Based
in NYC, The Nathan Brown Trio released a fine new CD in 2017
called This Is The Moment. Although acoustic
bass ace Nathan Brown is the namesake of the trio and he wrote much
of the music here, theres plenty of incredible musical ESP between
him and trio mates Félix Lemerle (guitar) and Peter
Traunmueller (drums). The music on This Is The Moment establishes
Brown as an excellent composer of instrumental jazz, yet he is wise
enough to include a range of covers including music written by musical
legends like Anthony Newley & Leslie Bricusse, Barry Mann &
Cynthia Weil and jazz guitar legend Grant Green. Speaking about the
unique sonic chemistry of the trio, Nathan tells mwe3.com, "From
the minute I met these guys we became best friends. All three of us
have a very biting, sarcastic, almost dark sense of humor. We are
always joking around with each other and telling each other things
that are hilarious to us, but might be taken the wrong way by others
who dont know us well. This playful openness of communication
between us translates to our music. Then we perform, we know each
other so well we are able to hold whole conversations together musically,
often making each other laugh." Lemerles jazz guitar
sound on the Grant Green cover of No. 1 Green Street nearly
steals the show, although with so much new and timeless instrumental
jazz music on hand, the real attraction here is the spirited musical
interplay between Brown, Lemerle and Traunmueller. Jazz fans will
be in for an excellent sonic surprise with this exceptional new CD
by The Nathan Brown Trio. www.gutstringrecords.com
mwe3.com presents an interview with
NATHAN BROWN
mwe3:
Can you tell us where youre from originally and where you live
now and what you like about it?
Nathan Brown: Im originally from the Midwest, from Chicago.
I moved to New York City almost 5 years ago and am living in Manhattan.
What I love about NYC is the music and culture. Sure you can find
great musicians elsewhere in the world, however, nowhere else do you
find so many of them all in one spot. The bar is set very high for
the music scene in NYC.
mwe3: When did you write the music for the Nathan Brown Trio
CD This Is The Moment and how did the music come together?
Nathan Brown: All of the original songs on the album were composed
since moving here to NYC. The first tune on the album I wrote was
Plaza dArmas. This one I finished shortly after
moving to the city from a brief stint in New Orleans. This tune is
named after the old Spanish name for Jackson Square in the center
of the French Quarter in NOLA. Curlys Revenge was
written and named after a nickname some of my friends adopted for
me - because of my curly hair. Birds Opening was
named after an opening chess move and is a bebop tune in tribute to
Charlie Parker or Bird. Dont Look was
written based on the same harmony as a classic tune Nate King
Cole sang entitled Youre Looking At Me. The
Fourth Way is named in tribute to esotericists Pyotr Ouspensky
and George Gurdjieff who I was reading a lot of at the time. It is
based on the same harmonic progression as Tina Brooks Open
Sesame and it is my attempt at unlocking the fourth way.
mwe3: What drew you to play classical bass and how did it fit
into your jazz studies? What were your earliest musical influences
and how did they inspire you to learn bass and what other instruments
did you study early on.
Nathan
Brown: I started at the age of 5 on cello. It was through a music
program called Suzuki. In Suzuki method, they start children as young
as possible in music, typically string instruments. I played cello
for 10 years. When I was in 5th grade, I wanted to join my schools
wind ensemble, because the wind ensemble was larger than the schools
string ensemble and looked like more fun, so I started learning euphonium
and then tuba. In middle school, the school offered an extracurricular
jazz ensemble program. This was my first introduction to jazz music.
I was hooked on it! However, the instructor told me that the cello,
the euphonium, and the tuba, are not mainstay instruments within the
modern big band jazz ensemble format. That is when I began learning
upright bass.
mwe3: How did the Nathan Brown Trio form as a group and whats
the chemistry like between you, Félix Lemerle and Peter Traunmueller?
Nathan Brown: I met Félix and Peter the same way most
musician meet in the city, by being on the scene. Often
musicians move to the city and dont know many people and have
no gigs. In order to meet people and network, musicians go and make
their rounds on the music scene. They go to the open jam
sessions that are held at various clubs across the city every night
and to the shows of musicians they enjoy listening to and want to
meet. One networks in this fashion and becomes part of the culture.
