Trickster's Dream by Miles Okazaki

This album is an imagined live concert. The band Trickster was supposed to tour the United States and Europe for six weeks in May-June of 2020, and after the pandemic shutdown I was looking for some ways to keep the band "working." The idea of putting out a musical statement took on a new, more urgent meaning as the uprisings over racism in America took center stage. I decided to make an album of what the group might sound like after a couple of weeks on the road playing material from our last album, tempos pushed, forms stretched, risks taken. I sang an imaginary Trickster set, and we played along with it individually to make this performance in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. A few older numbers and some improvised interludes snuck into the set, as they do during gigs. Anthony Tidd worked his magic to mix and master the home recordings. In order to convey some feeling of a live concert, there are accompanying videos for each song, filmed during the taping of the music. After purchase, they can be viewed individually on this page or continuously at the link provided in the bonus download items.

The idea here was to provide something for audiences who might have come out to shows, with an energy that reflects on the state of things, living with the strange combination of forced isolation and the imperative for collective action. The value of performing for live audiences lies in the moments of ecstatic and joyful creation, where the connections between people through resonating sound and emotion are undeniable. These are fleeting visions of a world where categories of race and origin have long been recognized for the absurdities that they are. Being able to visit this dreamworld of pure human connection in a concrete and consistent way is, for a lot of us, the whole point of it. I hope that, although we are separated and scattered by social distance at this time, this music has a few of those resonant moments for you.

More liner notes here: http://www.milesokazaki.com/tricksters-dream-2020/

Miles Okazaki is a NYC based guitarist. The New York Times calls his approach “utterly contemporary, free from the expectations of what it means to play a guitar in a group setting — not just in jazz, but any kind.” His credits include Kenny Barron, John Zorn, Steve Coleman, Dan Weiss, Matt Mitchell, Jonathan Finlayson, Mary Halvorson, Stanley Turrentine, Amir ElSaffar, and Jane Monheit.

milesokazaki.com