Interlude (the third single from Radiance)
(Flowers in Brooklyn’s Greenwood Cemetery- one of my favorite places to wander and explore.)
Life’s busy rhythm seems to really intensify in the Fall. It feels good to be in the creative groove of activity, but sometimes we need an interlude, a break from the constant beat, beat, beat…
This week, I’d like to share my song Interlude- it’s the one track on my new album Radiance that isn’t in a steady pulse; instead we present melody and texture and simply follow the thread of each phrase in “free time.” Imagine the difference between walking purposefully to the subway on your way to work versus wandering around a meadow, following your senses, simply exploring your surroundings. Inspired by my love of free jazz, with shades of Paul Bley, Keith Jarrett and Lyle Mays, Interlude tells a beautiful story in a free, intuitive way, leaving the groove to rest for a brief moment.
Consider taking an interlude yourself, whenever you can afford the time. Wander somewhere unintentionally, and experience your surroundings anew. Please enjoy Interlude, from my new album, Radiance, featuring Gary Wang (bass) and Tony Mason (drums). Available on CD, LP and streaming everywhere on 11/1/23.
Agile Wallaby (track two from RADIANCE)
Agile Wallaby (track 2 from Radiance)
Agile Wallaby is track two on my latest album Radiance, out 11/1/23. Who amongst us didn’t get caught up during the pandemic watching some home renovation or nature shows on streaming video? One of my favorites was Out There with Jack Randall, a nature show set in Australia, on Nat Geo (Disney+). Episode two was all about kangaroos and wallabies. When a juvenile wallaby is old enough to leave the safety of its mom’s pouch and hop on its own, it’s called an “agile wallaby.” Watching these cute marsupials bounce around inspired the melodic motive for this week’s preview stream: Agile Wallaby.
This original composition is informed by two primary influences that have molded my music for decades: Afro Latin rhythms (12/8, in particular) and the blues. As a student at Tufts University (’88-93) many fellow students and faculty members insisted that I sign up for David Locke’s African Drumming class. During my year in the ensemble, Locke introduced me to several foundational West African rhythms, and in particular helped me really hear and understand some of the myriad ways that 12/8 time can be subdivided. 12 is a magic number because it’s divisible by 2, 3, 4 and 6- any of these groupings can be the primary accents in 12/8, and learning to really feel them all and freely transition between them was ear-expanding. These African and Afro Latin rhythms are at the foundation of many the jazz and blues rhythms, so being introduced to them close to their African sources was a critical step in my development.
Surveying my catalog of songs, after nearly 40 years of writing instrumental jazz, the most common thread connecting my work is a love for and constant reinvention of the blues, both in form and in feeling. Each of my 9 records as a leader or co-leader has at least one song that’s an interpolation of the blues. Five of the tracks on Radiance are different explorations and expansions of the blues form! Agile Wallaby takes a 16-bar extended blues form and sets it in a Latin jazz 12/8 time feel. The I and IV chords are where the ear would expect in a typical 12-bar blues, but in place of the V chord I’ve inserted a more complicated chord sequence that’s reminiscent of a Steely Dan song, or Joe Henderson’s writing. As you listen to the track, pay attention to how and when the 12/8 feel transitions to swing, and then back again. These two time feels are so closely related; I love the tension and release created when implying one within the other, and eventually changing. Gary Wang (bass) and Tony Mason (drums) are agile playmates in this rhythmic playground, leading to a fun, lighthearted performance.
Introducing: Radiance
I’m excited to announce the November 1, 2023 release of my latest recording Radiance!
As the world around us continues to grow ever more complex, I looked to music as an antidote: something to settle, to soothe, to smooth the wrinkles of our modern lives. My latest album, Radiance, reflects the results of this search. It is an exuberant expression of the jazz piano trio tradition, featuring 11 original songs; radiant music at the crossroads of beauty and groove.
On November 1, 2023, the full album will be available to stream, or to purchase on CD or vinyl LP. But each week in October, I’ll be posting a single track for you to stream here. This week I present the title track: “Radiance.”
Many of my original compositions explore and extend the blues, but I have a parallel love for tonal music. The gravity inherent in harmonic tension and resolution speaks to me, emotionally. The song, Radiance, is a joyous exploration of modulation between two different key centers (Db major and F major). Drummer Tony Mason’s cross stick groove and bassist Gary Wang’s bass line anchor my motivic melody. The bridge section modulates further to A major and explores the Latin and Brazilian influences that have permeated so much of my music, from Grupo Yanqui’s albums in the early 2000s, through my more recent solo releases. Please listen, enjoy and share. Let me know what you think!
