The Lacquer Theory

Ever wonder why some players have saxophones that remain shiny and bright, and other guys have horns that are all dull and worn looking?

OK, all the non-sax nerds have just hit the back button on their browsers. This leaves only my fellow sax weenies, so read on.

Many of the good players I know have vintage saxes that look like shit. But these guys can play the snot out of them, so who cares? Of course I am not referring to any of those new horns with the faux-antique finish, or gold or silver plated horns. They don't count.

Long ago, I conceived of The Lacquer Theory. Simply put, the good players have put in so much time on their horns that the lacquer is vibrated off. The cruddier looking the sax, the better the player. Some guys claim it's the acidity in their skin, or some other cause, but I'm sticking with my theory. I know some guys who have acid-dipped their sax to get that antique look - that's cheating.

In the last couple of years, I've been fortunate enough to spend a bit of time with some great improvising musicians like Evan Parker and John Butcher, gleaning whatever I can. It takes a great while for me to assimilate even a bit of what I've learned from them. Lately, I feel my soprano playing is really getting there.

Today, I noticed that horn has "the cancer". Lacquer is disappearing throughout its entire length and off the keys too. A little green gunk is building up around the pearls. Sure, it's been 30 years since I bought it new, but I am discounting age as the prime factor. I'm only looking at evidence that supports my theories, not actual facts. They just get in the way - ask the Bush adminstration.

As far as I'm concerned, it's proof positive in my books.

Another concept of mine is the Perry Proximity Postulate. When I was younger, I figured that if you lurked close enough to PJ at his gigs, you would simply get better through osmosis. Woodshedding was not required. The proof for this one has been a bit more elusive.

Others in the works:

The Axe Axiom - if it's not a Selmer, it's crap
The Tequila Theorem - the more you drink, the better I sound
The Hype Hypothesis - the bigger the talk in the music store, the lamer the player

one down, one to go

Today I gave the final go-ahead to the cd pressing company, and in time for our cd launch event, ion Zoo will have its first cd out for public consumption. Distributed by Cellar Live, this is the first release on the new NOW Orchestra Records label. Our launch party is November 19th at where else, but The Cellar.

I have to say that I am quite humbled to have this opportunity. There are so many great musicians and fine recordings in the Cellar Live roster, I am indeed honoured to be associated with this label. And Cory deserves a big shout out for supporting this offshoot of the label. This musical style may not be to his personal taste, but he's been very supportive of this project. Who knows, maybe it'll be a hit in Uzbekestan, or one of those stans.

The act of recording of the cd was quite unremarkable, because everything went so smoothly. A whole different set of aesthetics comes into play with totally improvised music, very different from straight-ahead jazz. Yet, many of the same finely-developed musical skills are required to make the performance effective and engaging, and we have rehearsed and gigged for years to get to that point as a group.

People have described good improvisation as composition speeded up. (John Korsrud calls the process of composition "improvisation slowed down".) We feel that we are pretty good at spontaneously composing in performance, so the performance itself usually feels like very little work. The act of making music becomes more and more effortless.

In contrast, it feels like like a lot of effort has been put into the production of the cd post-recording. Certainly Raymon Torchinsky did an excellent job with the initial recording. Though he's way too modest to admit it, he's really good at it. Carol and I spent many enjoyable hours at Chris Gestrin's place mixing it down, and really appreciated Chris's many contributions to the process. Another guy with ears like a bat, that Chris. He simply hears stuff many people don't. If he was similarly talented in the wine or perfume business, he'd be a "nose". So I guess he's an "ear".

It took some time to get all the proper arrangements to be set up between NOW, The Cellar and our group, being the guinea pigs for all future artists on this series of recordings. I don't think there were any particular conflicts, it just was not the top priority on anyone's list, so things dragged out.

The graphic design was a challenge. The new label is to have a consistent look as a unified series of releases. This was where more concensus was required, to negotiate a balance between the designer, NOW and us as the creative artists. We had a good number of photos of the band to work with, but not single great band shot. Carol and I both have a certain amount of skill behind a camera, but we know better than to try to shoot ourselves during a performance. Eventually we came up with enough shots for the cd, electing to go with an abstract image on the cover. This whole process felt like work to me. Group entropy set in more than once, and it was good that there was always someone willing to move things ahead.

In the end, the design company, Vanilla Five, came up with something that everyone could get behind. If they are good enough to work for Frank Gehry, then they're more than good enough for us.

The work's not over, as now we move into the distribution phase and ensuring that it gets into the right hands.

So the effortless improv stands in contrast to the work required to put an actual cd on the shelves, a medium that may become obsolete in the near future. But we plow ahead, regardless.

That leaves the other cd, by Wanda and the boys, to finish off. Recording costs got out of hand and the budgeted funds got spent all too quickly. We're optomistic that we can finalize the remainder of the financing in the next couple of weeks, and then get it mastered, licensed and pressed by year's end. That would be a nice Christmas present for the band.

It's interesting to reflect on the similarities and differences of the two projects. Going into the studio versus one take live off the floor, each way has a totally different creative process coming into play. Both have been invaluable experiences.

Bassless ruminations

What a welcome change to play an improv gig at a place with a nice large stage, a Steinway, and with sound, light and stage crew. Someone even carried my gear for me out to the car afterwards, not a small undertaking.

The theatre out at Simon Fraser had everything we needed, though I guess they could have thrown in some catering, at least some red M&Ms. The only hitch was that our bassist had an obligation to be approximately 300 feet due north of us at the exact time of our gig. The fall convocation was going on and Dr. Clyde Reed of the SFU Economics Dept. was called upon by the university president to host a visiting luminary from the world of economics. He's a friend of Clyde's and was going to be recieving an honorary PhD, his umpteenth such honour. Clyde could not say no to this duty, so we went bassless.

But we did not suffer, as we were most pleased to have Peggy Lee fill in on cello, which she did most wonderfully. We had to play only one 45-minute set, which turned out to be three improvs, and before we knew it, we were done. I was just getting warmed up.

My only previous experience playing with Peggy was many years ago at a NOW workshop, where we did a duet. I was in awe of playing with such a fine musician and a bit giddy in hearing how well a tenor sax and a cello went together. Today I was certainly much more at ease, and felt we only scratched the surface of this particular configuration. That said, I missed having Clyde with us as well, as there is a lot to be said for the value of having years of playing together.

We were well received, but I've gotta say, my biggest thrill was having the band up on the marquee outside the theatre. Who does marquees anymore? You can see the convocation going on in the background.

Apparently the concert was free.