Flight
Cover art by David J. Woodruff
When I began arranging for this album, three questions motivated my work.
When I dive into these songs, what are they telling me that I haven’t heard before? How do you make a tribute album without it becoming a photocopy of the artist’s work? Where is the line between homage and sacrilege?
These arrangements lived in my head for eighteen months before recording. If you count Marmaduke from my previous albums, I’d been contending with Charlie Parker in this way since 2018. In order for Flight to work, three things would have to align. The arrangements functioning outside of my mind, musicians and production sympathetic to the cause, and a title reflective of the man while being a bit obtuse. The latter came to me on a long walk, and Ana Gavrilovska beautifully evokes the meaning of this in her liner notes:
“In this way, the album faithfully lives up to its name. A sideways reference to the man whose music inspired it all, nodding at the freedom of movement, the biological necessity for birds to travel, soaring through an expanse of sky, using their wings without thinking, simply doing the thing that their bodies have been built to do: drifting, floating, swooping, flying. Flight.”
Flight is a wild success because each and every one of these songs came to life exactly as I envisioned them. You can find the album on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and all the usual suspects. As convenient as streaming is, consider purchasing Flight on vinyl. BIG EGO consistently makes albums that look, sound, and feel special and I count myself lucky to have received this treatment. You can purchase the vinyl (and CD) on my website.
Also thrilled to report that Flight received its first review! Check out what Jeff Schwartz has to say on All About Jazz!
Photo by Devin O'Brien
A bit of gratitude before I close this one out.
To Chris and Devin, thanks for your continued work bringing these projects to life. I always feel joyful when I walk into BIG EGO and you’re the first people I see.
To David and Ana, thanks for giving visual and poetic expression to the concept of this album.
To Jay, Dave, Philip, Anthony, Billy, Tina, and Kris, this album would not work without you. I was humbled by your preparation, artistic mastery, and input during the sessions.
To Chris and Adriana, thanks for making BIG EGO the best studio in the world for artistic expression.
And to all of you for giving this album a chance!
Photo by Devin O'Brien