SPILL FEATURE: SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS IN THE MORNING – A CONVERSATION WITH DAVE GUY

SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS IN THE MORNING

A CONVERSATION WITH DAVE GUY

Over the course of the last two decades, Dave Guy has expertly crafted a career as a highly sought-out trumpet player. Perhaps best heard on mega hits by Mark Ronson, the Amy Winehouse-led “Valerie” and the Bruno Mars-led “Uptown Funk”, Guy has been a foundational element to The Menahan Street Band, The Dap-Kings, and The Roots, and has supported the likes of Charles Bradley, Sharon Jones, El Michels Affair, Al Green, and Norah Jones, among many, many others. It is such a résumé that makes Guy’s debut album, Ruby, such an exciting endeavour. Speaking to me from the greenroom after taping an episode of The Tonight Show, Guy shares the story behind Ruby.

Released on Sept. 20, via Big Crown Records, Ruby feels like a long time coming, with Guy explaining, “It’s always been in the back of my head. I’ve always wanted to do it, but the timing has never been right – to put the right energy and attention to it, I was finding it hard to put the time to it.” Of course, in addition to his work with other artists, as a member of The Roots, Guy has spent the last decade performing five nights a week – now four – on The Tonight Show, a process he calls “streamlined and tight”, but nonetheless, monopolises a large chunk of his week. However, time came in the form of the unexpected and lengthy 2023 writer’s strike. “We had five months off from the show and this light bulb went off like ‘if there’s any time to do it, this is the time’. It was very serendipitous how it happened with the strike – I had already contacted Homer [Steinweiss] and Nick Movshon about getting together in the studio… I wanted to record with my friends, and just create. We had a little momentum and then the writers’ strike happened, and it just evolved from there.”

RUBY ALBUM REVIEW

Ruby is a breath of fresh air. The album collects 12 songs over the course 30 minutes. With only two songs surpassing three minutes, Guy has meticulously worked his songs to the most essential elements. Guy explains, “– It’s about capturing one moment… We would come up with the core of a rhythm track and chip away at it until it felt right. It was like the initial splatter of paint was on the canvas and we would move around it… Nothing was ever so precious.” Given this, it is surprising to hear that each song on Ruby was crafted from a series of long improvised jams. “We didn’t have anything structured, no melodies. Homer may have had a chord progression, but we would go into Diamond Mine, our studio in Queens, and we would create something from scratch, literally every time… Every day, we would start fresh, we tried to keep creating without anything set in stone when we walked through the door. It was a very fresh and organic project that turned into something beautiful.”

Musically, Ruby is a versatile record that feels distinct from Guy’s previous work. “I didn’t want to make a Menahan record, I wanted it to sound like my own sound, which I think is derivative of hip-hop that then goes into the jazz and soul side.” He continues, “From the start of, not my career, but my musical enjoyment, I’ve been a hip-hop head. I grew up into De La and Tribe. I grew up in the city in the early 90’s and that energy with the Native Tongues was so positive, it propelled me to a good space musically.” Guy goes on to specify that he was greatly influenced by ‘70s era Donald Byrd, particularly his 1975 album, Places And Spaces. He adds, “I love that sound of the stuff hip-hop was sampled off – that’s what I was trying to go for here.”

Reflecting on the process, Guy refers to the studio sessions that led to his debut studio album as “Spontaneous moments in the mornings; something beautiful would come from that”. He adds, “Making this record with Nick and Homer was such a special moment. It felt very meant to be… I’m really proud of it.” With a series of shows planned for the fall, Guy is already looking to the future. His passion for his work is highly evident, not only through the sublime brilliance of Ruby, but how he discusses his creative process, and the excitement he has for his next record; something he hopes to begin soon.

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Main Photo Credit: Sesse Lind | Background Photo Credit: Kenny Rodriguez

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