Fly
Fly - Savoy Jazz

In the early years of the 21st century, there have been encouraging murmurs of breakthrough jazz that, while steeped in the tradition, expresses a more expansive view of the evolutionary essence of the music. One of the most auspicious new bands is Fly, a collective trio comprised of drummer Jeff Ballard, bassist Larry Grenadier and tenor saxophonist Mark Turner—three of the most creative and forward-thinking young musicians in jazz today. As evidenced on their self-titled debut album, they are imagining outside the box and playing with the kind of freedom and joie de vivre that jazz deserves—and requires.

“Fly is progressively bringing together many musical elements, traditions, histories and mysteries,” says Turner. “Multiplicity is presented under an unassuming hat. In other words, we are working toward saying it all without saying it all, expressing complexity by simplicity. Musically speaking, we are creating songs that can be heard on a number of levels and from a variety of different viewpoints.”

Ballard also points out that Fly expands on the trio format. “There is a density in our songs and arrangements. With few instruments, we create a full ensemble sound.”

Fly is released on the newly resuscitated Savoy Jazz label, which will continue to mine its deep archival vault of recordings from the ‘40s through the ‘60s, while also signing the crème de la crème from the new generation of jazzers. Since Turner’s 1995 debut Yam Yam on Criss Cross and four fine albums for Warner Bros. (including 2000’s Ballad Session and 2001’s Dharma Days), the saxophonist has proven to be a strong and fresh voice on the jazz scene. He has also collaborated frequently with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel on his albums. Both Grenadier and Ballard boast impressive resumes, the former with Pat Metheny, Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau, the latter with Chick Corea, Danilo Perez, Guillermo Klein and Redman. Remarkably, Fly marks their debut disc as leaders.

Fly features the trio members listening and responding to each other in frolicsome manner. There’s an exuberance and spring to the tunes, which no doubt is due in part to the close friendships within the band and the fact that the trio recorded live in the same studio room with a minimum of overdubbing. “We wanted to be as live as possible,” says Grenadier. “There are a few overdubs, including a kalimba in one tune, but we wanted to capture Fly live, to get that sound and feel we have when we play together.”

Turner adds, “We’re such good friends and we work so well together. That made the recording such a good experience. In fact, this was the smoothest recording session I’ve ever done. We were chilled out and there was no high-strung musical neurosis going on.”

Ballard agrees. “Everything we did accentuated that sense of togetherness we experience when we perform as a trio,” he says. “Everyone embraces each other’s music. We all offer our input. We put the music out there and each of us is free to grab whatever we want. We wanted that live/alive feel that’s so basic, raw and immediate.”

The songs—all lyrical beauties—range from Ballard’s playful song “Child’s Play” based on a rhythm from Ghana to his show-stopping ballad “Lone.” Turner contributes the three-section, multi-groove song “Stark,” and Grenadier offers three gems (the journey piece “Emergence/Resurgence” written with writer/painter Henri Michaux in mind; the fun and funky “JJ” written for Atlantic Records soul session electric bassist Jerry Jemmott; and the intriguing love song “State of the Union,” which features a striking intro of seven bowed basses). There’s also a charged cover: an upbeat and spiced rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “Spanish Castle Magic.”

In addition, the three worked together on the tune “Fly Mr. Freakjar,” a hip piece in three parts. “This is the first time we wrote together,” says Grenadier. “It was a cool process and best shows how Fly operates as a cooperative band.”

Ballard brought in the basic composition, and he and Turner began to work on it. “I've had this ‘pet’ groove for many years, which is fun to play because of the interaction between the hands,” says Ballard. “That was the beginning of a melody, but I was stuck. Mark was at the house one day. We sat down at the piano, and he helped to shape the melody by offering different bass and melody notes, basically freeing me up from clinging to what I had written down. That opened up a world of possibilities.”

Once the pair finished, Ballard took the piece and gave it a middle section, and then passed it on to Grenadier who in turn added a third part: a series of bass lines based on the harmonies from the beginning portion of the song. Turner put on the finishing touch by adding melodies to those bass lines. If you listen carefully, you can hear in the melodies impressions from other tunes in the band's repertoire.

“Fly Mr. Freakjar” is a showcase for how the trio interacts. Instead of bop-like round-robin soloing, the three collectively respond to the composition, giving each member equal say in the proceedings. “Sometimes it’s the saxophone carrying the melody,” says Turner. “Other times it’s the bass or the drums. Most trios with a horn revolve around a lot of blowing and that often overrides the compositions themselves. We wanted to avoid that. We wanted to make the band sound bigger, so we spread out the frontline duties among all three of us.” He adds, “Besides, that’s just the way we relate to each other when we play.”
Ballard notes that in concert Fly is as likely to play a warm take on a Duke tune as it is to jump into the jagged Ornette or frenzied Hendrix zones. He adds, “The way the band improvises we’re not laying carpets for solos. We work like interchangeable parts. Larry will play the bass notes, then fill up the harmony. Mark will grab onto the harmony and then play the bass line. Then I’ll do melodic comps with my drums. It’s like gears instead of layers. That flexibility is cool because it gives our music a feel of multifunctionality.”

Fly traces its origin back to Grenadier and Ballard’s teenage years in northern California. The two learned music together and often played gigs before they both migrated East. The two met Turner there and began to keep close company. However, it wasn’t until several years later that they banded together into a trio. The occasion was a Chick Corea recording project called Originations, a collective record where members of his Origins band contributed their own works.

“I had been doing so many gigs with full ensembles, I wanted to do a trio date,” says Ballard. “So I asked Larry and Mark if they’d play one of the first songs I ever wrote.” Grenadier adds, “We all dug the experience and had a great time recording.” In discovering how strong the chemistry was, they decided to experiment further with the trio, booking a few stray gigs then touring in Italy for two weeks. The threesome liked what they heard and how they related. Fly was born.

While all were actively involved in being sidemen for various bands, it took a call from Savoy to make the trio a recording reality. Steve Backer, the label’s then-VP of Artist Relations, contacted Turner whose contract with Warners had expired. The saxophonist wasn’t interested just then in pursuing another solo disc, but mentioned the trio. Turner says, “I told Steve that I was into doing that, and he was cool with it.” He adds, “I just wasn’t interested in being a sole leader. I like being able to influence the direction the music goes in, but I tend to gravitate toward being a part of something.”

“Jeff and I had been so involved in other people’s music for so long, it was prime time for us to try out our own thing,” says Grenadier. “After we did our live gigs together as a trio, the timing felt right. We can call our own set instead of playing someone else’s personality. There’s nothing wrong with that. But we want to shape our own visions and come up with something special that truly represents our own personalities.”
As for the band name, Turner says that it’s a perfect fit, especially in light of the piece “Fly Mr. Freakjar.” He notes, “At first we were going to call ourselves that, but we all wanted something shorter. So, why not Fly? It sounded good and it can have many meanings. The first thing I thought of was that street-talk phrase, that’s fly, which means, that’s cool. Then there’s fly, as in soaring into the heights. That’s what our music is like. Same with the insect fly that’s jabbing and bobbing. There are a bunch of fly meanings that fit us.” He pauses and then adds, “Plus, just like our music, Fly has a little bit of mystery attached to it.”