Antwerp

It was around 2008 that a long-time colleague, now Chicago-based trumpeter Chad McCullough, met Belgian pianist Bram Weijters at the Banff Jazz Workshop, and they immediately connected. Just months later, Chad was helping me out on a trip to the MIDEM music conference in Cannes and he set up a visit to Antwerp with Bram for the week after, inviting me to tag along. We spent several days rehearsing and then performed in Ghent & Antwerp with Bram and bassist Piet Verbist. It was a stellar time that quickly formed the template for our schedules over the next eight years—talking about music at conferences in France and later Germany, balanced with playing it throughout Belgium, the States and even a festival in Russia, along with the release of three albums—all providing the basis for some of the better friendships and musical relationships that could be had.

Eventually, life (not to mention the pandemic) got in the way of the regular Chad McCullough/Bram Weijters Group activities, but I maintained the schedule, showing up on Piet's doorstep yearly (with great faith that I was always welcome!). Now in year 13 of hanging out, playing music, sharing life stories, and coming off these great disruptor years, it came to mind to drop in a studio during this Spring '23 trip and put some music on tape with Bram and Piet. Piet and I both lost our mothers in the months previous, and the thought that they might like for us to carry on, doing what we do, helped this idea along.

For the album's title and theme, there was the initial feeling of 'travel,' 'stepping out of one's element,' 'taking in new stimuli,' and the like. But my brother's record, Todd Bishop Group, "Travelogue" (2014, Origin), already superbly addressed that, so not an option for a considerate elder sibling. This wasn't really about that anyway. This was about ales, waffles & fries, and many days/nights spent with new then old friends, and the celebration of a feeling for a particular place. I walked away thinking too that the music here could only exist from the years with Bram & Piet and the experiences in this community. Thus, Antwerp!

About the music:

I approached the session with the hope that tune ideas would come to us as we got close (the last minute has always been my favorite minute). Bram and Piet were both slammed with their usual performance schedules, but they stepped up with new and old tunes to complement the couple of thoughts I had. Kudos to them for whatever success lies within.

Rüchsichtslos (ruke-six-los) was Bram diving into a re-arrangment of a group tune from several years ago. It ended up having nothing in common with the original, so he retitled it with a German name meaning 'reckless,' or 'inconsiderate.' His The Same Melody, came from an incredibly fertile writing period several years ago, with some of those compositions showing up on the group album Abstract Quantities (2015, Origin) and on a duo album he did with Chad, Pendulum (2018).

Trip The Light Fantastic was a composition we played quite a bit in the early 2010s with Hal Galper's trio. Our approach to all of the music in the trio was rubato, so I had never heard this 'in time,' but the melodies of Hal's tunes remain with me and this seemed like it might be a cool one to hear Bram play on.

Piet pulled out a tune he had recorded before, For Less Than Nothing with his group Mamutrio (2016, Origin), one that he had been looking for the right moment to record, Pointing at the Moon, and Bull, a brand new piece that he was just finishing the melody to at the session. He's been deeply entrenched in flamenco music over the last couple years—with repeated visits to Cádiz and Málaga—and he's been writing a body of work containing those elements. The title Bull is inspired by por Buler'as, a flamenco sub-genre, with rhythmic structures that are none too easy for jazz musicians to wrap their heads around!

Reminiscing about a concert in the '90s where I played with Carla Bley & Steve Swallow, I came across a video of a stunning duo performance of Carla's tune, Lawns, a deceptively simple, but sophisticated and lush piece. I thought I had played it once before on a gig with pianist Dawn Clement some years ago and was inspired to try it here. We recorded it, and I later asked Dawn if I remembered correctly and she responded 'nope.' I'm not sure what I was thinking, but here it is now.

Two for the Road is a ridiculously beautiful song by Henry Mancini. I love sweeping, flowery renditions of classic ballads as much as the next person, but for some reason our one take of this was slow, elegiac, and deliberate. Piet delivers the melody and a beautiful solo, and the thought of him dedicating the performance to his mother likely affected our interpretation.

To wrap up the session, I got the flash of an idea to play "Contemplation" by McCoy Tyner. Bram hadn't really played the melody much before, so he made up a new one in the studio, hence we have a Contemplation-adjacent creation called Contemplative that I'm taking the opportunity to dedicate to the memory of my mother. The thought of her was close at hand since all of this was so recent, but listening back to this in particular reminded me of how much she enjoyed those last couple of tunes of a concert. By then, the band is loose, comfortable with the sound and dynamics of the room, and they're more apt to do what they want. She loved all sorts of beautiful music, but she really liked hearing musicians who could make the music sweep her away. A band that could build an absurdly intense momentum, and then take that one extra step, would always give her a story to call me up about later. Even in her 91st year, she would hang to the bitter end so she could experience that feeling, meet up with the musicians, and talk about all things until they finally kicked everyone out. No doubt, I am my mother's son....

THANKS:

Many thanks to Milan, RePiet, Jan, the musicians in town, Chris, Giselle, Sylvie, Kitty, and the rest for all the great times and their never-ending hospitality.

Thanks to Jussi De Nys, Dave Dysart & Dave Darlington for their exemplary personalities and craftsmanship. Julian Vleminckx & belcymbal boutique for the use of his beautiful prototype cymbal. Gerhard Oostvogels for sharing his wonderful studio, filled with his hand-built equipment and vintage mics. Cymbal & Gong for their fine, fine instruments. Eric Malfait for always being around with his cameras and great, artistic eye.

Thanks to Piet & Bram for their ongoing friendship, stellar musicianship, and for the phrases created that will live with many of us forever—'it's about respect,' 'one last one,' 'jamón!'... Chad for setting everything in motion. And Leila for being the best...

Dedicated to Jeanette Bishop & Joske Verbist