Chris Doherty - Call Me Jonah, I'm Geppetto (2025) [Hi-Res]

Whilst composing and producing this second foray into jazz fusion, I've been meditating on those aspects of my life that have changed since the release of Wise Up, Wee Boy. I've become a parent for the first time, which has thrown open a million new thoughts and emotions. After months of trying to settle on a straightforward theme, I took a leaf out of James Anderson's book (a Derry-based poet and singer-songwriter - as well as the drummer on this album!) and attempted to condense my thoughts into poetry.

It is this poem that forms the framework for the themes I wanted to infuse into the music: Finding purpose and joy in parenthood, and embracing a vulnerable sincerity, after living my entire 20s in a state of liquid irony. Publicising this amateur poetry here is in itself I guess an act of vulnerable sincerity.

There are deeper questions of course. How can collectively improvised music convey the extra-musical themes of the composer? I personally believe there is a type of composer-music osmosis. Ultimately I guess any album is a snapshot in time of all those involved. Everybody pours in their unique energy and emotion.

Wise Up, Wee Boy was focused on creating a particular vibe as the foundation to improvise over, which we collectively bought into. Call Me Jonah, I'm Geppetto is much freer. The rhythm section, rather than creating looped grooves (for the most part), is having a constant conversation. This of course runs the risk of miscommunication, stepping on toes (The Hedgehog's Dilemma), but what results is a more honest, sincere representation of every musician's unique voice, the choices we make in the moment.

Structurally, the track-list is loosely based on the hero's journey archetype. I hope you'll enjoy the ironic start, arriving on December 6th. Then join me on January 17th to step out into the unknown, die/transform and return home to sincerity.