Indiegogo Campaign Lauch for ‘American Grace’ and Boston Globe Article

In cooperation with non-profit fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas, I have just launched a new crowdfunding campaign through Indiegogo.com to help fund the production of my next recording, American Grace. This project will be the culmination of a trilogy of solo guitar recordings, which already includes 2004′s American Vanity and 2010′s American Fear, released on my Creative Nation Music label. Below is the text from my project pitch. Thank you in advance for your help and support.

“The philosopher and educator Joseph Campbell once said that ‘Myths are public dreams, dreams are private myths,’” writes Hofbauer in the campaign notes. “This has been my mantra through many years of study, preparation and contemplation in the music I compose. The narrative elements of the trilogy operate on those two levels, the public and private. It represents the past, present and future of American society and culture, as well as my own self-awareness.”

Hofbauer’s American Triology dissects and examines American culture through spontaneous original compositions and stripped-down interpretations of musical touchstones that span country, jazz and rock. These stark, personal statements showcase not only Hofbauer’s technical skills as a musician, but also his trademark intelligence and humor, as he deftly puts his own affable, sometimes jaw-dropping spin on the music of everyone from Johnny Cash and Hank Williams to Andrew Hill and Charlie Parker to Nirvana and Van Halen.

“Since the late 1990s, the Boston guitarist has honed a singular approach to solo recitals, marked by distilled melodies and expansive repertoire,” writes the Boston Globe‘s Andrew Gilbert in his recent feature article. “No other guitarist in jazz has developed a solo approach as rigorous, evocative, and thoughtful as Hofbauer. Recorded largely without overdubs, the American trilogy can be seen as political commentary on the nation post-9/11, but he’s charting internal landscapes as much as taking the country’s pulse.”

Supporters of Hofbauer’s campaign can choose from perks including exclusive pre-release access to the recording ($25), autographed copies of the complete trilogy ($60), jazz guitar and composition lessons ($125), a producer credit ($200) and a private 90-minute home concert ($300). Portions of each amount are tax deductible. Complete campaign details can be found at http://www.indiegogo.com/EricHofbauer

April 20, 2012 | Comments »

Ghost of Caesar Pt. 1 – Resurrection

We arrived in Bogota late Saturday night. The next day starting in on rehearsals. Lots of new casting changes and a few new actors in the mix so there was a lot of work to do…. for everyone but the jazz trio.

We basically had a day off on Monday so we went to the old historic part of Bogota, a neighborhood called La Candelaria. Before I go much further it must be stated for the record that this tour would be in dire straits without the translating expertise of Marianne Solivan, the vocalist for the trio. She is fluent in Spanish and has ironed out more than a few conversations during this week that were wrinkled messes of Spanish, English and French. What we saw on our trip to La Candelaria was powerful, scenes of great wealth and great poverty, both of which are burned in my memory. Cities all over the world display this disparity but it was in sharp focus that day for me. We had a long walk, visited many historic sites and marveled how the Andes literally cradle this city. They tower over this sprawling urban center like a stoic reminder of some ancient truth. The most beautiful part of Bogota however, has to be the Colombian people, who are generous, friendly, and very welcoming. We stopped at a wonderful cave like restaurant to hydrate at the end of our day called the Bruja (witch in Spanish). They had amazing fresh fruit drinks and empanadas. They called us a cab and we had the wildest ride home I’ve ever experienced. The fist half was all speed and twisting turns on the main road beside the mountain. There are very few traffic lights in Bogota, cars and motorbikes merge, swerve and stop on a dime with just centimeters to spare with the grace and poetry of a bullfighter. I am sure once and awhile someone gets the horns but our journey was more of the graceful sort (although not without its downright terrifying moments). The second half of the drive was what most of Bogota commuting is all about… traffic jams. I have never been in such heavy traffic. LA, Boston, and NYC have got nothing on Bogota when it comes to the daily commute. We have learned quickly here to add an extra hour or so to any commute time.

Tuesday and Wednesday was back to work – and I mean work! The actors and the crew especially had some intense days of rehearsal. Tuesday was a 13 hour rehearsal day, and Wednesday we ran the show (3.5 hours long) twice, once as a dress rehearsal and then we had opening night. With just four days of rehearsal, a crew of Colombians, French and Americans who could barely speak each other’s languages, 4 cast members in brand new roles, and altitude related fatigue we all pulled together and put on a great opening night to a very engaged and receptive Bogota audience who loved both the play and our music.

