For nearly a decade, the Seattle jazz fusion trio Duende Libre has been a ubiquitous presence on the Northwest music scene. But in this, their fourth KNKX studio session performance, the trio was celebrating music from their first new album in five years.
Joined by bassist Farko Dosumov and drummer/percussionist Jeff Busch, Duende Libre’s pianist Alex Chadsey told the KNKX studio audience that the new album Invocation was born in the isolation of the pandemic.
“During that time,” Chadsey shared, “we tapped into some of the universality, the vulnerability, and the resilience of the human spirit.” Invocation is also an homage to some of the mentors who made these three the musicians they are today.
Duende Libre began their session with “Song for Seales,” written for Chadsey’s mentor and Seattle jazz icon, pianist Marc Seales. Chadsey pointed to Seales’ encouragement and emphasis on the musical combination of silence and dynamics. The song explores that contrast over a soulful groove from Dosumov and Busch.
The beautiful ballad “Eulogy” is dedicated to Charles “Charley” Johnston, Chadsey’s friend and teacher who passed suddenly in 2023. Chadsey said that composing and performing this piece continues to be “a critical part of learning to accept this huge loss.”
The first single from Invocation is the tribute to piano legend Ahmad Jamal. “Ahmadish” was inspired by Jamal’s 1970 album The Awakening, discovered by Chadsey as a college student in Michigan. Later realizing the many samples hip-hop artists had pulled from the album, Chadsey explained that the fresh perspective led him to explore Duende Libre’s interpretation of Jamal’s mid-career masterpiece.
“Ahmadish” is driven by Busch’s up-tempo high-hat rhythm and Dosumov’s thickly grooving bass lines, Chadsey’s electric keyboard lines dance over the beat before bringing the trio to a mid-tempo establishment of the song’s catchy theme. Fiery solos from each musician follow, a fine testament to Jamal’s legacy.
A fun accompaniment to the “Ahmadish” single is a video Duende Libre produced to reach a wider audience. The band, in white shirts and suspenders, are joined in the video by juggler Stephen O’Bent.
“He’s also a talented multi-instrumentalist,” Chadsey shared. “He told me that the tempo of the song lends itself really well to juggling!”
The influence of global musical elements from Cuba, Brazil, West Africa and Eastern Europe still inform the music of Duende Libre. Invocation, in acknowledging their own ancestors, actually solidifies their own sound as one of Seattle’s signature bands.
Duende Libre will welcome special guests, perhaps even a juggler, at the Invocation release party June 7 at the Triple Door in Seattle. Chadsey, Dosumov and Busch will also fill their schedule playing outside of Duende Libre, with their many musician friends around the Northwest and beyond.
With their many live performances in recent years, Duende Libre have made the five-year-wait for Invocation easier to bear. This studio session performance shows, it was clearly worth the wait.
Musicians:
- Alex Chadsey - piano/keyboards
- Farko Dosumov - bass
- Jeff Busch - drums/percussion
Songs:
- Song for Seales
- Eulogy
- Ahmadish
