Trumpeter Christian Scott is on a mission. Coming onto the scene in 06 with “Rewind That”, Scott refused to be pigeonholed as another in the line of young lions “in the tradition”. Instead, he wanted to make music that spoke to his own generation, mixing indie rock with hip hop to create his own sound. His 07 release “Anthem” caught a lot of people’s attention, with even Chris Botti saying that Scott was only young player around that he paid attention to.
Since that release, he took some time to have a cameo role in George Clooney’s movie“Leatherheads”, and tour with his uncle Donald Harrison and Dr. Lonnie Smith’s power B3 trio (with Peter Bernstein and “Smitty” Smith) before putting out the latest documentation of his bands progress, a cd dvd (“Live At Newport”).
Returning back to the roll of a sideman with Harrison and Smith was a welcome change for Scott. “That was a killer. I think that the coolest thing about it was that I was playing with my uncle, but more in the context where he wasn’t the boss. Or, when he’d play in my band and I had to be in charge. This way, it was more like we were much more like brothers than a father/son or uncle/nephew type of relationship. There were similar things that we had going on conceptually and he has a deep well of information that I’ve derived from. Also, Lonnie is such a joker, man. He’s a lot of fun to be with. His stuff is like soul jazz, and just the texture of the organ, period. It calls forth some different type of emotions when you play it, because it can cause you to think about being in church, or old soul music or ball game, or other things that you wouldn’t get from just playing a piano.”
Ever the learner, Scott was able to imbibe some advice from his employer. “We talk very often, and the gist of it is always the same. He lets you know that he cares about you, and that he wants you to stay strong, and that when you get to a certain level of playing, it’s hard, but you’ve got to keep your eye on what you’re going after, and hopefully, if the stars are aligned, and you can then procure some things that make life better for other people. I like him so much because that the reason he plays music is beyond just being a musician..”
Not only did he tour with Smith, but he just finished spending time playing with McCoy Tyner. This group of concerts had a big impact on the trumpet player. He states, “I’ve spent a lot of time playing with McCoy recently, and actually have learned more from him lately. A lot of textural things I’ve been writing after playing with Dr. Lonnie, but the majority of stuff that I’ve been trying to work on, as far as my band and the next studio record that we’ll be doing will be coming more from the stuff that McCoy has done; the devices that he told me that he was doing with Coltrane in the 60s.”
What is remarkable about this meeting with Tyner is that it has caught Scott at a time when his band (as observed on his new release) had been toying with the sound of Coltrane’s classic quartet with the pianist even before they had worked together. The sound of the concert band is remarkably indebted to the Coltrane feel. Scott agrees, “Everyone is saying that. Everyone makes a big fuss about Miles Davis, but I’d have to say that if there were one singular artist that I’ve always been into, the one guy at the top of my list would be ‘Trane. It’s funny, because I’ve spent so much time trying to procure a different sound on my instrument that would sound more like the human voice, with all of these softer textures and things. You know, when we play live, it’s usually much more intense, which calls for some things from Coltrane’s textures than from the stuff that Miles was doing.”
Scott is shaping his band’s new acquired sound for his next project. “We’re about to go into the studio to make the next record. I’ve been writing a lot of stuff; there’s going to be a few tunes that are carrying over, a few new adaptations of the (Newport) songs. Because, when we did the “live” record, most of the music was a work in progress, other than the stuff that was on the (previous) records. Part of what I want to do with this next record is to kind of record it in the older style, analog; live, off the floor. But, we want to use more of the modern textures that we’ve played around with. We’ll make musical decisions that those older guys wouldn’t have made in that period, just because we’ve been able to process what they’ve done. So, I think it will be interesting to see what it sounds like for us to play in the modern context, with modern textures and harmonies, but recorded in the old style. That’s my idea for the next project.”