‘Julius Caesar’ or ‘Julio Cesar’ in Spanish, was brought to Bogota as part of the Festival Iberoamericano De Teatro, the worlds largest theatre festival. Many of the shows are smaller productions, our production is what you would call epic, it is a large scale show that is very lengthy with a lot of complicated text (Shakespeare) and a big cast. Plus it has us, the jazz trio playing behind and between the action. It is an amazing honor to be involved with such a production on a world stage such as this. Here is a very recent article from the Miami Herald about the positive impact of this festival on Bogota, Colombia and South America.

We have 4 show left and I will post again after a few more adventures and many more empanadas. Adios.

April 5, 2012 | Comments »

Pablo Ablanedo Octeto – Kickstarter Campaign in Underway

Below is a message from my good friend, composer, pianist and bandleader Pablo Ablanedo. The Octet is beginning a journey into the world of crowd sourced funding to help finance the next CD recording, and I am excited to be a part of it and help Pablo raise the money to realize this project. It has been such a joy to be in this band. Pablo and I share a love of Stravinsky and crazy poly-rhythms and his new work is steeped in both. The band is a world class outfit filled with some of the most creative players on the global jazz scene today and most of them just happen to make Boston their home. Greg Hopkins and Phil Grenadier are on trumpet, Daniel Ian Smith and Kelly Roberge on saxes, Fernando Brandao on flute, Fernado Huergo on bass, Franco Pinna and Bertram Lehmann on drum and percussion, Pablo on piano, and finally myself on guitar. Please visit Pablo’s Kickstarter page and support us if you can. FYI, I also appear in the KS video looking very ernest as I stare into the camera. I think I missed my true calling of working on infomercials.

(From Pablo Ablanedo)
Today I’m making a very special announcement.

In order to raise funds for the recording of Recontradoble, which will be the octet’s third album, we are launching a fundraising campaign today on Kickstarter.com.  I hope that you’ll want to be a part of the adventure of making this new record a reality.

So, please take a look at our Kickstarter page,
PABLO ABLANEDO OCTETo - Kickstarter Link

where you can see our video presentation, listen to recent live recordings of pieces that will be on Recontradoble, and learn more about the group and the album.  You can also follow the project’s progress and hear new recordings on my blog, http://octeto.tumblr.com/

If you decide to contribute, there are a variety of rewards for you that correspond to different levels of donation.  Importantly, Kickstarter is set up so that nobody pays anything until the project’s funding goal is 100% reached.   Our goal for Recontradoble is to raise $7000 in 58 days, from March 9th until May 6th, and we greatly appreciate any and all contributions that you can make.

March 9, 2012 | Comments »

Solo Set From House Concert @ Garrison Fewell’s Place – 2/12/12

This is  a 13 minute mini set where I play straight through connecting 4 different pieces together. I start with my own ‘Jac Mac Talkin’ from the Infrared Band recording Myth Understanding. Next I move to ‘I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out To Dry’ into Joe Oliver’s ‘West End Blues’. Both of which are slated to be on my next solo CD, ‘American Grace’ which I plan on recording in the summer of 2012. Finally I end with a version of my own ‘American Wonder’, originally found on my American Fear recording.

The concert also included a quartet set with Garrison Fewell and myself on guitars along with Todd Brunel on bass clarinet and Jerry Sabatini on trumpet. We do original material by Garrison and Jerry plus a few Sun Ra pieces. That footage will make an appearance on youtube soon.

February 15, 2012 | Comments »

Rock You Like A Hurricane: Why The 80s Matter To Jazz

One of the most lasting innovations coming out of Louis Armstrong’s revolutionary period of development and growth in the late 20s and early 30s was the use of pop songs in jazz repertoire. By jazz repertoire, I mean songs that are basically blueprints, structures or contexts for improvisation and specifically jazz soloing. This is distinctly different aesthetically speaking, to how sweet ‘jazz’ orchestras of the 20s (Paul Whiteman and Art Hickman for example) performed pop repertoire. However, it would not be surprising to imagine that Armstrong got the idea to play pop tunes from the much more successful, and chronologically several years earlier, recordings of these sweet jazz orchestras.

