Recent music #6

For this edition…

we return to my original intentions for this project; sharing new sounds and recordings with you! This month features some excerpts from a show I played with my dear friend and longtime musical co-conspirator, Nicholas Krolak. This show was at the Black Squirell Club in Philadelphia, a new-ish venue with an incredible vibe. The music is all Nick’s but as with each show, there are lots of spontaneous moments. More detail and the tracks can be found below.

Thanks, Mike

Nicholas Krolak is one of my oldest friends and someone I’ve been playing music with the longest. We attended college together back in the 00’s at Moravian College (now University) and have stayed connected ever since then. He played some of the first-ever gigs I did that featured my original music way back in 2007 at Wired Café on Main St in Bethlehem.

Over the last few years, I’ve been honored to be featured on many of Nick’s projects. The recordings featured today are little snippets from a live recording we did this winter. With Nick’s ok, I wanted to share a few clips that showcase a different side of my playing that is displayed through Nick’s music and hopefully share another side of myself with you, my friends and fans and listeners.

The first clip is excerpted from Nick’s tune “Untitled.” This song always had a Tim Berne vibe to me so I go hard in that direction when we play it. At the gig, Nick asked me to segue from this song to the next song with an improvised interlude. I’ve included that here too.

The second clip is my solo over Nick’s tune “Crucian Lullaby.” I like playing over this song because it’s so different than anything I’d normally play on my gigs. For whatever reason, I imagine Jeff Parker playing this song and trying to capture that kind of feeling.

The third clip is from the first song of our second set that night. It’s a G minor vamp tune that Nick taught us on stage at a gig once back in September 2023. I love this clip because it shows how much we can go out on the edge when we play together. Matt Jernigan is on drums and just helps take the music to places few others manage to do.

The final clip is from Nick’s piece “Goodnight,” which was on his most recent album River Song. On this clip you can hear the whole band interacting, including intrepid trumpeter Elliot Bild, one of my absolute favorite horn players to perform with. I love how we can create a vibe together and be selfless in the music.