Chicago area musician Shawn Maxwell to perform at The Venue in Aurora April 14 as part of CD release party

 

By ERIC SCHELKOPF

Chicago area composer and saxophonist Shawn Maxwell is constantly looking at music through a new lens.

That is certainly the case with his latest album, “Story at Eleven,” which follows a different path than his previous 10 albums. Maxwell and his band will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 14 at The Venue in Aurora as part of a CD release party.

Doors open at 7 p.m. The Plainfield North High School Jazz Band will open for Maxwell.

Tickets are available at themusicvenue.org. The Venue is located at 21 S. Broadway Ave. in downtown Aurora.

Maxwell will also perform at McBride’s On 52 in Joliet on April 23 and at the PM Music Center in Aurora on April 28. More information is available at his website, shawnmaxwell.com.

I had the chance to talk to Maxwell about his new album.


Q – I know that Plainfield North High School Jazz Band will be opening for you at your CD release party at The Venue. As an educator, what are some of the things that you try to pass on to young musicians?

As an educator, I’m always trying to make things fun while also emphasizing basics and not moving too fast or overteaching. I feel a good amount of educators, not just in music, assume that students know things that they don’t.

Whether it is junior high, high school or college level, I like to break things down and start from the very beginning. Most students react to that method better and feel more comfortable.

The big thing though is fun. Yes, there are a lot of things you need to think about while playing music but if you aren’t having fun, well, you’re doing it wrong. So focusing on basics and getting the students to relax and have fun are two important things for me.

 

Q – Given that this is your 11th album, it makes sense that you would call it “Story at Eleven.” As far as the approach you took in making this album, what were your goals for the album?

My previous three albums were comprised of shorter tunes. Each were anywhere from two to five minutes.

I wanted to have this album with just four tunes that are much longer in length and connected together. On this album we do have four tunes, all around ten minutes long.

I see this as very similar to a classical piece of music where we’ll have different sections of the piece that are each longer and can stand on their own, but still connect together to tell a story.

While we aren’t playing classical music, we are using that same method. We also wanted a more “live performance feel” to this.

When we perform at a club, festival or anywhere else, we are in the room with an audience and feeding off of them. While we did not have an audience in studio with us, we did make sure that we were all in the same big room.

No headphones were used and we just played like we would on a live gig. I think it makes the playing and improvisation just that much cooler and intimate.

 

Q – How do you think it compares to your previous efforts? What would you like your listeners to take away from the album?

This album definitely has the Shawn Maxwell vibe to it. I’m proud to have found a voice that I feel is unique.

So there are a lot of my previous albums mixed in here. I feel with the length of the tunes and the layout of the concept that we all really get to stretch out and flesh out ideas.

Again, on a live performance we do that all the time but a lot of times when recording an album you do shorter tracks and take away from that. So I feel listeners will hear good things that they liked before but will get the “I’m in the room, listening live” kind of feel when hearing where we go with things.

Q – It does seem that you have embraced so many different styles in your different projects, including Shawn Maxwell’s Alliance and Shawn Maxwell’s New Tomorrow. Would you say that you are the type of musician that constantly needs a new challenge?

I’m constantly competing with myself. The mission is to keep improving on what I have done while trying to change things up here and there so I’m not doing the same thing.

If I just keep doing the same thing, well, that’s boring. And how do I grow as a musician if I do that?

I both need and want the pressure on myself to create something new, tell a different story and to try to do it in my own voice. That keeps me going as a musician and human being.

Otherwise, I feel like I’m just going through the motions.  

Q – How would you say you fit into the Chicago music scene?

That’s a hard thing for me to answer. I know I’d like to be thought of as someone who has found his own voice; a composer who is always pushing and constantly working at improving and sometimes changing things up.

I am heavily influenced by the jazz genre but don’t want to be just that. I grew up listening to rock, funk, blues, classical, rap and many other styles of music. They are a part of me so, while I am labeled a jazz musician, that isn’t all that I am.  

Q – I know that in addition to being a musician and an educator, you are a runner. Do you ever get an idea for a musical composition while you are running?

All the time! There are many different reasons that I continue to run, but the best reason is getting my head clear.

I think through things and flesh out ideas. It helps pass the time and, especially if it’s a long run, well, I have plenty of time. Ha!

Q – Are you already thinking about your next album or project?

Oh, yeah. We actually recorded the next album a few months ago.

It is scheduled for a mid-September release so hopefully I can talk to you more about that in a few months. The goal moving forward is to write and put out a few albums a year.

So right now, the 12th album is already recorded. Albums 13 and 14 will move into the studio soon.