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ecording was spontaneous, it grew out of a year
of regular meetings for beer and conversation.
“Whereas a lot of free-jazz guitarists come
from the rock perspective,” Fewell said, “Eric
plays acoustic jazz guitar, which appeals more to
my folk background.”
Much of their discussion was rooted in tracing
the sound of the blues through unexpected
geography, from the Muslim call to prayer to
microtonal Indian and Iranian music to the
Moorish influence in Spanish music. While
Fewell and Hofbauer didn’t enter the studio with
a concept in mind, what emerged through their
use of prepared guitar and small percussion
instruments was an album that made the same
journey musically, connecting Delta blues,
Thelonious Monk and the Silk Road.
“On a deeper level, music spans space and
time, and connects past cultures with the present,”
Fewell said. “The collective human imagination
could appear anywhere, and any of our
musical/cultural interactions could come out at
any moment.”
Fewell began playing guitar at the age of 10,
and grew up in Philadelphia on blues and folk
music. In his late teens he chanced upon Pat
Martino playing on Philadelphia’s South Street,
which opened his ears to greater possibilities of
his instrument.
After his year abroad, Fewell returned to the
States to attend Berklee. By the time of his
senior recital in the fall of 1977 he was already
teaching at the school, where he remains a professor
after more than 30 years.
Fewell’s first album, with Fred Hersh, Cecil
McBee and Matt Wilson, was released in 1992,
and he recorded in a relatively straightahead
style for the remainder of the decade. But around
2002, he decided that he wanted to explore a
more avant-garde direction, which led to work
with vibraphonist Khan Jamal and a collaboration
with saxophonist John Tchicai.
“The way that Art Blakey’s and Miles Davis’
bands were a learning school for many musicians,
working with John has had that effect on
me,” Fewell said. “He doesn’t allow you to be
too comfortable with yourself, so that you won’t
fall back on playing something familiar.”
Another result of Fewell’s explorations is the
Variable Density Sound Orchestra, a larger
improvising ensemble whose self-titled debut
has just been released by Creative Nation Music.
A second recording, which expands the group
from seven to nine pieces, is already in the can.
Fewell said the ensemble’s name refers to early
film soundtracks, and that the large unit can be
broken down into smaller subgroups.
“It gave me the musical palette to do anything,”
Fewell said. “The hardest thing is to sit
down and write. When you’re improvising, if
you start to judge what you’re doing then you
inhibit yourself. In creative music you cannot
inhibit yourself—you can’t hold back and you
can’t hesitate. You have to jump in with your
first reaction and be confident.” —Shaun Brady
June 2009 DOWNBEAT 27