Few thrills compare to watching masters find their groove and launch it skyward. It’s pure ecstasy — wild, untamed souls channeling their essence through acoustic instruments, creating a […]
5 Selects with LA-based multi-instrumentalist Sam Gendel
Fresh Bread is out now on Leaving Records. Sam Gendel walks us through five records in his current rotation.
If you’re not yet familiar with Sam Gendel’s work in the LA jazz and electronic scene, Fresh Bread is an excellent introduction. The producer and multi-instrumentalist came up in the city’s Northeast L.A. leftfield jazz community with drummer/producer Louis Cole, and is a longtime collaborator with producer-bassist Sam Wilkes.
Clocking in at almost four hours, Fresh Bread is a transcendent, genre-spanning journey through pedal-filtered saxophone meditations and woozy, minimal hip hop rhythms informed by LA’s beat scene.
An emotional and moody monolith, the album echoes with the influence of the greats: Coltrane, Davis, Sanders, the fourth-world outings of Jon Hassell. You can even track the subtle influence of David Axelrod and spaghetti western composer Ennio Morricone through Gendel’s epic orchestrations. He also incorporates the contemporary sounds and moods of the Leaving Records roster.
Fifty-two tracks composed from 2012-2020, this archival deep dive paints a precise spiritual portrait of an artist who masterfully blends sounds of the past and present. It’s also an early ‘best of 2021’ contender and features contributions from essential L.A. players including Carlos Niño, Jamire Williams, Daniel Aged, Gabe Noel and Philippe Melanson.
Below, Sam took the time to share some of his recent digs including legendary Japanese favorite Yasauki Shimizu and wildlife field recordings of French ornithologist Jean Roché.
Yasuaki Shimizu – Music for Commercials (1987)
Sam says: “Perfect patterns and loops.”
Key track: “Seiko 4”
Lil Noid – Paranoid Funk (1995)
Sam says: “The choices on this, also the pocket.”
Key track: “Load My Clip”
YUJIROFUJII – 1-10 (2015)
Sam says: “Empirical formula music, offbeats.”
Key track: “3”
Jean Roché & Jean Thévenet – Cigales et Grillons et Autrès Insectes (1999)
Sam says: “It’s better than humans.”
Key track: “Venezuela, de jour, en Forêt 3”
Nobukazu Takemura – 10th
Sam says: “Deep emotion, I love this album.”
Key track: “Falls Lake”
Watch the music video for “Alto Voices” below:
Although it appears that physical copies of Fresh Bread have already sold out, you can support the artist by buying a digital copy here:
https://samgendel.bandcamp.com/
