You Don’t Need Serotonin to Feel Happy – You Need Serotonic! Sound It Out!
Video by kind permission of Richie Williams / The Sober Goat / Shows I Go To
Photographs by kind permission of Serotonic, David Lee, and Scott Hopkins
You want full disclosure? I’ll give you full disclosure! I’ve seen this band 42 times. Hired them to play my daughter’s wedding. Had them play live on the radio and had them in the studio to talk about this new album.
So if you were looking for objectivity with regard to the new Serotonic album Sound It Out, I’ll do my best, but I’m not making any promises.
This jazz/funk, funk/jazz quintet celebrates the release of the new album this Friday, January 12th, at the Dunedin Brewery. The show starts at 9 with an opening set by rapper Jon Ditty, who has had an incredible last twelve months or so. Ditty will also perform the song he recorded for the album with Serotonic.
Just who is Serotonic? Sounds like serotonin, the neurotransmitter with a variety of properties, not the least of which is that it contributes to well-being and happiness. That’s an apt description of this band, which has been on the Florida scene for seven years. They released an EP some years ago and a disk of live tracks, but this is the first real album from Serotonic.
Andrew Kilmartin (drums and occasional vocals) and Bryan Lewis (keyboards) are the founding members still with the group. Guitarist Jordan Garno joined shortly thereafter. Jon Tucker (alto saxophone and great dancing) has been with the band for four years, and the newest member is bassist Daniel Navarro. He replaced Rob Sanger, who had a long tenure with the band before moving to North Carolina.
Kilmartin is also an accomplished sound engineer. Lewis also performs and records with Acme Jazz Garage and has played with The Third Kind. Garno also currently is a member of Leisure Chief, has played with The Third Kind, and was a member of Infinite Groove Orchestra. Tucker is a sound engineer by trade. Navarro is also a member of Us Four, which has changed its name to Anyan Dévery. He also plays with Mandy Harvey. Sanger is also a luthier; he designs and builds custom basses.
I first encountered this band in trio form in 2011 but did not realize that when I went to “discover” Serotonic at DunBrew in July of 2012. I have since seem them dozens of times, in a variety of outings.
And they always KILL IT.
After a short hiatus, they regathered for a packed show at The Independent in Tampa (12/10/17) to announce the album release show and distribute a few advance copies.
This album was actually recorded several years ago when Sanger was still in the bass chair, but don’t think for a single second that Sound It Out isn’t an excellent snapshot of the band at present. Sonically, the album is stunning, and it is great to acknowledge that so many recent recordings from bands locally, regionally and nationally sound superb.
For that, you may thank Jon Tucker, who engineered the album along with B.J. Ramone and Garno. Tucker was the mix engineer, and it was mastered by Jim Morris at Morrisound Recording. And the great artwork is by Pedro Amaral.
Kilmartin, Tucker and Garno were my guests this past Sunday on The Colors of Jazz on WMNF 88.5 in Tampa. Below are links to the two hours of the program. The interview and songs begins at 12:09 of Hour 1, and the final portion is at the beginning of Hour 2 until 12:44.
On to the music!
First, about the album title. I asked them about it on the air, and Garno explained that people constantly struggled to spell it when they heard the name. SA? SERA? Finally, he said, Lewis suggested that people just “sound it out:” SER-O-TONIC. You’re welcome.
“Cinotores” is the perfect opening track. This is signature Serotonic, the first of five compositions by Garno. Sanger’s bass announces the tune, then drums and electric piano fall in. Tucker’s alto sax and Lewis’s electric piano state the theme together. Tucker has the beautiful sweet alto sound reminiscent of David Sanborn, Klaus Doldinger and others. Suddenly, the song takes on a darker tone as Tucker solos and Sanger’s bass gets downright nasty.
Bass and Garno’s guitar walk in lockstep before a short percussion solo, Kilmartin on kit and Adam Volpe on a bunch of toys. (Volpe plays with Infinite Groove Orchestra and has filled in for Kilmartin on occasion.) The tone switches again to a much lighter, softer vamp, alto, guitar and electric piano together, then romps and stomps again before Lewis closes the tune on organ. Kilmartin would always tell people to look backward to figure out the song’s name!
If there is a magnum opus on the album, it’s “Jelly,” written by Sanger. It twists and turns even more than “Cinotores.” In fact, this is the one song that the band has not asked Navarro to learn. Sanger, wife Katie, and their toddler will be in the house Friday, and Sanger will be sitting in for a few, so this one is likely. This was always a favorite of Garno’s wife Kelly-Ann (a fine vocalist herself), who incidentally is also about to add a baby to the Serotonic family!
