Music

Powerful new album After Now by South Texas-tied jazz duo looks for hope amid national turmoil

BY SANFORD NOWLIN

We wait for a time after now, a time beyond then that was, a time that now feels distant,” San Antonio Poet Laureate Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson intones over a mournful saxophone during the opening of After Now, a new digital album by Brandon Guerra and Jonathan Leal.

From Sanderson’s poetic introduction, the six-part suite dives headlong into a Monk-reminiscent section driven by angular piano passages and odd time signatures, then into gently lilting horn solos interspersed with synthetic whooshes before ski ering into free improvisation.

And that’s just the fi rst four minutes of the 16-minute composition by the two South Texas-tied jazz artists. Before it’s over, After Now cycles through neo-soul, low-fi hip-hop, trad jazz, ambient music and more spoken word interludes. It’s an episodic journey that quests for a future beyond racial divisions, the climate crisis, political upheaval and gun violence.

While the album doesn’t off er a utopian cure for all that turmoil, it does take listeners on a complex, ambitious and compelling ride. As its dual composers, Guerra — the house drummer at San Antonio’s Jazz, TX — and Leal — an LA-based composer, author and researcher originally from the Rio Grande Valley — make able journey agents.

Leal, who performed on piano and synthesizer, and Guerra, who contributed both drums and keys, are joined on After Now not just by Sanderson but also Jason Galbraith on saxophones and fl ute, Adam Carrillo on alto sax and Curtis Calderon on trumpet.

The Current corralled Leal and Guerra via Zoom to discuss the album, now available for download on Bandcamp.

How do you guys know each other, and how did this project come about?

Guerra: Jonathan and I were part of these groups that are part of an organization called Drum Corps International ... which is kind of like marching band on steroids. There are these groups that are based out of diff erent parts of the country, so you would fl y out and audition. If you were lucky enough to get the spot, then you’d travel all summer long, and it was just really intense rehearsals and performances. We did that together. We were in the same groups in the summers of 2010 and 2011, and that’s how we met each other. It was in Illinois, I think, even though we were both from Texas. We’ve just kind of stayed in touch. I put out my fi rst album earlier this year, and after that came out, Jonathan reached out to me and was like, “Man, I’m listening to this. This is really cool. I think we should work on some music and try to make a recording this summer.” I was like, “Of course. Let’s do it.”

Courtesy Photo / Brandon Guerra and Jonathan Leal

Was this a digital collaboration or were you in the same room together during the recording?

Guerra: We were in the same room together. It started remotely. Jonathan’s in California, and I’m in San Antonio. We were bouncing ideas back and forth, but then we realized that Jonathan could come in town for just a couple days. That was in August, so we recorded the bulk of the music in two days in August together at my home studio in San Antonio.

The story you’re trying to convey is complex. The darker, more outside passages convey how unsettling these times are. Then there are passages, where the music sounds more hopeful. How did you strike that balance between fi nding moments of accessibility and also realizing the power that a more outside approach can have to carry the theme?

Leal: When Brandon and I fi rst started talking about wanting to make something together, one of our creative exercises was, “What are things that we care about right now? What are things that we can’t get out of our heads right now?” ... What emerged for us was a kind of mutual sense of anxiety about what’s transpiring in the present and what the shape of the future might be given the shape of the present. We’re balancing how to think about what’s going on right now with the desire for the future to be be er — and also to think about the future diff erently. A lot of times when folks think about future stuff , it takes one of two modes. It’s usually the straight-up utopian, “Everything will be rosy,” or it’s the straight-up dystopian, “Everything’s going to shit, and everything’s going to be awful in the future.” We didn’t want to fall into either one of those. We wanted to fi nd something diff erent, so we abandoned the word “future” altogether. We said, “Well, let’s call it something diff erent. Let’s call it the ‘After Now,’” so that’s how we got to the title of it. We were just riffi ng on this. We didn’t have any poetry or anything like that. Then Brandon and I were talking, and we said, “It would be great to have some spoken word on this or some poetry to anchor all of these feelings.” So, Brandon reached out to Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson, who’s the current poet laureate of San Antonio. [She’s got a] genius composer’s mind, and she’s a poet and spoken word artist and performer. She really provided the sort of language anchor for us, and then she came and recorded that with Brandon at his studio before we’d wri en any music really.

