Joe Melnicove

What does it sound like to be a working artist? Here, flutist Joe Melnicove, joined by his mentor, saxophonist George Garzone, drummer Billy Hart and bassist Ben Street, tries to convey it. ‘You is You’ is inspired by a spirit of radical self-acceptance and self-knowledge, from a single melody he composed at home in Rosh Pinna, Israel. Recorded in New York, the songs have clear allusions to the experience of being musicians. Tracks like “Monday Night” and “No Applause” invoke the experience of a performance, and a nod to audiences awkwardly clapping (or not) at a jazz concert.“A.F(Airflow)” recalls Hart’s practice of playing long tones to enrich the sound of wind instruments, countering each flute note with the saxophone and the bass, acting as an echo to that first long tone. “Compilation” is inspired by the Mingus approach to the blues; not a form, a feeling. As the melody returns after the solos, the band plays in perfect unison ending in a Mingus-esque collapse. “Sky Shines On August Sunday” is a ballad written by Liana Catalano-Garzone, dedicated to George’s late son Anthony. Jerry Bergonzi, long time friend and collaborator of Garzone, joins in on piano, along with Melnicove on Alto Flute. This was the first and only take for this song. Together, the four musicians enrich each other’s sounds, illuminating the tension and experience of working as an artist.