For instrumental Jazz/Fusion/Jam quartet Garaj Mahal, the next logical frontier to explore would be to add vocals to its repertoire. Although the band has utilized vocal melodies as a textural component over the years, the members have never actually sung in the strictest definition of the term.
That’s all changed with the release of Garaj Mahal’s seventh album, More Mr. Nice Guy, coming just a scant 18 months after its last album, wOOt. As GM guitarist Fareed Haque explains, this wouldn’t have been possible without the recent acquisition of drummer Sean Rickman.
“We’ve had some tunes that had some singing on them but none of us would ever deign to call ourselves real singers, where Sean is a real singer,” Haque says from his Chicago home. “We had a few tunes with vocals in them, but he showed up with his own tunes. Garaj Mahal is a democracy and about letting everyone express what they do; it’s a bit of a collective in that sense and that’s what Sean brought to the table and it was a real natural fit for us. Sean is crazy and nuts and that’s good for Garaj, because we’re a goofy band and we want someone with just as much personality and fire to keep up with the rest of us weirdos.”
Garaj Mahal performs at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Blue Wisp Jazz Club.
Go here for show details and Brian Baker’s full interview with Haque.
This article appears in May 26 – Jun 1, 2010.
