Hi! It's me, Jonah, the baritone saxophonist. Remember?
I have a new video for you to watch, but you can’t watch a video and read an email at the same time, so you’ll have to choose.
Did you know that some music outlets would rather premiere an audio track than a video because people can scroll and read other things on the site as they listen? The outlets know that most of the time, music is something that happens in the background.
Do you agree?
Do you ever just sit and listen? Listen without reading, without checking your email, without eating, or riding the train, or driving your car?
I just finished making an album that will come out next year (oh boy!). Usually when I finish recording a set of music, I excitedly imagine people listening while doing dishes, or hanging out with friends, or driving across the country. This time the people are just sitting. Sitting and listening.
These imagined listeners are very important to me, and what I imagine them doing as they listen changes the scale of my compositions. For this particular album, I feel like the music became something you can glance at, and take in on its own. A moment that demands complete attention, but is concise enough to make that demand reasonable. A pencil drawing, maybe. More on that later.
The video I’m sharing today is a duo with Berke Can Özcan. He and I also have an album in the works (oh boy again!). This video is from a live concert in Istanbul. Our first concert. We’ve come a long way since then, but I love the way this video allows you to watch us getting to know each other. You can see we’re having fun.
So, here it is again. Maybe you can listen while you clean up your desk.
If you do, let me know!
And if you like the video (or the email), I’d be so grateful if you shared it with someone who might never see it otherwise.
Thanks for your attention, your conversation, and your support!
Talk soon,
Jonah
Back in the days of vinyl, when I was in my early 20s, chilling with a big spliff and some music was our primary form of entertainment. If we were reading something, it was the liner notes on the back of the album cover.
Now that I'm in my early 60s, I don't do it as much as I'd like, but on a warm Friday night you can generally catch me on the deck with a spliff, a shot of bourbon and a set of ear pods listening to music. Depending on my mood it could be anything from Fred Frith to Jonah to Tears for Fears (don't know how I got on that bender a few weeks ago).