Schanzer/Speach Duo Release A Live Album With Guests, that Defines The Heart Of East Coast Jazz
I'll admit I'm not always a big fan of live albums. I do like some of them, but usually it's a group I already know and admire. Having said that, when I came across the live record from Schanzer/Speach Duo, I was overtaken with a flood of mood and ambiance that gave me goosebumps.
The duo dropped a collection of live performances, many of which include special guests, that capture something incredibly special.
The album title is called Live in Brooklyn 1992-2002, and that alone should give you an idea of how impactful this record is.
The jazz scene on the East Coast in that time period was intense, to say the least.
The East Coast jazz scene has always been alive and beating. One of the musical hearts of the city, to say the very least.
The performances on this album showcase such richness in tone and love for the craft, instruments, and for getting lost in the moment.
This is important because a huge part of jazz music is about just that: getting lost in those moments. Flying by the seat of your pants and seeing what happens. Once-in-a-lifetime sessions that will never be replicated again.
Perhaps I'm being a little romantic about it all, but this release embodies a lot of that essence. The feel and vibe of walking the city streets, lost in thought.
There are pieces on the record that are simply called "Improvisation." Four of them, as a matter of fact. And each of those sessions is like lightning in a bottle. Those beautifully passionate and inventive works that don't have a set pace or arrangement.
They sound gorgeous and are enticing, alluring, and have this tone to them that lets us remember what it's like to go with the flow. To think out loud and not worry about what may come of it.
You can hear, especially in those "Improvisation" pieces, how lost in those moments they were.
As I mentioned before, this record also showcases other musicians that paved New York with layers of lush live jazz performances, and it's astounding how embracing it all feels.
This is because the performers themselves are embracing it, and you, as the listener, can feed into that.
Throughout it all, Jeffrey Schanzer performs classical and electric guitar, and Bernadette Speach is the pianist, and they really helped shape that pocket of jazz during that time.
The album is technically by Schanzer/Speach Duo with Guests because songs feature some of those additional musicians coming and performing vocals, percussion, and more as the album unfolds.
Although the "Improvisation" pieces may be my favorites for those personal reasons, there are other songs on the album that feature amazing work.
"Glove Quartet" is a mesmerizing piece that features some of the more experimental approaches and shows how outside the box they were willing to go while still giving you something intense in different ways.
I think I am romantic about it because I am from NY and grew up in that very decade, from about 13–23 years of age. I spent many nights in Brooklyn and other parts of NY watching jazz shows, some of which I had no idea who was performing, while others had my own uncle in them.
Spending all that time in the city listening to jazz became part of the soundtrack to those years for me.
This record captures the soul of exactly that. The beautiful but avant-garde soundtrack to any of our lives and, again, a piece of the heart of NY during that time.
Jeffrey Schanzer and Bernadette Speach were very possibly people I saw play, for all I know.
Jeffrey's guitar work, especially on those nylon strings, is entrancing and flowing.
What I do know is that I can appreciate a record like this one for what it brought back for me.
This is for genuine lovers of the nuances and accents only improvisational jazz can bring you.
Pulled together from a series of performances across that full decade, and it's like a time capsule.
Don't miss this record at any cost. It is an experience in music you should have.
Comments