Interpret It Well
Released: May 2022
- Craig Taborn – piano
- Mat Maneri – viola
- Bill Frisell – guitar
- Ches Smith – drums
Tracks:
- Trapped
- Interpret It Well
- Mixed Metaphor
- Morbid
- Clear Major
- I Need More
- Deppart
Interpret It Well
Released: May 6, 2022
- Craig Taborn – piano
- Mat Maneri – viola
- Bill Frisell – guitar
- Ches Smith – drums
Tracks:
- Trapped
- Interpret It Well
- Mixed Metaphor
- Morbid
- Clear Major
- I Need More
- Deppart
Ches Smith - Interpret It Well – The Wall Street Journal – Larry Blumenfeld
July 4, 2022While distinct in sound, two new jazz albums—’Interpret It Well’ and ‘Astral Long Form: Staircase in Space’—have much in common Read the article >>
Ches Smith - Interpret It Well – The Arts Desk – Sebastian Scotney
July 4, 2022Drummer/vibraphonist Ches Smith’s previous release on the Pyroclastic label could not be more different from this one. Last year’s Path of Seven Colors was well received: it was the Guardian’s 2021 jazz album of the year. That disc was an exploration of the …
Protect Your Home (Interpret It Well)
Directed/Edited by Frank Heath
Produced by David Breskin
Then Covid happened. Suddenly, and strangely, everyone was in town and available. We decided to record the music.
My main goal was to have Bill feel like he could do whatever he wanted with the compositions, just as Craig, Mat and I do. It was not difficult to convince him. At rehearsals I was encouraged by how open everything became. Each reprise of a given piece had its own unique outcome.
By the time we entered the studio, it no longer felt like “trio plus Bill.” We were a unit. Our approach to the compositions was improvisational—using space, lyricism, sound, density, noise and aggression, depending on the moment. We also improvised compositionally: the open sections told their own stories, revealing unearthed dimensions. We created transitions on the fly… more
released May 6, 2022
Craig Taborn piano
Mat Maneri viola
Bill Frisell guitar
Ches Smith drums, vibes
Compositions by Ches Smith (Preposterous Bee Music, BMI)
Produced by David Breskin
Recorded on October 12 & 13, 2020, by Ron Saint Germain & Ryan Streber, assisted by Charles Mueller, at Oktaven Audio, Mount Vernon, NY
Mixed by Ron Saint Germain at Saint’s Place
Mastered by Scott Hull at Masterdisk, Peekskill, NY
Album art by Raymond Pettibon, No Title (Interpret It Well…), 1987,
ink on paper, courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner Gallery
Design & layout by Spottswood Erving & July Creek for Janky Defense
A Frank Heath film accompanies the title track. You may find it on Vimeo or wherever such things freely stream, including the websites of Ches and Pyroclastic.
Thanks to Craig, Mat, Bill, Saint, Kris Davis, db and Isabel Breskin, Kesler Pierre, Chelsea Hadley, Frank Heath for his film, Raymond Pettibon for his drawing, Greg Lulay and David Zwirner, Miya and Zane Osaki.
This album was made possible by support from The Shifting Foundation.
Bill Frisell appears courtesy of Blue Note Records
Carbon offsets to neutralize the carbon emissions associated with the production
and distribution of this album have been purchased through carbonfund.org.
Ches Smith and Pyroclastic Records © ℗ 2022 and Raymond Pettibon © 1987
chessmith.com pyroclasticrecords.com