Have live albums ever been more needed than they are right now? Most of us are missing live music something fierce, and while no album can completely scratch that itch, a good live album can at least let us revel in memories of the experience for a while.
"Alive," by trumpeter's Jamie Breiwick's new ensemble KASE, is one of those albums. Recorded last year at Company Brewing with an expanded lineup of the trumpet/bass/DJ trio featuring saxophonist Tony Barba, keyboardist Scott Currier and Madison rapper CRASHprez, the album crackles with the spontaneity unique to a live jazz set -- you can sense the musicians playing off each other, reading each other, clearing out space for each other at times and claiming it for themselves at others. There's a moment at the end of "Heatwave," where after a bravado satirical riff on Kanye West's "Power," CRASHprez chuckles in awe, as if to marvel, "did we really pull that off?" You're not going to find that on a studio album.
"Alive" was released on Breiwick's new label B Side Recordings with a limited run of 50 cassettes. We spoke with Breiwick about the hip-hop-inspired project, his new label, and his future ambitions for KASE.
Why did you decide to start a new label? What is your vision for it?
B Side Recordings was something I had wanted to do for quite a while. Initially, I was inspired after seeing several friends/acquaintances starting original "labels" as a means to release their own music. Through the years I have worked with many different regional, national, and international record labels both as a designer and as an artist. I've learned a lot through those experiences and decided to take a leap and try my hand at it myself. Ultimately, I want to be able to release music on my own terms, without any boundaries stylistically or having to adhere to someone else's timeline, artistic lens or business model. I have an endless stream of musical ideas and I want to just keep putting things out, whether it be singles, EPs or full albums. My vision for B Side Recordings is a simple one, and that is to build a body of work that represents my journey and progress as a musician.
How did KASE come to be? The group has more of a hip-hop sound than any project I've heard from you before.
KASE is a really fun story that goes back quite a many years, actually. When I was teaching middle school at Maple Dale School I had a young student, Ian, who was studying percussion in band and jazz band. Ian was a very solid middle school drummer, however, I soon witnessed his true passion was DJing. In the 7th grade talent show, he performed an incredible DJ set in which he absolutely destroyed – literally smashing the record at the end of the set. I somewhat remember that he had a smoke machine or a laser machine? Or maybe my faded memory is adding to the legend. Everyone in the room was in awe. It was clear he was passionate, dedicated and skilled beyond his years. I took a mental note in that instant and made sure to keep in touch with him well after his middle school tenure.
Fast forward several years later: I started hiring Ian to do DJ sets for shows around Milwaukee, opening for my various bands and spinning in between sets. During that time, he was blowing up the scene in Madison while in school at UW as a PHD student in Psychology and moonlighting at night as the most in demand live DJ around town (also developing into one of the most creative producers I’ve heard anywhere -- check CRASHprez's discography as well as his own). He had his hand in nearly every hip-hop show that came through Madison. Several more years passed by. Bassist John Christensen I were lamenting the lack of opportunities we had to play music together. We discussed possible projects to remedy that situation. The lightbulb clicked. I had always wanted to try a trio/quartet, with the drummer replaced by a DJ. A quick message to Joe Katz at The Highbury in Bay View was all it took. The Highbury has been a personal musical laboratory since the early 2000s, carrying over from The Nomad on Brady Street as one of Milwaukee’s creative music hotspots. Joe, thankfully, gave us the stage to work out the idea and KASE was born. We did about a year and a half of bi-monthly gigs at The Highbury and then started to branch off doing shows at a few other venues and festivals, mostly in Madison and Milwaukee.
Why did you decide on a live album for the group's debut? To me this really feels like a group that could sound quite different in the studio versus on a stage.
We usually operate as a trio, trumpet, bass, DJ. I had been talking to George Bregar about having KASE at Company Brewing, which is a very different setting than what we were used to playing at The Highbury. We added saxophonist Tony Barba, keyboardist Scott Currier and rapper CRASHprez for the Company Brewing show to fill out the group's sound. Ian is kind of a magician, handling a lot of the orchestration, drum loops, turntables, key pads, samples, etc. But adding the other instrumentation really freed him up to stretch out on the beats/scratches. He takes a couple scratch solos that are just wild. Company Brewing had the capability to record the show so I thought it would be cool to document the night. There were some special moments captured on the recording that I thought were worthy of releasing. Everything we do is 100% improvised, so a recording whether live or studio will be a similar process. It would be fun to do a studio recording, though. We probably will at some point down the road.
What are your plans for KASE once the pandemic is over?
Ian moved to Philadelphia last summer, so we've had to regroup a little. I am so glad we got to document the group with Ian before he moved. Jordan Lee will be the DJ in the group now and we had a wonderful livestream gig with Jordan this past fall at the Marcus Center < editors note: Jordan Lee is Radio Milwaukee's Station Manager>. We are actually doing a video shoot this week with the new line up. Jordan brings an incredible vibe to the table and I am excited to explore the new angle. I am hoping to have both Ian and Jordan on a line up at some point. As far as post pandemic, we will resume our regular gigs at The Highbury as soon as it is safely possible. The structure of the band really allows for and encourages collaboration. With that openness in mind, I am looking forward to working with many different musicians, vocalists, rappers, visual artists, animals, whatever. There will definitely be more KASE content coming.