is a working band with a long-time rapport - Herring and Scott have been joined by drummer Nick Fraser and tenor saxophonist Trevor Hogg since the band’s inception in 2008. Peripheral Vision is fuelled by this long-time musical friendship, bringing years of tour van talks about music and life to the stage and studio, and this dynamic group interaction creates the provocative sound of More Songs About Error And Shame.

1. The Blunder 08:02

2. Syntax Error 07:40

3. "And the metaphysical concept of shame." 07:46

4. Portrait of a Man in a Late Nineteenth-Century Frame 05:57

5. Chubby Cello 06:19

6. Mycelium Running 07:25

7. Click Bait 09:31

The recording was made possible through a grant from the Ontario Arts Council 

Produced by Michael Herring and Don Scott with Jean Martin 

Recorded at Canterbury Studios by Jeremy Darby 

Mixing & Additional Recording at the Farm by Jean Martin 

Mastered by Fedge 

Art & Design by Howie Shia & Leo Shia 

© 2018 Don Scott & Michael Herring (SOCAN)