…no gigs, no recording sessions, and everyone I knew was trying to figure out how to stay creative and musically active in this strange new world.
I am excited to announce the release of a new piece of music. It is a single song called “Hollywood” that was composed and arranged by myself and my longtime friend and musical cohort, Matthew Meixner. I’ve been making music with Matt since the late 90’s when we played together in a wonderful and genre-defying band called Hudson. Matt is a bit of a whiz when it comes to vintage and analog synthesizers. It always fascinated me, venturing into Matt’s musical world (literally and figuratively), actual stacks of keyboards, devices, wires, parts, doo-dads & whatzits galore. Anyways, this piece started off about 7 years ago when Matt and I were meeting weekly to improvise and record. For what became “Hollywood”, I had a sketch of a chord progression but no melody. We recorded a Korg Rhythm 55 drum machine with Matt playing the chord sketches, and with myself improvising over the top. At the time, I was working in Milwaukee and living in Racine, so when I began teaching in Racine in 2015, the project was all but abandoned. Fast forward to 2020 during the height of the pandemic… no gigs, no recording sessions, and everyone I knew was trying to figure out how to stay creative and musically active in this strange new world. I remember calling and facetiming friends and trying to play music with them just to be able to play together despite the challenges of time and distance. One of those friends I connected with was Matt, and he unearthed this 7 year old sketch-of-a-tune we had started but forgotten about. He sent me the original rough recording of the improvisation and we decided to try to make something out of it. I transcribed the original one-take improvisation and sent it to Jason (flute), Tommy (guitar), and Devin (drums) for that extra little seasoning. Every part (hint, there are 29 tracks on this song) was recorded remotely by each individual and masterfully woven together into a lush soundscape by Matt (and expertly mastered by another longtime friend Todd Richards.) I think this piece captures the dire, unknown, and yet hopeful time we are currently living in & I hope it brings a little light to you, wherever and however you are. I hope you enjoy “Hollywood”.
released August 19, 2021
JAMIE BREIWICK, trumpet & flugelhorn
MATT MEIXNER, Nord, Vox Continental (bass), MicroKorg (bass synth)
Behringer DeepMind 12/Modular Moog (synth pad), Behringer DM (lead synth), MicroMoog (solo), Korg Rhythm 55, wicker maraca
JASON FABUS, flute/flute fx
TOMAS ANTONIC, guitar
DEVIN DROBKA, drums
Recorded remotely during the pandemic of 2020
Produced & Mixed by MATT MEIXNER
Mastered by TODD RICHARDS
Composed and arranged by JAMIE BREIWICK (BMI) and MATT MEIXNER (ASCAP)
B Side Recordings / BSR0009
