Joel Weiskopf: New Beginning

For better or worse, it seems that any artistic endeavor that involves the true expression of raw human experience and emotion is destined to have appeal to only a small and select audience. This dilemma becomes even more daunting for the artist in today's technology-laden society where electronic communication has taken the place of face-to-face conversation. Where the musician or painter seeks to express himself by exposing passion in its natural form, so many in today's society function at a superficial level, avoiding input that asks for active participation and emotive interaction.

With the forgoing in mind, it should come as no surprise that pianist and composer Joel Weiskopf is not as well known to the jazz community as he should be. His music is charged with a commitment to artistic integrity and a spiritual fervor that demands your attention and your enthusiastic involvement. This is not to say that Weiskopf's music is avant-garde or difficult to understand because it's not, just that it makes a statement in a way that will not suffice as merely background or musical wallpaper.

Classically trained and a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, Weiskopf has been active on the New York jazz scene since 1987. He has appeared on his older brother Walt's many Criss Cross releases, including the saxophonist's most recent nonet recording, Siren (Criss 1187). In addition, his other sideman appearances for the label include two other critically lauded albums, John Swana and Joe Magnarelli's Philly-New York Junction (Criss 1150) and Andy Fusco's Out of the Dark (Criss 1171).

Weiskopf's training and formative years were more than adequately covered by writer Ted Panken in the liner notes to The Search (Criss 1174), a trio affair that served as Joel's maiden voyage. In a nutshell, however, it was through brother Walt and an Oscar Peterson record that Joel set off on his own jazz manifesto. "I had never heard jazz before, it was a pretty foreign thing to me," he recalls," but I loved it." While still in his teens, Joel remembers that "there was a local jazz club in Syracuse called Casa di Lisa and my brother and I used to go there and hear jazz and it was really a wonderful place. I think that there was something about the music, the freedom of it and the fact that a lot of it was improvised and you had all these neat chords happening. It was just very, very interesting to me."

Fast forwarding to the start of his professional career, Joel spent a year with the Woody Herman Orchestra following his graduation from college. Doing a good deal of freelance work upon his return to New York City, the pianist has gigged with Jimmy Cobb, Gerry Mulligan, the Buddy Rich Alumni Band, and the Village Vanguard Monday Night Orchestra. "Within the past couple of years I've started to do more teaching to supplement the income, which has been very educational for me as well," says Joel. Also significant among his recent development has been the stretching of his chops as a writer of original music. It seems that his brother would have an impact on him in this area too and as Joel explains, "I think that he [Walt] would be one of the influences that I have had, among many." "For my whole life, especially throughout my 20s and 30s, I've listened to a wide variety of music, like a lot of Brazilian music-Milton Nascimento I've always loved, Ivan Lins, Elis Regina."

As a true statement of where Weiskopf finds himself currently, New Beginning benefits strongly from the cast that he has assembled, including his brother Walt on tenor and soprano saxophones. "I think we've always been really involved in each other's musical lives. Kind of like how Duke Ellington would think of the players in his band, I would always think about my brother's sound when I was composing," Joel says. "He's just such an integral part of what I was hearing and I think harmonically we're both into kind of post bop harmonies, so he fits right in with what I was trying to do harmonically, as well as conceptually."

Sharing the front line with Walt is Philadelphia resident and Criss Cross regular John Swana. Coming off the experience of working with the trumpeter on the previously mentioned Philly-New York Junction, Joel declares, "He really impressed me as a player that is very well-versed." "He can do a lot of different things and is not just limited to playing bebop. He really has a command over his instrument." Rounding out the ensemble, Weiskopf's partners in the rhythm section include John Patitucci, a resourceful and always in-demand bassist, and drummer Jeff Brillinger, who worked extensively with Chet Baker in the '80s. Joel had played with both men while serving as the musical director for Trinity Church in New York. "Every time we played together if felt really good," he explains, "and I figured I wanted to keep that same chemistry which I knew was going to work."

