"Birth of an Album: Recording 'Already But Not Yet'"
Jazz albums are kind of like time capsules. We recorded this one on May 7th in Greenwich Village, just as New York was starting to feel alive again after Covid. We kept it simple – guitar amp on one end of the room, drums in the middle, and bass over on the far side.
The music was new to everyone including myself. We had a quick run through of the music, but didn't have a chance to really play these songs together. Even when it came to the standards, 26-2 and I Should Care (in 5/4 meter), we decided to stay away from tunes we had played a lot and were super-comfortable with. Since the original tunes would be fresh and raw, we wanted to choose standards that could balance that.
When I listen back now, I notice things I could have played differently, and I think I could do a better now than I did then. But that's not the point. What we captured that day was real. It was us, in that room, bringing these songs to life for the very first time.