Recording with Swampdweller at Jack Straw

Always a blast to play with these guys, Swampdweller's funky mix of drum-and-bass, abstract improvising, ambient textures, and straight-up fun brought us back to Jack Straw to finish up what will be the new Swampdweller album. With the usual suspects of Farko, Andy, Chris, Joe, Jay, Ari, Fendel, and myself, we explored the following concept:

Imagine Swampdweller is all over the world at a ceremony in space...

We did that for about four hours! With song titles like Fog Mud Queen, and Rocket Take Off and Crash in Swamp, this is sure to be some fun music for the listener -- I can't wait until these sessions see the light of day, and from the sounds of it, Fendel is working on a Swampdweller DVD as well. I have always found that being a sideman can be much more satisfiying than being a leader, and this band is no exception -- Fendel and Ari have a very strong concept for this band, and while it may be related to the musicians via quotes like the one above, I'm convinced that this band is in many ways foreshadowing the future of improvised music. Long live the Swampdweller!

More Recording with Marc Fendel's Swampdweller

We went back into the studio to add some more radio-length versions to the tunes we recorded yesterday. Stolen from the Ancients by Marc Fendel and Ari Zucker's Swamp Ugly were the tunes we focused on, laying down three or four takes of each. I should note here that a few personnel changed from last night: Chris Stromquist played drums, and Andy Sells moved over to turntables. Again, more fun music from a jungle-groove and drum-and-bass influence. After getting these tunes finalized for the album, we decided to try a free jam, and it ended up lasting 20 minutes! Just when Fendel and I thought that the end was there, BOOM! Change the groove and restart the energy! I played everything I could get my hands on for this track: my horn, mouthpiece, keys, bottles, voice -- we tried to fit it all in for the finale. We finished early enough in the day that I could go hear some more music... Stay tuned!