LINER NOTES: JOEL NEWTON SITUATION, "ONE"
You
might say that Joel Newton was born to play the guitar. How else to categorize someone who
started learning folk and classical when he was seven, immersed himself in Hendrix at
nine, and began transcribing solos in junior high? By the time he was out of high school,
Jeff Beck and Pat Metheny had also taken over his life, and though medical school beckoned
after a degree at Dartmouth College, the string-driven destiny won out. He opted for jazz
studies at William Paterson College in New Jersey and threw himself into intensive work on
the bop tradition and his first serious composing. He hit New York City after graduation
in 1993, determined to make a living as a musician. Reality was day jobs as a magazine
fact-checker and a computer technician, and eight years of trying to find the ideal mix of
players to perform his music.
Now,
at 33, the pieces have fallen into place in the form of the Joel Newton Situation, which
morphed out of the elements of Qualia, a Newton-led trio that gigged frequently in Lower
Manhattan in the mid-'90s.
While
JNS has obvious links to the great guitar-oriented fusion bands of the '70s - there are
echoes of John McLaughlin's original Mahavishnu Orchestra and Dixie Dregs to my ears -
Newton's conception is both broad and deep. "Anything I've ever listened to might be
an influence," he says. "JNS is an eclectic thing that draws on all my musical
experiences. In this way, it puts me in my most natural musical state."
One
of Joel's strengths is the way he synthesizes his influences and puts his own signature on
the result. His lyrical "Lunch In The Park" is an ideal example, with its breezy
Methenyesque introduction, the Latin tinge to Chris Michael's
percussion and Tokyo native Toshi Someya's bass, and the way the
guitars of Joel and Swedish-born Lars Aakesson twine harmonically
before Joel unleashes a churning wah-wah solo. Seemingly incongruous ingredients, yet they
fit just right.
Having
a second guitarist in the band expands Joel's already-rich sonic palette. "Lars and I
really try to milk as many different sounds out of our guitars as we can," he says.
The open, atmospheric "Vickie's Dream" presents a veritable thicket of strings,
with Joel using his trusty Roland VG-8 to add a fifth above every note he plays and Lars
doubling the melody. On "Quintisms" the strings converse, then squabble, as Joel
follows Lars' high-energy solo with a slithery piece of guitar electronics and guest
Christian Howes weighs in with a swirling firestorm of electric violin that shows the
up-and-coming Ohio native's love for both Hendrix and John Coltrane.
Hendrix's
ghost hovers over Aakesson's "Last One," too - a funky, but spare arrangement
that is highlighted by Toshi's rippling bass solo. What's also notable on "Last
One" and throughout many of the performances is Chris Michael's clean, clutter-free
work - always propulsive, never bombastic. Even without knowing that he studied percussion
in Brazil after completing his Masters at the University of North Texas, you can hear
Latin rhythms in his playing - particularly on the ethereal "This Way, That Way"
- that are outside the reference points of most fusion drummers.
In
addition to their groove orientation, many of Joel's compositions on One have a sweeping,
cinematic feel: witness the Western-themed "Long Valley" with its hard-riding
bass, soaring theme and dark-textured bass violin, or the beautiful "Putney"
(named for a Vermont mountain where Joel's family has camped for generations) with its
graceful elegance and subtly shifting dynamics.
While
many musicians try to do it all on their first recording, One is an exceptionally focused
debut that seems to just hint at where Joel Newton might go next. It's also a guitar
lover's dream, conjuring an image of some young kid hearing it and wondering what it would
be like someday to make all that noise. Give that kid time; Joel Newton has the floor
right now.
James
Hale
James Hale is a regular contributor to Down Beat, Coda, The Jazz Report and Planet Jazz.