Ross Hammond - Small Lions (2020)

There may not be a more influential musician to me than Tony Passarell. Tony has made a practice of including new musicians into his improvisation settings and building a DIY, punk jazz community. I, along with many others am absolutely a product of that inclusion.

The first time I ever jammed with Tony was in his Winery Loft. We didn't really know one another and I was about 19 years old. Tony just yelled out "Eb!" and started playing. I had no idea what he meant. Major? Minor? Blues? Too much thinking. Too much relying on schooling and not enough listening. Too much fear. It was a lesson learned. Kick that fear to the curb.

Over the past 20 years Tony and I have played in hundreds of combinations together. We've done large ensembles with one another conducting, we've played in our RACE!!! Quintet improv project, we've hosted series, booked festivals, curated concerts, hosted sessions, booked recordings, mixed with new and different improvisers and really done all we can to continue the improvisation hub that is Sacramento lively.

Tony is a Sacramento treasure. I'm deeply indebted to him taking me under his wing at a young age and just focusing on the art of music. Without inclusion the music eventually dies.

In all the years we've played together, we only recently started playing in a duo format. This recording is our only duet session I believe we've done. It's a timepiece for me. I'm glad we did.