The Bass Chica | South Mountain Reservation

THE BASS CHICA | SOUTH ORANGE MOUNTAIN RESERVATION

ALICE: Songs on Site is recorded on location and features each site’s unique soundscape as an audio backdrop. This episode includes aircraft, songbirds, cars, dogs, hikers, and a family celebration that we were not invited to. We recommend listening to Songs on Site with headphones for an immersive audio experience.

MUSIC: SONGS ON SITE THEME PLAYS UNDER.
SEAGULLS FLY OVERHEAD. A TRAIN PASSES BY.

MICHAEL: From Cocotazo Media and You Don’t Know Jersey—

A BUS PASSES BY.

MICHAEL: —this is Songs on Site—

BIRDS TAKE FLIGHT. A CAR BEEPS. A HORSE (OR THE JERSEY DEVIL) RUNS BY.

MICHAEL: —where we explore the music and environmental soundscapes of the Garden State.

CONDUCTOR: Stand clear of the door.

MICHAEL: I’m your host, Michael Aquino.

COFFEE POURS INTO A MUG. SILVERWARE CLINKS AGAINST DISHWARE. KIDS ON A PLAYGROUND. A CAR PASSES BY. CRICKETS ON A SUMMER NIGHT.

MICHAEL: Hey, there. It’s Michael Aquino. We’re back this week with the second half of the interview with Caylen Bryant, The Bass Chica. Now, if you haven’t heard the first part, go back and listen to that episode before continuing with this one. Go. We won’t start without you.

MUSIC: “WE’RE FAR” PLAYS UNDER.

MICHAEL: In the second half of my interview with Caylen, we talk about providing access to arts, the music communities she’s been part of, and connecting to the music of her family’s different cultures.

SONGBIRDS SING AND CHIRP THROUGHOUT THE INTERVIEW.

MICHAEL: So you're graduating with a master's degree from Julliard next spring in jazz bass performance.

CAYLEN: Yes.

MICHAEL: Congratulations.

CAYLEN: Thank you.

MICHAEL: Now, where do you see Caylen Bryant, a.k.a. the Bass Chica, in five years?

CAYLEN: I certainly see myself continuing to play music. I would really love to travel the world and share my joy of music with others. And hope that it instills the same amount of joy that it has in me.

Another thing that I'm quite passionate about is outreach and doing work to bring people art who might not otherwise be able to access it themselves. Growing up, I had a couple of other friends who were also musicians and we formed a little string trio. This was when I played the cello. So two violins and a cello. And we would play in nursing homes, senior communities. When I was at Oberlin, there was a program in which you could take student ensembles to play for nearby incarcerated people, who also could not access the music. And I also enjoy going into schools and playing for youth so that they can see how exciting music is.

MICHAEL: Absolutely. I think it's really important. Now, let's talk a little bit about your hometown of South Orange. South Orange is known for Seton Hall, Lauryn Hill, some amazing birds, obviously, and really hopping downtown. Can you tell us something about South Orange that most people don't know?

CAYLEN: One very cool thing about South Orange that some people might not know is that there is a symphony orchestra for the greater South Orange community. So whether you live in South Orange or nearby towns, you can come and play. I felt very lucky to be able to participate in a couple of their seasons a couple of years ago when I had more time. But the orchestra is just like a very, very lovely open, accepting collective of musicians at all levels, who just love to play and make music together. And their concerts are really, really wonderful, so you should definitely go check them out if you ever see that they're playing.

MICHAEL: Are they free concerts for the community?

CAYLEN: Yes. Yes.

MICHAEL: Ah, that’s great. Where do they normally perform?

CAYLEN: They have played at the middle school, I believe. And also, I'm blanking on the name right now, but it is a place in Maplewood that they also play.

MICHAEL: And can you describe your South Orange music community?

CAYLEN: South Orange has a wonderful music community. Someone that comes to mind is Greg Burris, who spends a lot of time curating and organizing musical events and local talent. I played a lot of downtown gigs in front of the train station. South Orange is certainly a wonderful place for musicians, and I've met a lot of my friends playing those gigs. And there's certainly a community here for it.

MICHAEL: And his name again was…

CAYLEN: His name is Greg Burris.