Sanger’s spacey bass opens this one, too, then Kilmartin on the rims. Synths state the theme before Tucker adds double-tracked alto. In the second movement (well, you know), the alto and electric piano intertwine. In the final movement, heavy synth bass and staccato piano hold sway, alto sax fluttering behind the theme. Kilmartin’s understated drums are perfect.
“Move So Well” is a Garno tune that he also sings in concert. For this recording, however, Garno contacted Brent Carter, a singer with a great resume including ten years with Tower of Power. He and Garno had met some years ago. When asked, he gladly offered to add the vocal track. This is the closest the band edges towards pop with a very soulful funk riff, and Carter makes the most of it. Garno’s solo starts with effects pedals and wah-wah, and it just plain rocks!
’Cause the music’s feeling right,
I’ve been watching you move all night,
And I want you to know that I can tell
You move so well.
Tucker selected “Lies the Truth” as his favorite on the album, another one penned by Garno. When asked about the name of the song, Garno referenced a great Dunedin band we both like, Between Bluffs. Garno said, “Between Bluffs ‘Lies the Truth’.” This one is unique on this album, a gorgeous ballad without a speck of funk (an that’s not a bad thing here).
Garno’s really understated guitar begins the song, and his tone barely gets above a whisper. The drums and bass walk up underneath Garno. Then beautiful synth work from Lewis and mellow alto playing from Tucker enter the picture. Lewis has a lovely eclectic piano solo before the synths and alto return, trance-y keyboards in the background. And there’s this ‘thing’ at the end. Tucker explains it much better than I do (is this what engineers do when they have too much free time?): “The pulsing ‘synth’ line at the end behind Lewis’s synth solo is about 12 tracks of alto sax on different harmonies and short patterns that intertwine and overlap.” I’m going with yes! Very cool!
And now, for something completely different: “Bruabbna.” This is Tucker’s writing contribution to the album, uncut funk (the bomb). And it is the first single released from the album (however it is that ‘singles’ work these days). Heavy alto, synth bass, keyboards and drums drive the beat, with guitar accents. Tucker’s alto has an ethereal quality as it floats over the guitar and bass, like much of Doldinger’s later work with Passport. When Garno solos, it is nasty, low registers. He changes tone, but the great solo continues, and there is a false ending before they return to the head.
More funk? Why, thank you! “Molly Jane” is in that Meters-type mold, guitar-driven, Kilmartin emphasizing the groove. Garno sets up a great guitar figure, and Lewis’s electric piano has a dreamy, surreal feeling to it. This was what the Bear Creek Music and Arts Festival sounded like to us. Garno abuses his wah-wah pedal with alto and organ swirling around. The music intensifies as Kilmartin and Sanger drive the song home.
“Think Fast” is classic soul jazz/funk jazz. Kilmartin kicks it into gear before Tucker’s alto and Lewis on organ take over. Tucker is simply a superb player, probably best observed here. He is so facile, so clean, just so WOW on that saxophone. Suddenly, the song stops on a dime and goes to half-time as Garno embarks on a bluesy solo. Garno’s range is somewhere from Grant Green to Jimmy Page, meaning he can do anything, and this solo rocks. Near the end, it turns to a Hendrix “Who Knows” vamp with Tucker’s help, then returns to the head, where Garno’s wah-wah pedal takes another beating. Garno wrote this one as well.
This is the same “Cinotores,” except that it includes rapper Jon Ditty spitting rhymes and singing on the choruses. I am absolutely no rap expert, but I know what I like, and I love Ditty. He recently crushed a dozen sit-ins at Hometeam New Year’s Rally, every one fresh and exciting. I only wish, on occasion, that I could slow him down from 45 to 33, because he raps must faster than my old-school processor works. But not really. That is part of his charm. This is so good.
Finally, we gettin’ to the last track, “Gettin’ It.” Lewis and Sanger co-wrote this one. Guitar again introduces before drums and synths fall in, then bass. Suddenly, there is an interesting time change to a slower pace, alto and synths in control. That gives way to guitar, electric piano and cymbals. As the tempo increases, Garno throws out on last solo, this one through a pedal that sound like it’s running through a Leslie cabinet. [NO, it IS running through a Leslie cabinet… belonging to John Richardson!]
This is Serotonic, ladies and gentlemen. Do yourself a favor — check them out. This is the real deal. Accept no substitutes. (Except maybe Rob Sanger and Adam Volpe!)
The album will be available at DunBrew Friday, then on most platforms, including iTunes and Spotify.
One more thing. Strap the headphones on. Tucker made this a sonic masterpiece.