But of Course

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During the production of this album, I continually found myself asking, “Why does this record (my 8th) feel like it’s my first?” To answer that, I have to go back to 2012. 

That was the year I played on an album of Ian Hendrickson-Smith’s called Tonight is Now. The instrumentation on that record was alto saxophone, trumpet, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond B3 organ, and drums. Totally unorthodox. When I asked Ian what the impetus was for making a record like that, he just smiled and said he was ready to make a new record, and there was an album with that configuration of instruments, and he loved it. That was that. No more. Nothing else. No grand design. It blew my mind. I had not recorded any albums as a leader at that time. But that was about to change. That one short conversation super-charged everything for me. Ian doesn’t say much, so what he does say means a lot. I realized then that he was basically saying “What are you waiting for?”

Looking back, I’m not sure what I thought needed to be in place for me to get started, but I was sure that it was a lot more than “an interesting sound.” Wrong. In fact, that was all I needed. A hook. One simple reason to make the calls and get to work. The hook for my first record as a leader was in fact, “a sound” - the 70’s. For the second record the theme was “themes” - TV show themes. And so it has gone for 7 albums: find an angle, make a record…until now.

When you make a record, someone inevitably asks, “What does it sound like?” When the first person asked me that this time around, I replied, “It’s a straight up jazz record. Just a swingin’ band playing a few originals, a couple of standards, and a couple tunes by my contemporaries.” That’s when it hit me. For this album there was no hook. The only reason for it? It was time for a new one. That felt very “grown up” to me…even the style of the cover is a first. I haven’t used a photo of myself, or anyone else, before. I usually use graphic design for my album covers. (It should be noted that designing album covers and packaging is another thing I owe to Ian’s influence and support. So I’ll take a moment here to mention that “A Spleef for Cheef” was written for, and is dedicated to, him.) 

I love “theme” records like Kenny Dorham’s Showboat, Charlie Parker with Strings, and The Who’s Quadrophenia. I even love the parameters that come with making them - because they usually inspire a different type of creativity. I’m also very proud of my catalogue to this point, but the truth is, most of my favorite records could be described in the same way that I first described this album to my friend. And that, to me feels like a first. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.

Charles Ruggiero - August 2024