Songs - Comments from Jamie Masefield
Flux- The new trios rehearsals were coming up soon and I was sweating
the fact that I hadn't written enough new material. This tune popped out of nowhere
and was finished in a flash. One of it's most interesting elements is Jon's calypso
groove. It's complexity has made many wonder how two hands can do so much.
Chapeau- I was sitting in a very hip nuevo-euro cafe in San Francisco
and thought, "If they were playing J.M.P. right now, the tune would sound like
this." I think the atonal melody is inspired by my composition mentor Ernie Stires
Good N Plenty- This is the tune with lyrics. You can hear the melody
saying, "Good N Plenty." Written by Chris Dahlgren, this New Orleans inspired
piece is a lot of fun byt tricky. It's in 4, but many of the melodic cells are
in clusters of 5. The Fleur de Lis music box amplified by Chris' bass creates
an erie intro.
Barber's Hint- The hit came from the American composer Samuel Barber.
I had decided to work with a melodic theme that somehow sounded familiar (B flat,
A, G, G flat). I racked my brains for a week until I located where it was coming
from. It was Barber's piece "Music for a Scene from Shelly" Opus 7. After I heard
how he made the theme blossom harmonically, I was able to finish my swing tune
by adding the interlude directly after the solo section.
Boodha- The one ballad of the CD is a spiritual hymn written by Chris
Dahlgren. It conjures up the image of a very hot day inthe South. We were especially
pleased with the amount of open space in the tune and its relaxed feeling.
Clip- This collaborative piece was written in rehearsal. We were excited
with the variety of tunes in our new repetoire, but then realized it would be
good to have something in 6/8 with an African influence. Everyone started playing
and eventually the piece was born. The icing was put on the cake when Chris put
some paper clips on his two highest strings near the bridge to get that rattly
sound. The tune has become a show stopper in concerts when the bass and drums
take their call and response dual to the extreme.
Nimbus- Nimbus is as close to "a radio play rocker" as we get on this
CD. It employs a thumb and finger technique (not using a pick) that I've been developing over the years. It examines a simple theme in a variety of related keys before launching into the solo.
The Phoenicians- This is a piece written by Gil Goldstein, a pianist
and accordion player who has performed and composed with many of the greatest jazz
players of our time. The latin feel is enhanced by Jon's playfulness on the South
American instrument, the cuica. It fades into the twilight and ends the CD. |
