Grey Mirror (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Jamie Reynolds
Released August 4, 2017
DownBeat Four-and-a-Half-Star Review
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kFQafpyYp20VXtjmcZTRFxu0AjQHF3qH4
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/48qX1E21WmkuyjBD0l1YOM?si=WP-O_IdwT0288O8aZw5PDw&dl_branch=1
About:
The idea for
this record came to me a few years ago. I was wondering how to convey the energy
and particular reality of certain emotions and thoughts that I have. I noticed
that some of them were tied up with the sound of the guitar—that big, dynamic,
rhythmic, searing vibe we all know and love. Others were linked to the warm,
brilliant sounds of the brass ensembles that I grew up listening to and playing
in (I played the trumpet through high school). The question: how to harness the
sound of guitar and brass ensemble for my next record? The answer: use guitar
and a brass ensemble! Simple. The Wurlitzer 200A is a meaningful
instrument for me… it sounds like the inside of my head, if you know what I
mean. So it’s on the record as well, sometimes on its own with the band and
other times laid on top of the piano.
Matthew Stevens (I call him Matt Stevens) and I grew up playing music together
in Toronto. We met at the age of 8 or 9, and one of our first musical endeavors
was performing the Bach- Gounod “Ave Maria” in a living-room recital at my
house. I remember it so clearly… Matt has gone on to become a unique voice on
the instrument. I know his sound really well and it’s so different from what I
do, and yet I’ve always felt totally comfortable and happy when we play music.
Matt also has great listening chops and can quickly think of lots of ways to approach
things differently avd solve problems, so he was an obvious choice to help
produce.
I can’t remember who told me I would love a record these young brass guys
calling themselves The Westerlies had put out, but they were right…their debut
record went straight to my innermost musical space and stayed there. Just the
sound of them playing together, their tones blending so perfectly while somehow
remaining distinct, the virtuosity and beautiful expressiveness of the music…it
really did it for me, and I wrote them a fan email asking if they would be into
collaborating. They were a dream to work with…Andy did the bulk of the
arranging and did a fantastic job.
Instead of writing new pieces for The Westerlies to play, I wanted to see what
it would be like to hear the same songs expressed from two angles on the same
record. Hence the mirror-image nature; the versions by the brass and the jazz
quartet are recognizably the same song, but could not be more different in
timbre and feeling. There is consonance and dissonance, the harsh and the
smooth, the spontaneous and the carefully wrought. I hope you enjoy it.
Jamie Reynolds
Track Listing:
1. The Earliest Ending (Jamie Reynolds) 00:49
2. Sleep (Jamie Reynolds) 02:19
3. Good Help (Jamie Reynolds) 05:34
4. Grey Mirror (Jamie Reynolds) 07:10
5. Church (Jamie Reynolds) 05:17
6. Lake Cycle (Jamie Reynolds) 04:05
7. Small Worlds (Jamie Reynolds) 07:16
8. Green-Wood (Jamie Reynolds) 02:17
9. Church (Jamie Reynolds) 01:20
10. Untitled (Interlude) (Jamie Reynolds) 02:00
11. The Latest Beginning (Jamie Reynolds) 01:09
12. Lake Cycle (Jamie Reynolds) 02:55
13. Small Worlds (Jamie Reynolds) 02:53
14. The Earliest Ending (Jamie Reynolds) 06:10
Personnel:
Jamie Reynolds: piano, wurlitzer
Matthew Stevens: guitar
Orlando LeFleming: acoustic and electric bass
Eric Doob: drumsFeaturing:
The Westerlies (1, 8, 11, 13, 15)
Trombones: Andy Clausen, Willem de Koch
Trumpets: Zubin Hensler, Riley Mulherkar
Recorded
December 1 – 2, 2015, at The Clubhouse, Rhinebeck, NY
Additional recording January 5, 2016, at The Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, NY
Mixed and edited by Pete Rende
Additional editing by Zach Brown
Mastered by Nate Wood
Album photography by Matthew Stylianou
Album design by Paulina Teller & Matthew Stylianou
Produced by Matthew Stevens & Jamie Reynolds
Executive producer: Jordi Pujol
Review:
Pianist Jamie Reynolds is an artist who thinks in big pictures and broad strokes. But on the orchestrational level, he’s all about detail and nuance. That’s a winning combination, and it works to mellifluous effect on Grey Mirror. The idea for this project came several years ago, when the pianist tried to envision how a song would sound if played by a brass ensemble and then by a guitar-led jazz quartet. Struck with the unique qualities of these diverse settings, he decided to record an album that featured both groups. Grey Mirror is the result. Of its 14 tracks, five feature accompaniment by the brass ensemble The Westerlies, and four feature guitarist Matthew Stevens. Some songs – like “The Earliest Ending” and “Small Worlds” – appear on the album twice, rendered once in brass and once in guitar. Other tracks feature Reynolds’ core trio, which includes drummer Eric Doob and bassist Orlando LeFleming. “Good Help” captures their percolating energy perfectly, with a triumphant bass line by LeFleming and an incandescent drum beat that makes the whole song flicker and glow.
Brian Zimmerman (DownBeat)