Bass Magazine – Issue 4 2019

12 BASS MAGAZINE ; ISSUE 4 ; bassmagazine.com

Janek Gwizdala

next to an engaged student who, in a whisper,

explained to me each of Gertz’s complex theo-

ries before he finished presenting them. Janek

next moved to New York City, where he quick-

ly established himself as an elite member of

the new millennium’s Young Guns of the Bass

Guitar movement shepherded by Matt Garri-

son, and marked by 5-string basses with a high

C string, fingerstyle technique, and a new level

of soloing and chording proficiency. Gigs with

Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Wayne Krantz,

and other Gotham heavies followed.

Gwizdala switched coasts for his current

home base of Los Angeles in 2010, claim-

ing his space in the city’s burgeoning con-

temporary jazz movement, yet he somehow

remained a presence on the New York and

European scenes, as well. Known for work-

ing quickly and diligently on his own proj-

ects, Janek has already amassed a back

catalog of ten albums. For his 11th effort, The

Union, Gwizdala has shaken things up, tak-

ing on a producer for the first time — none

other than one of his musical idols, John Pa-

titucci. It’s part of a new chapter in the life of

the 40-year-old, whose summer also includ-

ed marrying L.A. doubler Chelsea Stevens

[www.chelseastevensmusic.com], whom he

met at a NAMM Bass Bash.

What led to you to have John Patitucci produce

the record?

After ten self-produced albums, I

thought, Maybe it’s time for me to get a pro-

ducer — to have a voice that you trust, that

can be objective. I couldn’t think of anyone

I trusted more than John, who I’ve known

since 2007, and he graciously accepted the

role. His support and focus were invaluable.

We had a great conversation the night before

the recording, in which he talked about how

you need to believe wholeheartedly in what

it is that you do, and to be completely inside

the music, with no external distractions. I’ll

admit, when you’re in the studio with one of

your heroes, who you grew up listening to,

there’s definitely a barrier to break through to

play in front of him and be that exposed. But

the mode of relaxation John brought to the

session, as well as his ability to convey how

honest I needed to be whenever I played, not

only got me past my initial fear, it ultimately

brought out the best in my performances.

Was there a thought about having him play

on the record?

At one point it was an option for one of

the tracks, but we came up with other ideas

that were more suited to the song and the

project. I’ve gotten to play with John before,

and as much as I would have loved it, it would

have been for all the wrong reasons. He was

there as the producer. I felt, if you want to

play with John, do a record with him and

write for it. Don’t try to fix an issue you’re

having by using him as a solution.

I can’t help making the connection between

John producing and this being a jazz record with

electric bass.

That was the concept. I wanted to make

an acoustic jazz record with electric bass, and

I was certainly aware John has strong feelings

about the topic. He and I agree that the elec-

tric bass can be a comping instrument in an

acoustic jazz setting and make the music swing

hard and feel good. Plus, I’ve always loved the

sound of the electric bass and the bass notes

on an acoustic piano blended together.

The sound of your bass is round and warm,

yet dialed in, in all ranges.

That’s what we were going for, and it’s

a key part of how I envisioned this record. I

recorded at the Bunker Studios in Brooklyn,

run by my friend John Davis. John is both a

great engineer and a great bassist who plays

in JoJo Mayers’ band Nerve. He’s done sev-

en albums with me, and he has my complete

trust musically and sonically. So with the two

Johns’ input, I was in good hands. I played

my Mattisson signature 5-string [tuned

EADGC] recorded both direct and through a

miked Aguilar AG 500 head and GS 212 cabi-

net, and we favored the rig sound.

You’ve spoken before about a conversation

you had with Patitucci a few years back that

changed your entire approach.

That was huge for me. We were hanging

out and he handed me his Yamaha semi-hol-

low 6-string, and the action was so high I

CONNECT

CHECK IT OUT

Watch Janek perform
“Light Years” (with
embedded transcrip-
tion) from the album
session.

Check out all of
Janek’s social-media
pages and websites.

CHECK IT OUT

janekgwizdala.com