Bill Shea Photo
Fuller.
“7/16 Samba,” from Keep Hope Alive, the latest release from Jeff Fuller and Friends, starts with light yet complex chords from the piano. A couple hits from the drums, a couple notes from the bass, and the trio falls in together. The piano states the melody with unhurried precision while the bass surges below it. They open the tune up soon enough, though, taking their time working through the changes, giving each other plenty of time to let their solos breathe. It’s the sound of musicians who have played together for years, relaxing into the joy of being reunited and creating sounds together again — even in troubled times.
“I think that the energy that has been pent up for two years has to find an outlet. The fact that it’s upbeat is a reaction to the times, to what we’ve gone through and continue to go through,” said Fuller of Keep Hope Alive. “To have come through all this, and to keep hope alive, to thrive and survive — none of my albums have been quite so topical. The past two years, and current events, has created this type of energy, at least in my musical output.”
Fuller found himself continuing to write compositions during the pandemic, thinking in particular of how to arrange them for his now longstanding trio of Darren Litzie on piano and Ben Bilello on drums. Keep Hope Alive is the trio’s fifth recording project together. “The trio has really gelled and grown. The interplay is mature,” Fuller said. “It’s a real jazz group, man,” he added with a laugh.
Fuller’s set of originals was augmented by a handful of compositions from Litzie, as well as a couple from the likes of Jerome Kerns and Thelonious Monk. The trio shared tunes virtually and sometimes got together to rehearse for a couple of virtual pandemic gigs. Before long, they realized they had an album on their hands.
Things moved quickly from there. After rehearsing, the trio booked time in late February at Firehouse 12’s Studio B, with recording engineer Greg DiCrosta at the controls and filmmaker Jay Miles on hand to make videos. “It was beautiful — two days of recording,” Fuller said. “We ripped through these 12 tunes in two days, and then the mixing took place with Greg, who is a fantastic engineer. We had the discs in our hands last Friday,” in time for the upcoming gigs they’re playing. Those include a two-set show at The Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme this Saturday, April 16; a show at Best Video on April 22, and a feature at the Yale Jazz Festival on April 23.
“That’s how it all came together — in a hurry,” Fuller said.
That the tone of the album is generally upbeat, optimistic even, is also part of Fuller’s longtime approach to music. “Through all my years of performance and playing, I’ve always tried to have a positive effect on listeners, and a positive effect on my musicians. We don’t force it, but it’s there. There’s this great joy in making music, and that’s what comes through. I’m not going to play music that brings me down. I play music that brings me up.”
That matters to Fuller even in tough times; his past musical life including playing for political rallies and political causes, including, at one point, alongside Pete Seeger. He’ll donate a portion of the proceeds from the album to relief for the victims of the war in Ukraine (the color schematic of the album cover is no accident).
Keep Hope Alive, especially because it’s an instrumental album, may not be “overtly political, but it is definitely anti-war, and pro-peace, and pro-springtime,” Fuller said. “In any case, we’re going to keep making music, because that’s our response. We have to keep making music.”
Keep Hope Alive is available through Bandcamp. The trio’s next show is at the Side Door Jazz Club on April 16; visit the club’s website for tickets and more information.