Joshua Breakstone on Creativity

Things I've listened to most this year

This is a curious list of the 25 or so tunes I have listed to most since moving my music files to a new hard disc about six months ago (and resetting the play count).

I'm very surprised to see pianist Tord Gustavsen at the top, but then again. Paying ten pounds a month to emusic for the last year or so has meant that I have been able to download things on spec. Tord Gustavsen has been one of these finds. The music is ECM, nordic, ambient, jazz chillout music. The pace is often slow and deliberate, the tone moody and atmospheric, the harmonies and melodies soulful and jazzy. Tord is not up there with Brad Mehldau (genius!) but I seem to listen to him lot:

• when wanting to doze on a train journey
• when wanting to work on a train, cutting out the background noise but not really listening
• on Sunday morning

There are few surprises and few changes of pace but it has grown on me and it I do pick up more each time I listen (or half listen).

Stablemates is a tune I spent studying in depth for a couple of months, writing and playing solos on the changes. Benny Golson writes quirky tunes with quirky changes. Tunes like this and Along Came Betty have provided me with a lot of inspiration - I never felt I have come across the definitive solo on this one. It has encouraged me to stop treating it like some kind of puzzle and to try and create a coherent melodic idea from beginning to end.

Another find on emusic, Simone Dinnerstein's recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations is very personal take, tender and meditative from the start with a very slow Aria. At the time she recorded it (at her own expense), she was teaching piano in Brooklyn. I like the fact that she does not try to impress through virtuousity. The music flows very naturally and it really brings out the best in the Bach's writing without ever getting in the way. Here's an interesting article on her and the recording from Slate.

I have been listening to Joe Henderson's Black Narcissus for a few months now. Joe's playing on this recording is quite understated and the tune itself moves from calm and almost wistful to something to something almost tempestuous on this version (from Power to the People). I like Herbie Hancock's impressionistic use of the Fender Rhodes on Ron Carter's bass part played up the top end. Coincidentally, the tuned up in the Saturday workshop I take with Geoff Simkins and has proved a nice workout for improvising over. I have subsequently head a version recorded a few years later with a much bigger band. It is surprisingly different, lacking the intimacy of the original quartet recording, but showing that a good tune is worth many treatments.

There are many recordings of Larry Goldings (Hammond B3) with the great Peter Bernstein on guitar and Bill Stewart on drums. As One is one of the most satisfying although, for me, the highpoint is seeing them on the Peter Bernstein Live at Smoke DVD where you can see every one of Peter's grimaces as he squeezes each note from the guitar.

Guitarist Joshua Breakstone has been a big discovery for me this year. This French recording, Memoire, is Joshua at his best. A sympathetic rhythm section including Michel Petrucciani's brother Louis on bass, a great choice of tunes and beautiful soloing throughout. Joshua's plays with poise throughout and shows what he has learnt in a career that has spanned almost four decades.

Surprisingly no Kurt Rosenwinkel in there, then the recent Reflections is his first release in almost two years. He's certainly been up there in the past with The Next Step and Heartcore, and I remember listening to Milton Nascimento's Club D'Esquina for almost a year when I got my first iPOD about five years ago.

Joshua Breakstone Trio: "No One New" reviewed

Joshua Breakstone is a jazz guitarist with a distinguished heritage. Born in New Jersey in 1955, taught by the great bop guitarist Sal Salvador and gigging early on with the likes of Warne Marsh and Sonny Stitt, Joshua has kept up a steady stream of recording dates since the 1980s. Stylistically, he comes out of bop and you can hear traces of Kenny Kenny Burrell, Grant Green and Wes Montgomery. However, his sound is his own and his solos stand out for their compositional strength and quiet purposefulness.

I've recently been exploring his recording and believe that his most recent work on the Capri label is his best yet, particularly his album of French tunes, Memoire - The French Sessions, Vol. 2 with Bassist Louis Petrucciani (brother of Michel) and drummer Christian Salut; and his latest, No One New with Lisle Atkinson on bass and Eliot Zigmund on drums. Recorded in France, Memoire stands out for its laid back feel, whereas No One New, recorded in NJ, has a more intense feel overall.

No On New kicks off with a JB orginal Over-Done, a fast paced tune with several minutes of single note soloing, rich in ideas with each idea leading seamlessly on to the next. The solos culminate in eights traded between Joshua and Eliot. For Me is a straightahead mid-tempo tune. Strong melody and a beautiful balanced solo - at this tempo you can really hear the subtleties of expression, the tasteful choice of notes and the spot on double-time runs. JB's The Unknown One takes the tempo down another notch to a relaxing bass nova, the tune featuring some tasteful chord voicings. Lisle's Come on Baby has a nice tongue-in-cheek feel and features a fine, swinging solo by the composer. Blues Heretofore is a mid-tempo tune where Joshua and the rhythm section just lock together and play as one unit. Eliot's brushes work particularly well at the start and then he shifts the intensity up as he switches to sticks. Joshua's solos often quote other tunes, Sonny Rollin's Alfie being one caught here. In true Wes style, Joshua's solo culminates in some nice chordal soloing. No One New is is another fast tempo tune with a long, interesting head, followed by another nice workout and eights traded between Joshua and Eliot.

For me, the standout track has to be Jimmy Rowles' ballad The Peacocks. In itself a beautiful tune, this has a lovely pared down quality. There is very little reverb on the guitar and the dryness increases the sense of intimacy and intensity. There is no studio trickery to enhance the sound, just Joshua's art and his desire to express. Joshua plays very few chords in the piece but the soloing just pulls you in and guides you through the changes. There is plenty of space, very strong melodic ideas throughout and Joshua's bell-like tone never sounding better.

The album ends with a rousing, swinging version of Joe Henderson's The Kicker which, when I first heard it, had me reaching for the great version by Grant Green with Joe on Grant's Solid album.

Although there may not be anything startling new on this album, No One New is the culmination to date of a life's work and is a masterclass in jazz guitar trio playing. As such, it deserves to be listened to by any serious jazz guitarist.

As well as recording, Joshua gigs regularly, including tours of Japan a couple of times a year, and teaching. You can find out more from his website.

UPDATE! A couple of transcriptions of solos from the CD have been posted on Joshua's site:

No One New

Over-Done

Joshua Breakstone - "Overdone" Live

Earl Sauls and Joshua Breakstone

Masterful solo - beautiful, sustained, tasteful improvisation by Joshua Breakstone with Earl Sauls on bass.