From the minute I met these guys we became best friends. All three
of us have a very biting, sarcastic, almost dark sense of humor. We
are always joking around with each other and telling each other things
that are hilarious to us, but might be taken the wrong way by others
who dont know us well. This playful openness of communication
between us translates to our music. Then we perform, we know each
other so well we are able to hold whole conversations together musically,
often making each other laugh. Performing with these two musicians
really proves how universal and global music is. With all the populist,
isolationist, and xenophobic trends in America and across the world
today, our friendship is a true testament to globalization and a worldwide
community. Félix is from France and Peter is from Austria,
but through music we are able to speak a common language and share
a common dream!
mwe3:
Amid your originals theres also a couple of covers written by
Barry Mann and one written by Leslie Bricusse and lyricist Anthony
Newley as well. Even though they have been covered, those composers
arent well known for jazz artists covering them. Tell us about
why you chose to include Nathan Brown trio versions of those tracks.
What makes a good cover for your sound?
Nathan Brown: I love playing the jazz standards
- the repertoire of songs that are true classics. However, for this
project I wanted to pick some covers that were more obscure for two
reasons. There are so many albums being put out every year with the
same covers on them. For example, I didnt want my album to have
a version of What Is This Thing Called Love by Cole Porter
on it that then has to compete for press, radio play, and sales with
the dozen of other albums coming out that possible have the same cover.
More importantly though, what makes a cover song a true jazz standard
is that it becomes popular among performers and audience alike. I
picked these covers in an attempt to introduce them to the jazz community.
Who knows, maybe my album will start a trend and these covers will
become elevated to the realm of the jazz standard.
I did have to pick these covers with my trios sound and esthetic
in mind. Félix is coming out of a Grant Green style sound on
the guitar and I wanted to pick covers that fit this. For example,
the first version of Just A Little Lovin that I
heard was Sarah Vaughan singing it with a big band and a string section
on a record called Feelin Good. This version was
one of the first jazz renditions of this pop song. When I heard it,
I instantly thought that this sounds like a song that Grant Green
would do an instrumental version of with possibly Elvin Jones on drums
- the same vibe as Grants Street Of Dreams album.
mwe3: When you write music do you think about other instruments
with the bass supporting the lead lines? For instance, track nine
The Fourth Way is a great show case for the guitar leads
with the bass and drums driving the sound along. Do you think in terms
of other instruments carrying the lead melody with the bass supplying
the harmonic rhythm so to speak?
Nathan
Brown: When I wrote the original music on this album, I didnt
have a specific instrumentation in mind. I brought most of these songs
to countless house sessions and rehearsals over the years with dozens
of musicians. Ive performed them with piano trios, with saxophones,
trumpets, and trombones. However, the best sounding setting of these
particular tunes in my opinion was with the guitar trio.
Typically, in jazz music, instruments such as horns, or piano and
guitar in a trio setting, play the melody and the bass provides accompaniments,
such as in the The Fourth Way. However, there are some
moments on the album where I wanted the bass to shine some and arranged
it so the bass was playing the melody, such as the unison melody of
Birds Opening or the bass melody towards the end
of Just A Little Lovin.
mwe3: Tell us about your live shows. What is the Nathan Brown
Trio like in concert and what are your favorite places to play shows
in the NYC area? Have you done shows in other areas of the US and
the world yet?
Nathan Brown: My trio has a residency at a jazz club on the
Upper West Side of Manhattan called Cleopatras Needle. We are
there every Monday night from 8pm until 1am, and every Wednesday hosting
the after-hours show from 11:30pm until 2:30am. This particular band
has not yet gone on any tours. However, I am in the process of coordinating
a tour in Europe for next year for this band. Both Félix and
Peter are from Europe. This tour will be a chance for Félix
and Peter to showcase some of their NYC musical endeavors back in
their home countries.
mwe3: Tell us about your favorite basses to play live and in
the studio. Have you also played electric bass and electric jazz bass
and how would you compare the classical bass with the electric and
jazz bass? Who makes the best acoustic / stand up basses and what
about strings? Do certain strings give your basses a different sound?
