Steven Bernstein Furthers His Diaspora

For the past few nights, Steven Bernstein has been in what he calls “alternate universe.” Playing in Oakland as a special guest to virtuosic guitarist Charlie Hunter, the prolific trumpeter, bandleader, arranger, and composer has found himself in a rare state of artificial rest. “It’s been nice, man,” says Bernstein while walking around the Bay area. “It’s a good side-band gig where I’m just being paid to improvise. I’ve actually been bereft of any responsibility and I’ve been taking full advantage of it.”

Bernstein will soon be back to his standard workload, supporting the release of his latest self-titled album, Diaspora Suite. The album is the fourth edition of his Diaspora series, an avant-garde exploration into the mysticism and tradition of Hebrew music. Brought to fruition at the request of eclectic composer/saxophonist John Zorn and his Tzadik label’s Radical Jewish Culture imprint, the Diaspora series infuses everything from New Orleans blues to Afro-Cuban roots and West Coast jazz into the tradition’s canon. However, unlike his previous records—Diaspora Soul (1999), Diaspora Blues (2002), and Diaspora Hollywood (2004) —Bernstein’s latest collection contains all original music.

Allowing the themes, grooves, and instrumentation of the Jewish culture to infiltrate his influences of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Sly and Family Stone, Bernstein assembled some friends in late October, and recorded fifteen songs in just seven hours. Drawing from the unrestrained workmanship of director Robert Altman (the two worked together on the film Kansas City), Bernstein went in the studio with only a conceptual framework, trusting in wherever the music would take him.

“I had never really done that before, something so loose,” says Bernstein. “I always have codas, little thises and thats, because I like to make arrangements. But this time I said, ’Here’s the groove; here’s the melody. Okay, let’s start with you. Come up with an introduction for this and we’ll just go.’ And that’s how I made the record. We never even listened back to anything.”

For Bernstein, moving from one place to another is what the term Diaspora is all about. “It’s the idea of having to leave and go somewhere and restart something, and in the process of doing that, you start to evolve.”

- Mike Hilleary

Steven Bernstein: www.stevenbernstein.net
Tzadik Records: www.tzadik.com