Kira Roessler Goes Jazz With ‘Enigma’

Legendary Los Angeles musician Kira Roessler is most famous for her stint as the bassist for Black Flag during their jazz period, playing on such classic works as Slip It In, Loose Nut and The Process of Weeding Out.

Over 40 years later, Kira veers as close to jazz as she’s ever gone in her career with the release of her excellent second solo album Enigma on the Org Music imprint. The continues the sonic trajectory she began on her 2021 solo debut KIRA, albeit in a style that recalls the boho jazz vibes of Asylum-era Tom Waits, Rickie Lee Jones and Mose Allison.

“Enigma is the continuation of the narration of my life through song — honest, if over-dramatized statements about what is in those moments,” Roessler explains. “Leaning into the raw feeling of it all. I feel very lucky to be able to share some new music with those who listen.”

Co-produced with her brother Paul Roessler (Screamers), Enigma finds Kira further refining her singular artistic voice. The album also features contributions from Petra Haden, whose backing vocals add subtle texture to the record’s spacious sonic landscape. While maintaining the minimalist foundation that has become a hallmark of her solo work, Enigma expands its emotional and tonal palette, revealing new dimensions in Roessler’s songwriting.

Rock & Roll Globe caught up with Kira for a quick hello and ask about Enigma, her longstanding affinity for jazz and what’s next with her day gig as an award-winning sound editor for film.

Enigma will be available now on vinyl, CD, and digital formats via Org Music.

 

What inspired the direction for Enigma?

Enigma is more a continuation of an ongoing mission than a single direction. This mission is about me finding expression for all the emotions that go on in my life….

So in choosing the songs to be included on Enigma I did focus in on this new-ish song “Enigma” about the loss of a friend and mentor. I included two songs on which I had a demo of him playing guitar that we could record to. So Glenn Brown gets to be the focus in multiple ways.

But there were many tales to tell…..

 

What was the songwriting process like for this album?

I generally write first with an idea, then with a bass line or some phrases, and then evolve those into melody and bass parts. Then I generate a second bass line which has rhythmic interplay with the first.

Paul (my brother, on piano) and I then collaborate on turning the second bass line into a piano part. I spend time with Dave Bach on drums working on drum parts.

With Enigma, we then recorded many of the songs live for the bass and drums which I think really helps make that ‘band’ sound.

How long have you been a fan of jazz?

I was introduced to the jazz via a favorite all time artist Billie Holiday. I was given a cassette of her album Music for Torching when I was 14.

When I was looking for a bass teacher, I also picked a jazz teacher because I was so interested in the walking bass lines I was hearing.

 

What jazz bassists inspire you as a musician?

I often say that my inspiration comes more from the people I play with and collaborate with than who I listen to.

But those old time players like Walter Page and John Kirby …Ray Brown … Charles Mingus…. Ron Carter had a book I learned from. There were quite a few in those early days.

I also had a trombone book that I learned some great lines from….

 

What jazz vocalists inspire you as a singer?

Of course, Billie Holiday and Bessie smith. I stayed pretty rooted in this period .

 

I really like your brother’s piano playing on this album and was wondering what inspired its stated emphasis on these songs? Were many of them written for piano?

Paul and I have developed a style primarily by using a second bass line that I have written for him to start with and developed piano parts starting there.

I have been writing two-bass music now for almost 50 years. The intertwining lines and give and take rhythms have evolved over that time. They may seem jazzy but they evolve for a place of finding the holes, and creating the spaces more than being influenced by someone else. My biggest influence in that way was probably Mike Watt who I had a band named dos with. He really pressed on the idea of us not being on top of each other.

 

What are some of your favorite piano jazz trios?

This honestly isn’t something I have taken a deep dive into in my life … The fact that my band has evolved into something like this definitely came a long way around.

 

I’d love to hear more about the working with Petra Haden on the album.

Petra’s contributions on this record, as always, are epic. On “Fluid Reset” I simply asked her for some ‘aaahhh’s at the end. She came back to me with seventeen tracks of non verbal harmonies that I could slather all over the song … It gets the biggest at the end where I had envisioned it, but it is featured throughout. The songs fluid feeling is completely supported in those voices…

On “Crossed Purpose” I told her I was struggling coming up with a melody. I gave her the words and the music. She came up with like ten different melodies which she recorded all of. Then I picked through and used a different melody with every line so she is just being creative all over the song…. I just provide the responses during the verses …

The rest of the vocals are mine …..

 

VIDEO: Kira “Enigma” 

What’s it like to release new music in this modern age? So different from the way it was back in the day, right? Especially in terms of indie and underground music. Do you feel like you have more of an advantage these days than you did back in the ’80s?

There are so many choices that everyone has …. And social media seems to play a big part… although I do think people just give it a ‘like’ and move on. Most don’t have the patience to give a record a chance because they are bombarded with all sorts of records. …

But the actual release process is streamlined in that you can offer the record at the click of a button…

Not having to “go into the studio” but recording music in my own home and at home studios or small indie studios ….

 

Would you consider the music you were creating with Black Flag to be jazz?

Some of the instrumental work we did was improvisational for Greg and Bill. Normally I would hold a jazzy riff down and they would be quite free to go wild around the riff… But when Henry was singing a lot of the songs were more rock influenced. In the cool instances that Henry wrote lyrics to what was instrumental first … we have the best of Black Flag in some ways…. I think Greg had some jazzy influences and brought them to bear in Black Flag.

 

Are there any plans to tour behind this album?

I would love to be able to make that happen. I will just say that there is an openness to that possibility.

 

What do you have coming up next, be it in terms of new music or new sound editing gigs?

 

I am always making new songs and working with Paul and Dave to flesh them out. The recordings are many … and there are plenty since the record that I am fond of. Songwriting is just an ongoing endeavor… separate from record releases ….

 

I worked on Project Hail Mary last year, which was quite a project. Since then I hav

e had smaller roles on smaller projects. Feels like you never know what is coming next in that business…