Notes
Catharsis is: Ryan Keberle - Trombone Mike Rodriguez - Trumpet Jorge Roeder - Bass Eric Doob - Drums special guest - Scott Robinson (appears on Blues in Orbit and Blueport) Recorded, Mixed and Mastered at Systems Two Recording Studio by Mike Marciano Design by Maddy Sturm Photography by Amanda Gentile Music is emotion. Though it might sound a little cliché, I believe this is why music is so important to so many people; why music and humankind have co-existed since the very beginning of humanity. The relationship between these two very important parts of human existence has, for me, evolved into one of the most powerful forces in my life. Some of my earliest memories evolve around music, such as conducting along with Vivaldi'sFour Seasons (Winter was my favorite!) standing atop an improvised podium built with books. I've known my whole life that - like my parents and grandparents - I was destined to become a professional musician. However, only recently have I truly come to understand why music meant and continues to mean so much to me. It's really quite simple yet it took me 30 years to comprehend that music is emotion. Not only does music elicit emotion from both the performer and listener, but as a jazz musician music is the exposed heart and soul of the performer, and particularly for the improviser. Music is emotion. This simple yet monumental fact carries with it profound implications which I have only recently begun to understand. Most music fans know the intense feelings listening to music can evoke, but how and why this happens is seldom discussed. These questions are typically left unexamined for risk of spoiling the music's aura, and because of the music listener's subjective tastes and opinions. It is undeniable, though, that music can convey and conjure intense emotional responses from both the listener and the performer. With this in mind it is maybe not surprising that the music which has withstood the test of time, in any genre, is at it's core about emotional communication. For example, the music of Mozart and Beethoven, Brahms and Chopin, Ravel and Stravinsky, Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith, Lady Day and Prez, Bean and Bird, Coltrane and Wayne Shorter, Ray Charles and Buddy Guy, the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson and Prince, to name just a few. All of these artists convey a depth and sincerity of emotion that connects with generations of fans in a deeply intimate and personal way. Today, however, popular music is driven less by emotion and more often by trends, good looks and popularity contests. Similarly, parts of the jazz world have lost sight of emotional communication blinded with virtuosic technique, mathematical musical complexity, and musical acrobatics. One exception to these trends can be found in the Indie Rock genre with it's emotional honesty and sincerity guided by artists like Sufjan Stevens. One reason for this disconnect in the Jazz world is the musical pedagogical model (this can clearly be seen in the jazz education arena) that embraces theory before substance, harmony before rhythm and melody, reading music before listening to music, and "licks" before musical stories, plots, characters and narrative. A second contributor is the lack of a formula for creating sincere emotional music. Of course, one of the most effective tools in music education is listening to the musicians who have mastered what we, as artists, strive to do. Like many, I have an eclectic taste in music and have spent much time thinking about how such drastically different artists (from Louis Armstrong to Maria Schneider, Robert Johnson to Radiohead, Elis Regina to Celia Cruz) are able to cause similarly deep emotional responses. I believe that the common musical influence most responsible for linking these seemingly unrelated artists is the legacy of the African-American Blues tradition. The influence of the Blues, found in many forms, has helped shape almost every American (and many non-American) mu
