Dave Harrington, Max Jaffe, Patrick Shiroishi - Making Colors LP (Natural purple swirl)

Tracklist:

1. open (4-a)
2. six acting orange (aaaaa)
3. steal from walgreens
4. sweat street 7-QS:ZBN9_
5. need buy in (17-b)
6. FRACTAL HASH
7. trackerKeeper

Making Colors is a carousel of hypnotic rhythms swung into avant-garde jazz, pairing fragile melodic movements with maximalist fervor. While lengthy stretches of the record are decidedly mellow - soft cymbal hits, a cooing sax, gentle guitar work - the record also contains a rollicking twin of free expression juxtaposed throughout. The record’s A-Side is punctuated as four distinct movements over a single take and is driven by this twinned energy. It also reflects a mission statement of sorts for the group’s approach to improvisation and life; while each movement stands on its own, they collectively triumph in the company of their neighbors. The record's B-Side further distills the emboldened trio's approach across three distinct movements reflecting a growing embrace of the sonic vacuum that electronic music depends on (the loop-oriented “need buy in”), a heaviness that the trio's 2024 live record Zebulon! unlocked (lead single “FRACTAL HASH”), and an outstretched and unhurried melodic ambience (the 12-minute album closer “trackerKeeper”).

Movements gather texture; melodies yearn from Harrington’s guitar and find their companions in electronic sputters filling the cracks in Jaffe’s drum kit; Shiroishi’s magisterial sax passionately cries out and whispers in coded bits and bytes; the alchemy of this trio bends time to create a new musical language. In their ever-evolving performances, the overlapping timelines of each musician build into a dense and kinetic chorus that retains its nuance as it grows in immensity (the editing and mix was done by Jaffe and the mastering by Harrington, and many of the bold musical swings that set Making Colors apart from its predecessor take place in these post-production realms, where things like nuance and immensity are truly determined for the listener).

The swell recedes as elegantly as it appeared, with only colors left in its wake.

All music by Dave Harrington, Max Jaffe, Patrick Shiroishi
Dave Harrington: guitar, organ, electronics
Max Jaffe: drum set, sensory percussion, gongs, effects
Patrick Shiroishi: alto saxophone, electronics, iphone

Recorded on April 2, 2024 at 64 Sound in Los Angeles, CA
Engineered by Tyler Karmen 
Mixing and additional production by Max Jaffe
Mastered by Dave Harrington
Artwork by Winnie Harrington
Photos by David Haskell 
Layout by Matthew Sage

AKP047