Ted Olsen Continues His Journey as a Composer and Bassist

 

This interview originally aired on The Afternoon Cruise on 06/5/25

READ THE COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT BELOW:

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

It’s the Afternoon Cruise. I’m chatting with Ted Olsen. Ted is a celebrated bassist and composer in town. He’s put a new album out on Friday called Violette. The celebration for the album releases at the Cedar on Wednesday, June 11, the super talented Eric Mayson is performing the opening set. Ted, thanks for visiting jazz 88 and congratulations on the new music.

 

Ted Olsen 

Thanks, Sean, thanks for having me. Really nice to be here,

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

Ted, you are a super, supertalented bassist. And a lot of folks don’t necessarily think of bassists as also composers or of people who really are making their own music. Oftentimes, I’m also a bass player. We’re looked at as a utility role, a very important utility role, I think, frequently very respected, but behind the scenes now, you have also really built up a reputation as a composer in town, and obviously this new album, Violette only adds to that. Can you talk to me about stepping out of your role as a bassist and also identifying as a composer? Or perhaps they came at the same time? Let me know how you became the rare bassist slash composer? Yeah,

 

Ted Olsen 

I think I mean Charles Mingus, there’s the inspiration right there, pretty amazing. But ever since I started playing in little trios, I was always really interested in doing original music and having members contribute tunes. And then that just kind of started and kept going. And yeah, I was always just playing in groups and writing music for the groups, and then eventually decided to write my own quartet record, which came out 2017 joy, fire. And now here’s the next one.

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

Did both of these goals always feed each other. What you learned as a bass player helped you as a composer. What you learned as a composer helped you as a bass player. Did you ever feel like, Oh, I gotta really just buckle down and stop, stop worrying about writing charts and just learn a lot more charts. Or did it always feel like a symbiotic thing where it’s helping each pursuit is helping the other?

 

Ted Olsen 

Yes, and it feels symbiotic. I still feel like I need to learn more charts and write more charts. Yeah. I mean, coming from the base, it seems a little natural, because you’re you have to know the once you know the whole scope of the composition, then you know how you fit into it, and you’re kind of underpinning. You’re the whole foundation of it. So if you’re not really hearing everything that’s happening, it’s hard to know what to play.

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

Now, I’m actually glad you brought up your role and sort of where the bass actually fits in, in the instrumentation, but I want to ask about the writing process for this album, because I’ve listened to it a couple times, and the grand majority of the tunes have strings, woodwinds, some have vocals, drums, piano. It’s a big record, and in for a really long time in my career, Chad, I kind of thought that, like somebody would just go, well, now I’ve written the seven minute bass part, what’s next? The seven minute drum part, what’s next? The seven minute piano part. Until you realize that a lot of folks, and I think imagine is true for you Ted, you kind of have the nucleus. Here’s what works harmonically, and then nope, days later, weeks later, you go, this is actually what the second violin is going to do. This is how they’re going to support the cello. But for folks who haven’t written for an ensemble nearly this large, like me, how do you actually tackle that thing of going? I’m ultimately going to have 10 plus voices. How do you go from the nugget of the idea into the actual All right, folks, here’s the charts. Let’s read it down. Great question.

 

Ted Olsen 

Yeah, there’s some stuff where it was, like just a song, maybe at first, and then like, Oh, here’s the melody, here’s kind of like chords, and I have a groove in mind for the drums, and then you kind of flesh it out and arrange it. And in that scenario, I might go, sometimes I would think section by section and then, but also sometimes you have to write them at the same time, so you know how they balance against each other. But there’s other moments on the album where it is, like, pretty contrapuntal, where you’re like, oh, here actually second violin and flute are in conversation, and then cello and bass clarinet are having their own dialog. And, you know, and then piano comes in, you know, which is maybe even harder to write that way.

