Ian Carey's Wood Metal Plastic: Strange Arts
Ian Carey’s Wood Metal Plastic
Strange Arts
Release date: 03/22/2024
Much like one of San Francisco Bay Area trumpeter Ian Carey’s improvisations, the music on his seventh album Strange Arts ends up in a very different place than he initially intended. The debut recording by his Wood Metal Plastic ensemble evolved from a freedom-seeking quartet into a chamber jazz vehicle with three well-integrated string players. Along the way the project became entangled with the extraordinary body of work by his late father, the prolific artist Philip Carey, whose arresting graphics are featured on the album’s front and back covers.
Carey supplements his music with graphic design, and on previous releases such as 2020’sFire in My Head: The Anxiety Suiteand 2013’sRoads & Codeshe created the vivid album art himself. But in sorting, organizing, and digitizing Philip Carey’s vast creative archive after his death in 2022, Ian found a deep resonance between his father’s intricately patterned works and the musical inclinations surfacing in Wood Metal Plastic.
“It was a chance to really look at my father’s pieces closely and appreciate how amazing and dense and full of information they are,” he says. “As I was dealing with all this artwork of his while simultaneously prepping this album for release, I tracked down an interview with him talking about his work, and observing that anywhere you look, something’s going on—he even used the phrase ‘abhor a vacuum,’ which is something I had also said about my composing! I started to see how this could be a kind of dialogue between us.”
A commission from InterMusic SF’s Musical Grant Program provided the initial impetus to expand his Bay Area all-star piano-less quartet featuring alto saxophonist Kasey Knudsen, bassistLisa Mezzacappa, and drummerJon Arkinwith a string trio. Extensive preparation for his first project involving strings included renting a cello to better familiarize himself with the instrument, but the key was tapping into the particular skills of the players, cellistJessica Ivryand violinistsAlisa RoseandMia Bella d’Augelli.
Personnel: Ian Carey, trumpet; Kasey Knudsen, alto saxophone; Alisa Rose & Mia Bella d’Augelli, violins; Jessica Ivry, cello; Lisa Mezzacappa, bass; and Jon Arkin, drums. All compositions by Ian Carey, SixAv Music (ASCAP)
Recorded June 12-13, 2019 at New, Improved Recording, Oakland, CA. Engineered and mixed by John Finkbeiner with additional editing by Dan Feiszli. Mastered by Jeff Lipton and Maria Rice at Peerless Mastering, Boston, MA. Design by Ian Carey with original art by Philip Carey.
Strange Arts is made possible through the Musical Grant Program, which is administered by InterMusic SF, and supported by the Heller Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, and San Francisco Grants for the Arts; and through the support of Margo Goodwin Gordon & John Gordon.