The first of a half dozen originals by Joel, "Tuesday Night Prayer Meeting" sports a title similar to that of a Charles Mingus composition, but was really inspired by a weekly church service that Weiskopf attends at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. With a Charleston beat that faintly recalls a device used by Wayne Shorter on "Children of the Night," this fast-paced track allows each member of the group a chance at an opening gambit. Following Joel's animated solo, which has a splash of Tynerish overtones, a round of eight bar phrases shared with Brillinger brings things to a close.

A medium waltz tempo provides the basis for "Falling." With the composition's muse coming from one of Joel's past relationships, he explains that "the title is short for falling in love, but there is a desperate quality to the tune. I think that I knew that although I felt that I was falling in love, I also knew that because of the circumstances the relationship would not work out. So, there was a certain kind of double-edged sword." All hands, with the exception of Brillinger, get a chance at the solo spotlight and the results are deeply satisfying.

"New Beginning" arrives on fanfare, with John and Walt announcing the theme. The tune's long form then evolves over a Brazilian samba feel, with solos from Patitucci, Swana, Walt, and Joel, in that order. Says Joel, "Spiritually that is a really significant song in my life. In the '80s, when I wrote it, I was searching for a real strong experience in my life that would give me hope and a peace that I had been looking for and I think that I wrote the song in hope of some kind of an awakening. Years later, in 1996, I had that spiritual awakening when I accepted Jesus Christ."

Getting to the basics of jazz expression, one can never go wrong with the blues. "One For Gerry" takes the basic blues form and extends it over 24 bars. Speaking of Criss Cross producer Gerry Teekens, the inspiration for the piece's title, Joel comments that, "he loves blues and always likes to have a blues on the record." This one fits the bill and provides solo space for all, including a round of eight bar exchanges with Brillinger.

A simple postcard with a picture of a cowboy and accompanying verse led to the composing of "Cowboy's Prayer." "I was pretty moved by the simplicity of it and wrote a song to depict that," says Weiskopf. The melancholy line serves both Walt and Joel well in their solo moments, with Brillinger's shimmering cymbals adding another texture to the musical landscape.

Back in the '60s when he served as an executive at Mercury Records, Quincy Jones also stayed busy composing movie soundtracks. The main title from a 1965 film starring Rod Steiger, Jones' "The Pawnbroker" had only been previously covered by Tony Bennett and pianist Richard Wyands before gaining new life in the hands of Joel and his cohorts. "I was trying to think of what songs to do and it ended up being a feature for my brother." The poignant lyrics that accompany the melody describe a man experiencing loss and heartbreak and Walt's cathartic message is a musical declaration of the human spirit overcoming adversity.

An Easter hymn that Joel had previously arranged, "Welcome Happy Morning's" affirmative message is delivered in swing mode. "It's about the resurrection of Jesus and is a very joyful tune," Weiskopf says. Swana takes one of his best solos, utilizing Milesian blasts in the upper register and pacing himself well. Walt is on soprano for this one and Joel gets into some complex chording before Brillinger stays on for an extended spot and the melody gets a reprise.

The upbeat and optimistic "In His Time" contains not only some heated moments from Swana and Walt, but features some of Joel's finest work as a soloist. Conspicuous by his bell-like tone, Joel's lines are harmonically rich and created with a great sense of drama. Reflecting his spiritual outlook and the piece's impetus, Joel says that "God's way of working is so deep and thorough and his timing is so much different from my timing. He works in ways that I cannot fathom, but I just need to accept that things are going to happen in his time."

Things should indeed start happening for Joel Weiskopf as he continues to push the envelope and search for new ways of expression. New Beginning expands his ensemble possibilities to present an even fuller picture of his talents as a composer, while leaving room for his flair as a singular pianist to shine through.

Liner Notes copyright © 2024 C. Andrew Hovan.

New Beginning can be purchased here.

Contact C. Andrew Hovan at All About Jazz.
An avid audiophile and music collector, Chris Hovan is a Cleveland-based writer / photographer / musician.

Comments