The Key Is In The Window // Aaron Shragge & Ben Monder // CD release

...the sounds created by these two world-class musicians takes the listener to varying celestial moments of clarity and depth that one would not expect. Shragge and Monder manage to paint musical imagery that transcends genre and style...The Key is in the Window is definitely a recording to check out for those who want to expand their ears musically and want to find something truly new in the realm of improvised music.

- Guitar International

When my beloved friend Brandon Bernstein a guitarist/educator now living in Pasedena suggested that I should do some playing with Ben Monder (whom he had been in touch with since hosting him at a workshop) my reaction was simply "yeah...right". But in a way that a only a good friend can, his belief in me was not at all overshadowed by my own doubt. Almost two years later, The Key Is In The Window is proof that my doubt (though maybe useful at times) was simply an illusion.

My experience in collaborating with Ben Monder has been life-changing. I don't say that in any grandiose way, but simply and honestly. The reason being that Ben Monder is an inspiration to work with and to live up to. After our first performance together at the Village Zendo, when talking about the tradition in Indian classical music to practice for 24 hours straight, Ben mentioned that he had tried several times and usually lasted about 22 hours before falling asleep. I thought that if someone as skilled as Ben Monder still took his music practice that seriously then what was my excuse not to do the same. I had always been a heavy practicer but had rationalized that a marathon was just obsessive. In the next year I did three 24-hour solo practice marathons, each separated by about a month. The third time I knew I had actually understood its real purpose since I felt very little self-satisfaction, only gratitude for the experience. I would have never thought of pushing myself in this way if it had not been for working with Ben.

The music on The Key Is In The Window is inspired by my practice of North Indian Vocals and of the Japanese Flute the Shakuhachi. Though Indian and Japanese music do not appear in their traditional form, I have done my best to portray their influence in the most genuine way I can. Two pieces "Kyorei" and "Choshi" are from the Shakuhachi Zen Buddhist Shakuhachi repertoire called Honkyoku (pieces of origin). They are supported by Ben's amazing finger-style guitar and lush atmospheric harmony. "Mesopelagic Drift" and "A Trodden Way" are based on the North Indian raga Puriya Kalyan. The melodies of "Trust" and "Irate In Sight" were composed using an analytic music therapy technique in which I improvised melodies on psychodynamic issues. The melodies where then harmonized and arranged with Ben's guitar playing in mind.

The tracking for this record was completed in half a day, though the post production took much longer. Tariq Khan, producer/engineer has done an outstanding and meticulous job in the mixing/editing process to bring out the unique qualities of each song and still have them fit together in the record as a whole. Finally a big thanks to Justin Shturtz at Sterling Sound for an amazing mastering job; adding great depth and power to the mixes.

Bringing it all back to BML, one of my students, Isaac Mann, recently pointed out to me that "The Key Is In The Window" were actually some of Allen Ginsberg's mother's last words to her son. I had read these words in Kaddish when I was around Isaac's age (15) and had totally forgotten them - or at least on a conscious level, as this statement on the universality of perception is truly what inspired the making of this record. I am very grateful to my student Isaac for completing the circle of understanding in the process of making this album.

- Aaron Shragge

The Key is in the Window - New York CD release

June 24 @ 8:30 pm - $10 suggested donation

Aaron Shragge - dragon mouth trumpet, shakuhachi, composition
Ben Monder - guitar

iBeam
168 7th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215

With an opening set by Turtle Boy Trio

Jon Lindhorst - Tenor Sax
Adam Miller - Drums
Ryan Butler - Guitar

Aaron Shragge teaches Trumpet with Brooklyn Music Lessons.