Whatever the reason, the result was a new innovation in improvised jazz, which provided a new artistic challenge, and gave jazz as a music style entré into the pop culture world as more than just dance music. This ultimately set it on its path of becoming the stylistic omnivore it has been since the 1950s.

The main elements to Armstrong’s innovation were individuality and deconstruction. Cover a tune people know well, especially the melody, but put your own spin and personality quirks in the way you play it. Change the phrasing, rhythm, and articulation (a little later players tinker with the harmony, meter and even form of pop tunes) so the melody now becomes YOUR melody. Pick apart the original version and recast the song in a different instrumental setting, alter the mood of the piece to reflect your personal relationship to the narrative. Listen to “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love”, the 1929 version by Armstrong and focus on how he deconstructs the word ‘baby’ (it is a pop tune after all and that word is central to pop songs of any era) to see what I mean. Compared to a 1920s pop version, by Annette Hanshaw for example, Louis completely rewrites the song in his own language.

The best jazz covers have followed those rules for decades, Miles’ version of “Someday My Prince Will Come” for example

(have you heard the original from Disney’s Snow White by Adriana Caselotti lately? It’s a testament to his brilliance that Miles could transform that song into the jazz standard that it is today). Or Coltrane’s version of “My Favorite Things” (perhaps the most notorious pop cover in all of jazz), which deconstructs the original so deftly thus transforming it into the modal jazz anthem we all know it as today. What connects all these examples together is the artist’s ability to find and re-imagine a strong pop melody. Hitching one’s creative or improvisational exploits to a melody that speaks to audiences in both concrete and abstract ways is what makes jazz covers part of the vox populi (or cantus populi, song of the people).

Here is where the 1980s come in. A modern day jazz deconstructionist can survey decades of pop culture repertoire but if they go much past the 60s or 70s they get into territory that most contemporary audiences can’t connect with. Alternately, if they use repertoire from the late 90s or from the 2000s to now they run into conceptual and aesthetic issues because so much of the music has been almost systematically stripped of harmonic movement or melodic arc. (There are always exceptions to my blunt assessment – Radiohead from the early 2000s for example or Adele from today. In general, however, if you graphed the melodic arc of the typical top ten billboard song it would almost be a flat line.)

Where does the jazz artist turn for both melodic inspiration and audience relevance? The 1980s! That decade had an eclectic sound to say the least. What other recent decade can boast a chart topping list of names with such variation in style and content as Prince, Cindy Lauper, Michael Jackson, Tears for Fears, and Peter Gabriel to name a few. One thing these artists, as well as many others, did have in common was a penchant for strong melodies and catchy riffs or vamps. Not only are the 1980s a goldmine of interesting and lasting melodies waiting to be re-interpreted, but also additionally those songs are just now peaking as America’s most relevant ‘nostalgia soundtrack’. As the boomer generation ages towards retirement, the following generation (the so-called generation X) is poised to be the next American generation to indulge in gluttony of the nostalgia buffet. It is already happening, so much of today’s fashion is 80s updates and in other music styles the 80s has already taken hold, from 80s nights at clubs to reunion tours, to innovative 80s cover bands in other genres of music (my favorite being Love Cannon, a bluegrass outfit from Charlottesville VA,

not to mention Boston’s own Ronald Reagan, an outstanding saxophone duo).

The great thing about the 80s is that the music culture was well documented in movie soundtracks, and perhaps most importantly, iconic music videos. Not only do the former high school or junior high kids of the 80s (now in their 40s and 30s) love to revisit the culture of the era, but even kids born in the 80s and 90s know the songs and movies. In so many ways, music of the 1980s is speaking to a broader cross section of the American audience than today’s current chart toppers. It may currently be the most emotionally relevant pop culture out there in America.

I think because of the aesthetic potential and the pop culture relevance, 1980s repertoire for jazz musicians is a fertile and creative addition to the current ‘bag of tricks’ any post-modern improviser already possesses.

