I’ve been spending quite a bit of time writing music for the bajo y clave project , and when I stopped to reflect on that music, I realized I was missing a very important element – some blues! I have a strong belief that every set of jazz repertoire should include some blues. I know that modern jazz has taken a lot of different directions and integrated a variety of influences; blues constitutes such a foundational piece of the language though. It’s got to be there. During live performance, a good blues gives musicians something low pressure to have some fun with, setting the stage for a string performance. Thinking about all this, I knew there had to be a blues in the repertoire.
Of course, I wanted this important piece of the jazz language to sit within an Afro- Cuban rhythmic structure – the question was just what rhythm! Latin Jazz musicians have put the blues in a variety of different settings throughout the years, so I knew anything was possible. I wanted something upbeat, catchy, and danceable – something that would get an audience going in the same way that it would get musicians ready for the night. Right away, I knew that I had to take page out of the salsa book, and this had to be a Son Montuno. Once I started playing with different montunos and melodies, I knew that I had found exactly what I wanted.
So I took my initial ideas and recorded this video, but that was just the beginning. Putting together these videos generally formalizes some musical elements for me and leaves with a lot of ideas to explore. Once I heard this recording, I knew that I wanted to step outside traditional blues and put some more jazz into the equation. So the version of the song that I’ll be recording for the bajo y clave project has some important additions – more complex harmony and a melody that relies on the bebop language. There’s a lot of similarities to what you hear in this video; the foundation of the song is here. For the future, you’ll be getting the new and improved version 2.0.
So enjoy this sneak peek! And of course, I’d love to hear your thoughts!