I never liked the name Janine Nichols Trio because it suggests jazz, which is not exactly what I do. If anything, I'm jazz-ish in precisely the same way I'm Jewish. But I digress. I wanted to use a generic title until the band's sound and name revealed itself. It happened just recently, around the same time I sent out an e-blast announcing a show with NRBW, as in Nichols, Ross, Burnham and Wieselman. And I'll always use that name to describe that line-up because the homage to NRBQ is just too delicious to pass up. But Weezie doesn't always play in the band and Shahzad Ismaily sometimes does. It's a semi-free arrangement.
In case you want to ask, "semi-free" is a word I made up to tell some story, now forgotten, during a rehearsal. Brandon later suggested "semi-free" might be a good answer to the perennial question, "What kind of music do you play?" He turned out to be exactly right, as did Charlie, who said "semi-free" is "the way we live and the best we can hope for." I said, suddenly filled with craven ambition, "And think of the marketing possibilities! 'We have a new record for sale. $20 - Semi-Free!'"
I was even more amazed to discover, night before last, that semi-free.com was available. How is that possible? semi-free.net is available too, but who wants that?
Henceforth, let it be known throughout the lands that Semi-Free, and semi-free.com are all mine.
I think the first record cover will be based on this illustration from the book, The Art Of Money, which I happened to have on loan from the Brooklyn Public Library at the time and may in some way have prompted the name to speak itself.
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