Saxophonist Tony Malaby's unlikely pandemic practice space: the New Jersey Turnpike

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Saxophonist Tony Malaby's unlikely pandemic practice space: the New Jersey¹ Turnpike

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For more than 25 years, Tony Malaby has been one of the most riveting² saxophonists in jazz — a dauntless explorer who's also at home with direct emotional expression. His ability to toggle between traditional and experimental modes has been a trademark⁴ since he released an auspicious⁵ debut⁶ album, Sabino, at the turn of the century.

Since then, Malaby has distinguished⁷ himself in any number of musical situations that call for an inside-out proficiency⁸, from Paul Motian's Electric Bebop Band to Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra to Mark Helias' aptly named trio Open Loose. His body of work as a leader traces a similar line, whether he's working with three pieces (as in Adobe⁹, featuring Motian and bassist Drew Gress) or as many as nine (on Novela, arranged by pianist Kris Davis).

Not quite two years ago, on March 3, 2020, Malaby joined two regular collaborators, guitarist Ben Monder and drummer Tom Rainey, for a gig in Greenwich Village. Recorded for release as Live at 55 Bar, this freely improvised¹⁰ performance highlights a shared commitment to spontaneity and an equally strong investment in listening as an active pursuit. By Malaby's reckoning, it was also where he picked up the coronavirus, becoming one of the earliest COVID cases in his musical peer group.

"I got violently ill two days later," he recalls, "and I was down for about two-and-a-half weeks. It took me months to get up to 15 minutes of playing the tenor¹¹. I would start feeling like I was going to pass out."

For a saxophonist, especially someone known for the strength of his projection¹², this was more than a little destabilizing. We knew so little about COVID-19 in March of 2020, and even less about the path to recovery. Factor in a fast-moving tally¹³ of losses in the jazz community, and you can begin to imagine Malaby's concern. He also ran into a practical obstacle: under lockdown conditions, he couldn't practice without disturbing his neighbors. "Everybody's in the building. And everybody's on edge, and the minute I would start, there'd be knocks on the door or the phone would ring."

At the time, Malaby lived in Jersey City. As we entered our first COVID summer, he landed on an unorthodox solution: Through a drummer friend, Billy Mintz, he'd discovered a spot under a New Jersey Turnpike overpass¹⁴, near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel. He started practicing there, appreciating the space and freedom but also pleasantly struck by its acoustic¹⁵ properties.

If the broad strokes of this story sound familiar, you may be thinking of a famous parallel: tenor titan Sonny Rollins did something similar in the late 1950s and early '60s, practicing on a pedestrian walkway of the Williamsburg Bridge. (That decision, which almost instantly became a part of Rollins lore³, recently inspired a grassroots petition and even a children's book.) But Malaby wasn't just looking for a place to strengthen his sound, and he wasn't seeking solitude¹⁶. Like many of us in the summer of 2020, he was desperate for connection. So he began to invite his fellow musicians over for regular sessions, as often as a few times a week. His initial partners were Mintz and bassist John Hébert, but the circle soon expanded to others in the creative music ecosystem¹⁷.

The musicians who convened¹⁸ under the Turnpike weren't playing for an audience, and they certainly weren't playing for compensation. But a freelance engineer, Randy Thaler, caught wind of what was happening and soon began making field recordings¹⁹. "When I went the first time, Randy was setting up his gear," recalls Michael Formanek, a bassist who has played on and off with Malaby since the late '90s. "So he was there already, and I was just looking around going, like, What is this? This is like this bizarre, you know, kind of Apocalypse Now in the tunnels, and almost like a movie set in another way because it was so over-the-top, you know, with graffiti and dirt and stuff all over the ground." He remembers seeing a pack of skateboarders down the block and feeling trucks rumble²⁰ overhead. "But everyone was just there to play," he says. "It just felt great. And it actually sounded surprisingly good."

Formanek appears — along with Helias, drummer Ches Smith, and alto saxophonist Tim Berne — on Malaby's Turnpike Diaries Volume 1, the first in a series of Bandcamp releases chronicling these sessions. (At last count, he was up to five.) Like so much else that the creative music community has produced over the last 18 months, it will stand as a time capsule and a testament²¹. But there was also a renewal²² of purpose that Malaby carried forward.

One thing he had missed during his year-long turnpike residency was the sound of a harmonic instrument — in particular, the liquid dynamism of Monder's electric guitar. He found himself thinking about Sabino, which featured Formanek and Rainey with another incredible guitarist, Marc Ducret. So Malaby's new studio album, The Cave of Winds, is credited to Sabino, with Monder now in the mix. It reaches both forward and back, building on the same social impulse that guided his turnpike sessions, and exploring the open-ended yet focused style that these musicians know as a common language.

There are subtle signposts on the album that connect to the jazz tradition, though Malaby doesn't easily show his hand. "Corinthian Leather," a swinging opener, makes some structural²³ allusions²⁴ to the Dizzy Gillespie composition "Woody 'n' You." The closing track, "Just Me, Just Me," bears a similar relationship to the standard "Just You, Just Me" (which Thelonious Monk²⁵ notably²⁶ refashioned into his own piece, "Evidence").

Malaby, who recently relocated to Boston to join the faculty²⁷ at the Berklee College of Music, firmly believes in forging a relationship to the jazz tradition, along with the permissive elasticity²⁸ of those bonds. "It's playing with the tension between these two worlds, which is what has always appealed to me," he says. "And it's gratifying, knowing I have found the right people."

1 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

2 riveting   

adj.动听的，令人着迷的，完全吸引某人注意力的；n.铆接（法）

参考例句：

• I find snooker riveting though I don't play myself.虽然我自己不打斯诺克，但是我觉得它挺令人着迷。
• To my amazement,I found it riveting.但令我惊讶的是，我发现它的吸引人处。

3 lore   

n.传说；学问，经验，知识

参考例句：

• I will seek and question him of his lore.我倒要找上他，向他讨教他的渊博的学问。
• Early peoples passed on plant and animal lore through legend.早期人类通过传说传递有关植物和动物的知识。

4 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

5 auspicious   

adj.吉利的；幸运的，吉兆的

参考例句：

• The publication of my first book was an auspicious beginning of my career.我的第一本书的出版是我事业吉祥的开始。
• With favorable weather conditions it was an auspicious moment to set sail.风和日丽，正是扬帆出海的黄道吉日。

6 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

7 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

8 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

9 adobe   

n.泥砖，土坯，美国Adobe公司

参考例句：

• They live in an adobe house.他们住在一间土坯屋里。
• Adobe bricks must drived dried completely before are used.土坯砖块使用前一定要完全干燥。

10 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

11 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

12 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

13 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

14 overpass   

n.天桥，立交桥

参考例句：

• I walked through an overpass over the road.我步行穿过那条公路上面的立交桥。
• We should take the overpass when crossing the road.我们过马路应走天桥。

15 acoustic   

adj.听觉的，声音的；(乐器)原声的

参考例句：

• The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
• Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。

16 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

17 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

18 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

19 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

20 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。

21 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

22 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

23 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

24 allusions   

暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We should not use proverbs and allusions indiscriminately. 不要滥用成语典故。
• The background lent itself to allusions to European scenes. 眼前的情景容易使人联想到欧洲风光。

25 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

26 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

27 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

28 elasticity   

n.弹性，伸缩力

参考例句：

• The skin eventually loses its elasticity.皮肤最终会失去弹性。
• Every sort of spring has a definite elasticity.每一种弹簧都有一定的弹性。