Jamie Saft Borscht Belt Studies

One of the most prolific artists in the RareNoise roster, Jamie Saft has appeared on recordings by such groups as Metallic Taste of Blood, Slobber Pup, Plymouth, Red Hill, The Spanish Donkey and Berserk! As well as on collaborations with Steve Swallow and Bobby Previte (New Standard / Loneliness Road, which also featured Iggy Pop, Bill Brovold (Serenity Knolls), Roswell Rudd (Strength & Power) and his own New Zion album (Sunshine Seas). And yet, over all those sessions he has never recorded a solo piano album. Solo A Genova is Saft's highly emotive take on jazz standards and other uniquely American compositions. Recorded at the beautiful Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova, Italy in an acoustically marvellous space, Solo A Genova showcases Saft on a 9-foot Steinway Model D piano in the service of a number beguiling piano arrangements of tunes by Curtis Mayfield, Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis, John Coltrane, ZZ Top, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Charles Ives, Miles Davis and Bill Evans.

The new RareNoise release by Jamie Saft (piano/organ), Steve Swallow (electric bass) and Bobby Previte (drums), here with the participation of rock legend Iggy Pop on three tracks. That's quite an experiment, like something Frank Zappa might have tried…

While hardly representative of the hits streaming through the Bluetooth ether these days, 'Music from the Early 21st Century' is nonetheless aptly titled, colliding as its does entire threads of musical history leading up to the very moment of its explosive creation. The album, captured live during a brief tour of the Northeastern U.S. in early 2019, is essentially a freely improvised organ trio set.

NYC virtuoso pianist, keyboardist, producer, and composer Jamie Saft releases a new record of music by John Cage and Jerry Granelli. Saft's work has been featured with Iggy Pop, Beastie Boys, Bad Brains, The B-52's, Roswell Rudd, John Zorn, John Adams, Laurie Anderson, Antony & the Johnsons, and more. He scored the Oscar-nominated Murderball and Sundance winner God Grew Tired Of Us.

Authenticity in music is a challenge for some, an obligation for others, and a natural way of being for a few, a rarefied result of deep focus, hard work and commitment for anyone.

Jamie Saft continues his collaboration with eclectic UK-based label RareNoiseRecords in 2018. On a roll after releasing his first ever solo piano album in January, the aptly named ‘Solo A Genova’, the Upstate New York-based artist presents a further facet of his seemingly boundless talent for composition, performance, invention and in this case, for acting as master of ceremonies to a group of exciting and innovative musicians. His latest formation, the Jamie Saft Quartet sees repeated collaborators, celebrated saxophonists Bill McHenry and bassists Bradley Jones as well as in rising star of the drums Nasheet Waits.

Notes by Mr Dorgon: How does it feel? This collection of Intuitive, Counter-Intuitive + Non-Intuitive compositions as realized by Jamie Saft is the first time a performer other than myself has grappled with my work at length in a solo setting.

So, the front man for the rock/pop group called The Stooges gets an invite to pitch in with a classic jazz piano trio. The Stooge would be Iggy Pop; the piano trio, Jamie Saft's, with bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bobby Previte. That's quite an experiment, like something Frank Zappa might have tried.