Avery Sharpe Releases Double Quartet Album, “I Am My Neighbors Keeper”
Bassist, composer, and bandleader Avery Sharpe has released a new album called I Am My Neighbors Keeper. During our turbulent times, Sharpe composed the set of music as a reminder to come together and help each other out.
“We have food insecurity, the unhoused, pandemics, school shootings, domestic violence, and an opioid problem, just to name some,” Sharpe points out. “There is a need to remind people that each of us is here on this planet for a very short period of time. It doesn’t matter if one has a religious approach or a secular approach, it all comes down to concern and compassion for each other. When we help to uplift one, we uplift everyone.”
As such, each of the songs embodies a value for us to uphold.
Sharpe wrote the music for a very unique instrumentation he calls his Double Quartet. He’s joined by Zaccai Curtis on piano, Yoron Israel on drums, Tony Vacca on balafon and African percussion, Sarah Briggs and Kaila Graef on violins, Gregory Diehl on viola, and Dave Haughey on cello. Sharpe also enlisted drummer Anton Kot and pianist Mat DeChamplain for “Parental Love” and vocalist Wanda Rivera on “A Little Prayer for Mom.”
The orchestration brings a huge, beautiful sound to the compositions. It’s all in a jazz context, but the strings bring a classical and folk feel, with the African percussion bringing in a World element. Sharpe gets even more sounds by playing on both double bass and electric bass throughout the album.
Get a feel for the music in this studio video for “Unspoken Words.”
I Am My Neighbors Keeper is out now digitally on Apple Music, Amazon Music, and more.
I Am My Neighbors Keeper Track List:
- My Friend Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help
- Unspoken Words
- Trust
- I See You
- Compassion
- Parental Love
- All About You
- World Love (Dounouyha Hanunteya)
- A Little Prayer for Mom
- The Good Samaritan
- Six on Six
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