Historically, great jazz has come out of trying times, especially creative music that pushes the genre forward. Do you feel like, in some way, this album is similar?

Leal: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that’s something that we’ve talked about together, and that came out in the improvisations and where we went musically. But you’re right, jazz and creative music, improvised music, certainly in the ’50s and the ’60s and ’70s — but even before that, in the ’20s — it’s a music that was born of struggle. It was born of strife. It was born of Black and Brown folks trying to fi nd community together in incredibly repressive situations. ... I think that because Vocab’s voice is part of this, it really anchors all of that together, and it does put this in a long continuum of musicians and artists who have been trying to respond to social pressures using the tools that they have. Music is not going to stop bullets, or it’s not going to stop bombs from dropping, but it can create conversations and create occasions for people to come together and, hopefully, fi nd new ways of responding to things that can be helpful for folks.

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critics’ picks

Thursday, Dec. 1

Drugdealer, Reverend Baron, Velvet Saddles

Multi-instrumentalist Michael Collins leads Los Angeles-based psych-pop outfi t Drugdealer. If his name sounds familiar, it may be because he’s also led groups including Run DMT, Salvia Plath and the R&B duo Silk Rhodes. In 2013, Collins embarked on an e ort to created more traditionally formed songs, and after three years of work, Drugdealer released The End of Comedy, which featured cameos from friends including Ariel Pink and members of Weyes Blood. The band’s latest release, Hiding in Plain Sight, continues with good-vibes grooves that would sound at home on ’70s AM radio. $18-$20, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — Danny Cervantes

Friday, Dec. 2

D.R.I., Metal Riser, Mortar, Unnecessary Surgery

Houston-based thrash pioneers D.R.I. emerged from the 1980s punk scene and later tempered their ultra-fast blasts of anger with enough crunch to appeal to a metal audience. There’s been speculation for years now that the band has been working on new material, but with that yet to be seen, San Antonio heshers can still rejoice in hearing their favorite rapid-fi re D.R.I. screeds live ahead of the holiday season. $17-$20, 7 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — Brianna Espinoza

Saturday, Dec. 3

French Police, Blood Club, Haunt Me, Lesser Care

Chicago-based trio French Police takes a modern approach to new wave music. The band bases its sound around a driving rhythm guitar reminiscent of New Order. French Police’s latest EP, 1995, leans heavily on romantic indie pop, however. Postpunk trio Blood Club — also hailing from the Windy City — are among a trio of openers. $25, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — DC

Saturday, Dec. 3

Ice Nine Kills, Black Veil Brides, Motionless in White, Atreyu

Heavy metal and horror movies go together like cheese and fi ne wine, so why not combine them into one entity? Ice Nine Kills certainly has. With lyrics derived from favorite horror movies and music that sounds like something from a suspenseful fi lm, the band delivers the whole spooky package. Ice Nine Kills also enhances its stage presence with props and outfi ts that mimic those of iconic horror villains. The band is on the third iteration of its Trinity of Terror Tour, which includes bands that are known for either wearing all black or all white in their music videos — those being Black Veil Brides and Motionless in White. (We’ll let you guess which band dons which hue.) $35.50-$85.50, 6:30 p.m., Tech Port Center + Arena, 3331 General Hudnell Drive, (210) 600-3699, techportcenter.com. — BE

Wednesday, Dec. 7

Turnover, Video Age, Temple of Angels

Critics have described Turnover with a laundry list of adjectives, including pop-punk, dream-pop and emo. Given that the Virginia Beach-based band once toured with New Found Glory, pop-punk seems like a decent enough fi t. Even so, these guys have been doing it for more than a decade and their sound is

