‘The Eighth Note’ is 8 quick Questions with Wellington Musicians.
A chance for us to catch up with people & see what they’re up to, or introduce you to a new musician/band and their music.
Today’s guest is soprano saxophonist and composer Jasmine Lovell-Smith.
Who are you? Tell us a bit about your music:
I am a soprano saxophonist and composer and I’ve been based back in Wellington since last year after living in New York, Connecticut and Mexico for the previous 7 years. I perform my own original music around Wellington with various different sized ensembles.
What have you been working on lately? Any new tracks or albums on the way?
Recently I have been researching and thinking a lot about music that crosses over between jazz and what is typically called classical music (or Western Art Music, New Music, etcetera), and some of that influence will play out in my upcoming concerts. I’m experimenting with incorporating instruments normally used in classical contexts into my ensembles, and working with mixed groups of musicians from both musical traditions. I will be recording some of the new music I’ve been working on later this year.
Where is the best place people can follow you & find your music?
The best place to find my music is at my Website, and I can also be found on Facebook and Bandcamp.
What were the 3 most influential albums to you growing up?
The first album that springs to mind was a Sarah Vaughan compilation called Sassy Sings and Swings which was one of the first jazz albums that I fell in love with in my early teens. Some of my other most cherished albums from those days included Joni Mitchell’s Hejira and a Stan Getz’s Jazz Samba.
Which other Wellington musician (s) would you most like to work with?
There are so many great Wellington musicians I would love to collaborate with, including the members of Orchestra of Spheres, Lucien Johnson, The Phoenix Foundation and Emily Fairlight (just to name a few). It would also be a dream to do something in the future with Orchestra Wellington or the NZSO!
What ’s your favourite Wellington venue to play in?
Some of my favorites include the Rogue and Vagabond (great jazz, great pizza and great hangs); the Pyramid Club (an amazing musician run-space fostering the more adventurous and experimental parts of the music scene) and the Third Eye (a great space and listening room that programs jazz and a variety of other high quality music in all genres).
In your songwriting or composing (or the band’s songwriting) how do the compositions and songs take shape?
It depends – sometimes the seed of a new composition will be a melodic idea, sometimes a chord progression, sometimes something conceptual or theoretical that I want to explore. Depending who I am writing for, what I come up with can be anything from a melody and a chord chart which I then give to a band for them to improvise with, to a much more fully notated, through composed score. Usually it is somewhere in the middle. Part of what I love about composing for improvising musicians is the creative part that happens after I have written the music, when the performers improvise with what I have written and put their own stamp on it.
Where/when is your next gig?
The next two gigs I have coming up as part of the Wellington Jazz Festival will feature a chamber jazz quintet including violin, bass clarinet, piano and drums (at the Third Eye on Wednesday June 6th at 8pm); and a ten-piece chamber jazz ensemble called the Arthur Street Loft Orchestra that I co-lead with saxophonist/composer Jake Baxendale (at the Third Eye on Saturday June 9th at 5pm).