JP Schlegelmilch (organ/keyboards), Jonathan Goldberger (guitar) and Jim Black (drums) present a 21st-century take on the organ trio in their debut album on Skirl Records. “Visitors” charts a course between blurry shoegaze textures, frenetic avant-garde jazz, and drone-heavy psychedelic rock. Moments of intense improvisation in the vein of Sonny Sharrock and Tony Williams Lifetime coexist with more tightly-structured instrumental pieces rooted in the epic prog-rock of King Crimson and Yes. The music is bathed in the analog glow of the Yamaha YC-30 organ, a vintage keyboard that’s become JP Schlegelmilch’s obsession, pushing the trio’s sound into outer realms explored by Terry Riley and Sun Ra. Jonathan Goldberger’s sonic wizardry is on full display, striking a balance between tape-delay washed soundscapes and gritty, straight-into-the-amp electric guitar. Visitors isshot through with the intense spontaneity and restless creativity of Jim Black’s drumming, careening from hard-hitting grooves to free-floating abstraction.
Backstory of this Record
JP Schlegelmilch and Jonathan Goldberger met through Brooklyn’s improvised and experimental
music scene. After bonding over their affinity for Miles Davis’ electric period and early-era Pink
Floyd, they began collaborating in 2008.
Several years later, Goldberger sent Schlegelmilch an eBay listing for a vintage Yamaha organ from
the 70’s, with the note that this was the organ used by Miles Davis, Sun Ra, and Terry Riley.
Schlegelmilch instantly fell under the spell of its sound world, and began writing music on it,
envisioning a band that might expand on the classic organ-trio format.
Goldberger’s role in a quartet led by legendary drummer Jim Black had him sensing the potential of
what Black would bring to the organ trio music, so he booked a recording session. The resulting 8
tracks became “Visitors”, their debut album, now coming out on Skirl Records in September 2018.
Bios
Guitarist Jonathan Goldberger spent most of his youth on the outskirts of the Everglades in Florida.
From there he migrated west to the Rockies (where he studied with musical guru Art Lande and
played and toured with the cult spacey/bluesy Fat Mama) before finding his way to Brooklyn in 2001.
He has worked extensively in both the music and film worlds, including composing and producing
the music for the award winning feature films, Trans and The Hawk is Dying. He performs and tours
with artists and bands including Red Baraat, Jacob Garchik's Ye Olde, Jim Black (John Zorn's
Bagatelles...including a performance at the Village Vanguard), and Joe Russo (Hooteroll+) among
many others. His most recent recordings range from the acoustic trio Surface to Air (Self Titled) and
Red Baraat (Sound the People) to the upcoming Chris Lightcap release (Superette, with John
Medeski and Nels Cline).
JP Schlegelmilch is a Brooklyn-based keyboardist and composer. His projects include the
Americana-jazz group Old Time Musketry, whose debut album Different Times received a 4-star
review from Downbeat, and featured Schlegelmilch on piano and accordion. As a solo pianist,
Schlegelmilch explored the music of guitar icon Bill Frisell on Throughout , released on Steeplechase
Records and praised by Time Out NY as “a warm and elegant solo effort.” Most recently he has
been playing organ with Matt Bauder’s Hearing Things, a band that specializes in “a kind of Middle
Eastern flavored surf rock with old-school R&B honking and striptease-worthy themes” (Peter
Margasak, The Chicago Reader). He has also been playing solo concerts exploring the colorful
sound world of the Yamaha YC-30 organ in the tradition of minimalist Terry Riley.
Jim Black is at the forefront of a new generation of musicians bringing jazz into the 21st century. In
addition to being one of the most influential drummers of our time, he is also the leader of one of the
world's most forward-thinking bands, AlasNoAxis, featuring his longtime collaborators Chris Speed,
Hilmar Jensson and Skúli Sverrisson. Based on the foundation of his virtuosic but highly personal
approach to jazz drumming, Black's aesthetic has expanded to include Balkan rhythms, rock
songcraft and laptop soundscapes. Though he is revered worldwide for his limitless technique andfuturistic concepts, what many listeners treasure in most Jim Black's work is the relentless feeling of
joy and invention he brings to his performances. Jim Black's smiling, kinetic, unpredictable presence
has enthralled and inspired audiences worldwide for over twenty-five years. Black has had featured
roles in critically acclaimed bands such as Tim Berne's Bloodcount, Ellery Eskelin's trio, and Dave
Douglas's Tiny Bell Trio, Uri Caine, Dave Liebman, Nels Cline, Steve Coleman, Tomasz Stanko, and
Laurie Anderson.