MICHAEL: Let's take it a little further out. And do you think New Jersey music has a sound? And if so, what is the Jersey Sound to you?

CAYLEN: I think New Jersey has its own unique sound, being that it's such a melting pot of so many different people from different places. It really is something unique.

MICHAEL: Let's talk a little bit about your project Brujería Panamania or Panamanian Witchcraft.

CAYLEN: I have an idea for an album at some point in the future that I would like to use to feature the music and culture of my maternal roots. So my mother's family’s from Panama. And mi abuela, my grandmother, came over here to the US in the 40s, I believe. And so I grew up hearing a lot of different kinds of music. And my father's a jazz musician. And so I feel pretty familiar with jazz as I started playing bass at Oberlin, and I studied it. But I don't feel that I've really studied so much the Latin music side of my heritage. And so, I'd really like to dive into that and put together something to represent that. And I also think that there could be more representation of women and queer people, non-binary people in salsa and other, like, Latin music because it has been traditionally very male. And so the title—Brujería—is underscoring that this coming from a woman and the strength of women and feminine energy and that you don't mess with brujas.

MICHAEL: I know you were saying you hear it like connecting to your maternal roots. What kind of sound, like, genre-wise, do you hear the music being?

CAYLEN: I hear it being a mixture of salsa—technically, already is such a mixture—but I hear it pulling from salsa and pulling from jazz. One example of my inspiration is other than Ruben Blades and Celia Cruz, I really like Sal Cuevas, the bass player, and I really, really love Ray Barreto's music.

MICHAEL: Mm.

CAYLEN: His music is just out of this world to me. So I really would like to create something with, like, a mixture of lots of different sounds.

MICHAEL: So, excited to hear when you create this project. I will be the first to be like—backed.

CAYLEN: Thank you.

MICHAEL: Yeah, absolutely. That sounds so exciting. Caylen Bryant, a.k.a. The Bass Chica, it's been a pleasure spending time with you in South Mountain Reservation in South Orange, New Jersey, for Songs on Site.CAYLEN: Thank you so much for having me.

MICHAEL: And now, enjoy this performance of “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” performed by Caylen Bryant, The Bass Chica, at the South Mountain Reservation.
THEME MUSIC TRANSITION.

CAYLEN: This song is a hymn called “Precious Lord,” and it was written by Tommy A. Dorsey. I grew up in the Black church. And this is one of those songs that everybody knows, and I think it's just so beautiful. And Ron Carter actually plays this on the bass, and he's a wonderful bassist, and he really uses the whole instrument. So, I was quite inspired by my upbringing, inspired by Ron Carter, and this beautiful song I'm gonna do this instrumentally for you.

MUSIC: “PRECIOUS LORD” LIVE AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN RESERVATION.
SONGBIRDS SING AND CHIRP.

MICHAEL: That’s beautiful. Now, where are we gonna go eat?

CAYLEN: We will be going to Bay Leaf because I've been really wanting some Indian food lately.

MICHAEL: All right, let’s go Bay Leaf.

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MICHAEL: Thanks for listening to Songs on Site. I’m your host, Michael Aquino. Songs on Site producers are Michael Aquino and Dania Ramos for Cocotazo Media, and Ed Magdziak and Alice Magdziak for You Don’t Know Jersey. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. If you’d like to hear bonus content with the featured musicians, you can unlock it by supporting us at Patreon dot com slash Cocotazo M.

MUSIC: SHIFT IN THEME MUSIC (INSTRUMENTAL) CONTINUES UNDER.

ALICE: Audio editing, design, mixing, and theme song by Michael Aquino. Story editing, script writing, and additional audio editing by Dania Ramos.

The featured musician was Caylen Bryant, The Bass Chica. “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” was written by Thomas A. Dorsey and performed on the bass by Caylen. Learn more about Caylen at the bass chica dot com. You can find a link to her website and our website in the show notes.

This episode was recorded in the South Mountain Reservation in South Orange and was produced in Essex County, New Jersey. Both locations are situated on the traditional territory of the Leni Lenape people.

As always, thanks for listening.

SONGBIRDS CHIRP.

MICHAEL: The birds are insane right now, and it's beautiful.

CAYLEN: Yay.