Radiance (track 1 from Bennett Paster, RADIANCE)
Bennett Paster Trio returns to the Django, NYC
Sunday September 10, 6:30-pm
$25/person plus 2-drink minimum
The Django is a Paris-inspired jazz venue & cocktail bar under the Roxy Hotel in TriBeCa, with vaulted ceilings. Food and drinks available. Join us for an evening of original music from our forthcoming album Radiance plus standards, Stevie tunes and whatever else strikes our fancy.
Bennett Paster (piano), Gary Wang (bass) & Tony Mason (drums).
Podcast Music Production
Original Music for Where’s My Village? Podcast
Late last Fall I was asked to write and produce music for a new podcast from Fortune Magazine entitled Where’s My Village? It’s a limited series about the childcare crisis in America, and the stories of people who are trying to fix it.
Composing for a podcast was an exciting new learning experience for me. I combined my compositional and technical skills to create a flexible, modular musical construction kit that included a unique theme and a series of flexible musical beds for use under dialog. I’m pleased with how the project turned out- the music serves the content and mood of the stories. As a working parent myself, I find the content resonant and are thought-provoking. Check out Where’s My Village? on Google Podcasts, Spotify, Apple Music and wherever fine podcasts are streamed.
Looking for music for your new podcast, video or theater production? Don’t hesitate to reach out to start a conversation about working together.
Bobcaygeon
I’m always delighted to be in the company (in person, or via the virtual online studio) of vocalist Tyley Ross and guitarist and sonic wizard Ben Butler, and I’m delighted to share our newest release in a series of great Canadian song covers. Here’s our rendition of Bobcaygeon, originally recorded by The Tragically Hip. This song was new to me when I learned it for a gig with Tyley the year before the pandemic. The song has a simple power and a mysterious and frighteningly compelling lyric, but I hadn’t heard Tyley’s story behind why he chose this song (see his comment in the original post). Knowing now how he connects to this song in such a personal and painful way adds to its power.
Kudos to Tyley for his beautiful singing and vocal arranging, and also to Ben for crafting this arrangement and playing so many contrasting parts on guitar, keys, samples, etc. I played piano, mixed and mastered the track. Enjoy!
Here’s Tyley’s touching story about why he chose this song:
How Bobcaygeon got under my skin is a mystery. It’s not a song that hooked me on the first listen, but over the years it grew on me, and now from New York City where I live it fills me with memories of the North and has the power to pull me back home. Listening to it puts me at a lakeside campfire in the woods somewhere north of the 401, and then somehow, that middle section snaps me back to the 1990’s on Queen West.
Another layer of meaning was added for me when The Hip’s lead singer Gord Downie got cancer around the time we found out my brother Carrick was on the same painful trip. When Gord left the stage for good my big brother followed him out soon afterwards. This is one of the songs that connects me to him still.
I find solace in music, especially in songs that can take you back to better times. Songs that remind you of where you’re from, of the people who love you and the ones you’ve lost.
I’m joined here again (via our virtual and asynchronous recording studio) by Bennett Paster on piano and mixing duties, Ben Butler on guitar and most everything else. The voices are mine. The artwork is by Bob Donatucci, who incidentally, I pay with chocolate babka from his favorite NYC bakery.
Emily Cavanaugh “Seeing Me Home”
Singer/songwriter Emily Cavanaugh and I co-produced the track “Seeing Me Home (A Song for Idaho).” Emily has a charitable project called A Song for You that crafts custom songs for people facing end-of-life situations- this song was part of that work. This heart-wrenching song was written for St Lukes Health System in Idaho, who distributed the song to their network of over 15,000 nurses, many of whom performed in the song’s video. Emily sang lead and backing vocals, and I mixed, arranged and played keyboards. The track also features Leo Sidran (bass, drums, guitar), Wells Hanley (piano) and Oscar Zambrano (mastering). Check out the touching video below or stream the song on your favorite platform.
Wash & Dry Studio: Winter 2021-2 Update
Wash & Dry Studios has been managing to find ways to help our clients and friends to make some great music, in spite of the health and safety issues of these past months (and years!). Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to book some time to work on your project with us! Here’s a roundup of recent musical highlights at the studio.
Guitarist Alex Levine, pianist Russell Kranes, bassist Sam Weber and guest drummer Jay Sawyer spent 2 days in February tracking their new jazz project. Their music, featuring original songs and some creative arrangements of standards and pop songs, builds on the classic jazz piano/bass/guitar trio format. They added guest drummer Jay Sawyer on a few tracks for some rhythmic support and variety.
French pianist Jaques Letalon and his wife, singer Marie started recording a trio project with bass, produced by my neighbor, guitarist/composer/producer Francis Jacob. They’ve been performing their blend of French songs and standards for years and chose Wash & Dr as an intimate place to track.
