Hello, Ed. How are you doing today?
A. Thanks for having me. Well I’m great. I’m so happy spring is here and I’ve been very busy planting my garden and getting things ready around the farm.. The New CD “Letters From High Latitudes” is out and I am so proud and happy to bring it to my fans.
Letters from High Latitudes is your latest album. How is it different from what you have recorded in the past?
A. In the past I have played a great deal of electric music from the pop, rock, funk side of things and in the last 5 years I have branched out into so many other genres of music that it’s hard to pinpoint one style or area of music to label me as. I have really explored my jazz roots and my eastern heritage with a lot of gypsy stylings. I have also branched out more into the folk and country world and have been really enjoying all of the new writing spaces that I’ve been finding.. It’s like finding a hidden chamber in an underground passage that shows you so much more…
What story or set of stories does the album tell?
A. The album stories are about questioning and asking important social, political and spiritual questions about the way we exist with ourselves, others and our ever changing human landscape. We tend to forget our history and not learn from the past with an alarming amount of forward force into a brave new world…
What artists are the greatest influences for you and your music?
A. Tough question as there are so many.. I really aspire to artists that are pushing some kind of envelope and really thinking and feeling great ideas. The era that it spans is great starting with people like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and Miles Davis… But so many more from that era. Then early pop music from the Beatles, Stones, Santana, The Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, Tower Of Power and on and on. However on a personal growth and forward thinking level I would say bass players were and still are very influential people; like Jaco Pastorius and Mark King. These two cats really motivated me more than most… Jaco and his incredible abilities in composition and soloing but also Mark King and his ability to play and sing the way that he does…
You are a skilled multi-instrumentalist. What is your process like when you involve other musicians to the mix?
A. I am very open minded to the process of others lending their knowledge and spirit to a song or project. There are so many different ways to approach ideas and mine are not always perfect. I love the fact that songs can take on a new life with just a small suggestion or feel change. A great deal of the Jazz and Fusion like music is taken live off the floor so as to be able to catch that spontaneous feel that is so crucial to the moment and is very difficult to achieve taken at different times. Some of the guest soloists have had a large frame work to feel from and 90% of the track is there so it feels like your playing with others..
Why does the production of Letters from High Latitudes sound so professional?
A. I’ve been doing this for a long time now and have learned to be comfortable in the studio.
My home studio is gear and instruments that I have collected over many years. Really though I am very very lucky to have someone like Michael Jack that I have been working with since I was a teenager. Michael is an internationally acclaimed engineer and has worked with the likes of Bono from U2, Rush, The Trews, Gordon Lightfoot and on and on.. His experience over the years has made Mike one of those cats that is like Eddy Kramer who just knows the right time to step in and the right to let the horses go.. Michael has incredible ears and has mixed and mastered so much internationally acclaimed music it’s hard not to see and hear it translate..
You are hitting the road in support of Letters from High Latitudes. Where will your tour take you, and which cities or areas would you still like to play?
A. I will be playing in Canada a great deal this summer and I really want to get down to the west coast of the US and play in Seattle and California. I also want to hit the eastern seaboard for a whack of shows in the late summer and early fall..
Given one sentence, how would you define yourself as a musician?
A. Ever growing, Ever changing, Ever learning.
How can listeners find samples of your music?
A. You can also get the Ed Roman APP on iTunes for your iPhone or Android devices or if you wish you can check out my reverbnation page. Just look for Ed Roman. You can also buy the New CD at 50 different locations across the digital board from Amazon to iTunes or come to www.edroman.net to get all of my music.
Do you have anything else that you would like to discuss with us?
A. I would like to say thank you so much for having me and a shout out to my amazing manager Michael Stover at MTS Management for all his amazing help. Special shout out to all my fans for all your love and support..
“Talk, Listen, Share, Love”.. EJR..
