He sees that change in Charles Lloyd, the saxophone titan who Was says is playing better at 84 than he did at 34. And when he examines the history, lineage and ancestry of Blue Note, he finds that change - transformation - is the constant. He’s been the president of the almost century-old jazz label Blue Note Records since 2012.
"This desk was a tree." And by invoking that natural cycle of permutation and proliferation - matter never being created nor destroyed, only assuming new forms - Was sums up his job. "It’s about us being carbon-based life forms - that carbon will just keep going, man," Was says. And as usual, when rhapsodizing about music he deems "staggering," Was zooms out, considering the whole timeline. "It’s one of the most beautiful summations of the eternal nature of music and the musicians who make it." On Zoom, the five-time GRAMMY winner is framed by voluminous dreads, with various wide-brimmed hats perched on instruments and furniture behind him. Despite never being in the same room, they sounded like a small-town congregation - songbooks out, shoulder to shoulder.Īs he cooked breakfast, Iverson’s plucky virtual choir "just made me burst out in tears, man," Was tells.
The tune was "The More it Changes," with the lyrics written by Iverson’s wife, writer Sarah Deming. When Ethan Iverson sent Don Was his new song, the crackle of frying eggs mixed with the sound of Was weeping in awe.ĭuring the frightening early days of the pandemic, pianist and composer Iverson enlisted 44 friends and colleagues - including pianist Marta Sanchez, choreographer Mark Morris and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza - to join in song via an accumulation of voice memos on top of Iverson’s reedy, tenor voice.
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