New Record Reflections
My teammates for this project:
L-R Andrew Kim; production assistant; Chris Glassman, arranger; Michael Dease, trombone/producer; Rodney Whitaker, bass; Lewis Nash, drums; me; Helen Sung, piano; Terell Stafford, trumpet; Corey DeRushia, tracking engineer
Not pictured: C. Andrew Hovan, liner notes.
We are officially in pre-release for my new record, Deep in the Soil, which comes to Origin Records and all your favorite streaming platforms on April 19. As this is my fourth (fifth by some counts) major project, I have been taking some time to reflect on what it means to me to record and release music in this day and age.
I saw a post on threads from one of my professors at the University of Illinois, Tito Carrillo that kind of encapsulated the first part of what I wanted to say, and that is that it’s such an incredible task to even take on a recording project in the first place. Here’s Tito’s thread:
PS, go follow Tito on threads and on IG https://www.instagram.com/titocarrillomusic/
It can be scary to record. After all, nobody’s perfect, and if there’s anything that makes you realize that in the moment, it’s a recording studio.
Yes, some criticism is bad and painful, but far outweighed is the ability to express yourself.
I didn’t record this project to be perfect. I recorded this project and all my others, because I have something to say. I can’t help it.
Literally. I can’t.
When I stop writing, playing saxophone, creating, working with groups I lead—I do not like the person that I become. It’s like all of that energy is just wasted and dormant and I become a more anxious person.
But when I make time to perform, compose, record — I feel so alive.
Is there a part of recording that is scary in that you deal with the positive and negative consequences? Yes. Do I enjoy people’s negative thoughts about my music? Not at all.
That part, however, is far outweighed by the joy I feel when I’m creative and the growth that I have experienced through this project. And when I think about that, I don’t think about being afraid.
I think, bring on April 26.