At Wash & Dry Studio, our focus is on the experience of the musicians while they perform- the more natural, connected and comfortable everyone feels, the better the results. Although we have a flexible and powerful new Digital Audio Labs headphone monitoring system here, these artists mostly wanted to track with everyone in the same physical space and without headphones. (Once we added drums, headphones were needed for Alex, Sam, Russell and Jay). From an engineering perspective, I enjoyed the challenge of using creative instrument & microphone placement plus some baffling to manage the “bleed” between instruments. The resulting tracks have plenty of flexibility for mixing, but allowed the musicians to communicate and enjoy the process of recording.
Singer/songwriter Emily Cavanaugh and I co-produced the track “Seeing Me Home (A Song for Idaho)” with contributions from Leo Sidran, Wells Hanley and mastering by Oscar Zambrano. Emily has a charitable project called A Song for You that crafts custom songs for people facing end-of-life situations- this song was part of that work. This heart-wrenching song was written for St Lukes Health System in Idaho who distributed the song to their network of over 15,000 nurses, many of whom performed in the song’s video. Check out the touching video here.
Legendary DJ and producer Joe Clausell (Spiritual Life Music) and I continue our 25+ year collaboration creating funky, world-music influenced psychedelic house music tracks. Fran Cathcart (Skylight Studios) is our long-time mix engineer and collaborator.
Singer Tyley Ross (East Village Opera Company, NYU), guitarist Ben Butler and I continue work on our moody, atmospheric Canadian pop song project with our rendition of The Tragically Hip’s Bobcaygeon. (More info in a separate news item above.
I recorded piano for the singer/songwriter Linda Draper’s new release Patience & Lipstick, produced by bassist/producer Jeff Eyrich.
Singer/actor and music historian Melanie Gall continued work on songs for a new show she’s performing in the UK and beyond entitled “A Toast to Prohibition,” and we also started pre-production for a new album covers tentatively titled “Melanie’s Mixtape.”
Jazz and R&B Singer Dennis Day and I continue to expand our remote collaboration reworking recordings from his archives. I remastered and restored a live recording of his from a 1980’s Washington D.C. Club performance, and we started a new project titled “Back in the Day” with is a creative re-imagining and remixing of a recording he made int he 1980s. The first full track “No One Night Stand” features
Other clients included Barcelona-based songwriter CeCe Gianotti, for whom I recorded some keyboard tracks, jazz pianist Nick Olynciw, who recorded a trio project, British trombonist/vocalist Malcolm Earle Smith and vocalist Lucie Foley, who each worked on duo projects with 90 year old NYC legendary pianist Ephie Resnick, mixing for the children’s band Here Comes Trouble (Kelly Donahue & Jon Babu), recoding with singer/songwriter John Thomas and music education program “Music & the Brain” for whom I continue to proceed educational support materials.
Winter 2022 Studio Gear Upgrades
Benny’s Wash & Dry is open for in-person recording sessions! We took advantage of some downtime during these last few pandemic months to upgrade our D/A converters, audio interface, CPU and headphone system. The studio is now centered on a zero-latency Avid Pro Tools Carbon interface and Lynx Aurora 16 (n) system. We upgraded our Mac Pro computer from 6 to a whopping 12 cores, doubling our processing power. Our new headphone mixers are a Digital Audio Labs Livemix system with 24 inputs, featuring custom mixes with levels, panning and more for each musician.
What does this mean to me, you may ask? Your experience while playing is the most important thing. Our new system assures the minimum possible latency in the headphones. That means there’s no perceptible delay between what you play and what you hear. This makes the recording experience ultra-transparent. The Carbon and Aurora (n) both have the latest state-of-the-art D/A converters assuring true, deep, transparent sound. Our new Livemix headphone mixers have more flexibility, more inputs and much better sound-quality than our old Furman system. And they’re easy to learn and use, with a dedicated “Me” knob that always controls your level in the headphones.
Interactions between musicians, great sight lines and a positive environment for creativity are critical to the creative process- we’ve still got that covered- but it’s also helpful when the gear your using helps achieve these goals by being high-quality and transparent. Book a session or come by for a tour and take advantage of our new improvements soon- we’d love to work with you to help you achieve your musical vision.
Try, Try, Try!
Hello friends! Spring is my favorite season here in NYC, and after the doldrums of winter, I’m rambling ahead into the lovely weather with a feeling of hope and promise. I’ve started booking some live performances again, I have a new single to share, and I’m preparing to safely reopen my recording studio for public sessions sometime in the coming months. Stay tuned for more info, or shoot me an email to discuss your project and goals. In the meantime, we’re still doing remote production, mixing, tracking & more!
Vocalist Tyley Ross, guitarist Ben Butler and I have been working on a new moody, atmospheric collection of Canadian songs that I’m really proud of. Here’s the second track from the forthcoming EP: Try (originally recorded by Blue Rodeo).
