David Chesky - Graffiti Jazz (2022) [Hi-Res]

David Chesky pushes jazz forward to create new sounding aural collages using virtual sounds to replace traditional jazz harmony.

Grammy nominated composer and pianist David Chesky is back with a new jazz album, Graffiti Jazz, and this time he’s venturing into new territory: Creating a jazz record with no other musicians and no real instruments. The recording will be available March 11th, 2022 as one of the debut releases on Chesky’s new label, The Audiophile Society.

This album was an entirely new process for Chesky. “After writing countless compositions for piano, orchestra, ballets, and operas (wooden instruments), I wanted to try something different. I went back to my jazz roots and wanted to create an album where I don't use harmony and use all virtual instruments. After all we live in a digital virtual world so why not try to reflect this culture with the computers we all live on. I substituted all the harmonies that would usually accompany melodies in the songs with just sounds, so the sounds are the accompanist to the melodies and the soloing. The compositions are centered with a bass line, rhythm machines, and traditional and nontraditional sounds. I used these sounds as the platform to improvise over,” he says.

Given that non-traditional sounds and sound design were integral to the composition of this album, it’s no surprise that the sonic space is one of the highlights of the work. Graffiti Jazz features The Audiophile Society’s signature Mega-Dimensional Sound™, which is a unique type of 3D audio. With the addition of the Meta-Dimensional Sound the music has height and has a soundstage that is outside of the speakers. Since this music was conceived to be heard in one's home, in this case your stereo system or headphones are the virtual concert hall. This creates a stunning atmosphere for this album and brings the work to life in a way that wasn’t previously possible.