photo: Jalen Baker

TEN QUESTIONS WITH JALEN BAKER

Jalen Baker's This Is Me, This Is Us is an auspicious debut album but for more than the jazz vibraphonist's playing. As stellar as it is, the writing on the release (reviewed here) impresses as much for its poise and maturity, and the Houston native's sensitivity to the nuances of arrangement registers powerfully too. Baker spoke recently with textura about a number of things, from his first exposure to the vibraphone and its current popularity in jazz circles to the album itself in terms of personnel, writing, production, sequencing, and arrangement.

1. Your bio reveals that you were born in Washington DC, raised in Houston, received your Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from Columbia College Chicago in May 2017, and your Master of Music in Jazz Studies at Florida State University two years later. What it doesn't clarify is what led you to the vibraphone. Why it and not another instrument?

JB: I started playing percussion in the third grade and outside of playing the drum set I primarily was playing classical music up until I was a junior in high school. I attended The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, which is the same school jazz greats such as Jason Moran, Eric Harland, Robert Glasper, Chris Dave, Walter Smith III, and many others attended, so I was surrounded by the energy of a lot of past students. Previously I played jazz drums throughout middle school and a little bit into high school, but it wasn't until I heard Stefon Harris's Urbanus album that I decided to start playing jazz vibes. That was the first time I'd heard the instrument in a contemporary setting, and I was super inspired by it. Switching to vibes also gave me a chance to play with my friends, who are much better drum set players than me!

2. There seems to have been a recent upsurge in the number of jazz vibraphonists emerging on the scene, with you, Simon Moullier, Sasha Berliner, and Joel Ross making a strong mark. What's your explanation for this upswing?

JB: Honestly, I think the availability of the instrument is a lot greater today than it was thirty years ago. Nowadays almost every high school and college has a vibraphone, so more people are getting the chance to play the instrument in some musical setting. I also think players like Stefon Harris, Warren Wolf, and Joe Locke made playing the instrument ‘cool.' All of those guys have such powerful voices, and that I think really resonates with this current generation of musicians.

3. If I were subjected to a DownBeat ‘Blindfold Test' featuring vibraphonists that included you, Moullier, Ross, Berliner, Gary Burton, Warren Wolf, Stefan Harris, and others, what would lead me to identify you as the performer as opposed to someone else?

JB: This is an interesting and funny question because I'd say I'm greatly influenced by everyone that you named, including my peers. But I guess one thing that I try to do, and I hope this comes across when people hear me, is that I try to be as melodic as possible and play with a lot of energy and honesty, meaning that I take my note choice very seriously. I also think that my compositions sound very much like me, and people will be able to associate that with me immediately.

4. This is Me, This is Us is fundamentally jazz, but there are moments where funk, soul, R&B, and gospel surface too. Are there particular artists who were primary influences, and are there particular albums that had an equally critical impact on your development?

JB: Yes! Growing up my mom was a big Earth, Wind, & Fire fan, so I feel a very deep connection to music from that era. My favourite EWF album is Live at Velfarre, and I also love gospel music. Kirk Franklin and Tye Tribett are probably my two favourite gospel artists, and Franklin's Nu Nation is one of my favourite albums of all time! As far as jazz goes, I think I love most of things that we all know. Cannonball Adderley has a record with Milt Jackson called Things Are Getting Better that really exposed me to the genius of Milt. I also love everything that Stefon Harris has ever played on!

5. Enhancing the stellar musicianship of you, pianist Paul Cornish, trumpeter Giveton Gelin, bassist Gabriel Godoy, and drummer Gavin Moolchan is a string quartet comprising violinists Jessica McJunkins, violist Andrew Griffin, cellist Susan Mandel. What inspired you to add the strings to the core quintet? Was the choice inspired at all by the Modern Jazz Quartet and the way the group integrated a classical dimension into its playing?

JB: I've always been intrigued with the expressive nature of string instruments and how they can co-exist in a jazz group. I really wanted the strings to be as important to every tune as any other instrument in the ensemble and not just accompaniment. I think I accomplished this a little bit, but I'm still working to refine my approach. I'm very familiar with how the MJQ integrated classical music into jazz and love it! I'd say my biggest inspiration behind my use of strings comes from Billy Childs and his “Into The Light” project. I love how front and centre the string quartet is in his music, and I hope to be able to replicate that feeling in my own music.

photo: Jalen Baker

6. The album follows a musical trajectory of sorts, with the full ensemble tracks eventually giving way to an intimate trio performance and finally a short outro featuring you alone. Did you purposefully design the track sequencing with that trajectory in mind and if so why?

JB: Yes, I did! The album as a whole is meant to be listened straight through. When my band performs this music we actually don't really stop in between songs very much. I wanted the personnel to get stripped down progressively through the album. I thought this would give listeners a unique experience that eventually ends with just me playing a solo piece.

