Jazz guitarist, bandleader, and composer Brad Shepik is BC Magazine's March Featured Artist, as we spotlight jazz music throughout the month. Shepik is fine choice for this month's spotlight because he is one of those guys out there pushing the genre forward with his harmonically complex but grounded guitar style and a creative restlessness that has motivated him to absorb into his music elements of rock, free improv, reggae, 20th century classical, as well as traditional music of nearly every stripe.
Shepik's brand-new release Places You Go finds him leading an organ trio that goes well beyond the traditional approach of such a format. Read Mark Saleski's spot on review of the CD and then treat yourself to its rich musicality and intelligent grooves.
Recently, I had an opportunity to converse with Brad Shepik in between gigs in Europe.
What were some of your earliest influences when you first started playing guitar?
My father, my uncle, and my great uncle were all strummers and singers and I think that’s what attracted me at around 10 years old. My neighbor and I got electric guitars soon after that and started a garage band. I also started playing alto sax in the school band and continued with that. I had a band that played R&B and jazz tunes as well as rock. In high school I switched to guitar because there wasn’t room in the jazz band for another alto player.
How did you first become interested in and involved with the New York avant garde jazz scene?
Recordings. I was probably 12 or 13 when I started spending a lot of time at the library checking out records. Anyone I read about in Downbeat (magazine) I would try to find their records. I got a paper route and started spending the money at Rubato Records, which had used vinyl. The more I heard, I slowly began to realize that I wanted to pursue music seriously. New York was where all those players lived at one time or another so that became destination for me. If I didn’t make a living there doing music, at least I would learn something and improve as a musician.
What has sparked your interest in combining jazz with such disparate elements such as East European, African, and Middle Eastern music?
They all share a common thread of being folk musics that have an oral tradition. I like those styles of music and listen to them so they end up seeping in to some of my compositions unconsciously.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
nice interview pico. i love it when an artist breaks away from stereotypes...i mean, just look at the list of music he listen's to. not even close to a pile of "whack jazz".