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

Let’s talk a little bit about the tune we’ve been featuring here on jazz 88 I want to make sure I get the title right. Dusk, comma, WSK, is that right? WSQ. WSQ, you had to put a Q in there. Well, first off, did you write the lyrics for the tune? Yeah,

Ted Olsen 

I wrote the lyrics for that song. Abby wrote the lyrics for the last tune on the record. Gotcha. But just WSQ, short for Washington Square. I didn’t think that would fit on the CD as well. But also, then you have to listen to the song to

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

figure out, to figure it out. So and Will Kjeer on that one, playing piano,

 

Ted Olsen 

yeah, Will Kjeer takes a amazing intro and solo on that song.

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

Tell me about this. Are all the lyrics written? And then you’re going, Okay, I’m gonna sort of have the strings be the response to the vocals. Or is it as you’re writing the lyrics? You go, Oh, I know what the strings are gonna do right away. Like, where does the arrangement sound? Start and where does the composing end, to some extent.

Ted Olsen 

Yeah, for that one, I had to have the once the lyric was finished, then the then the strings kind of revealed themselves. But, yeah, I mean, that’s going back to Palestrina.

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

Palestrina is the guy who helped me fail counterpoint in freshman year, right? Is he basically the first person who goes take four independent voices and make them navigate their own trip to the same space together.

 

Ted Olsen 

I mean that that too, I was thinking more just like, Oh yeah, it’s but that was really good. You picked up on the the Joanie, just word painting that the the instruments are reflecting the lyrics or hinting at other ways to interpret them.

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

You know, I was a avid music writer and music consumer, age 18, and I take counterpoint freshman year at Bennington College. And my teacher, who was, don’t remember his name, I did not like him, Stephen, but he said, that’s terrible word painting. And that was the first time I had heard this thing. But actually going, how do you do your work in support of the lyrics, so that, if it’s carrying a long emotion, the actual notes the singers are singing as long I tip my hat to you for you doing that really well on that tune.

 

Ted Olsen 

Thank you.

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

Is it a humbling moment to bring a lyric sheet to a vocalist as talented as Aby Wolf and going, here’s what I’m hoping you can sing. Or do you just go listen? I’ve worked on my stuff too. I can share this with Abby and be very comfortable.

 

Ted Olsen 

No, it’s definitely scary, because she’s written a lot more songs than I have, sure, and yeah, this I haven’t done as much songwriting. So this album was fun to kind of dip into that world. And of course, when you’re collaborating with somebody who’s that talented and been doing it for such a long time, so well, it it’s a little anxiety inducing, for sure.

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

It’s The afternoon cruise, I am chatting with Ted Olsen, very talented bass player, also a very talented composer who’s got a new album out called Violette. It’s on streaming services, etc, tomorrow. And also, hey, nobody makes any money from streaming services. You can also pre order and check it out on bandcamp, etc. But the release party is on Wednesday, June 11, at the Cedar. How do you handle string writing without sounding here’s romantic. I want to call it lush, but I feel like lush is this word where people go, Oh, that’s just the only thing you think strings can do. Because if you listen to a lot of pop albums, you don’t hear the string section until it’s time for lush, and then lush is done and you never hear the string section again. But you have sort of moody. You have Stark the very end of dusk, Ws, Q is stark, right? Like that. Ending, it’s not, it’s not. It’s the opposite of lush. It is really not Lush. So how did you make sure to really embrace the full palette of what a string section and individual string players can offer, as opposed to just kind of pulling them in when it’s time for something Lush?

 

Ted Olsen 

Yeah, and we will have vinyl and CD at the CD Understood. June 11, 7:30pm Yeah. I think in thinking of this album, I wanted to, you know, you’re like, Oh, I’m combining strings and like, and kind of like a jazz rhythm section and and a singer. And I wanted to reimagine things. You’re like, Oh yeah, you could, you know, it’s like, for the Sinatra arrangement, it’d be like, Oh, you do an orchestral thing, and then you swing, and then you’re back, and there’s like, never the twain, shall meet. Yeah. I think also, just like talking to some musicians and performers in the classical world who are like, it’s like, oh yeah, if you’re going to have people play this stuff. You don’t just want to hand them like a sheet of whole notes, right? Because that’s like, these musicians are really good. I wanted to find something that they would hopefully kind of enjoy playing, right? And yeah, there’s definitely like, moments where the string section is used in a very pretty, pretty way, in other ways, where it’s kind of like, brings tension, or, you know, is adding, like, spectral, icy layers to the music. Good word, good, you know, percussiveness, and it’s a really, there’s so much different, many different timbres that you can get out of this pretty, you know, hundreds year old instrument. Well,

