This album could be your life: Tyler Gilmore
A local composer lovingly dissects his favorite record
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Tyler Gilmore pilots the 9th & Lincoln Orchestra; a 17-piece jazz band that is more Godspeed You! Black Emperor than it is Glenn Miller. Gilmore—band leader and chief music writer—composes introspective, modern songs full of blue-grey valleys and dark, grooving switchbacks that have garnered him much-deserved national acclaim. In February, Gilmore will travel to Chicago to premiere a newly commissioned work with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, the result of a recent ASCAP Emerging Composer award. Decider spoke with Gilmore about the record that changed his life as he prepares for 9th & Lincoln's three-year anniversary concert at Dazzle tomorrow.
The Album: Come Play With Me by Cuong Vu (2001)
Decider: How did this album make its way to you?
Tyler Gilmore: All through high school, I was really into Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan—you know, all the usual guys. And then at some point in college, my interests switched from straight-ahead jazz to more texture-oriented forms. So for a long time, I felt weird about being a trumpet player. Cuong Vu was the first trumpet voice in a long time that grabbed me.
D: It's expected for you to pick something really noisy and out there. Instead, this is very warm and nice.
TG: Massive contrast is a big part of it. With "Vina's Lullaby," they go all the way from mellow to just sheer craziness, but it's all developed very organically and texturally. And while it's kind of based on jazz, it's just as influenced by My Bloody Valentine. It's pop-oriented, but they found a way to let it evolve; or devolve, depending on your outlook. [Bassist] Stomu [Takeishi] uses this whole array of effects pedals. He spends half of any concert down on his hands and kness, just messing with knobs.
D: Did this album influence your composing style?
TG: Really directly, actually. In my junior year of college, I got really obsessed with this album: writing out the tunes, writing out the solos. At the same time, I was president of the UNC student chapter of the International Association Of Jazz Education. When you're president of that at UNC, you get a little budget to do something, so I was like, "I'm gonna bring Cuong Vu out here." And I did. I got to take a trumpet lesson with him where we talked about playing in a free setting and about Mozart's phrasing. He basically came to town and blew my mind.
The Album: Come Play With Me by Cuong Vu (2001)
Decider: How did this album make its way to you?
Tyler Gilmore: All through high school, I was really into Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan—you know, all the usual guys. And then at some point in college, my interests switched from straight-ahead jazz to more texture-oriented forms. So for a long time, I felt weird about being a trumpet player. Cuong Vu was the first trumpet voice in a long time that grabbed me.
D: It's expected for you to pick something really noisy and out there. Instead, this is very warm and nice.
TG: Massive contrast is a big part of it. With "Vina's Lullaby," they go all the way from mellow to just sheer craziness, but it's all developed very organically and texturally. And while it's kind of based on jazz, it's just as influenced by My Bloody Valentine. It's pop-oriented, but they found a way to let it evolve; or devolve, depending on your outlook. [Bassist] Stomu [Takeishi] uses this whole array of effects pedals. He spends half of any concert down on his hands and kness, just messing with knobs.
D: Did this album influence your composing style?
TG: Really directly, actually. In my junior year of college, I got really obsessed with this album: writing out the tunes, writing out the solos. At the same time, I was president of the UNC student chapter of the International Association Of Jazz Education. When you're president of that at UNC, you get a little budget to do something, so I was like, "I'm gonna bring Cuong Vu out here." And I did. I got to take a trumpet lesson with him where we talked about playing in a free setting and about Mozart's phrasing. He basically came to town and blew my mind.
