Sokoband
Sokoband: Michael Sokolowski, Houston Ross (with Nir Z)
“Songs like the world-influenced “Jiriki” and piano-laced ballads like “Body Home” and “Lullaby For E” are mixed with ten-minute prog-fusion journeys (“Energy Charged”) and upbeat improv sessions (“Coast To Coast,” “And Yet Your Smile”) that are surprisingly contemporary 15 years after they were originally released.”
Album clips:
1. Coast to Coast
Perhaps the band’s most joyful tune. This is an expanded arrangement, with two dueling solo saxophones: George Brooks on soprano in the left channel; and Bobby Read on alto in the right — these guys are blazing throughout. The full horn section makes for a punchy wind choir attack. Mike Colley’s tasty guitar leads and rhythms evoke a hot Steely Dan session while the rhythm section of Houston and Nir takes the listener through a super-tight 7/4 workout.
Michael Sokolowski: keyboards, composition
Houston Ross: bass
Nir Z: drums & percussion
Mike Colley: guitar
George Brooks: solo soprano saxophone
Bobby Read: solo alto saxophone
David CasT: soprano, alto, tenor saxophones
Greg Howard: alto saxophones
John D’Earth: trumpets
Mark Maynard: trombones
Engineered by:
Michael Sokolowski, Mike Colley, David CasT, Greg Howard, David Landon, Nir Z
Mixed by Rob Evans
Mastered by Bob Katz
2. Your Steps Alone
When the band went into the studio on August 10, 1995 to lay down the basic tracks for In November Sunlight, the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia had died unexpectedly the night before. For years prior, Soko performed this gospel/rock anthem under various titles, never settling on one that felt right. This day the song felt like an ode to Jerry and the title crystallized as “Your Steps Alone” words from Robert Hunter's and Jerry Garcia's Ripple. Through his tenor sax, LeRoi Moore evoked the spirit of Jerry. On this clip, taken from the version on Sokoband, LeRoi's sax is augmented by Jay Rodriguez' ethereal sax/flute choir, and John Zias' tender guitar solo that takes Jerry into jazz territory.
Michael Sokolowski: piano, organ
Houston Ross: bass
Nir Z: drums
John Zias: guitar
Leroi Moore, tenor saxophone
Jay Rodriguez: alto saxophones and flutes
Engineered by Michael Sokolowski, Nir Z, T.J. Glowacki, and Jay Rodriguez
Mixed by Rob Evans
Mastered by Bob Katz
3. Jiriki
The most popular track on the album. Steve Kimock completely owns the forward motion on this tune with his searing Santana-on-a-spaceship lead playing coupled with ethereal and uplifting sustained lap steel tones. The piano and drums have an extended, high-energy minor key frolic before culminating in an explosive release of tension laying the carpet for Dave Matthews to come in with the reassuring major key chorus to take the song out. This energetic 5/4 vamp tune doesn’t really sound like a 5/4 vamp — it moves fast, breaks down nicely, and hints at an international — from Spain to South Africa to American avant jazz.
Michael Sokolowski: piano
Houston Ross: bass
Nir Z: drums & percussion
Steve Kimock: electric guitars
Tim Reynolds: electric guitars
John Zias: classical guitar
Dave Matthews: voice
Engineered by Michael Sokolowski, Nir Z, T.J. Glowacki, Charlie Miller, John Siket
Mixed by Rob Evans
Mastered by Bob Katz
4. In November Sunlight
This was the title track of the album that the band has redone with 2010's Sokoband, and from which this clip is taken. A sprightly jazz waltz, "In November Sunlight" is perhaps the band's signature tune. Written for Michael's father in 1991, the piece greatly benefits from this tight new reading. Immediately apparent are Houston's warm fretless bass, Nir's crackling snare and tom work, and Michael's soulful piano, yet the performance builds and culminates with LeRoi's gorgeous, passionate soprano solo over the coda.