There already have been several artists who have explored this repertoire. Like in the past, the best covers are the ones that hold true to Armstrong’s advice; find a catchy melody, and make it your own with personal interpretation and deconstruction. Herbie Hancock was one of the first to test the waters with his 1996 recording ‘The New Standard’ (although I should mention Miles’ cover of Lauper’s “Time After Time” recorded in 1985 probably is the first official 80s jazz cover). Hancock gives all types of tunes from the 60s-90s a jazz treatment. One of the more interesting is a cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Mercy Street” originally from 1986′s So. Herbie takes a cue from Coltrane here with a modal vamp primed for Hancock’s polytonal harmonic shadings mixed with world music influences (Gabriel was also a fan of cross-pollinating his pop with international flare) including the use of tabla. Like with the pop covers of old the main goal is to be a vehicle for improvisation, which Herbie certainly highlights in his version by leaving ample room for solos.

The Bad Plus is another group that has delved into the pop tune world of the 70s, 80s and 90s and they have had international success with their sometimes severely deconstructed versions of favorite melodies. The Bad Plus are children of the 80s, so it should be no surprise they find joy in reinterpreting songs like Blondie’s “Heart of Glass”.

They take the cold and objective new wave classic and infuse it with their very impassioned postmodern mix of free jazz, bebop and rock elements (Bad Plus Verison – Heart of Glass). Flexible tempo, chromatic or polytonal areas and collective improvisation are all hallmarks of their high-energy version, yet all the while one is never at a loss to hear and comprehend the original melody even though the mood and context are so dramatically new.

Personally, I have three entries from my recorded oeuvre that qualify as 80s pop deconstructions. I was between the ages of 6 and 16 in that decade, very impressionable years in terms of cultural comprehension therefore the music of the decade is deeply ingrained in my psI am also a firm adherer to Armstrong’s lessons, and like my contemporaries the Bad Plus, my goal is to always make the music my own and never compromise my style or sound just because it is a pop tune. I recorded A-ha’s “Take On Me” on my first solo recording American Vanity in 2003.

“Take On Me” is one of my favorite songs (and videos) of the decade and, no surprise, it has a captivating melody. The chorus has a two-and-a-half octave melody, a great challenge to arrange for a solo instrument (let alone sing!). I chose to cover Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher” on my 2010 American Fear album for several reasons as I explained in the liner notes.

“…It captures some of my youth, and I’m poking fun at myself because I am also a Jazz educator, and it shreds! Eddie Van Halen is a busy busy guitar player…in jazz terms shredding is akin to bebop. So I fused them. I thought the combination of a fast rock tune based on the blues plus the harmonic ambiguity of an added bebop layer was interesting” (from the liner notes of American Fear). Lastly I recorded “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, also from American Fear. It’s message of power struggle and greed is still so relevant in today’s society. Perhaps more compelling, at least from a solo guitar standpoint, was the repetitive syncopated riff and melody in the verses that are modal in nature (think the “So What” riff from Miles but on synthesizer). Not to mention the dramatic chorus melody which is just begging to be deconstructed with more syncopation and polyrhythm. I wonder how Louis would have played it.

Bonus – just for fun compare and contrast versions of Tears for Fears “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by the Bad Plus and myself.

January 8, 2012 | Comments »

One From The Vault: Part 2

Or… this could be called One From the Dusty Old Duffle Bag, because that is where I found this week’s selection. Apparently I have a black duffle, stuffed away on a shelf in my studio after my move, which is filled with old CD and DAT masters and live recordings. Basically, the contents of this bag amounts to the history of my performance and recording career or as I called it upon discovery “my life on plastic”. From now I will remember what is in there and keep it safe, perhaps soon I will start cataloging it too.
I rediscovered this bag of treasures because I was looking for an old session tape of the now defunct CK 5. It was a quintet led by one of the East Coast’s most unique sax players and my good friend Charlie Kohlhase. Charlie and I are now in a project of his called The Explorer’s Club, but back in 2003 he had a completely different unit (with the exception of he and I) with a different repertoire.

