In my prior post and at various times in the past I've yapped about the unusual quality of the music scene here in Boston and it occurred to me that Jacob William is perfect for conveying this.
As a bassist, he is able to circulate readily in many situations and the past few years have seen a partial abandonment of fixed ensembles in favor of prolific recombination.
Mr. William came to the US from Madras on a scholarship to Berklee and expanded that opportunity to periods at the New England Conservatory and Wesleyan where he was an Anthony Braxton understudy.
He is now an adjunct instructor at the beefed up Bridgewater State University while covering several other endeavors such as child learning enhancement. His wife, Shiney and prodigious daughter Kriti are avid participants in his work, (I'm agitating to get Kriti the liner notes assignment for a coming release on Not Two).
He also composes extensively, writes theory treatises, and believes in the doctrine of 'Sweat' rising from a visceral engagement approach to drive the elements of heart and mind home.
He videotapes his performances extensively and the full trove can be found on his You Tube Channel.
The Early Outings.
"J.E.R.M features the young talents of: bassist Jacob William, drummer Ed Nicholson, tenor saxophonist Rolf Schloenvogt and pianist Michael Beck. This newly released outing brought to us by a multinational ensemble of Berklee School of Music grads, was recorded in 1999. And while the music is three years old, the bands outlook and symmetry offers a refreshing outlook, featuring ten melodically tinged tone poems. Throughout many of these pieces, Schloenvogt solos atop rolling and tumbling drums and piano motifs. Essentially, the quartet opts for an animated yet persuasively climactic approach consisting of wavering crescendos and nicely constructed dreamscapes. Although the bands modern jazz based initiatives provide the winning touch. In some respects, these frameworks rekindle thoughts of John Coltrane's spiritually inclined ballad-based works. The band's subtle vibrancy and focused modus operandi instills a flotation-like vibe. Hence, a strong outing that warrants repeated spins."
By Glenn Astarita (All About Jazz)
Among his early projects are two piano trios. The first, from 7/9/03, involves Enrique Haneine as pianist and Chris Carroll on drums.
There is also this example of a concert in Bangalore with guitarist Amit Heri and Ranjit Barot on drums.
The Ensemble Formation Period.
Secondary Deviations is the main document thus far for Jacob's ensemble models. Stalwart Stef gives it a decent go. I'm less puzzled by the opening segment but I'm an accepting sort when it comes to these decisions. As you'll notice, Jim Hobbs is in the thick of things throughout.
The Parampara Quintet is a key vehicle for Mr. William. An early example of it's capabilities dates from an October 18th, 2008 show at the Lily Pad (of which, more later).
It includes Steve Lantner pianistics.
The second date is nearly two years later at U Mass, Boston on April 30th, 2010.
The Prolific Phase, (Inman Square).
For some reason, maybe it's the Recession, maybe it's fatigue from trying so hard and having so little to show for it or maybe it's just more fun, the Boston core, who inhabit these posts are mixing it up to beat the band, literally.
Instead of trying to follow the fixed ensemble model, there are churning recombinations of every description and a heightened sense of community. For example, Mr. Ken Field dropped in at a Jeff Platz show a few weeks ago.
He's still pretty devastated from the passing of his lifelong companion and the sudden weight of years have hit him hard. The crew did some grand child of Ascension for him. He needed to know we all were there and the grip of the handshake was intense.
It's like that now. The older mode of sniping and bickering is muted way down. And it tells of how, jazz, the national institution of marching bands and tavern gigs is just fine and getting healthier even as jazz commerce continues to choke on the mother of all ham sandwiches til it's grasping is diminished by it's gasping. And we all are better for it.
Inman Square has turned into this strange mini jazz district under city booster's noses and most of these videos are from the Lily Pad or The Outpost. Future aggregations will also add Ryles into the mix.
The last mentioned is the most conventional.
Yup, a dance joint. It goes nuts on Fridays when it is open til 2 am and the patrons spill into the parking lot next door to weave their ways home.
But that's upstairs. Down stairs, it still tries to be a jazz club and has a tolerable run of local things. The only problem is the stuff has to be loud to offset the thumpa thump from upstairs.
Jacob occasionally gets to play there with a Jim Hobbs project.
The Lily Pad moves a bit closer to an art space and like the Outpost, is a rent -a-recital space. The rate is significantly higher than the Outpost but it has three times the capacity, a number of appealing amenities and occasion based liquor licenses. It's main problem is inept listing and a hopelessly archaic web design that is poorly optimized.
This is a Renta Pit hazard.
