Local Spins kicks off the 2024 edition of its popular ‘Albums That Changed the World’ series with a look at the recordings that inspired the renowned Kalamazoo saxophonist.
EDITOR’S NOTE: All musicians can trace their inspiration to key recordings that influenced their careers. Writer Ross Boissoneau today showcases music that changed the world for in-demand Kalamazoo saxophonist Jard ‘Saxsquatch’ Selner. Scroll down for a Spotify playlist of his picks along with tracks from his own band projects.
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As far as Jarad “Saxsquatch” Selner is concerned, there isn’t really a genre the saxophone doesn’t fit into.
“I like it all,” he says, and as proof, he’s played with an almost bewildering variety of performers: The Saxsquatch & Bridge Band, Abe Savas & The New Standards of Beauty, Rich Ruth, Fake Baseball, Great Lakes Brass, and probably a dozen others.
He comes from a musical family, with a mother who sang in high school and college and early in her career. His dad played and collected guitars, and his two brothers also took up music. While they landed bass and guitar, Jarad gravitated to saxophone.
“I always wanted to play sax. They’re expensive, so I did violin, then clarinet because we owned one. I switched to sax in middle school and never looked back,” he says. In high school, he attended the fine arts high school, and credits his high school band director Sue Johnson as another early influence.
He’s played and still plays everything from roots rock to free jazz, art pop to New Orleans second-line brass.
“I’ve played it all, every kind of gig there is,” he freely admits. “I grew up listening to Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Tom Petty, classic rock. My mom played John Denver, Neil Diamond, a lot of Beatles, typical of Boomer parents. Later my brother and I were into Hendrix, Led Zeppelin. I dug a lot of the prog groups, Yes and Rush, and also jazz: Coltrane, Charlie Parker.”
He acquired a guitar in high school and has also dabbled on mandolin, and still enjoys clarinet, especially the dark, reedy sound of bass clarinet. “But no violin,” he says emphatically.
1. Pink Floyd, “Dark Side of the Moon” (1973) – That’s the one that really got me going, the saxophone in the context of music other than marching band or symphonic band. My dad bought a copy of the CD. He was also a fan of Pink Floyd. Dick Parry (saxophonist) was a fabulous technician, and also was melodic and beautiful. He knows how to lay into a song. “Us and Them” – the whole record influenced me as something (that said) “Oh, you can do this.”
Listen: “Us and Them”
2. Herbie Hancock, “Headhunters” (1973) – The one that set off my interest in jazz. I was sitting in Jazz Lab Band my freshman year. We had a record player in the band room, and Sue Johnson took out this vinyl record. It was the second day. She said, “This is where we start.” I looked at the other kids, thinking “What is happening?” That sent me off in that universe, sent me off in a direction where you can do whatever you want, all the time. The influence was huge in my direction as a musician. “Watermelon Man” with the glass bottle (played by percussionist Bill Summers) – this is not against the rules because apparently there are no rules.
Listen: “Watermelon Man”
3. Eddie Harris, “The Real Electrifying Eddie Harris” (originally issued in 1968, reissued 1993) – It was two EPs put together. It was very grooving, a plugged-in electric sax, the Selmer Varitone Mark VI sax with pickups and an effects module. It was very unpopular, so very few exist. I’ve been experimenting with different pedals and effects for years and years. Eddie Harris was one of my guys, a monster tenor player, a Chicago guy. A lot of Midwestern players don’t get the credit. “Freedom Jazz Dance” is often credited to Miles, but it’s actually an Eddie Harris tune.
Listen: “Listen Here”
Currently Loving: Songs: Ohia, “Didn’t It Rain” (2002) – Jason Molina (who recorded under the names Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. as well as under his own name) was a devastatingly sad/excellent/amazing songwriter. He kind of falls into alt-country/Americana, the Midwestern sad cowboy type. It’s a very bleak but humbling recording. It’s haunting, somber – the dark night of the soul is very present in a way I find very compelling. He had a sad life story. He drank himself to death, (his body) not found until later. He was out of touch with his friends and family. He was very good at describing how life is hard. Maybe we don’t need that, but he does it so well.
Listen: “Didn’t It Rain”
ALBUMS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD: Saxsquatch’s Playlist on Spotify
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