Once I finished recording with George in the spring of 2014, I thought, "Now what?" I had three good tracks and a vague notion to release them as an EP called "Just the Bassics". (I know, I know, so very punny.)
The trouble with making an EP is that physical CDs costs just as much for three tracks as it does for 10. And when I put the question to fans on my Facebook page, the overwhelming response was that I needed to record a new full-length album.
Alright! The people have spoken.
My next opportunity to record came when Reg Schwager passed through town in October as part of the Richard Whiteman Quartet. Reg is a leading figure of the Toronto jazz scene, and four-time winner of Canada's National Jazz Award for Guitarist of the Year. He's played and recorded with George Shearing, Diana Krall, Peter Appleyard, Mel Tormé, and Emilie-Claire Barlow.
Reg had a few hours to spare on Sunday morning before his gig, so I seized them and we drove out to Bob Hamilton's Old Crow Recording Studio. I had three songs in mind, one of them being a bossa I'd written just for this occasion. Reg brought a laid-back, soothing energy to the studio. We talked about how to set up and he encouraged me use the vocal booth, in case I wanted to redo the vocals later on. "But you won't need to," he said, "because you'll feel relaxed in there." We ran through a tune just to get a feel for each other and were ready to get started. Reg smiled his gentle smile at me through the glass of the vocal booth and said, "All we have to do is tell a story."
The first couple of tunes went very smoothly. We did a few takes of each for insurance, but it felt great. Then we turned to my original tune, "La tête dans la lune", and it turned out to be the biggest challenge! Because I had written it just days before and had never had a chance to perform it or try it out with anyone else, I was still figuring it out, myself. (Pro tip: I don't recommend this approach!) We started out at about 120 beats per minute, but it didn't feel like it had enough oomph, so we kept kicking the speed up a notch. As the tune got faster, it got more challenging for Reg to play solos as a lone guitar with no one to back him up. It's a good thing he's ridiculously skilled, as well as laid-back!
We ended up doing 10 takes, with the speed cranked up to about 155 bpm by the last take! (I guess that makes it more akin to a samba than a bossa?) I am deeply grateful to Reg for his talent and his patience.
For more Reg, visit www.regschwager.com
To support the album, visit: gofundme.com/fawnfritzen