What makes Grains of Sand unique from other releases?

Most of my albums to date (notably, (i) Nature Boy, (ii) Paco Paco, (iii) Mercy and (iv) Find Your Place) have been acoustic jazz projects that were recorded live-off-the-floor (and they are the albums for which I am actually best known). However, Bruce is capable of single-handedly creating a musical design with just his voice, guitar, percussion and synths. I then layer all sorts of flute things over what he has done and finally we edit it. In that sense, Grain of Sand is a much more “produced” album than any of my acoustic jazz projects. It takes a lot more time to put together a recording project like Grain of Sand, because it’s sort of an early Steely Dan kind of thing, involving just the two of us. Nonetheless, when we’re finished, the final results inevitably have a spontaneous, open, flowing and incantatory vibe.

How does a flute player from Canada end up becoming a master of Brazilian music formats?

I’m not sure I’m necessarily a “master” of Brazilian music. However, I admit that I have listened to a LOT of this music. So even if I can’t rap out a specific Brazilian rhythmic pattern (a maracatu, a baião, a samba, a partido alto, or what have you), I know exactly what each one sounds like – and I know exactly how each one feels (or if there are a couple of them acting in a combination). So I just wrap my lines around what I hear and feel, and it usually comes out OK. It has taken me a lot of time to get to that point (but, as I indicated earlier, learning to improvise, in a lot of different musical formats, is an ongoing process.)

What was the influence/motivation behind this particular style choice?

I don’t make “stylistic choices” anymore. The only thing I choose to do is to improvise! Although Bruce was raised in Brazil, he loves classical music aand rock & roll. So I actually end up improvising over HIS stylistic choices. But that is essentially why we work well together,…because we let each other do…exactly what we want!…

Now that Grain of Sand is out, what’s next for Extreme Flute?

I look forward to getting some airplay and some reviews…even some licensing would be great (because all of the material on Grain of Sand is original!)…However, I have found that it is very difficult to get ANY recognition for an indie recording project of this nature…even if it is well done…

Where can we connect with you online?

All of my recordings (including the two with Bruce, (i) Desvio and (ii) Grain of Sand) are available at iTunes. Here is a CDBaby link where you can get all of my recordings in either CD or mp3 format.

And you can always find out more at my website.

Any last thoughts? Words of Wisdom?

Technology is fine. But never lose sight of the acoustic and folkloric traditions that underlie every idiom. And (I say this as an improvisor as well)…elements of chant and incantation will ALWAYS produce meaningful results!…