A smoky room. A car chase. A solitary trumpet call. The tinkle of piano keys echoing in a dark alley. I've always been interested in the aesthetic of film noir and detective stories, and in the music that accompanies them.
Since 2015 I've had this idea of a hapless detective with the head of a fish. Inspired by film noir soundtracks of the 40s and 50s, the neo-noir electric jazz soundtracks of classic films like Taxi Driver and Blade Runner, 90s trip-hop cop show soundtracks, and nu jazz beats, I wanted to create a musical project that blended jazz fusion with storytelling.
Using modern instrumentation and production techniques, classic noir themes of crime, intrigue, betrayal, loss, and espionage are transliterated into the 21st century. The result is a unique blend of jazz fusion that tells cinematic stories through music.
The 9-tet
I wrote the first Fish Jones compositions in 2013 when I was studying jazz composition at Vanier College. Inspired by the dense third stream arrangements of the larger Mingus ensembles and of Gil Evans, I initially wrote for a 9-piece ensemble consisting of two trumpets, trombone, alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax, piano, bass, drums, and guitar.
We performed the first Fish Jones show 2015 at my 21st birthday party. Unable to pay that many musicians on a student budget, the project lay dormant for two years.
I booked an illegal venue in the basement of a ramshakle apartment building and got the band back together to read down the charts.
In 2017 I booked an illegal venue in the basement of a ramshakle apartment building and got the band back together to read down the charts. It was a real speakeasy: dim lights, a smoky atmosphere, and cheap booze served out of a literal hole cut in the wall. The trumpet player got up on the bari sax player's shoulders during her solo and was paraded around the venue. It was a memorable night.
The Jazz Quartet
In 2018 I was asked to revive Fish Jones for a water-themed multi-disciplinary event called Le Temple de l'eau. I re-arranged my compositions for a smaller jazz quartet consisting of guitar, drums, trumpet, while I would play organ. I could do the bass with my left hand and save on musician fees. This allowed for more improvisation and a looser feel. You can hear that recording on our live record From The Diving Bell (2019).
Emboldened by that event, I continued to book the jazz quartet around Montreal. At the time we were focused on a dark, heavy post-bop aesthetic, playing my composition as up-tempo swings and languid ballads with brushes.
Future Jazz Fusion
During the pandemic I got really into the UK nu jazz scene. Artists like Yussef Dayes, Moses Boyd, Nubiya Garcia, Ruby Rushton, and Alfa Mist were blending jazz with afrobeat, broken beat, electronic music, and hip-hop in interesting ways. I was writing for a UK music blog, The Line of Best Fit, at the time. I wanted to incorporate those elements into Fish Jones, to bring the noir jazz I was writing into the 21st century.
In 2021 I was awarded the FACTOR Artist Development Grant, which I used to record and produce our debut EP, Person of Interest (2022). The EP features four original compositions blending jazz fusion with elements of trip-hop, broken beat, dub, acid, and electronic music. The EP was recorded live in the studio with minimal overdubs to capture the energy and spontaneity of our performances.
Speakeasy
At the tail end of the pandemic, when gatherings were allowed but bars were still closed, a friend of mine who worked at a bar that had just shuttered reached out to me. Se asked if I wanted to put on a secret jazz show behind closed doors. I jumped at the opportunity. We organized a speakeasy-style event in the back room of the closed bar, with a password for entry and a secret location. I made a website with clues to the location. We spray-painted a trail of red fish leading to the back alley.
We organized a speakeasy-style event in the back room of the closed bar, with a password for entry and a secret location.
Our drummer showed up in a panic — he had just broken his arm. He played with a cast on, using only his right hand. Our doorman got too into the film noir vibe and wrestled the guitar out of the guitarist's hands to play a solo. The show was a huge success, selling out within hours of announcing it. We played two set of my original compositions and some jazz standards, and the audience was enthusiastic and appreciative.
Residency
For two years we had a monthly residency at a local club. At first they booked us for the dinner crowd, but after a few months of scaring the patrons with our extremely loud electric jazz fusion, we were moved to the late night slot. There we found our true audience: night owls and jazz enthusiasts who appreciated our dark, cinematic sound.
3rd best jazz act in Montreal 2022- Cult MTL
Hiatus and Future Plans
I've put Fish Jones on the backburner since I've started focusing on the Berta Boys, my country band. I still have big plans for Fish Jones though. I have two full-length albums worth of material written, and I want to explore more electronic and experimental sounds. I also want to collaborate with vocalists and other musicians and visual artists to create a multimedia experience that brings the noir aesthetic to life.