BRIAN HAAS (JACOB FRED JAZZ ODYSSEY)
What will you remember most about 2011?
At the very end of January, JFJO recorded our 21st record in 18 years. The album is called The Race Riot Suite and it tells the story of the 1921 Tulsa, OK race riots, (ethnocide really), through instrumental music. JFJO’s lap steel guitarist, Chris Combs, wrote the piece for a 9 piece ensemble: the coretet plus five horns. We were able to record this album at Tulsa’s most venerated studio, The Church Studio, which is about one mile away from where the riots happened. The horns on the album were Steven Bernstein, Peter Apfelbaum, Jeff Coffin, Mark Southerland and Matt Leland. From the moment we all went into the studio in January, it became very clear that not only would The Race Riot Suite be JFJO’s most controversial album, it would also be our most complete musical statement in the band’s 18 year history. The two week process of recording The Race Riot Suite in January and the two month U.S. tour that we just returned from in November will be what I remember most about 2011.
What album or albums received the most play?
These are my favorite records of 2011 that received the most play:
Mind Bokeh by Bibio
Prefuse 73/Jaytram/Epstein by Prefuse 73/Jaytram/Epstein
Helplessness Blues by The Fleet Foxes
Nine Types of Light by TV on The Radio
Salon Des Amateurs by Hauschka
James Blake by James Blake
Endangered Blood by Jim Black, Trevor Dunn, Oscar Noriega and Chris Speed
The Veil by Nels Cline, Tim Berne and Jim Black
Bespoke by Daedalus
GPS, Vol. 1: Rare Metals by Dave Douglas
Wondervisions by Delicate Steve
Take Care, Take Care, Take Care by Explosions in The Sky
Norwegian Wood by Jonny Greenwood
Ritual Union by Little Dragon
Maya by M.I.A.
In The Mountain In The Cloud by Portugal, The Man
Sam Baker’s Album by Samiyam
Deerhoof vs. Evil by Deerhoof
ISAM by Amon Tobin
Prologue, The Archer Trilogy Parts One and Two by The Deer Tracks.
What was your favorite show or tour in 2011?
The Race Riot Suite U.S. Tour we just finished was my favorite JFJO tour of all time. Also, two of my favorite JFJO shows of 2011 happened 4th of July weekend: We played The Montreal International Festival of Jazz on the Friday and two shows at High Sierra Music Festival on Sunday. It was an amazing weekend.
My favorite show I saw in 2011 was The Dead Sea Choir in Norman, OK: it was lush and brilliantly done.
What emerging band should readers watch out for in 2012?
Two bands from Tulsa, OK: The Panda Resistance and The Dead Sea Choir.
What’s your New Year’s resolution for 2012?
My New Year’s resolution for 2012 is to become a better pianist and composer.
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TIM COHEN (FRESH AND ONLYS, MAGIC TRICK)
What will you remember most about 2011?
Spain, Boats, Painting a Mural in Colorado
What album or albums received the most play?
Curren$y, “Pilot Talk 1 & 2”, The War On Drugs “Slave Ambient”
What was your favorite show or tour in 2011?
Moby Dick, Madrid, Spain
What emerging band should readers watch out for in 2012?
Wet Illustrated
What’s your New Year’s resolution for 2012?
To surround myself with positivity and rid myself of self-pity.
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