Donovan Melero

much more refi ned than that descriptor might suggest. While arguably indie rock at its core, a lush veneer hangs over the music of Turnover, giving it a more ethereal quality than one might expect. $20-$25, 7 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — Mike McMahan

Friday, Dec. 9

Donovan Melero, Moondough

In addition to being a solo performer, Donovan Melero also is the drummer and vocalist for post-hardcore band Hail the Sun. Wait, you may be thinking, drummer and vocalist? Like Don Henley and Phil Collins? Well, maybe, if the Eagles and Genesis were prone to punishing math rock. For this appearance, though, Melero is strapping on a guitar and playing an acoustic set. Although his solo material is more rock-oriented, it’s easy to hear how the songs could be stripped down. And he still sings with the passion you’d expect from a post-hardcore vocalist. In other words, you won’t hear “Hotel California.” $16-$18, 7 p.m., Vibes Underground, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 255-3833, vibeseventcenter.com. — MM

Saturday, Dec. 10

Rod Wave

After perfecting his downbeat approach to hip-hop over three albums starting with 2019’s Ghetto Gospel, Rod Wave announced this summer that Beautiful Mind would be his last “sad-ass” album. The release debuted in August as a Billboard No. 1, making it his second chart-topper after 2021’s SoulFly. The album features the successful singles “Alone” and “Stone Rolling.” On the standout “Yungen,” Rod Wave brings forth melancholy melodies over a lusciously layered track that also features trapper Jack Harlow. $49.50 and up, 8 p.m., AT&T Center, 1 AT&T Center Parkway, (210) 444-5000, attcenter.com. —Marco Aquino

Zoé

Mexico’s Zoé — including members León Larregui, Sergio Acosta, Jesus Baez, Ángel Mosqueda and Rodrigo Guardiola — has maintained its infl uential career for more than two decades, dropping seven studio albums and winning both a Grammy and two Latin Grammys. Zoé’s melding of Mexican sounds with indie rock, psychedelia and synthpop became so infl uential that in 2020, Mexican grupero act Bronco even covered the band’s

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“Soñé.” Zoé is touring behind 2021’s Sonidos de Karmática Resonancia. $82.50-$102.50, 9 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — MA

Upon A Burning Body, Left to Su er, The Dialectic

San Antonio’s Upon a Burning Body is making a hometown pitstop in honor of its latest album Fury. After releasing its debut album in 2010, the band blew up internationally, grabbing recognition from all corners of the metal sphere. True to its South Texas roots, the all-Latino band blends cultural themes into its body-slamming songs, which include elements of both groove and deathcore. $20-$23, 7:30 p.m., Vibes Event Center, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 255-3833, vibeseventcenter.com. — BE

Monday, Dec. 12

Covet, The Speed of Sound in Seawater, Their/They’re/There

Math rock heroine Yvette Young leads Covet, a San Jose, California-based progressive rock trio. Young’s parents, both musicians, had her playing piano at age 4 and violin at 7. She went on to earn a degree from UCLA while teaching herself how to play the guitar. Expect to year Young borrow from her classical training in her unique fi nger-tapped approach to the six-stringed instrument. Covet’s 2020 release Technicolor features both sonically complex structures and o -kilter musical touches. The multi-talented Young also created the album’s cover art and was featured as a spokesperson for Logitech in a 2021 Super Bowl commercial. $20-$23, 7:30 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — DC

Tuesday, Dec. 13

Rick Cavender

Yes, Rick Cavender is that car dealer guy. But save your jokes — or maybe tell all your friends if you’re funny — because he’s also been a beloved San Antonio musical fi xture for quite a while. For this gig, Cavender will be celebrating the release of the new album Glow of Christmas Cheer. His mix of vintage rock and classic country is so locally beloved that it makes him a popular act for numerous charity events and even earned him an opening slot with Glen Campbell. Sold out, 7 p.m., Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 2238624, tobincenter.org. — MM

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