Mr. Chair
From the album “Better Days,” here’s our review of Fuchsia
Here’s a band that is one of the most innovative I’ve come across in years. For those of you familiar with Madison, Wisconsin (aka, MadTown), it should come as no surprise that they’re from here. In addition to having one of the finest Music Schools in the United States, this area gave birth to some of the most important musical artists of the past 50 years; Clyde Stubblefield, Dan Nimmer, Butch Vig, Daryl Stuermer, Lyle Mays, Leland Sklar, Woody Herman….the list goes on.
Meet, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair is the brainchild of bassist, composer and educator, Ben Ferris. He’s joined by fellow educators Jason Kutz (piano), José Guzmán (guitar), Mark Hetzler (trombone) and Mike Koszewski (drums). Together, they are filling the space between the Pat Metheny Group, and Snarky Puppy, between Hancock and Zappa. When you hear this track, you’ll realize that’s not a stretch - especially when you consider that they have been commissioned to write for scene concepts, an orchestral hip-hop album, worked with an opera singer on a 50-minute piece that featured Filipino art songs, and, just for kicks, rearranged Stravinsky’s Pulcinella. What else would expect from a band who’s trombone player runs his horn through a pedal board that rivals a ShoeGaze guitarist?! Here’s our review of Fuchsia.
Lovely mid-tempo start with a Latin feel - feels odd meter but I’ll call it a waltz. The syncopated bass and guitar lines in tandem are a gentle pulse, while some beautiful Rhodes tones float around like a breeze. Love the mix and production. Just the right amount of grease on the stringed instruments, and very sparse on the percussion. The pattern from the triangle in conjunction with the side stick feel that Koszewski lays down is fixating. Something tells me he’s going to be the unsung hero of this track.
Guest musician Eddie Barbash steps in with his alto sax and lays down a beautiful theme. The passage is striking. His tone is clear and the vibrato gentle. I’m struck by how soft his tone is, without having to hear the breathe. The chord changes that Kutz provides - with his extensions and voicings - gives Barbash a huge palate to choose from, but Eddie doesn’t brag with his playing here, and it’s lovely. We’re 2:50 in, and it’s a lovely ride. If you have synesthesia, I hope you’re seeing fuchsia.
At 2:50 a major new theme emerges - we’ll go ahead and call it the chorus. Big hits, distorted guitars and horns, a change in bass lines, chord progression, snare pattern - all of it. I’m assuming that Hetzler is responsible for the bulk of the sonic blast here - love it. Definitely sounds like altered horns. I think the section is in 8, aside from the midway and ending in 7. Hard to describe how this makes me feel, but I like it and fully believe it fits right in. There’s a track on Metheny’s “Letter from Home” record that it reminds me of in terms of the change in feel in tone, but the title escapes me right now. Regardless, they’ve just hit upon several substantially different genres in the first three and a half minutes, and it fits together like a poem or a puzzle. Now comes time for a guitar solo.
Koszewski switches over to a ride pattern and more complex fills to give Guzmán a bit more juice to run on - more intensity to work with. Midway through the solo, Ferris and Kutz pick up on that vibe and go to some “gentle” BeBop type progressions and feel (forgive me, Saint Thelonious). The result is taking the listener further into the realm of progressive jazz, but just like with that chorus that knocks you out of your fuchsia hammock, this works great too. Barbash comes back in to remind you of the gentler theme he presented in the first A section, and all the parts fall right in line with each other. Brilliant. Now he and Guzmán are trading lines before the chorus comes in again. (I swear, there’s a Marshall stack in the corner of that mix hitting some high notes.)
Last solo section and we’ve turned the corner into another world. It’s still Latin, like the first two A sections, but it’s more Sonny Rollins, St. Thomas and Spiro Gyra than progressive. Love the little changes in bass tone, the simple piano pattern, the switch to tenor, the key change at 6:57 and Koszewski ‘s snare work. How the hell they came up with this arrangement, I’ll never know.
The chorus comes back for a brief reprise with a different drum feel and then the Rhodes finishes out the track with a repetition of the head from the chorus. Absolutely wonderful track with world class players, solid themes and a massive arrangement. Mix is flush throughout, no missed frequencies. Nobody is showing off with their chops, they’re all using the right amount of space. I would love to see this band live.
The full record comes out this Friday, March 3rd, 2023 and I can’t wait to hear it. Make sure you scroll down to catch all their socials and other projects, this is a band that definitely knows how to take the listener on a journey. Great work, Mr. Chair!