Nate Mercereau Expresses ‘Openness’

Over the course of its 86 years in existence, Blue Note has released its fair share of jazz that extended beyond bop. 

But not since Ornette Coleman’s Love Call has there been an album as expressive and exploratory in the ranks of the multiverse created by Alfred Lion as Openness Trio, the label debut from Los Angeles experimental mainstays guitarist and producer Nate Mercereau, saxophonist Josh Johnson and percussionist Carlos Niño.

Together, these men bring their expertise in collaborating with such fellow forward thinkers as André 3000, Meshell Ndegeocello, Kamasi Washington, Shabaka, Sam Gendel, Jeff Parker and Makaya McCraven among many others to a new plane of creativity on this trio LP.

Openness Trio is essentially five recordings from five different sessions all around Los Angeles and Ventura County. They recorded outdoors in the hills of Ojai with a view of the Topatopa Mountains,  in an intimate living room setting in Elysian Park, at a Garden of Electronics in the courtyard of an Echo Park home, in an Oak Tree Cathedral at the Churchill Orchard in Ojai, and underneath a pepper tree at Elsewhere in Topanga Canyon.

“Openness Trio is a title that could easily be the name of this group,” says Mercereau. “‘Openness’ is the ideal word and description for what is happening here. Listening, Immersive Emoting, Deep Communication, Discovery, Trust, Exploration, and arriving to the moment to witness and share where we are, where we are going, and where we’ve been — these are all things that allow our music to happen in the way that it does.”

“It is very rare to feel so able to trust anyone so much, it expands your trust and awareness of yourself, and your sense of being trustworthy,” says Niño. “My favorite thing about playing with this Trio is in the title: Openness. The totally psychic communication, connection that we have together is electric and deeply nourishing, invigorating… It is Open.”

“The trio’s title speaks to the music and so much more,” says Johnson. “The trio and its members have expanded my perceptions in and outside the music. For me, it’s reinforced prioritizing beauty and deep care of the music. I remember so fondly being together and playing in the Ojai orchard in early 2021. It was the first time I’d played music with people in a long time, and I remember feeling so so connected. The trio became 3D to me that day — soaring from the start.”

Rock & Roll Globe had the opportunity to catch up with Mercereau for a quick email chat following the release of Openness Trio in late July.

 

How did you go about selecting the five locations where you recorded these performances?

During 2021 – 2022, when a lot of indoor venues were closed, we moved toward recording outdoors and in non-studio environments, and these places came together as a result of that direction. We thought, where do we want to be right now? Carlos Niño facilitated and connected us to some places — houses, gardens, backyards, an orange grove … There were many others, too. 

 

Of the five locations, which one proved to be the most intriguing for you and why?

Each location has its own qualities that are unique and valued, and present in the recordings. We interact with and feel the environment completely, it becomes a part of the music in very direct and also more abstract ways.  

 

What propels the spontaneity of your creative process? 

Trust, presence, openness, willingness, lots of variety of things … I’m always curious what Josh and Carlos are going to do, and what they have been doing and thinking about in their lives. I know they have that for me too, so it’s really about our communication and sharing.  

 

How does this Openness Trio album stand out from other work you’ve done together?

This album has selections from 2021 – 2024, so for that reason it both stands out on its own, and is related to other recordings of this group from that time. This trio is constantly evolving as each of us as individuals move through different explorations in our personal lives, so whenever we come together we bring and hear new things from each other, and those developments are present in this album. 

 

How much did your collaboration with André 3000 last year inform your approach here? 

We are all co-creators and friends and collaborators, we inform and inspire each other.

 

VIDEO: Nate Mercereau, Josh Johnson and Carlos Niño “Elsewhere”

What are your thoughts on the criticism André has received for venturing into your realm of openness, sonically speaking?

I don’t feel that André ventured into our realm. We combined forces and made newness together. 

I think what he is doing could be challenging to someone who is threatened by freedom. 

 

How did you land at Blue Note for this project? 

I’d been talking with Don Was and Alex Anastasi at Blue Note for a while about doing something, and this trio felt right to share together. Blue Note Records is in Los Angeles, we live here, and this music is happening here, so here we are together. It’s new for them and new for us, so there’s some exciting energy as a result of that. 

 

What are some Blue Note albums that you feel share a kinship with Openness Trio and why?

Complete Communion by Don Cherry, especially for the title. These people are telling us how they feel and what the music is by the titles they choose, it’s all in there. Wayne Shorter Speak No Evil, Larry Young Unity, Lee Morgan Search for the New Land, Tony Williams Life Time …

 

In what ways does the music you create serve as a healing force? 

If someone or something is seeking healing and finding it from this music, that’s great and I’m into it. The music is intense and full on and could do a lot of things.