Canadian jazz musician Argue stunned his unique album got Grammy nom

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This article was published 11/02/2011 (5043 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Vancouver-reared composer and conductor Darcy James Argue knew that his particular strain of jazz — which he calls “steampunk big band” — was unlikely to ever garner a huge audience, let alone mainstream award recognition.

So, when his 18-piece band’s debut album, “Infernal Machines,” earned a nomination for best large jazz ensemble album at this Sunday’s Grammy Awards, he was suitably floored.

“There are so many deeply influential jazz artists who went their entire careers without ever getting a nod from the Grammys,” the 35-year-old said in a recent interview. “So it’s a bit of a stunner for this to suddenly pop up, you know, especially for a debut recording.”

“This isn’t the kind of record that normally gets a whole lot of recognition from the establishment. So it’s really gratifying that this happened to be the case this year.

“(My record) is definitely off the beaten track.”

Despite that assertion, Argue and his band, Secret Society — unique though they may be — also seem poised for a breakthrough.

As an avant-garde jazz composer, it can be difficult to stand out in the bustling New York scene, but Argue has earned resounding plaudits in the local press.

The Village Voice praised “Infernal Machines” as “maximalist music of impressive complexity and immense entertainment value,” while the New York Times called Argue’s songwriting “rich and strong.” The BBC said the album was “a nearly perfect creative synthesis between tradition and innovation.”

The record wound up on more than 70 year-end best-of lists and won the Village Voice’s award for best debut in its jazz critics’ poll.

But it’s been a slow, gradual build for Argue.

He grew up in Vancouver before completing his undergrad at McGill University in Montreal (“it’s been downhill since there,” he jokes). He moved to New York in 2003 and formed the Secret Society in 2005.

The band soon began garnering attention with buzz-generating gigs (not to mention a fastidiously updated blog).

“Infernal Machines” is steeped in big-band history but is undeniably modern and forward thinking, all vibrant colours, liquid transitions and intricate songwriting.

Somehow, the music simultaneously calls to mind the late Canadian jazz innovator Gil Evans and the Krautrock-influenced indie of Tortoise.

Part of the reason could be Argue’s musical upbringing. Though he has carefully studied the necessary jazz artists who came before him, he grew up listening to “all the sort of classic late ’80s white-boy suburban stuff” — bands like Guns N’ Roses, Living Color, Nirvana and Public Enemy.

But because Argue’s music occasionally seems to blur genre lines, sometimes he feels as though he’s stuck between two worlds.

“The jazz world moves very slowly. It takes a long time for people to become aware of new artists. There’s a real tendency to focus on the past, and to focus on the music that’s already happened and the great legacy rather than what’s happening today.”

And while Argue thinks that forward-thinking indie-rock fans — the sort of people who can embrace the post-rock experiments of Tortoise or Stereolab — might find a lot to like in his music, he’s had an equally difficult time making traction there.

“To me, the connections between contemporary jazz and indie rock are really obvious and audible,” he said. “It seems like we’re chasing some of the same things.”

“But when it comes time for the gatekeepers in writing about that music — like Pitchfork and all that stuff — I think audiences are more willing to listen across genre barriers than writers are willing to write about that music.”

Argue finds that those indie audience are receptive if they can see the Secret Society play live, but opportunities to do so can be few and far between.

As difficult as leading such a sizable band can be, touring is an even bigger challenge. The opportunities are there, and they multiply with every award nomination and positive review the band receives. But shlepping 18 people (not including Argue himself) and the requisite equipment from town to town is prohibitively costly.

“For me, the ability to get the band out there to play live in front of more people, that’s my biggest goal for the big band, and it’s kind of an unreasonable goal, because I really should have a smaller band if that’s my goal,” he says, chuckling.

“That being said, I’ve developed this big-band habit, and now it’s time to get other people addicted to it as well.”

And of course, eking out a living in New York is difficult for anyone, and avant-garde jazz music is not exactly a typical path to riches.

Argue acknowledges that he’s struggling to make a living. He has a day job teaching music (which he says is “incredibly rewarding”) but had to quit his other gig as a freelance music copyist (producing neat copies from a composer’s manuscript) with the burgeoning success of his band.

In that sense, the Secret Society’s success has been a “double-edged sword” in a way.

“(New York) is absurdly expensive and no one is making any money at all from playing this kind of music,” he said. “It’s a very hardscrabble thing. It’s very, very difficult to just kind of scrape together enough for the rent and food every month and the time you spend doing that is obviously time you’re taking away from practising, composing and the logistics of getting a band out there.

“I’m here because I couldn’t really do what I do anywhere else, because of the incredible concentration of musicians. … The fact that no one’s really making any money from gigs also means people feel less bad, like: ‘Well, if I’m not going to make any money, then at least I’ll do something that’s fun.”

Argue and his girlfriend are in L.A. to attend Sunday’s event — “As a jazz musician, it’s almost like you’re an anthropologist in a different world — in the world where people actually make money in music,” he says, laughing.

But he dismisses the idea that he might have a shot at actually taking home a trophy.

“I don’t think I can win. As I said, it’s a debut record from somebody that is not a known name. And there’s some really worthy recordings in the category. It would be an honour to lose to Dave Holland, which I fully expect to do.”

“I didn’t even expect to be nominated in the first place, so it would be kind of foolhardy to have any expectations of actually winning the thing.”

He’s simply hopeful that the honour encourages listeners to take a chance on his band.

“It’s still very much this DIY thing that I’m doing. I don’t have an agent, I don’t have a manager, I’m reaching out to people on my own.”

“Anyone’s going to have to take a chance on us. Because it’s a very unlikely thing to try to do, to try to convince people like, ‘Hey, there’s this big band out there and it’s relevant to what’s happening in music today.’

“And that’s a hard sell for a lot of people for a lot of reasons. So it’s always great when people are willing to take a chance. To say, ‘No, wait, just listen, and everything will become clear.'”