Jenny Scheinman, acclaimed violinist & composer, for many years a stalwart of the New York jazz and creative music scenes, returned to her native Humboldt County, California in 2012. There she has continued her artistic evolution. For years, Scheinman nursed the idea of a musical homage to Humboldt, in particular the area known as the Lost Coast, a remote, earthquake and mudslide-prone region of coastal northern California, where she was raised. She considered the project from many angles. She wrote a song cycle based on the “crusty characters” from her hometown and sketched out a surrealist multimedia project based on the county’s namesake, Alexander Von Humboldt. She collaborated with filmmaker Ai Aiwane on a video installation about the Mattole River (Cojo Come Home) and immersed herself in the sounds & cultural history of the region, with hopes of conjuring, in music, the extraordinary diversity of life in the Pacific Northwest. Her epic new release, ‘All Species Parade‘, is the result of these meditations. The all-original program is brought to life over the course of a double album, by pianist Carmen Staaf, guitar icons Bill Frisell, Nels Cline, & Julian Lage, and the revered rhythm team of bassist Tony Scherr & drummer Kenny Wollesen. It was recorded by Eli Crews, mixed by Tucker Martine, and mastered by Greg Calbi. Though ‘All Species Parade’ offers a brimming 72 minutes of music, it only contains 10 songs, several of which are over 11 minutes long, and 3 of which (“Jaroujiji,” “The Sea Also Rises” & “All Species Parade”) comprise an Ellington-inspired suite that clocks in at 20 minutes. This long-form approach is a departure for Scheinman, whose 10 previous albums tend toward a more concise, song-like aesthetic. Jenny’s playing is radiant, soulful, stamped with jazz vernacular and old-time fiddling tradition and anchored by her superb lyrical poise & masterful technique. In addition to her extensive work in jazz & improvised music with Jason Moran, Brian Blade, Ron Miles, Allison Miller, Vinicius Cantuaria and many more, she has toured and recorded with songwriting legends such as Lucinda Williams, Bruce Cockburn, Robbie Fulks, Rodney Crowell, Lou Reed, Ani DiFranco & Joni Mitchell. She is featured on the original cast recording of Anais Mitchell’s hit musical Hadestown, and has written several feature length movie scores, including the forthcoming Avenue Of The Giants.
I had the opportunity to catch up with Jenny on release day of this epic tale, ‘All Species’ Parade’ out now on Royal Potato Family and I quickly shared just how this album made me feel (Mycelium or yourcelium?). We got pretty deep into the how this album came together from the garden to the table, including dissecting a track or two and certainly getting into the involvement of that 3 headed guitar monster. Jenny has 2 friends of the program, Mr. Julian Lage & Mr. Bill Frisell as well as Nels Cline on this album, all have a place and reason to share the story as it goes down. We touch on just how and why the song length on this album increased for a few of the tunes, and what memory/comment did she old with her that kept her ear/mind open for just the moment to let things spill over. The album is an incredible story that as a listener, I found myself being welcomed in and not truly wanting to leave until I soaked it all in, thought about it and then wanted to share.
photo by: Kory Thibeault