Nathan
Brown: My main upright bass Ive owned for almost 15 years.
It was originally my teacher and first mentor Rodney Whitakers
bass and was made custom for him in the early 2000s by a bass
maker in Long Island named Kolstein. I do also perform electric bass.
My main electric bass is a NYC made Sadowsky 5-string bass. However,
my true passion lies with the upright bass. When I started learning
bass in middle school it was upright. My teacher at the time introduced
me to electric bass playing after I had already been studying the
upright bass for over a year. When I teach bass students from the
beginning level, I do the same and start them off learning upright
first. The reason behind this is that technique involved in upright
bass playing is much more strenuous and advanced than electric bass
playing. If one starts by studying upright bass, when its time
to learn the electric it is a much easier transition.
When it comes to who makes the best upright basses and strings there
is no clear answer. Most high quality uprights are hand made and sound,
feels, and performs differently from each other. In this respect,
the upright bass is really a living entity with a personality of its
own. Like people, no two basses are exactly the same. Because of this,
no one string maker or brand of string can be said to be the best.
One set of strings that sound and feel terrible on one particular
bass will end up sounding and feeling amazing on another bass. The
key is to get to know your particular bass and figure out how it wants
to be set up
what kind of strings sound the best on it, what
kind of pickup sounds the best on it, what is the best height of the
strings in relation to the fingerboard to make that bass resonate
the best. The keys to unlocking a good sound will be different for
each bass.
mwe3: How about the title track This Is The Moment?
Who composed that and what do you like best about that composition?
The album credits list Hollander / Robin as the composers. How did
you come across that track?
Nathan
Brown: I first heard the cover song This Is The Moment
on a Kenny Dorham album entitled This Is The Moment! Kenny Dorham
Sings and Plays. I did some research into it and it originally
comes from the soundtrack to a 1947 Betty Grable movie entitled That
Lady in Ermine. Félix, Peter, and I had already been playing
our weekly shows a Cleopatras Needle for over a year when we
started performing this one. To make our shows more interesting, the
three of us loved to test each others knowledge of obscure cover
songs. One of us would call some obscure tune on the gig, and if the
other didnt know it they would go and learn it for the next
week. One week I called This Is The Moment and to my surprise
Félix and Peter both knew it. Weve been playing this
song ever since. It became almost a theme song to us. We would perform
it as the closer to our shows every week. It got to the point where
whenever we played this song unannounced, the regular audience members
always knew we were wrapping up the show. This is why we had to include
it on our album and why it is the last track.
mwe3: How did you get started with Gut String Records? Does
that label specialize in mostly acoustic jazz compared to say jazz-fusion?
Do they have a label philosophy?
Nathan Brown: Gut String Records produces mostly acoustic jazz
and their philosophy is Jazz direct from the city of New
York. They are a true made in NYC institution. All artists
on the label are New York artists. It was founded by bassist Neal
Miner. I would describe Gut String as more of a co-op or collaboration
than a traditional record label. Every artist on the label is part
owner and a representative of the label and every artist has complete
creative and business control of their projects on the label.
Interestingly enough, my journey to Gut Strings Records was kind of
round about. I knew of Gut String Records upon moving to the city.
Many of my friends have projects on the label. I was considering putting
out this project through them, however I was recommended to another
label that looked interesting and offered me a pretty good deal. However,
there was a dispute over the creative control of the album design.
At that point I decided to take my project to Gut String Records knowing
I would have complete creative control through them.
mwe3: What other plans do you have for 2017 as far as writing,
recording and live performances as well as your ongoing work as a
music producer and educator?
Nathan
Brown: Im already brainstorming my next album project that
I hope to record 2018. I would like to record a project with this
same trio backing up a world-class horn player and or vocalist. The
Nathan Brown Trio featuring
I havent decided who to have
as a feature yet. As I pointed out earlier, there is no shortage of
stellar musicians in NYC I could ask to be featured on my next project.