Threat Matrix

When I started writing this tune, I had used a simple minor pentatonic scale for the two bass/clavinet licks that occur throughout. But it sounded pretty vanilla, so I changed it to a diminished scale, and the flatted 5th and the 6th of the scale add a much meatier tonality. I got the idea for the siren that kicks off the double-time swing-tempo solos at the end of the tune from Domino, a Roland Kirk album from 1962. Saxophonist Tom Scott and keyboardist Russ Ferrante really kill it in this section, propelled by drummer Will Kennedy’s jaw-dropping intensity.

 

Moving Parts

This is an homage to Joe Zawinul’s sensational song “74 Miles Away,” which is the title tune on a 1967 Cannonball Adderley album. I originally wrote the brass parts in a film scoring class at UCLA Extension, where that week’s assignment was to write for a brass quartet. And, yes, that weird, slinky sound you hear is me playing bottleneck guitar. Russ plays a wildly inventive solo here – if you can figure out the harmonies he’s using towards the end of his solo, I’ll buy you a cheeseburger. My old pal and musical mentor Grant Johnson takes the piano solo. My wife Brooke came up with the idea to use handclaps on the guitar solo/fade.

 

Space in Yer Face

The opening chords were written, again, for a UCLA Extension film scoring class (I forget what the topic was that week). The transition section was inspired by some chord changes written by one of my (and everybody’s) favorite composers, Dave Grusin. And the gospel-y chorus comes from a tune Brooke and I wrote (she wrote the lyrics) on spec, hoping that our friend the late Harold Ramis would use it for Ghostbusters 2 (he fought for it but got outvoted). If you close your eyes, you can almost hear the melody going, “Gho-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ghost-busters!” (And, yes, smarty-pants, that is the right number of syllables.)

 

Slipknot

I’ve always been a big fan of Stanley Turrentine. He has such a great tone, and you can hear the blues in every note he plays. Plus, he can really get around on changes, which takes him several notches above your run-of-the-mill blues and funk players. “Slipknot” is in the vein of the work he did with Jimmy Smith, Kenny Burrell and others. Drummer Larry Zack plays this feel as if he invented it.

 

Undercurrent

This is a dark, dusky ballad that, for the most part, is quite straightforward harmonically. But in minor keys I love throwing in a major 7th chord with a raised 11th whose root is the lowered 5th of the tonic, and I do this several times throughout the tune. The intro figure consists of a single chord that descends chromatically against an A pedal tone. Russ’s comping is amazingly sensitive and spare – he knows how to play one or two notes that deliver absolutely everything you need to know about the harmonies and the mood. I could play these types of tonalities all day long and never get tired of ‘em.