Michael Sokolowski: piano, synthesizer
Houston Ross: bass, guitar
Nir Z: drums
LeRoi Moore, soprano saxophone
Engineered by Michael Sokolowski, Nir Z, Matt Petronelli, John Siket
Mixed by Rob Evans
Mastered by Bob Katz
5. Energy Changed
This clip is from Sokoband (Breezeway Records, 2010). First written by Michael Sokolowski at the age of 19 for the band 4:05, "Energy Change" was inspired by a sort of a Mahavishnu Orchestra approach to ensemble playing. Guitar and analog synthesizer were each performance's centerpiece solos (shout out to 4:05's guitarist Ken Roll if he's reading this). When Soko took it on more than a decade later, it became more jazz inflected -- gone was the electric fusion feel. For the 2010 re-release, the heaviness is back, and in a big way. More rock than jazz, the new version -- now called "Energy Changed," thanks to new guitar melodies -- features the brilliant additional writing and powerhouse electric guitar of Mike Colley and thunderous progressive rock drumming of ex-Genesis drummer, Nir Z. And the analog synth solo makes a comeback.
Michael Sokolowski: piano, organ, synthesizers
Houston Ross: bass
Michael Colley: electric guitars
Nir Z: drums
Engineered by Michael Sokolowski, Nir Z, and Mike Colley
Mixed by Rob Evans
Mastered by Bob Katz
6. Body Home
This is Michael’s favorite composition for improvising ensemble. Whereas the original recording drew its power in large part from Johnny Gilmore’s cascading waves of drumming, this version is a little more restrained. (Think Nir Z’s Paul Motion compared to Johnny’s Elvin Jones.) The pathos and depth comes from David Darling’s swirling layered cello. This newer arrangement is crisper, more precise, and leaves a little more space around the interesting music artifacts it uncovers in the jam.
Michael Sokolowski: piano
Houston Ross: bass
Nir Z: drums
David Darling, celli
Engineered by Michael Sokolowski, Nir Z, David Darling
Mixed by Rob Evans
Mastered by Bob Katz
7. And Yet Your Smile
Another old tune of Michael’s preceding Soko by about a decade. He recorded it in the late 80s for his first released — cassettes — recording (Resolution). Mike knew there was an excellent LeRoi Moore saxophone solo on the 16-track multis that he had stored in his daughter’s cedar-lined clothes closet. He had them digitized and found the solo, and determined the tempo from listening. Rob Evans created a rhythm on Mark Batson’s MPC 3000 sitting in the studio and the band built a new version on top. Sticking with the original arrangement so Roi’s solo could be “flown in” with no editing, Houston and Mike put down the bass line and keyboard parts, and the tune took shape. Remembering that Tom Harbeck had recorded lovely guitar accompaniment, Michael went back and flew Tom’s parts in — including a lovely solo section. For the bridge, Michael asked Mike Colley to add in some power chords to emphasize the change. The result is a contemporary take on an old tune that features the saxophone of a musically hungry, 23 year-old LeRoi Moore.
Michael Sokolowski: keyboards
Houston Ross: bass
Nir Z: drums & percussion
LeRoi Moore: tenor saxophone
Thomas Harbeck: lead guitar
Mike Colley: supporting guitar
Rob Evans: drum programming
Engineered by Michael Sokolowski, Nir Z, Gene Fox, Mike Colley
Mixed by Rob Evans
Mastered by Bob Katz
8. Lullaby for E
Lullaby for E came to Michael in one piece as he was mowing the lawn and thinking about his baby daughter. He stopped the mower, went inside, played it on the piano, and locked it into his memory before finishing off the grass. As with most of these recordings of In November Sunlight material, the arrangement copies the original exactly. Again, Nir’s narrative drumming is sensitive, supportive, and with a sonic heaviness that suggests Paul Motion perhaps playing with Keith Jarrett. A succinct and lovely version.
Michael Sokolowski: piano
Houston Ross: bass
Nir Z: drums
Engineered by Michael Sokolowski, Nir Z
Mixed by Rob Evans
Mastered by Bob Katz
9. Half Sleep
This version of a Soko classic is much more loop- and backbeat-driven than its more free-flowing predecessor. Layered keyboard loops and tight, fill-less drumming anchors harmony and rhythm for interweaving bass and synth solos. Noticeable are additional parts and composed melodies to augment the arrangement. A good headphone listen.