7. Could you talk a bit about the impact Ulysses Owens Jr. had on the album as the producer, given that the relationship between you and the drummer goes back a ways. How did his involvement help shape This Is Me, This Is Us to become the recording it did?

JB: Ulysses is incredible! One of my main goals with the album was to have people involved who have helped throughout my musical journey, and Ulysses is one of those people. I've played in some of his groups, and we've become very close over the last handful of years. I brought up the idea of recording my album to him a couple of years ago, and he offered to help in anyway that he could. So eventually I just asked him to produce the whole thing, and he did an incredible job!

I think all young musicians should find a producer because there are so many many moving parts when it comes to recording an album, and Ulysses definitely made everything easier. He was particularly good at easing anxiety in the studio. Anybody who has recorded knows that it can be a very stressful environment, but he did an incredible job of keeping everyone relaxed. One of the coolest things about the album is that most of the tracks are either the first or second take, which I think is in part to how Ulysses ran the session.

8. Though the performances are instrumental and thus lyrics-free, the track titles clearly reference specific incidents that one associates with the experiences young Black men have growing up in the United States; ones such as “Don't Shoot” and “We Regret to Inform You” will obviously resonate with individuals who've been targeted by the authorities or who've had loved ones die from gunfire or what have you. Could you first say a few words about why you titled the tracks as you did? And secondly could you talk a bit about what your own experience has been like growing up in the country as an African-American male?

JB: The piece “Don't Shoot” was written around the time of the Mike Brown murder, so I wanted to compose something that could resemble the emotions that I was feeling at the time. If you listen closely to the bass it was meant to resemble that of a heartbeat. The piece “We Regret to Inform You” actually has a more lighthearted meaning. The pianist in the band Paul Cornish and I have a running joke where we save all of our rejection letters. Most of those letters start with the phrase “We regret to inform you,” so I just wanted to write something fun about the topic of rejection and perseverance.

The tune “Obey/Disobey” towards the end of the album is another tune with more social undertones. I wrote that piece after a professor of mine asked the class if we would obey an unjust law. The question seemed really simple at first, but then I started to think back to the Civil Rights movement and how long Black people had to endure injustice before legitimate progress was made.

My experience being a Black male in America has been interesting because I've had a great life that my family has provided for me, but I'm not exempt from a lot of the issues that persist in this country. I grew up in inner city Houston and did some of my early schooling in a Black neighbourhood, which was great for developing a sense of identity. All of my higher education including high school was done in predominantly white institutions, which was great for a number of reasons, but I did always feel a little bit out of place, especially when studying jazz many of my professors and classmates were not black, which is an experience I think a lot of black kids have when they get to college. In terms of more social issues, I have experienced some forms of racial profiling and weird interactions, but thankfully nothing that has harmed me; however, because of social media I constantly see things that happen to other Black people. which is incredibly disappointing. There's a lot of progress that has happened in the world, but there's still quite a ways to go.

photo: Live Music Movement Foundation

9. The album obviously makes a powerful argument on your behalf as a vibraphonist but as a writer and arranger too. Many of the pieces on the album are distinguished compositions of remarkable maturity and poise; there's range too, with uptempo numbers and mellow pieces both featured. On the one hand we have “Don't Shoot” with its pulsating rhythms and infectious energy, on the other the soulful “Faith” and lyrical ballads such as “Patience” and the gorgeous “Obey/Disobey.” Could you say a few words about your writing process and whether it comes easily to you or not?

JB: Thank you for the kind words! My process varies quite a bit from piece to piece. I'm really big on variety, so I try very hard to make each piece sound different. I typically do this by making myself write in keys that I don't naturally gravitate to or time signatures that I'm not as comfortable with. The first piece “So Help Me God” is based on a twelve-tone row, which made me write melodies that I would almost never have come up with on my own.

I also try not to write every single thing at the piano. I write at piano the majority of the time, but I do try to switch it up and write some things at the vibraphone, drums, or maybe without any instrument completely. I feel like if you change the setting that you write in you'll tap into some new creative juices. Sometimes it's easy, most times not. I'm constantly working on tunes in some way, but I try not to add extra stress to my life.

10. I love that you selected Stevie Wonder's “Love's in Need of Love Today” as the album's sole cover, and obviously it assumes even more significance in being positioned as the album closer. What prompted you to choose Stevie's classic as opposed to something else?

JB: Ulysses really wanted me to do a solo vibraphone piece. I don't consider myself to be an incredible solo vibraphonist, but I love playing pop music, jazz ballads, and hymns on solo vibraphone. I just so happened to be learning a bunch of Stevie Wonder songs and thought “Love's in Need of Love Today” would be a very appropriate closer for the album. It's a beautiful song and still resonates with many people.

June 2021