Expectations
The Mathias Baumann Quartet plays original Jazz compositions blending traditional styles with a modern sounds. The recording sessions for 'Expectations' took place in early February 2014 at Tuscany Soundz Studios, Dublin. Prior to its release in 2015, the music of the album was first performed live at Dublin's Culture Night in 2014.
The seven original compositions let the listener travel through the history of traditional Jazz sounds. Influenced by great composers such as Wayne Shorter, Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Kenny Burrell and Art Blakey the 'Expectations' features different Jazz styles from Blues over Bebop, Ballad, Latin to Hardbop and Pre-Contemporary Modal sounds.
From the Recording Diary 26/02/2014:
"I have been in the studio last week to record the second batch of tunes for my first album with my quartet. It was a great session and I realised how patient and generous you have to be with one another when you record a Jazz album.
In this project it takes four musicians to create something meaningful which feels good…
When we were recording we were always going for another take and another one because we thought we can do it better and better again. At the end of the day we were all exhausted. Listening back a few days later showed that the first two takes were the best ones for all recordings.
I am really excited about the upcoming release and very thankful for Darragh's, Barry's and Satya's great work and musicianship. Thanks guys!"
In early 2015 I asked visual artist Jackie Hudson Lalor if she would be interested in a collaboration responding with an artwork to music I had written for my album 'Expectations'.
Jackie:
"I listened to a selection of tracks to decide which I would respond to. Although I liked them all, the title 'Expectations' really appealed to me. I had had an idea to do a painting featuring a maze for a while & knew this would be an ideal topic to base it on. I thought about expectations from my own point of view & what it meant to me, how some are good, some are bad (worries & anxieties) & how we all bring our own baggage & histories to what we expect from life and situations."
"Sometimes we have a clear idea of what to expect & sometimes we have no clue! As I always work with good references, I needed to build the model of the maze first & I started making boxes or rooms from foam-board.
One by one these were populated by personal & universal expectations and some were left blank to symbolise our not knowing what to expect. The wasps in particular are indicative of worry & anxiety. For the most part the rooms are closed off and compartmentalised & some have a direct route to them. Once the model was complete & lit in a way I was happy with, I photographed it, found a good angle and proceeded to draw it up & begin painting."
"Mathias filmed this initial work, he obviously has great patience! Very soon after starting to draw up the maze I realised I was lost (how appropriate!) but the camera was rolling so I ploughed on & later readjusted! You can see these adjustments in the subsequent photographs.
Other bits and pieces were added later, stairs up & down to different levels, the baggage & the wasps. Most enjoyable part to paint? the red sofa, biggest pain in the arse?, the wallpaper! I listened to the title track a lot while painting as I really feel the music can influence what you are doing as you work and now I can't look at the painting without hearing the music!"
"It was a really enjoyable experience, one which took me out of my comfort zone and added greatly to my own personal practice. There were two months of painting which followed, photographing each layer as I went along & Mathias came back to film & photograph the final stages.' Jackie and I have also been interviewed by Irish TV about our music-art collaboration for 'Expectations'."
The project caught the attention of Irish TV who interviewed us about our music-art collaboration for 'Expectations'. RTE also featured my song 'Take It Or Leave It' in November 2014. In 2016, the track 'Take It Or Leave It' won 'The Akademia Music Awards' for 'Best Instrumental / Jazz Song'.
Credits:
Mathias Baumann - Guitar
Darragh Hennessey - Piano
Barry Rycraft - Double Bass
Satya Darcy - Drums
All compositions written, arranged, mixed & mastered by Mathias Baumann.
Recorded at Tuscany Soundz Studios, Dublin.
© 2014 Artwork by Sarah Bracken.
© 2014 Painting for 'Expectations' by Jackie Hudson Lalor.
© 2014 Photographs by Mathias Baumann & Jackie Hudson Lalor.
© 2015 Mathias Baumann. All Rights Reserved.
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