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You Can't Take It With You

by Chet Doxas

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    High quality, 180 gram, 12" LP - comes with download code containing the digital album in multiple formats

    Includes unlimited streaming of You Can't Take It With You via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    High quality, 6 panel digifile with a velvety soft-touch laminate finish

    Includes unlimited streaming of You Can't Take It With You via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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      $14 USD or more 

     

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Lodestar 04:27
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Soapbox 03:26
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about

PERSONNEL

Chet Doxas - saxophone
Ethan Iverson - piano
Thomas Morgan - bass

ALBUM CREDITS

Recorded by Ryan Streber at Oktaven Audio, Mount Vernon NY
(Sept 27, 2019)
Mixed by Eivind Opsvik
Mastered by Dave Horrocks
Produced by Chet Doxas
Executive Producer Michael Janisch
Photography by Evan Shay and Julien Capmeil
Album Artwork by Chet Doxas
Graphic Design by Dave Bush

credits

released September 24, 2021

Juno-winning saxophonist Chet Doxas is a guiding voice in the world of creative improvised music. Doxas, co-leader of Riverside with trumpeter Dave Douglas and a respected collaborator of Carla Bley and Paul Bley, joins Whirlwind for You Can’t Take It With You, his ninth album as a leader and first at the head of a trio. He’s joined by two stand-out collaborators, Ethan Iverson (piano) and Thomas Morgan (bass) – for a meticulously constructed album with playful positivity at its heart.

Both the inspiration and the encouragement to put this album together can be traced back to Carla Bley. Jimmy Giuffre’s trio was a big influence on Doxas – “the way he shapes and articulates is one of a kind" - and the group regularly featured Bley’s music. An early-morning airport transfer saw Doxas discussing future plans with Bley and Steve Swallow, who advised Doxas to write “one song a month”, distraction- free for a year. The ten tracks on the album represent a year spent writing and closely editing his compositions. That process gradually revealed his trio, selected for their personal sensibilities as much as their outstanding technical capabilities. “Ethan and Thomas’s tones are very inspiring. I wanted to let myself be guided by their sound palettes, and focus on phrasing in a way that's a little more multidimensional.”

Doxas’ music is serious in both its commitment to humour and in its quest to find a deeper positivity beyond the tongue-in-cheek. “The whole album is playing with the universal joke of how seriously we can take ourselves versus how serious things really are." ‘You Can’t Take It With You’ is suitably macabre, lowering incrementally over the course of the track. ‘Lodestar (for Lester Young)’ is a nod to the single note rhythmic fantasies Young was fond of late in his career; in typical Doxas fashion, it meets the music of Louis Andriessen head on, as Iverson ventures inside of the piano. ‘Cheryl and George’ is a take on Body and Soul and a tribute to his parents, ending a trio of tracks with a chromatic focus. ‘Part of a Memory’ is a meeting of timbres, an exercise in bass and saxophone matching tones half-remembered from a dream. ‘Twelve Foot Blues’ is a whimsical tribute to Mark Twain, before ‘The Last Pier’ creates “the soundtrack to a scene that doesn’t exist”. ‘Soapbox’ flexes a political muscle, taking aim at America’s frustrating news covering and channelling Ornette Coleman in speech-like patter- tones. There’s a strong imaginative streak running through the album, inspired by youthful energy of Bley, Swallow and guitarist Jim Hall – ‘Up There In The Woods’ is the tune Doxas “would have taken to Jim Hall’s house”, while ‘All The Roads’ is based on a Mr Rogers non-speech – a track with a single focus that asks for grateful reflection. ‘View from a Bird’ concludes the album in a creative take on the art of Joan Miro.

Eminently imaginative in inspiration, construction and delivery, Doxas’ trio gels immediately to create a varied emotional palette.

LINER NOTES:

You Can’t Take It With You:

The title is inspired by the shape of the song, a slow downward pitch towards the end motif that fights to stick around, then finally, ten seconds of silence. It’s all meant to poke a little fun at life, especially our attachment to material things and wealth. On a more technical note, I’ve always loved the way that Count Basie used key changes within a song to set the mood for the upcoming soloist. I had fun exploring this sound, so much so that I decided to keep going until I moved in a descending motion through all twelve keys. Down, down, down, we go.

Lodestar (for Lester Young):

lode·star | ˈlōdˌstär |

noun

a star that is used to guide the course of a ship, especially towards the Pole Star.

This is an homage to my hero, Lester Young, and specifically to honor his rhythmic prowess. Although many people believe that “Prez” was at his finest in his early to mid career, I think that his gift of rhythm only grew stronger with age. In the last two years of his life, there were many secrets hidden in the wisdom of his playing. His phrasing and improvisations were lean and distilled down to the essence of each phrase. I look to him as a guide and teacher on how to best serve the music and the musicians around me.


Cheryl and George:


This song is named after my parents and is a tribute to their friendship, love and good nature. The piece is based on the chord changes and structure of Johnny Green’s, “Body and Soul.” Ethan and I play a unison melody throughout most of the written theme, while Thomas improvises. Following this theme, we improvise collectively as a group before restating the melody to conclude. Playing with the balance of these musical roles is meant to represent two souls intermingling, playing and enjoying a life filled with love and mutual respect.