The little Outpost is the runt of this litter and is a value with a minimal frills approach. Musicians have been known to use it just to do rehearsals as it has a nice room sound and only really holds around 30 people before it seems crowded. It's proprietor uses a crappy blog spot template, ( I keep reminding him I'll upgrade it), but it has all the functionality of a Google template in a Google world and Mr Chalfen has genuine enthusiasm for working promotion. He still gets a thrill when his place is cited in a print periodical.
He's generally much sharper at keeping his listings up than his two competitors. It is a nearly pure art space play like some little home chamber recital chamber you'd find in the time of Chopin. It's a never ending rent party.
Jacob's recent work there echoes his earliest in so far as pianist collaborations are concerned.
This segment is from late May of this year and is noteworthy because it is one of the few segments you'll find featuring the work of Dave Bryant, a former member of Prime Time and one of the most patient, thoughtful people you are likely to meet.
This one brings in Jeff Galindo on trombone, a tall, large, and very physical player, the genial giant.
Then there is a collaboration with Tom Hall and Allan Chase.
And this final one finds Jacob working with Eric Hofbauer and Pandelis Karayorgis.
There is also this example of a concert in Bangalore with guitarist Amit Heri and Ranjit Barot on drums.
The Ensemble Formation Period.
This is the original core of the quartet minus Forbes Graham.
The Parampara Quintet is a key vehicle for Mr. William. An early example of it's capabilities dates from an October 18th, 2008 show at the Lily Pad (of which, more later).
It includes Steve Lantner pianistics.
The second date is nearly two years later at U Mass, Boston on April 30th, 2010.
The Prolific Phase, (Inman Square).
For some reason, maybe it's the Recession, maybe it's fatigue from trying so hard and having so little to show for it or maybe it's just more fun, the Boston core, who inhabit these posts are mixing it up to beat the band, literally.
Instead of trying to follow the fixed ensemble model, there are churning recombinations of every description and a heightened sense of community. For example, Mr. Ken Field dropped in at a Jeff Platz show a few weeks ago.
He's still pretty devastated from the passing of his lifelong companion and the sudden weight of years have hit him hard. The crew did some grand child of Ascension for him. He needed to know we all were there and the grip of the handshake was intense.
It's like that now. The older mode of sniping and bickering is muted way down. And it tells of how, jazz, the national institution of marching bands and tavern gigs is just fine and getting healthier even as jazz commerce continues to choke on the mother of all ham sandwiches til it's grasping is diminished by it's gasping. And we all are better for it.
Inman Square has turned into this strange mini jazz district under city booster's noses and most of these videos are from the Lily Pad or The Outpost. Future aggregations will also add Ryles into the mix.
The last mentioned is the most conventional.
Yup, a dance joint. It goes nuts on Fridays when it is open til 2 am and the patrons spill into the parking lot next door to weave their ways home.
But that's upstairs. Down stairs, it still tries to be a jazz club and has a tolerable run of local things. The only problem is the stuff has to be loud to offset the thumpa thump from upstairs.
Jacob occasionally gets to play there with a Jim Hobbs project.
The Lily Pad moves a bit closer to an art space and like the Outpost, is a rent -a-recital space. The rate is significantly higher than the Outpost but it has three times the capacity, a number of appealing amenities and occasion based liquor licenses. It's main problem is inept listing and a hopelessly archaic web design that is poorly optimized.
This is a Renta Pit hazard.
The little Outpost is the runt of this litter and is a value with a minimal frills approach. Musicians have been known to use it just to do rehearsals as it has a nice room sound and only really holds around 30 people before it seems crowded. It's proprietor uses a crappy blog spot template, ( I keep reminding him I'll upgrade it), but it has all the functionality of a Google template in a Google world and Mr Chalfen has genuine enthusiasm for working promotion. He still gets a thrill when his place is cited in a print periodical.
He's generally much sharper at keeping his listings up than his two competitors. It is a nearly pure art space play like some little home chamber recital chamber you'd find in the time of Chopin. It's a never ending rent party.
Jacob's recent work there echoes his earliest in so far as pianist collaborations are concerned.
This segment is from late May of this year and is noteworthy because it is one of the few segments you'll find featuring the work of Dave Bryant, a former member of Prime Time and one of the most patient, thoughtful people you are likely to meet.
This one brings in Jeff Galindo on trombone, a tall, large, and very physical player, the genial giant.
Then there is a collaboration with Tom Hall and Allan Chase.
And this final one finds Jacob working with Eric Hofbauer and Pandelis Karayorgis.
