Your first taste of 'Accretion' – low brass maestro Reginald Chapman's long-awaited follow-up to his classic debut, 'Prototype' – is here to be heard and seen.
"The idea behind 'Hearing Is Seeing' was to take a complex Music Theory device, like serial tonal structures, and make it feel more approachable.
Along with that, the song was inspired by the idea of synesthesia (the phenomena of seeing sounds), in a few different ways. It’s a nod to the feeling of gaining wisdom, insight, and understanding from being open and listening deeply – but also, to seeing things first and hearing them second.
Taking a more literal approach to the latter in this case, the harmonic structures that form the base of the song were designed to look aesthetically pleasing on paper. For example, in the chorus, the tonal centers for the chords are spiraling notes circling inward, and then the “B" sections of the song make use of symmetrical modes.
But, perhaps more importantly – both the top-line and the groove of the track are there to glue it all together – to remind us to not get too caught up in all of the technical stuff that's under the hood here, and to instead just feel it."
credits
released March 2, 2023
Written, Produced & Arranged by Reginald Chapman
Personnel:
Reginald Chapman - bass trombone
Marcus "Tennishu" Tenney - tenor sax
Rob Quallich - trumpet
Andrew Randazzo - bass
DJ Harrison - drums
Jacob Ungerleider - keys
Mixed & Recorded by DJ Harrison @ Jellowstone – Richmond, VA
Horns Recorded by Reginald Chapman @ Jazz Hole 1 – Richmond, VA
Mastered by Kelly Hibbert @ Almachrome
Artwork & Design by Tawfiq Mardini
Illustration by Ghostdrank