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

yeah, and you conjure a lot of them, and you conjure them a lot more than is often used in jazz adjacent settings. So I tip my hat to you for that. I’ve been chatting with Ted Olsen. Ted Olsen a very gifted bass player. We’re talking today about your work as a composer, as a songwriter and as a bass player. Tonight, you’re actually playing over to Dakota with cavesh cavarage, Omar, Abdul Kareem and Kevin Washington on drums. Is that right?

 

Ted Olsen 

Yes, the great Kevin Washington.

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

Let’s let’s just ask the question, after you get done printing out all these charts and attaching PDFs and probably taping things together and making sure they land and making making sure everybody’s available, do you just rejoice in the opportunity? Need to do a quartet gig where probably some of the songs you know by heart, some of them, you just have to sort of follow the chord changes and then get comfortable. Is it a huge release to just go be a bass player after all this work as a composer and bandleader?

 

Ted Olsen 

Man, I feel really seen with that taping the parts. I mean, they’re both rewarding in their own way, and especially if it was like after the release show, yeah, that would be a big, big release. But no, I’m really looking forward to playing with the with those guys tonight. It’s they always bring great spirit to the music, and we’re actually playing some new stuff. And, yeah, we’re not kind of resting on the old standards, but they’re, it’s both great.

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

That’s fantastic. I love the tune. The tune, intermezzo in bloom, is that John Raymond on the trumpet on that tune?

 

Ted Olsen 

That is John Raymond on the flugelhorn.

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

My apologies to all the flugelhorn players. Is that a situation where you didn’t overwrite the tune? You said, Okay, I got this great, great player, and John Raymond, I’m gonna let him cook and do some supportive stuff, but really let his improv guide the moment.

 

Ted Olsen 

Yeah, that one come on the CD. It’s right after present tense, which is a really intense statement. And so this one was just kind of like a chance to take a step back a little more deconstructed. I mean, there’s still a lot of structure in there, but it’s nice to just feature jazz improvisation. And yeah, that one is maybe one of the more conventional approaches, but you still put the woodwinds and there’s some collective improv at the end, yeah, and I want to see John shine

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

Ted. It’s a really, really cool record. It’s amazing to see you continue on as a composer, because I know it’s got to be a labor of love. There’s, there’s barely money in playing bass. There’s, it’s a big struggle when you’re also creating your own music and hiring all the musicians and putting it out, you’re celebrating at the cedar on Wednesday, June 11, CD, vinyl, it’s also available on streaming sites tomorrow. And I tip my hat to you for bringing new music into the world and doing it clearly with a lot of expertise and also with a lot of passion. It none of these, none of this stuff, sounds like you were in a hurry. It sounds like you took your time to say what the song needed to say. And I really appreciate that, because that is harder and harder to come by. Good luck with the show on Wednesday, June 11, and congratulations on the new release.

 

Ted Olsen 

Thanks again, Sean. And I should say that, yeah, it was all made possible from the American Composers Forum. You know, without that, I wouldn’t have been able to get a 12 piece band together in studio. So really grateful to have that opportunity. And thanks again for having me.

 

Sean McPherson (Jazz88) 

Oh, absolutely. And yeah, big shout out to the American Composers Forum Ted. Good luck at the show tonight at the Dakota with cavies, Omar and Kevin and good luck at the show at the cedar one week from yesterday, Wednesday, June 11, celebrating the release of the new album from Ted. Olson Violette, congratulations, Ted.

 

Ted Olsen 

Thanks. I’ll see you all there.

 

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