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<\/p>\nOut of the ashes of a groundbreaking Bay Area music collective comes another group. Musically different but built upon the same creative values, Daggerboard is forward-looking and rooted in tradition. And at the same time, its founder helms an important indie record label.<\/p>\n
Applying a punk musical aesthetic to the jazz idiom, Gregory Howe launched Throttle Elevator Music in the early 2010s. Over its lifespan, the collective featured a rotating cast of musicians, but at its core was a rising star: tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington. Howe handled songwriting, arrangements and production; his label, Albany-based Wide Hive Records would release no less than seven Throttle Elevator Music albums between 2012 and 2021. Parallel with that project, Washington\u2019s status as one of the most innovative and compelling forces in jazz was solidified. Inevitably, there came a point at which Washington would move on to focus on his own work as a bandleader.<\/p>\n
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\u201cEverything we had done with Throttle really pertained to Kamasi,\u201d Howe says today. \u201cEvery track had him.\u201d But the restless spirit that gave birth to Throttle Elevator Music continued to burn. Howe and trumpeter\/composer Erik Jekabson believed that the project\u2019s underlying concept still had stories to tell. \u201cWe wanted to keep working in that vein, so we started thinking,\u201d Howe says.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a track called \u201cDaggerboard\u201d on 2021\u2019s Final Floor<\/i>, the last Throttle Elevator Music album. \u201cThe daggerboard,\u201d Howe explains, \u201cis the part of a ship that allows you to go against the current.\u201d That idea provided a foundation for a new group of that name. \u201cThe whole premise is to make music that\u2019s outside the mainstream, but thought-provoking,\u201d he says. Explicitly picking up right where Throttle left off, the new group would feature many of the players involved with the earlier collective.<\/p>\n
The core of Daggerboard is Jekabson and Howe as writers, plus drummer Mike Hughes and Ross Howe on guitar. Daggerboard debuted on record with 2021\u2019s Last Days of Studio A<\/i>. The group expanded with each release; by the time of 2024\u2019s Escapement<\/i>, the group counted five official members and multiple guests. Acclaimed upright bassist and jazz veteran Henry \u201cThe Skipper\u201d Franklin joined in 2022.<\/p>\n
Howe says that the unifying theme at the heart of Escapement<\/i> is time. \u201cWe were toying with time \u2013 the concept of time and music \u2013 the whole time we made the album,\u201d he explains. The music shifts meter constantly, from five beats per measure on \u201cCentrifugal\u201d to seven beats on the title track. The orchestral-natured \u201cClimbing in the Cocoon\u201d employs multiple time signatures, and \u201cShiva\u2019s Mode\u201d features what Howe laughingly calls \u201ca very weird four.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking of time, the composers considered it very much of the essence when creating the music for Escapement<\/i>. \u201cEric is pretty much the fastest literary musician I\u2019ve ever met,\u201d he says. \u201cSo when we are working on a composition, it\u2019s written as fast as we\u2019re thinking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Daggerboard is a continuation of the mindset at the core of the Throttle project, the character of the new music is substantially different from what came before. \u201cThrottle was counter-cultural,\u201d Howe says. \u201cJazz can be so passive sometimes, so we were trying to make something cathartic and angry.\u201d In contrast, there\u2019s a hard- and post-bop sensibility at work within Daggerboard. The music retains the fearless approach of the previous project, but roots it in a more traditional context. The result is music that appeals to both head and heart, equally celebrating musical precedent and adventurousness.<\/p>\n
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Gregory Howe is effusive when discussing Daggerboard. \u201cEscapement<\/i> features one of the most powerful rhythm sections I\u2019ve ever worked with,\u201d he says. \u201cOne of the most sampled drummers, Mike Clark; one of the most interesting bass players, Henry Franklin on bass; Babatunde Lee on congas.\u201d Asked to cite musicians whose work influenced the direction of the album, he repeats those names. \u201cThey bring their bags with them,\u201d he says. \u201cI look to them for what they can do.\u201d And Howe says that he\u2019s inspired by their approach to music. \u201cMike\u2019s almost 80; Henry\u2019s in his 80s. Their commitment is what really resonates with me, not just as a producer, but as a human.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Daggerboard is an all-consuming project, it\u2019s merely one of the irons that Howe has in the proverbial fire. Wide Hive Records is Howe\u2019s label, so his daily routine is a balancing act between his role as label head and as leader of one of its signed acts. When working with groups, he says that he tries to \u201ctemper the label aspect and encourage the production.\u201d But the duties often overlap. \u201cI always tell people that when you\u2019re making a record, you can\u2019t just make a record<\/i>,\u201d he explains. Howe compares album-making to parenting. \u201cYou\u2019ve made a child, but now you\u2019ve got to educate that child. You\u2019ve got to make sure it has friends, send it to college.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the process of making a record, Howe is all-in, as are the musicians with whom he works. He recalls his days working with Kamasi Washington. \u201cHe would sit in a chair, hear the song once, and then go in [to the studio] and play it with all of the key changes memorized,\u201d he enthuses. And such vitality brings out the best in Howe the producer. \u201cWhen you see that kind of intensity, you\u2019re like, \u2018Okay, let\u2019s track 52 tunes in two days!\u2019 And we\u2019d do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once an album is done, Howe turns his attention back toward running a label, with responsibility for getting physical product manufactured and promoted. \u201cAnd then the marketplace decides,\u201d he says. As a slice of the music sales pie, jazz represents a tiny sliver; according to recent analysis, jazz accounts for about one percent of music sales. Only a quarter of that represents physical product sales (CDs, vinyl). Against that backdrop, Wide Hive Records is faring remarkably well. \u201cAt least half of what [we\u2019ve released] is making money,\u201d Howe says. \u201cAnd that\u2019s amazing, because, y\u2019know\u2026 we\u2019re not pop music here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Howe mentions an album scheduled for release on Wide Hive in 2025. That as-yet-untitled record is from cellist Ben Davis, one of the musicians on Escapement<\/i>. \u201cIt\u2019s an instrumental hip hop record,\u201d he says. In fact, Howe\u2019s vision for Wide Hive Records has always been an expansive one, never limiting itself to one style of music.<\/p>\n
The label got its start as a means for Howe to continue in music after the breakup of Liquid, his popular Bay Area funk band. He remembers thinking, \u201cI want to do music, but I don\u2019t want a band, a group of people that\u2019s always fighting.\u201d He asked himself, \u201cHow do I make the best records I can make with the best people?\u201d Wide Hive Records was the answer. Since its start in 1997, the label has released dozens of albums and 12-inch singles, showcasing the work of a dazzling array of artists. Soul jazz guitarist Calvin Keys, fusion legend Larry Coryell, experimental trombonist Phil Ranelin, producer DJ Quest and saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell are among the musicians who have released music on Howe\u2019s label. And the jazz aesthetic of exciting ad hoc<\/i> assemblages continues through projects like the Wide Hive Players.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really love making records,\u201d Howe says. \u201cThat\u2019s what I came on this Earth to do. And given all the human error, frailty and indecision in that process of making something out of nothing, I wouldn’t change anything in this path so far.\u201d he says. \u201cAnd as long as I feel that way, I’m going to keep making records.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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