Will Bernard featuring Ches Smith and Chris Lightcap - Pond Life (2022)

Guitarist/Composer, Will Bernard’s 11th album POND LIFE highlights a more adventurous side of his many musical endeavors. In this recording, he investigates “The inner workings of swampy musical ecosystems and the dreamy afternoon of sun-drenched water lilies”. Bernard’s original compositions explore the use of improvisational space and tight ensemble passages that expand upon a core trio sound with New York “downtown” notables Chris Lightcap on bass (Regina Carter, Craig Taborn) and Ches Smith (Marc Ribot, John Zorn) on drums. Luminaries, Tim Berne on alto sax, and John Medeski on keyboards fill out the textures with their remarkable capabilities.

POND LIFE reflects Bernard’s lengthy musical development from his training in classical composition and jazz through his forays into funk, rock avant-garde, and world music.

Bernard expands on his guitaristic sonic explorations that range from bluesy panchromatic slide to dense electronic textures and disjointed bebop lines that interact with Smith’s symphonic drumming styles, Lightcap’s full rounded bass, Berne’s driving sax, and Medeski’s technicolor keyboards. POND LIFE can be seen as a return to the sound of an earlier trio with Ches Smith featured on Will’s 2004 record “Directions to my house”

“…a player who clearly deserves a wider audience for his imaginative genre-busting aesthetic”– John Kelman, All About Jazz

Will Bernard - guitar
Chris Lightcap - bass
Ches Smith - drums
with
Tim Berne - alto saxophone
John Medeski - piano and Hammond B3