On his debut album ‘Let Sound Tell All’, 23 year old musician Julius Rodriguez stirs a cauldron of gospel, jazz, classical, R&B, hip-hop, experimentation, production and sheer technical wizardry to create a stunning debut that commands attention.

As an 11 year old kid, Rodriguez honed his jazz chops at Smalls Jazz Club, wowing elders with his rendition of his favorite Ellington tune ‘Take the A Train’. Fast forward to 2018 when he dropped out of Juilliard, shimmying off the rigid curriculum to tour with A$AP Rocky.

Fast forward to 2022, Rodriguez is on the cusp of a stellar release that weaves his life and influences – from Monk, Coltrane, Solange, James Blake, Sampha and more. Call him Gen-Z jazz, but when you hear Julius Rodriguez play “the music”, as he calls it, it’s a modern Sound, as fluent in history as it is aware of its contemporary context.

His music dares to imagine a future of new standards and sonic excitement. This vanguard was raised in an atmosphere where pop and hip-hop and dance influenced their approaches to melody and harmony and rhythm, so of course it is part of their improvisational DNA. And that’s what Julius Rodriguez’s Sound tells to whoever will choose to listen.

‘Let Sound Tell All’ was recently June 10 by Verve Records.

“Forget all about it and just play”

How do you usually approach songwriting and what was the creative process particularly for ‘Let Sound Tell All’?

Julius Rodriguez: So most of my writing starts out as unnamed voice memos that sit in my phone for a few months until I’m over myself enough to bring the idea to a band and play it out. And then we play those songs and arrangements live, tweaking them to the different environments we play in and the audience responses until we find a groove with the song. And that was most of these songs. A couple tracks were excerpts cut from longer improvisations and explorations, but it all stems from the same songwriting process.

What was the lineup of musicians that recorded it? What was the writing and arranging process like?

I tried to kind of go the Steely Dan route and pick musicians I think were best suited for each song, rather than pick one band to do the whole album. The lineup includes many of my contemporaries and young rising jazz stars, as well as some more seasoned players/mentors, and collaborators outside of the jazz world. Musicians include Giveton Gelin, Morgan Guerin, Ben Wolfe, Nick Hakim, Samara Joy, Hailey Knox, and more. I explained most of my writing process in the previous question, but to continue, of course bringing the music to the studio is a whole other ballgame, but generally I like to keep an open minded process and let any part of it dictate where the song goes. So after finding the rhythm of how a song is played naturally, I look for what production techniques really bring out the emotions and ideas the band and I were attempting to create in the raw take. A beautiful process I’m still really a beginner at.

Would you like to comment on your technique? Give us some insights on developing your technique.

With the piano, the way I was taught and like to go about it is, learn as much as you can and beat it into you until you are sick of it and can do it in your sleep. Then forget all about it and just play. It’s funny—I’m often praised for and complimented on my sound, but then at the same time, I am sometimes (or at least I used to be) scolded or looked crazy because of some of the unconventional ways I carry myself at the piano. But I think it’s because my hands have the muscle memory of how to properly get a good sound, I can do whatever I want with the rest of my body and it doesn’t matter. But I also like to take that approach to every aspect of art. Stay informed, but when it comes time to perform, don’t let the information get in the way of communicating.

“What influences me the most are artists that are not afraid to unapologetically be themselves”

What would you say influenced you the most? Have influences changed during the years?

I think what influences me the most are artists that are not afraid to unapologetically be themselves and do something different. I wouldn’t say my influences have changed, but they have for sure shifted and evolved and compounded. And when you look at them, they all have these qualities to them: Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Meshell Ndegeocello, Amy Winehouse, James Blake, Tyler The Creator, et cetera. These are all artists whose work and influence has proven to transcend genre, and THAT is what inspires me.

Did you attend any school of music? Would you say school assisted on what you became as a musician?

I attended pre-college at the Manhattan School of Music for about 7 years which really helped solidify my musical foundation. I also spent a couple years at The Juilliard School…I got what I did out of schooling but it was still only a piece of my musical upbringing. A lot of what made me who I am as a musician were hands-on experiences: playing in church, trying to keep up at jazz jam sessions, accompanying dance performances and musical theatre, all of these experiences required real time use of the information I got in my schooling, and that is truly invaluable.

What are some of the most important players that influenced your own style and what in particular did they employ in their playing that you liked?

Thelonious Monk for his deep understanding of harmony. Bud Powell for the way he took a style from another instrument and brought it to the piano. Hank Jones for his touch. Herbie Hancock for his versatility. Ahmad Jamal for his use of drama and tension. Aaron Parks for his lyrical quality and phrasing. Jason Moran for his rawness. Could go on and on, and that’s just the piano. On drums, Philly Joe Jones for the vocabulary, Art Blakey for the energy, Roy Haynes for his crisp touch, Tony Williams for the way his phrases flowed, Jeff “Tain” Watts for his responsiveness, Chris “Daddy” Dave for his dynamics and the way he manipulates time, Jamison Ross for knowing how to address a song…it goes on.

Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

Some of my favorite albums and a big emphasis on “some” in case I leave any out and I’m sure I will. ‘Mr. Hands’ by Herbie Hancock, ‘Thelonious In Action’ by Thelonious Monk, anything Stevie Wonder put out from 1972-92, ‘Paradise and Lunch’ by Ry Cooder, ‘Amoroso’ by João Gilberto, ‘The World Has Made Me The Man Of My Dreams’ by Meshell Ndegeocello, ‘Views’ by Drake, and the new thing I’m listening to is Dijon’s ‘Absolutely’.