GAUCIMUSIC by Eric Wendell
“My music is extremely honest…that’s the power,” says Stephen Gauci, saxophonist and founder of the eponymous label Gaucimusic. Gauci’s robust tone and workhorse mindset is truthfully original and unparalleled even in a modern scene rife with immense talent.
Said tone has graced many a stage and recording with guitarist Nels Cline, drummer Tyshawn Sorey and bassist William Parker, just a few of the esteemed improvisers that have showcased his talent. New-York-born-and-bred Gauci began playing the tenor saxophone after being influenced by the compilation album Tenors Anyone?, which featured Wardell Gray, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and Paul Quinichette. “I used to listen to this album in my bedroom with the lights off [at night] when I was 15. It felt to me like ‘déjà vu’, like I already knew the language, but had to remember how to speak it. And I pretty much decided then and there that I had to relearn that language before I could do anything else. And that set the course of my life going forward,” states Gauci.
After having recorded albums as a leader for several labels (including Clean Feed, Not Two and Cadence), Gauci decided to start his own in order to have more control over the releasing of his music. As Gauci puts it, “the problem with record labels in general is that every time I want to release something I have to ask someone else. It’s absurd.”
In addition to showcasing Gauci’s music, one of the pillars of Gaucimusic is documenting Brooklyn’s improvised music scene with emphasis on capturing music in live settings. Gauci states, “I especially want to focus on live recordings. Even when they are studio recordings, they’re generally live in the studio. No isolation or anything. I feel that music comes out of the ground one stands on. In other words, ‘all music is ‘local’ or ‘organic’. The label represents/documents a real thing that is happening in a real place. This is why I’m not all that interested in studio recordings. In a studio we’re trying to do something. Gaucimusic isn’t trying to do something. It’s documenting a real thing that happens in a real place.”
One of the hallmarks of Gauci’s output as a musician is the weekly Bushwick Series, which started in May 2017. Gauci began it after having gone through a period of disillusionment with the New York City jazz scene. After the death of a close friend, Gauci knew that time was fragile and if he needed to make a change he would have to do so as soon as possible.
Gauci expands on this by stating, “My friend’s death spurred me into immediate action and I started scoping out venues for my new idea, the Bushwick Series. Life is short and there is no tomorrow, there is only now. My concept for the Bushwick Series was that it would be a hybrid performance series. Hybrid because I wanted it to have the vibe and inclusiveness of a jazz jam session, where musicians perform but they also hang out all night and check out other musicians. It’s a cross-pollination atmosphere. And I also wanted the series to have the elements of a concert where each group presents its own stuff.”
Frequent collaborator drummer Kevin Shea expands on the importance of the Bushwick Series and Gauci’s dedication to showcasing improvised music by stating, “As part of his Bushwick Music series, we’ve improvised together maybe 125 shows in the last couple years, mostly as a house trio with bassist Adam Lane, so we feel comfortable trusting the sonic process…we are all open to it. I’ve seen Gauci book all the weekly shows with six different sets of music a night, carry the gear, set up all the equipment and lights, run the door, book recording sessions, start a label, press and promote CDs…after all that he shreds the sax. I wish I had half of his energy. I’m grateful for what he is doing as I have been exposed to so many inspiring musicians over the last few years at his series.”
Such releases include 2019’s Gauci/Ewen/Lane/ Shea, Live at the Bushwick Series with Gauci, Lane, Shea and guitarist Sandy Ewen and 2019’s Live at the Bushwick Series, from guitarist Chris Welcome leading an octet including trumpeter Jaimie Branch and trombonist Ben Gerstein. In his four-out-of-five-star review for AllAboutJazz.com, critic Mark Corroto stated, “Everyone gets a turn to raise the pillars and posts of this building. But even when things get noisy, there is a coherence to the music, even as it gets weird.”
When COVID-19 shut down all performances in New York City, Gauci sought to fight the good fight, resulting in what he has dubbed the Pandemic Duets. Each release sees Gauci performing with a different artist. 13 have been released since November 2020, Including with pianists Mara Rosenbloom and Matthew Shipp, bassists Michael Bisio and Ken Filiano and drummers Gerald Cleaver and Jeff Davis.
Gauci states, “I started planning the pandemic duets series of recordings. It was tricky because, at first, musicians were reluctant to get in a room and play, no matter how many precautions. What I realized within the first two weeks was that the pandemic is the great equalizer. Everyone was out of business. For a start up like Gaucimusic, that can be an opportunity to put out some great programming while the other stations are ‘out for lunch’. That’s the idea of Pandemic Duets from the promotional/publicity side. They act as a way to keep the label and social network growing and as a bridge until things open up.” Even with the uncertainty that still surrounds the performing arts scene of New York City, Gaucimusic has plenty on its plate for the remainder of 2021. This includes additional Pandemic Duets with Lane, Shea, Eli Wallace, Kenneth Jimenez, Lisa Hoppe, Cooper-Moore and also a solo Gauci recording. In addition to this, Gauci is planning on several Bushwick Series releases with the series itself coming back this month. With his signature positivity, Gauci states, “Bach would go right back to the table, light a candle and write through the night, regardless of [the] outcome. So will I.”
– by Eric Wendell, NYC Jazz Record, July 2021.