Jamie Masefield: mandolins,
Scott Ritchie: upright bass,
MadDog: trumpet and keys,
Mark Guiliana: drums and percussion
Jazz played with a mandolin? Now there's a novel idea. Enter Jazz Mandolin Project, a rotating cast of musicians headed by ringleader and classically-trained mandolin player Jamie Masefield. For the last 11 years, the Burlington, Vt. band has played its own innovative style of mandolin-driven jazz with a flair for improvisation. Citing influences that range from Beethoven to Neil Young, Masefield says jazz should take people by surprise and his mission with JMP is to put something out there that does just that. Suffice it to say, the music of Jazz Mandolin Project is one-of-a-kind. Catch Jazz Mandolin Project when the band comes to town to play at the Bottleneck on Sunday.
Jayplay writer Chris Brown chats with mandolin player Jamie Masefield about Lawrence music culture, composing music in sections and maple syrup.
Somewhere through the grapevine, I heard that Lawrence is one of your favorite places to play. Is this true and if it is, why?
That's true and when people ask me why, I tell them "you'd be surprised—it's a great cultural mecca out in wheatfields." Our gigs have been consistently good for 11 years in Lawrence. The audience in Lawrence is a bunch of great listeners and we always feel an appreciation from the crowd. The short version of all this is that I've never had a bad gig in Lawrence.
How would you describe Jazz Mandolin Project's music to someone who's never heard your music before?
When I know that someone is in our crowd that hasn't seen or heard JMP before, I'll ask them after the show, "What were you expecting?" and they'll generally tell me "It was nothing like I was expecting it to be." One of my favorite quotes is "Jazz is the sound of surprise." I like the idea of jazz taking you by surprise and one of my goals with JMP is to put something out there that's different.
You have a varied background in many different styles of mandolin playing, from dixie music to classical mandolin playing. How does your varied musical background contribute to the current sound of JMP?
I started playing music on tenor banjo, New Orleans jazz-style, tuned in fifths like the violin. So I'm not like most mandolin players in that I don't have a bluegrass background and a lot of the chords I use are different than bluegrass chords or progressions.
You mentioned I have a classical background and the thing that appeals to me about classical music is its ability to move mountains—you listen to Beethoven's 5th Movement and it is so powerful. With JMP, I try to get some of that stuff going over great grooves to really make the music stand out.
What's new with this first tour of 2005?
We did a new year's show in Burlington. We don't usually do new year's shows because I'm just not really a fan of them but when Phish stopped playing and the new Higher Ground (club) opened, it was a great opportunity. We also have some new tunes and new covers in our repertoire.
Yeah, I saw that you did a cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" on new years.
Yeah, we did that and we also played "Powderfinger," a Neil Young cover too. We also now do a string of Led Zeppelin tunes. You can't go wrong on a good Zeppelin tune.
In the past you've played with the likes of Jon Fishman, Doug Perkins and Chris Dahlgren. Is there a set lineup for JMP or does it just play out as a musicians' collective with you as the ringleader?
In the beginning when the band was just starting out in Burlington, it was anyone who wanted to come and play with me. At this stage, what it consists of is two or three or four drummers and bass players who all know the material and me working with their schedules. In jazz, everyone plays with everyone else; it's not like that garage band you started at 17 where the drummer leaves and the whole band breaks up.
I do, because the guys in the band don't live anywhere near me. The music is made in sections and the band learns the songs from collaborations right before we begin to tour and on the road.
Do you write all the music for the band?
Who are you listening to for inspiration right now?
I'm checking out Wilco right now and I just got into them last year. I'm a big Tom Waits and Neil Young fan as well and our new album addresses these influences.
You're from Vermont. What's your favorite "grade" of maple syrup?
"A" is the fancy stuff that people buy in jars and is thicker. "C" grade is a strong flavor but that's the good stuff.
Cooler Jamie: Jamie Foxx or Jamie Kennedy?
I don't know who Jamie Kennedy is and I barely know who Jamie Fox is.
That's OK, just figured I'd ask some stupid random question to give the readers a sense of your personality.
Well, we have this joke in the band that basically I'm considered Amish because I don't have any sense of pop culture and don't know what's going on on TV or anything. I'm really good at splitting wood though.
—Chris Brown