Michael Sokolowski: keyboards, loops
Houston Ross: basses, guitar
Nir Z: drums & percussion
Engineered by Michael Sokolowski, Nir Z
Mixed by Rob Evans
Mastered by Bob Katz
10. Nightfall
This was the only new tune written for the album — a songwriting collaboration between Houston and Mike. While Mike laid down the basic rhythmic framework, Houston just ran with the tune — filling in the rhythm part with log drum and talking drum flourishes and writing the tenor sax melody, end to end, for the great Charles Owens to perform. Jay Rodriguez filled out horn section harmonies on alto saxes and flutes. A haunting and beautiful tone poem to close the record.
Michael Sokolowski: log drum, kick drum, wood block, electric piano
Houston Ross: bass, talking drum, log drum
Jay Rodriguez: alto saxophones, flutes
Charles Owens: tenor saxophone
Engineered by Michael Sokolowski, Nir Z, Matt Petronelli, Rob Evans
Mixed by Rob Evans
Mastered by Bob Katz
________
About Sokoband:
In the late aughts, and after release of — and significant international interest in — Soko:Two, Soko decided to change their name. French indy singer-songwriter, Stephanie Sokolinski was making waves under the name “SoKo,” and the band started to see online confusion, as algorithms began to aggregate the tracks of these two very different artists in dynamic presentations. (To this day, Apple Music labels Soko albums as “SoKo” and “indie” in its user interface.) It seemed a bit confusing, and since the band’s website was always “sokoband.com,” they decided to adopt it as their new moniker.
They then decided their eponymously titled subsequent album needed to be a re-recording of In November Sunlight. While there’s no replacing the live-in-the-studio energy of those original versions — including Johnny Gilmore’s thrilling drumming — Houston and Mike wanted to spend time crafting versions of those songs that were tighter, more accurate, and more carefully presented. They enlisted Nir Zidkyahu — a drummer Mike had been obsessively listening to on Genesis’ Calling All Stations album — to play the songs and form the basic ensemble unit.
Then, as they did with Soko:Two, they pulled in guest contributors to flesh out the arrangements and beef up the performances. Alternate takes from earlier sessions of LeRoi Moore and Dave Mathews were used to help create completely new versions. Many other horn players and guitar players were brought in—people like Tower of Power’s George Brooks; NYC session king, Jay Rodriguez, Bobby Read (veteran of Bruce Hornsby’s band, Modereko, and many projects as a leader), LeRoi Moore’s sax guru, David Cast; master trumpeter John D’Earth, alto saxophonist (better known as Chapman Stick virtuoso) Greg Howard, and the incomparable Mark Maynard on trombone.
Guitarists included: the magnificent and mysterious Steve Kimock (whom Jerry Garcia once called “my favorite unknown guitarist”), Mike Colley (who added compositional assistance to “Energy Change,” resulting in a new song, “Energy Changed”), Mike’s colleague in The Electricians, John Zias — truly one of the finest underground players in the world, and frequent collaborator, Tim Reynolds. Steve’s explosive and melodic lead playing on Jiriki, accompanied by Tim Reynolds on slide, is a highlight moment on the record.
Legendary improvising cellist, the late David Darling, reappears to make a powerful contribution to “Body Home.”
A couple of non-INS tunes were added to the lineup: “Nightfall” and “And Yet Your Smile.” The latter is a very old tune of Mike’s for which he had a track of LeRoi’s from an ancient multitrack tape session, which he digitized and used in a new arrangement — an arrangement based upon some drum programming by Rob Evans on an MPC 3000. Tom Harbeck, the guitarist from that late 1980s session also appears via the original track. Hearing a 23 year-old LeRoi Moore playing loosely and happily is a joy to behold.
“Nightfall” is a songwriting collaboration between Houston and Mike, but the melody and harmony constitute a completely original work of Houston’s. He wrote it on top of some rhythms Mike had laid down on percussion. This piece features the incredible Charles Owens on tenor saxophone.
Available formats: digital files for download and streaming (44.1 kHz/16-bit • mp3) • compact disc
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