new CHIVES release!
released October 7, 2016
Steven Lugerner - Alto Saxophone & Bass Clarinet
Matthew Wohl - Acoustic Bass
Max Jaffe - Drums
Alena Spanger - Vocals (track 6)
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Myles Boisen in Oakland, CA, January 2016. Additional engineering by Shannon Fields. Artwork by Ryan Cassidy.
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These CHIVES guys, they’ve known each other since they were kids. That’s what you hear whenyou listen to this band. From how they approach their instruments to how they respond to one another, from the music they’ve written to how they actively engage with the unique musical space of each song, it’s all tied together by a strong personal connective tissue that could only be developed over a long time. This is a group of three individuals that went from being friends in the same Bay Area grade school-music scene to being roommates in the same Brooklyn apartment over a 10 year span. And then they decided to form their own band.
Their latest release… let’s call it an “EP”. Do jazz musicians make mixtapes? Are CHIVES jazz? Either way, let’s actually call it a “mixtape”. This mixtape, Yeaux, is a rekindling. A rekindling of a certain kind of magic music that is uniquely CHIVES. All three are emotional players who can veer effortlessly from forlorn balladry to spindly improvisation to relentless grooves and back again. You can expect to hear all that and more on Yeaux. But why the RE-kindling? Why not just… kindling?
Well you see, after a few releases and tours and a few years living nearly on top of each other, a dormant period followed for CHIVES. During this time, Matt and Steven returned home to San Francisco, while Max stayed in Brooklyn (He claims he’s returning to the Bay “in two years”… every year). With time together at a premium, the trio has managed to maintain their evolving musical connection entirely because of their deep personal one.
Hence Yeaux, which is a rekindling of their creative partnership. Commenting on the title, drummer Max Jaffe said “‘Yeaux’ is French Creole for ‘Yo’, and it’s welcoming. ‘Yeaux! Come over, let’s play!’. I was home for the holidays and yo’s were exchanged. We had a few casual afternoons playing together in Steven’s living room, and getting the music written/arranged/rehearsed/recorded was effortless fun. I’d like to think of ‘Yeaux’ as our invitation for anyone to come hang out in Steven’s living room while we play.”