One wonders if Shrapnel Records impressario Mike Varney knew exactly what he would unleash when he approached bassist Jimmy Haslip about doing a super-group project. Jimmy quickly went to work assembling his “dream team” of musicians, tapping long-time friends, guitarist Robben Ford and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta to form a powerful rock/jazz/blues/fusion trio. According to Haslip, his goal was to create a mostly instrumental trio that could channel the spirit of such groups as Cream and Led Zeppelin, but with a modern approach that fused the musicians’ many influences and experiences.
The group, Jing Chi, was named by Robben Ford. He explains that the two words represent the creative direction of the group: “jing” meaning “essence,” and “chi” meaning “energy.” As he says, “It’s the ‘essential essence,’ the energy you were born into the world with. It’s a vital, strong imagery.”
The three musicians each bring a unique background and approach to the band and its music. Robben Ford provides a bluesy quality with harmonic sophistication. Jimmy Haslip brings a rock and jazz background. Vinnie Colaiuta is well-known as one of the greatest drummers in the world; his rhythmic engine spans multiple genres and a who’s who list of respected major artists.
Robben Ford enthuses, “We do seem to have an energy that almost surprises me. When you get in a situation where you’re playing with some of the best musicians in the world, it’s pretty exciting.”
The band was conceived as a studio group; they recorded two well-received albums in the early 2000s. Appearances onstage have been rare — just a brief tour of Japan and a few appearances in Oakland that resulted in a live album. In 2017, after much public demand, the group decided to reform to record a new album project — entitled Supremo — and selected Sweetwater Studios as their creative home base.
Ford arrived at the Sweetwater Studios sessions with firm ideas and directions for songs in hand — many of them spawning from his listening to vintage R&B film music. He left the framework intentionally open, so each musician could bring their own inspirations and flavor to the music. When the sessions began, Jing Chi played with little or no conversation; just three musicians spontaneously exploring and creating in real time. In the studio, the three of them drove and inspired one another, infusing fresh elements into the performances and the compositions. The group worked quickly, improvising on Ford’s ideas. Haslip emphasizes that trust was required to create freely and improvise in this environment; trust that has developed as the three have played together in different situations over many years.
Sweetwater Studios Vice President of Operations and respected engineer/producer, Mark Hornsby, was at the helm in Studio A, intent on supporting that trust while making the technical aspects of the recording transparent for the musicians. His goal was to capture the music with audiophile quality while freeing the artists from concerns about process or technology so they could focus purely on creating.
Hornsby relates that Ford looks for a different approach to miking his cabinet than many other guitarists. The guitarist prefers to place a pair of microphones (a Royer R-121 and a Shure SM57) around eight inches from the speaker, to capture the sound from a slight distance. This simultaneously adds depth and captures some of the “vibe” and ambience of the room in addition to the direct speaker tone. Though well-known as a user of custom-built, “gold-standard” boutique amps, Ford also relied on his signature Roland Tone Capsule and Blues Cube amplifier for the Jing Chi Supremo sessions.
Haslip’s bass (as a lefty, he uniquely plays a right-handed bass upside down and backward) was captured primarily with a DI box fed straight into a preamp and compressor, augmented with a Shure KSM44 microphone placed six inches in front of the 12-inch speaker in his bass cabinet.
Vinnie Colaiuta’s Gretsch drums were recorded in Sweetwater Studios’ large isolation room, which features a very high ceiling and a reflective glass wall and door. The room is ideally voiced for capturing an articulate, dynamic drummer such as Colaiuta. To mic the drums, Hornsby used a full complement of Shure microphones, including SM57 (snare top and bottom), Beta 52 (inside kick), KSM141 (hi-hat and cymbals), Beta 98 (rack toms), KSM44 (floor toms), and Beta 181 (stereo overheads) mics, supplemented with a Royer R-121 ribbon mic outside the kick drum and a stereo Royer SF12 ribbon mic above the kit as a second set of overheads.
According to Ford, “The experience at Sweetwater has been just incredible. Five stars on every level. I have never been more comfortable recording anywhere, anytime, in my life.
Haslip concurred, “It’s just been absolutely fantastic. It’s one of the best experiences I’ve had in quite a while. Mark Hornsby is fantastic.”
Colaiuta summed up the experience of working at Sweetwater. “This whole place is like a self-contained ecosystem that’s amazing for musicians. I can show up, I can play my drums, they sound great, the recording sounds great, the people are great, and I’m happy.”