The band included the mostly unsung but no less immense talents of Jason Hunter, tenor sax (now living in Canada), Scott Barnum, bass (now living in Iowa), and Robert Roses, drums (now a doctor in Philly I think). We performed all around New England between 2000 and 2005 and my first release on CNM was a collection of live recordings of the band called “CK 5 Live”. We did do a couple studio sessions at Peter Kontrimas’ studio in Feb. 2003 but we ran out of funding to finish and release the project. However, there is some interesting material including reworkings of Kohlhase “standards” from his 90′s Kohlhase Quintet days with Matt Wilson, a early version of my composition “Flex Flux” which would show up on the Infrared Band’s debut “Myth Understanding” in 2008 and a cover of the Albert Ayler classic melody, “Ghosts”.
It is the “Ghosts” cover that I share with you today. Some consider this sacred sonic territory and we even discussed in the studio if we should record it (this was years before Branford covered “A Love Supreme” which proclaimed once and for all, that for better or worse, nothing in the jazz repertory is sacred). Like any good cover, we pay homage by taking a different direction. Yes, there is still plenty of energetic tenor explorations (both Charlie and Jason are on tenor here so tenor fans will get their fix) but the song takes a turn to the roots of where “Ghosts” came from originally, American folk music. I have always heard “Ghosts” as an African American folk hymn just as much as a free jazz piece. I wanted to bring that Blind Willie Johnson or Son House sound and feel (along with some blatant micro and/or polytonality) to our performance. I think you can hear that throughout and definitely when the band drops out and lets me play a very deconstructed variation of the melody in my solo before we all play the refrain at the end.
I remember in the studio getting chills when the two tenors came roaring back in at the end of the guitar solo with the melody over Scott bowing a big low F and me strumming (tremolo really) a full six string F bar chord. The overtones lifted us off the floor. I got those same chills today hearing that moment again (sound is such a powerful and emotional memory trigger) 8 years later.
I hope you enjoy this version and the simple beauty of Albert’s melody.

December 2, 2011 | Comments »

Hofbauer, Karayorgis, William, Gray at Johnny D’s 11/2/11 + Upcoming shows

It has been a long while since I have posted. There has been a lot going on in the last month. The last half of October I was in France on my first ever solo tour out of the U.S. It was an amazing experience and I plan on blogging about it all in detail soon. I am waiting on some media to arrive so I have some audio clips and photos to share, plus it has taken some time to process the events of the tour in my mind and heart. I am still overwhelmed and awestruck by the joyful reception the French audiences gave me, and by the generosity of everyone involved with the Penn Ar Jazz Fest in Brest and Brittany. More on all things France soon.

Today I have a short clip to share from a concert given shortly after my return to Boston. On November 2, two working groups I am in, The Infrared Band and Hofbauer, Karayorgis, William and Gray, shared a double bill at Somerville’s Johnny D’s. This clip is a bit of my guitar solo from Jacob William’s composition ‘Reflex’. It was not shot for professional purposes, and the quality of the shot reflects that. It was filmed by my student and friend, Mark Medieros for his own private use but I convinced him to give me the footage since the concert was not recorded (stupid of us) and this is the only documentation I have. I will be sharing other little clips of both the HKWG and the IRB sextet once I comb through all of the footage.

Lastly, I know I have been a bad bad blogger and I apologize. I am going to try to post once a week, even if they are just short little updates, thoughts or clips of shows etc. There are some showing coming up soon to take note of. Both are new projects. One is called First Worst Thirst, a quartet led by the oboist and vocalist Esther Viola. We play a concert of her music plus improvisations at the Outpost 186 on Dec 15th (8pm) on her Junk Kitchen Series. The other is a trio call BOLT which includes Jorrit Dijkstra on alto and electronics and Eric Rosenthal on drums. We play the Outpost 186 on Wed. Dec 7th (8pm), with special guest Junko Simmons on cello. This will be a high energy set of improvised music.
A quick word about BOLT. Granted I was out of the country and Jorrit was preparing to leave for a short European tour so we both dropped the publicity ball, but we played back on Nov. 6 at the Outpost for an audience of 1. It was an interesting splash of water in my dreamy face to come home after an amazing solo tour with full houses and lines of people waiting for me to autograph CDs to play a gig for one f*cking guy.  He was very appreciative and enjoyed the concert plus ,in my opinion, the trio ‘killed it’ (as the jazz kids are fond of saying), so it was still a joyful noise type of experience. I guess I mention it because being a student of duality as I am (those who know my catalog will attest to that fact) I was struck by the simple sting of the jazz reality. In a way it was also inspiring, because regardless of outside distractions or concerns the most impressive musicians to me always play like there is no tomorrow and put every ounce of energy into the music and into the moment; regardless of venue, house size, cover charge, music style etc. I am blessed to play with those types of musicians here in town with the IRB, HKWG, BOLT and others. Play on brothers and sisters, play on.

November 16, 2011 | Comments »