The Making of "Welcome Home"

July 9, 2010

l-r Jeremy Pelt, Tom Bates, Joris Teepe, Matt Savage, Bobby Watson, Jonathan Wyner, Peter Retzlaff

Matt Savage’s Recording Blog, 2010

             July 9, 2010:  The start of an epic week.

            I left my hotel in Queens and arrived in Brooklyn, NY in the morning, still a bit tired from the long ride (from New Hampshire) the day before.  I was there for one specific reason… to record my ninth album!

            You heard that right… the new album will be out on November 9th!  The record is all about my travels over the last few years.  The story starts at my home (an organic farm in southern New Hampshire) and progresses through New York to finally arrive at my college, which is Berklee College of Music in Boston.  Also, the album has several different bands on it, including (for the very first time) a quintet!  The title of the album is “Welcome Home,” since the songs are based on the general idea of being in a totally new place and still calling it home.

            The album was recorded at Systems Two Recording Studio in Brooklyn.  The studio is a very large and comfortable place; it feels like a home, which I think is really cool.  I could tell this was going to be a great-sounding recording right from the start; not only is Systems Two a top studio, but I also got to play a specially restored Bösendorfer piano called the “WunderKind,” which is the best piano I’ve ever used for an album.  The piano happens to be blue and has 9 extra keys at the bottom.  If that’s not awesome, I don’t know what is.   

            The “farm” songs (which are at the start of the album, because that’s where the story starts) were recorded first.  The band on most of these songs is a trio with longtime band member John Funkhouser on bass, plus Yoron Israel on drums.  The “country” songs are generally slower than the “city” songs, but not always; one of the highlights of the “country” side of the album is a fun little tune called “On the Farm,” inspired in part by the animals on the farm.  Another song that really turned out great during this first session was the piano/bass duo “Seasons Change,” which is different from my other ballads in that there are four different sections to the tune.  

l-r Back Row -  Matt Savage, John Funkhouser, Yoron Israel, Diane Savage

l-r Front Row - Jonathan Wyner, Tom Bates

              July 11, 2010 was the first day of quintet recording, and it was truly a life-changing day for me.   One by one, the musicians of the quintet came into the studio:  the legendary Bobby Watson on alto sax, the hip young Jeremy Pelt on trumpet and flugelhorn, the musically powerful but kind-hearted Dutch bassist Joris Teepe, and the energetic and versatile drummer Peter Retzlaff.  Time to record the “city” songs! 

l-r, Jeremy Pelt, Joris Teepe, Matt Savage, Bobby Watson, Peter Retzlaff

            There were no rehearsals before the recording of the quintet songs; we just played the songs in the studio a few times, and we had our takes.  ‘Course, what do you expect from such an awesome group of jazz greats?  Instantly, a new Matt Savage Trio (make that Quintet) sound was created, and with a whole bunch of upbeat, funky tunes to come, I knew that a truly great record was being made.

            But then, guess what happened?  The 2010 FIFA World Cup Final!  I could go on and on about how the soccer championship influenced the recording of the album.  We imitated vuvuzelas (those annoying horns that the fans use) with our instruments while tuning up.  We even recorded a “sad” ballad called “Inner Search” right after Joris’ Dutch team lost.  Isn’t life funny?  OK, back to the recording.    

            Many tunes were recorded that day, including the most technically challenging piece, called “You Are Here.”  To play “You Are Here,” one has to play a fast scale up and down and then do some big melodic leaps… all at a tempo approaching 300.  You also have to solo in 4/4, 5/4, and 6/4.  That wasn’t hard for us, though; Jeremy and Peter delivered some of the finest solos I’ve heard in a while.  The next tune after that was “Inner Search,” which, in my opinion, is the album’s finest feature for Bobby Watson’s lyrical (did I mention legendary?) sax playing.

            The next day was “Big Apple Suite” day, and all I can say is that “Big Apple Suite” is the longest, most significant piece I’ve ever put on record.  It features some of the funkiest funk songs and the most “epic” ballads I’ve ever done, all in one suite.  And, there are solos by all five members of the group.  That’s all I’ll tell you for now!

            After the Big Apple Suite was done, we did some more trio recording (with Joris and Peter).  This second trio session produced new and different versions of the “country” songs; both “country” trios will be featured on the album.  We also did some spontaneous horn overdubs, which instantly turned one of the trio songs into a quintet piece.  With that, the album was done.

            Then, it was time for all the fun stuff!  Eating, partying, meeting people I hadn’t seen in a long time, eating some more.  I also did the photo shoot for the album; you’ll know how that went when you see the album cover!

            In short, the recording of “Welcome Home” was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done, and will stay in my memory for a very long time.

            Matt