Unbuckled Preview: Motel's Matt Grason

What is the basic concept behind Motel and how did it come about?

Motel is the fusion of hip-hop and original jazz, based largely on the rhythms of contemporary funk and fusion. My intent is to explore the role of the MC in a jazz ensemble setting. The most obvious roll is that of lead vocalist, like a jazz singer, but the MC might also improvise like a horn player, trade fours with the other soloists, play background figures, beat box. This is fairly new territory, let's try something different.

From about the time that I started listening to hip-hop, I saw so much potential for it in the jazz sphere. But hip-hop was a relatively young art form. I was waiting for MCs to develop to the point of improvising.

Two things set the stage for the project. When I got out of college, a friend laid Gary Thomas’s Found on Sordid Streets on me, and I was floored. I found the music edgy and modern, but accessible, and it was the first time I'd heard MCs with a jazz group. A couple years later, I started playing with the band Miscellaneous Flux in D.C. Their music was an intense mix of genres, and their vocalist, Rashad Dobbins, was the first person I had met who could improvise in a spoken-word style with a band. He had been a part of the Freestyle Union workshops that were run by Toni Blackman in the 1990s. Through Dobbins, I first met some of the other members of that circle, Jabari Exum and John Moon. I wrote the music for the track “Motel” for Flux's album, but it never got finished.

I went to New York for school and I soaked up all the modern jazz that was being made there and it blew my conception of jazz wide open. Some friends laid Steve Coleman and Five Elements on me, with Kokayi and Sub-Z, and about that time, Dobbins, then later John Moon, was with Andy Milne’s Dapp Theory, another jazz outfit that includes a freestylist. By then, I had started writing pieces with the idea that an MC would be involved.

Who are some hip-hop artists with whom you enjoy working?

Priest da Nomad, John Moon and Rashad Dobbins, both in the Cornell West Theory, yU, Dirty Water with Cool Cee Brown, Opus Akoben with Kokayi and Sub-Z, Hueman Prophets, Ardamus, Christylez Bacon, Mike the Finite, I'd say I wish they were on the radio, but radio wouldn't do them justice. You've got to see what they do live.

All the guys I worked with on Lost and Found are amazing and I’m very, very honored to put their name on it. They have very full careers, so it's great when I can get them to come to Motel shows.

What is your approach to music, in terms of both playing and composing? How does your jazz training play into the music you're currently exploring?

Just like all artists struggle to find a balance between individuality and conformity, I struggled with the tacit expectations of the jazz canon. It took a number of experiences, the realization that there was no point making music save for my own gratification, the inspiration of musicians like Gary Thomas and Flux, and running with the renegade crew at MSM for me to let go and just do whatever came to mind.

At this point, I acknowledge all of the experiences I’ve had that feed into my music, and I avoid repeating myself or others. The jazz canon has a very diverse rhythmic and harmonic pool of ideas and I use it in my music. But I'm inspired by lots of music and experiences, and I use those, too. I still consider what I write and play to be jazz, in that it’s improvisational. It usually draws some elements from the tradition, and I build in opportunities for the performers to make creative choices.

What other projects, outside of Motel, are you working on?

I’m putting together a project called House of Soul, comprised of six musicians playing jazzy house on live instruments. It’s not listening music, it’s music for dancing. We'll be playing at v:shal's Electroganic party on May 29th at Bohemian Caverns.

Did your album come out as you expected?

One of the most fun parts of making the album was recording the vocals. The guys would come to the studio and I had no idea what they were going to do. Not having heard what the other guys were doing, or even that they were on the project, they each brought their own thing to it. Priest just laid it down the way I imagine a bebop saxophone would, wry, confident, and precise. yU painted this very vivid picture. Cool Cee Brown was incredibly emotive. Kokayi was a mad genius.

The musicians I wanted for the recording were in New York, so we laid down the instrumental tracks in Brooklyn. Originally, I intended to have just one MC record all the music with the ensemble, but eventually I realized it was logistically impractical. It was very fortunate, though, because I got the brainstorm later on to give each of the tracks to a different MC and let them lay down vocals independent of each other. I called Jabari and he listened to the instrumental tracks and matched them to people he thought would be good fits. It ended up being mostly former Freestyle Union guys. I'm glad I didn't stick to the plan, because I think the lineup of vocalists is one of the best features of the album.

What are your short and long term plans as far as your music is concerned? Any upcoming recordings or tours?

I'd like to take the project to the next level, if I can hook up with a label, management, booking, etc. I could do it independently, but I too fond of eating to make the project my full-time vocation.

What are your thoughts on the state of D.C.'s local music scene? Who are the musicians you most enjoy?

Since I've been here, the jazz scene has been predominantly straight-ahead. Granted, people don't move to D.C. for the music, but it needn't stop the musicians who love to play this music from connecting with the people who can feed their habit. If jazz music is to remain relevant, not only to musicians but to our culture as a whole, it has to reflect the times we live in – the melodies, the chord progressions, the rhythms, the instruments, and the lyrics of today. It should be one of the first things we teach beginners: if your audience isn't familiar with the melody of the song you're playing, they won't understand what's going on with the improvisation and interplay. Eric Lewis was at HR-57 this weekend playing almost entirely alternative rock on a grand piano, Coldplay, Linkin Park, Evanescence. It leveled the playing field. Just by changing the song selection the audience became informed and could comment and participate.

That said I'm excited about just about everything Rob Coltun books at Bossa, particularly the music of Dan Roberts and Anthony Pirog. For other genres, the post-hip hop open mic at Pure, formerly Bar Nun, on Mondays is great. Sam “The Man” Burns's sets at ESL on Sundays are transcendent experiences. I only recently met v:shal, but I really appreciate what he's building. And Kokayi is one of the most amazing musicians I know of.

Who will be playing with you at the Unbuckled show?

John Moon and yU on vocals, possibly others
Matt Rippetoe on sax
John Lee on guitar
Jerrol Pennerman on keys
Charles Ostle on drums

Unbuckled 7, featuring Muhsinah, Motel, and DJ v:shal kanwar will take place this Thursday at DC9. Doors are at 9 p.m. $8

Images courtesy Matt Grason