Session 23
Ron Samsom
This collaboration began with a series of sonic sketches written on guitar and roughly recorded on a cell phone. This "sound journaling process" is a great way to engage with creativity without constraints. Documenting short improvisations compels me to rely on my ear as the central connection to the music. By recording, I avoid committing musical ideas to notation and resist the temptation to use theory or software manipulation until much later. Over recent years, I've become increasingly drawn to the sound of guitars and their potential for harmonic richness. I love the feel and sound that guitars produce, but I'm pretty limited in what I can play. Nonetheless, guitars spark my imagination for composing, providing a gateway to realising complete pieces.
In reflection, Session 23 drew inspiration from folk music and early blues, where the guitar is the primary instrument for conveying rhythm and harmony. When I listen to blues pioneer Son House, I'm in complete awe of his percussive approach. Joni Mitchell's music also astounds me in the way she explores the guitar's potential with different tunings. I'm drawn to music with strong rhythmic shapes that influence form and structure, as well as the possibilities created by taking musical risks.
One of the great things about jazz is the immediacy and urgency of the performance in the moment. My aim with the compositions on this album was to provide interesting frameworks for the improvising musicians to navigate while keeping them fully responsive in the moment. I love the element of surprise in music, which, as an active listener, I attribute to Jan Jarczyk, a prominent jazz pianist, composer, and educator whom I studied with many years ago in Montreal. I recall Jan emphasising the importance of incorporating one’s musical heritage into one's work. For him, it involved a deep connection to the music of his Polish heritage combined with an equally deep admiration for the beauty and surprise of Wayne Shorter's music. For a long time, I felt unsure about my musical heritage, eventually realising I didn’t really have one. But I do have something else.
When I fell in love with jazz, like many students of this rich tradition, I became wholly immersed in a universe of sound and musical expression that resonated deeply with me, causing me to mistakenly dismiss many musical forms and styles that now contribute to a much larger appreciation for jazz. It took me a long time to rediscover those rich layers and gain a deeper understanding of the complexity of those relationships. I am incredibly grateful to Jan and the lifelong musical challenge he posed, as well as the fantastic musicians who agreed to join me on the ride to make this album: Callum Passells, Cameron McArthur, and Keith Price.
Ron Samsom, June 2025
Released: 04 July 2025
Catalogue: RAT-J-1060
RON SAMSOM
Canadian-born, now a proud citizen of Aotearoa since 2018, Ron is a drummer, composer, and educator who has lectured in jazz studies at Waipapa Taumata Rau (University of Auckland) since 2003. An active musician in the Auckland music scene, he has performed with a diverse range of international artists including James Muller, Benjamin Lackner, George Garzone, Jeff Nev, Nir Felder, David Berkman, Mick Nock, and Jim McNeely, and appears on several Rattle releases including FSH Trio, Samsom Nacey Haines, Dog, Neutrino Funk, Shuffle, and Session 23.
KEITH PRICE
Keith is a Canadian-born guitarist/composer now based in Auckland (NZ), where he serves as Senior Lecturer and Kaikotuitui (coordinator) of jazz studies at Waipapa Taumata Rau (University of Auckland). Keith studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and the University of Manitoba before completing undergraduate and graduate degrees in jazz performance at Brandon University, where he studied with internationally recognised pianist and composer Michael Cain.
CALLUM PASSELS
Callum is a multi-instrumentalist and composer born in Tāmaki Makaurau. He has been active in Aotearoa's creative music scene for a decade, performing in the UK, Europe, and Australasia with artists such as Aldous Harding, Hans Pucket, and the Blackbird Ensemble. He has composed several works for improvising musicians and was commissioned by the Wellington Jazz Festival in 2021 to write new music for a headlining concert. He currently teaches saxophone at the University of Auckland.
CAMERON McARTHUR
Cam is a London-based composer and double bassist. He has most recently scored Alice Englert’s feature film ‘Bad Behaviour’ (2023) starring Jennifer Connelly and Ben Whishaw, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He has previously scored Justwo’s video game ‘Escape Logan Estate’ (2018) and Molly O’Shea’s proof of concept ‘Hello, I’m a Ghost’ (2021). He has performed with international artists Nir Felder, Michael Cain, and Pheeroan akLaff, and has recorded with Ron Samsom, Anita Schwabe, Michal Martyniuk and The Auckland Jazz Orchestra.