Part of a Memory:


The meaning of this piece lies in its imagery. I wanted the sound of the trio to convey the feeling of grasping at a disappearing thought, or more specially, the middle of a moment that your mind is trying to bookend with its genesis and conclusion. At first glance, this piece could sound like a lament, but in fact, I hear it more as one of acceptance.

Twelve Foot Blues:


Growing up, language and literature were always celebrated in our home. My mother was an English teacher and a voracious reader. She always encouraged me to have a book on the go, and I am grateful to her for the love of reading she continues to share with us all. This piece is dedicated to a great humorist who was often quoted around our home, Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain. “Mark Twain” (meaning "Mark number two") was a Mississippi River term: the second mark on the line that measured depth signified two fathoms, or twelve feet—safe depth for the steamboat. The piece has an easy riverboat feel to it, and I tried to imbibe the melody with the spirit of its namesake.

The Last Pier:


I let the mental scene of this piece guide the music as I wrote it. The imagery in my head kept drifting towards something that resembled the ending of a black-and-white film noire, empty docks, street lamps, nefarious dealings. Ethan’s spirit, at the piano, often conjures up a feeling of playful mystery, so I wrote to his voice while pretending that he was the detective trying to solve a cold case that has been haunting him for years.

Soapbox:


One night while on tour, I got into my hotel room after a gig and turned on the TV to watch the news. It was one of those segments that had four guests in different locations all talking at the same time. I decided to transcribe some of the rhythms and pitches, and strangely enough a pattern emerged. The shape of the melody mirrors this pattern, and our group improvisation gleans inspiration from this form of modern news entertainment. I “put a bow” on the song with the patriotic outro; one that could also be used for a television station’s 3 AM sign-off.

Up There in the Woods:

After reading guitarist Jim Hall's book, Exploring Jazz Guitar, I felt particularly inspired by his essays. He shares his feelings of wonder and gratitude about the gift of music. This resonated with me deeply, so much so that I wrote a song in case I ever got invited to his home “up there in the woods” to play with him. This song was written after his passing so the setting is fictitious, but it’s still real to me.

All the Roads:

The late television host and minister, Fred Rogers, made a speech at an awards show that stuck with me. Instead of accepting the award with customary “Thank Yous,” he asked everyone in attendance to take the time to sit in silence and think about all of the people that helped them get to that moment and that place. This composition is my version of that moment. I used the opportunity of playing one note to contemplate on all the different teachers, musicians, friends and family members in my life that have supported me and helped me along my path. I also requested that Ethan and Thomas play their notes in sync with their own breathing. I invite the listener to do the same and to use this piece as a meditative moment to be grateful to those who have helped to shape you.

View from a Bird


Throughout the years, paintings have served as great sources of inspiration for my compositions. I visit museums with a blank manuscript book and compose while looking at various works. I wrote this particular piece at the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid in front of a painting by Joan Miro "Femme, oiseau, étoile.” I let myself be guided by the carefree feeling of the work….listen for the bird call in the melody, the three-note grouping of “G-A-B.”

Process:

Most of the music that I write is composed as scores to scenes that I imagine in my head. Sometimes, it’s an old man who used to be a famous soft-shoe dancer… (I still haven’t given him a name yet), other times it could be a couple talking at their kitchen table, or a scene from a film that doesn’t exist. I sit still, usually at the piano, and set my timer for twenty-five minutes. I take five minute breaks in-between and do something away from my writing station… usually loads of laundry. The twenty-five minute work blocks are intense periods of concentration, reflection, editing and self-discovery, and witnessing. Thanks to some helpful advice from two of my mentors, Carla Bley and Steve Swallow, I took one month to compose each piece. This is a practice that I continue to explore and am constantly reminded that my eraser is as good a friend as my pencil.

With Thanks

I’d like to thank my wife, Fleure and our daughters, Maggie and Clara for being a constant source of joy and inspiration in my life. Since our piano was situated in our living room during the period that I wrote this music, their comings and goings, antics, and all the other delights of family life make up the soul of these pieces. To Ethan and Thomas: beautiful sounds come from beautiful people. Thank you for your presence in the music and the generosity that you bring to every setting - on and off the bandstand. And to the listener: I practiced getting out of the way of the work in hopes that I have left room for you to hear a part of yourself in this music.

PRESS HIGHLIGHTS

“The standard of composition and playing is such that you want to catch all of what’s going on – closer listening is rewarded.”
Bebop Spoken Here

“Ten enchanting compositions inspired by spiritual connections.”
JazzTrail

"One of the best jazz albums of 2021... Doxas very softly coaxes the trio along in laidback fashion."
★★★★ Marlbank

"These are three masters at work, delivering unexpected melodies and rhythms at seemingly every turn."
Making a Scene

"Doxas could be creative improvisational music’s Marcel Duchamp... He has got chops, buoyancy, and tone for days."
JazzTimes Magazine

"A truly personal work of art."
DownBeat Magazine

"It's an ability to channel traditions while continually seeking ways of pushing and disrupting boundaries that will be a hallmark of this trio."
Jazz Views

"Masterful... Chet Doxas has concocted a magic recipe."
CultureJazz

"An album to die for."
JazzDaGama

"Chet Doxas shows off his prowess as a tenor saxophonist and his talent for experimentation and composing here... This album contains subtlety, humor and adventure, wrapped into an appealing package."
All About Jazz

"Performances marked by confidence, connection, spontaneity, and, as important, personality."
Textura

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