The Wharf Sessions: The Jake McIntyre-Paul Sextet

The Jake McIntyre-Paul Sextet includes Jake McIntyre-Paul (bass), Jordan Manderioli (keyboard), Dan Smith (guitar), Scott Gamble (dums), Bob Rigers (trombone), jim howie (flugelhorn). Together they create instrumental music that’s worth getting lost in. Live recording the group was extra interesting as their song “Reckless Abandon” is nearly 10 minutes long! Jake replied to our interview questions below.

1. How did the band come together?   

I started the band in 2018 as a vehicle to perform some of my original compositions. Though the band started as a quartet, the line-up is constantly evolving depending on the orchestration of the music I’m writing and the musicians available at the time of any given exhibition. At the time I started the band I was living in North Van attending Capilano University, so the band—being based in the Shuswap—only performed once or twice a year. However, I am extremely fortunate to have access to some very skilled and experienced players in the Shuswap and Okanagan and that the musician’s I choose for the group are mostly personal friends and players I have worked with extensively in other situations. Consequently, I believe the band is able to achieve a natural chemistry even though we have few performances and minimal rehearsals. 

2. Who writes your music, and what does the process look/feel/sound like? 

Essentially the purpose of the band, and impetus for the creation of the band, is to be an outlet for my original compositions. I generally write in a very isolated environment, and often find inspiration in a quiet moment alone with a guitar or a piano. My process of writing is varied, but in general it’s a matter of exploring my own musical sensibility, finding sounds that resonate on a deep level, and following where the music is leading me. The result is a score that I present to the band, and though I usually have a pretty clear vision for the piece as a whole, the music comes to life through the unexpected interpretations and choices of the individual members of the band as they bring their own musical sensibility into the mix. 

3. How has the pandemic affected your band?

Certainly, gigs have been canceled and musicians have been largely out of work due to the pandemic, but really, I just miss my friends. There’s a huge sense of connection and camaraderie that comes from playing music with other people, and the majority of my close friendships have been built in the practice room and on the bandstand.

4. What was it like to come together to record at Song Sparrow Hall? 

Prior to the pandemic, rehearsing and performing music live with other musicians was practically a daily occurrence for everyone in the band. Having been far removed from that lifestyle for more than a year, it was very refreshing to be back together. It made me really appreciate past times spent playing music with other people that I once took for granted.

5. What would a dream summer performance schedule look like for your band?

A long-term dream of mine is to be involved with the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and ultimately, I would love just to have the capacity to bring the band together for a longer series of gigs. So, I suppose my dream summer performance schedule would just be a longer series of performances in a variety of settings punctuated by a couple jazz festival appearances and concluded with a recording session once we’ve really dialed in the material.

6. Tell us the story behind the song Reckless Abandon that’s on the album. 

I started writing this tune just before the pandemic when I was in a time of major transition in my life and finished writing it during the lockdown. It’s about the multifaceted feeling of having just let go of something you tried hard to hold onto—loss, liberty, finality, possibility, uncertainty, transition, limbo.

7. I’m about to press play on your track, what’s the ideal listening setup?

I would be honored by anyone who took the time to step back from their life and just listen. Music (especially instrumental music) is perhaps the most abstract artform in the sense that it has no visual or lingual components. We are just moving air and yet it is considered a universal language. Find somewhere quiet with your best headphones or speakers, and you might find we’re speaking to you. 

The Arts Centre is grateful for the support it receives from its sponsors, without whom this project would not be possible: SASCU, Chad Eliason Mortgage Broker, Askew’s Foods, the Armstrong Regional Co-op, Johnston Meier Insurance, Grant Thornton, Stella-Jones, Shuswap Tourism, the City of Salmon Arm, and the Government of British Columbia.

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Photography by Kristal Burgess