The band from the Newport disc will have gone through a few changes before the next recording session. This is because of Scott’s vision, not only for himself, but for the future of jazz as well. He explains, “I love their playing so much. I’ve used them to record before, and Joe Sanders with Jamire Williams have been part of my working band. But, the last few months, I’ve developed a whole new working band which I’m gong to be recording with. I’ve asked these guys to stick around with me for 3-4 years, so that we can really get something started.”
“After playing with McCoy, I really talked to him about the importance about having a band, and how many people from my generation don’t place a value on it. It’s so hard because of the climate that is happening in music right now. What I’d like to do is get together these guys. Milton Fletcher is a guy I went to Berklee with, who’s a phenomenal piano player. Chris Funn is a guy who had played with Kenny Garrett for a number of years. Jamire also played with Kenny, but now he’s trying to work exclusively with me now, and Matt Stevens. So, just a quintet will be the new working concept. We’re going to see if we can make 3 to 10 records together, and work on the band thing.”
That is one of the things that he appreciated about touring with Lonnie Smith’s band. “You can tell what is one of the great things about Lonnie Smith is that you know what they sound like. And, they love each other, which is just as important.”
“I just talked to all (of my band members), and they know that we’re going to be working on our own sound, and that there are different textures that I want to try out. From working with McCoy, I’ve started working on a new functional chord, although no sounds are actually “new.” I’ve figured out some things from studying what he’s done, and worked with creating some harmonic foreshadowings of music, to kind of lead people into what’s happening next. I’ve found a different type of texture in this chord that I can use in different places. A functional chord, sort of like an altered type of dominant chord, to get me to where I want to musically end up. So, I think this new record, and this new band, while have a sound that will be different from what they’ve heard from me before .“
All of the sounds and stylings that Scott is experimenting with his band is part of his overall plan,which is to create a new foundation for jazz’s future generations. He explains,” Most of the new stuff I’m working with now-I just wrote a song yesterday that kind of has a sound from the last record, but I’m trying to free Jamire up to break the time up a little bit. Most of the stuff will be more tied into like a Radiohead doing, so it’s got the intensity of ‘Trane’s music, but with textures that will be more familiar to Radiohead, different time signatures and different palates. If all goes well, we’ll be able to usher in a new kind of sound that people will be able to take from and expound upon.
Part of it is, you just have to have a plan, where you want to go musically. I always knew that when I started by not doing a straightahead album first and shooting craps at the jazz game, if you will. What I wanted to do ultimately was to create new palates and new textures, so that the next generation that would come after what my group is doing wouldn’t have the same excuses that my generation had, where guys for the last 20 years would just sitting around making the same sounding records, and where do we go from here? I think people are starting to hear that. I’m trying to be an architect of a new kind of a fusion. That’s where my head is at right now, instead of trying to make the perfect solo.”
All of this musical soul searching has started Scott on a spiritual journey as well. “I’ve had a sort of strange experience the last couple of months with this new band. We work so well together, and love each other. We talk about spirituality and all these things all of the time. The different forces that come into play when we’re composing. I feel that we’re talking about “the fight”, like there’s a war with music going on when we play. Like something is holding my ribs, and there’s all these different dynamics. So, we just ask for all of the clarity and strength to do this music for the people coming behind us, so they won’t have as hard an experience as we’ve had. Sort of pave the way for them.”
At this stage in this career when he is stretching his musical boundaries, Scott is able to relate to the story of how Johann Bach, when about to attempt composing some music,would write “Jesu Juva’ (Jesus Help) at the top of his sheet music, and “Solo Gloria Deo” (To God’s Glory”) at the bottom of the page, he had finished. “When I was a kid, my grandfather, mother and grandmother made me read the Bible, the Koran, everything, so I could make the best informed decision concerning what I wanted to believe. I never considered myself religious, but I am spiritual. I know that there are some other things that help or inhibit me, so I try to keep myself as positive as possible.” Scott is at the beginning of his musical and spiritual journey, and so far it has been fascinating to observe. Catch him next time he comes around to see where his next step leads.