Aaron Jensen: Creator of the Countermeasure Songbook
Audiences are acquainted with the the Great American Songbook, the Disney Songbook, the Reader's Digest Songbook, even the SongbookPro app that categorizes collections of songs to make them easily accessible to listeners. Now, Toronto-based indie-soul artist, composer, vocalist, and producer Aaron Jensen has established the Countermeasure Songbook, a vast collection of songs he has written, co-written, and arranged for the 12-piece Canadian-based vocal group Countermeasure, of which he is also one of the vocalists.
He asserts, "Countermeasure is first and foremost, a family. We've been making music together for sixteen years. We've seen each other through good times and bad. We've lived in the same house for five weeks at a time on tour. The music I write for the group is often inspired by experiences we've shared, or by major personal life events of group members."
"In effect," he describes, "this means that we sing the soundtrack of our own lives."
"I've noticed recently that some songs that we've been singing for a decade and a half have a different resonance after all of these years," he gleans, "now that we're at a different stage of our lives. I've made every major career decision based on the people I want to surround myself with. The people I want to explore and experiment with. It has been a pleasure and an honour to make music with this group for so many years."
The 12-piece group, which formed in 2010, consists of vocalists: Gianna Antonacci, Daniel Boyle, Nina Brown, Elora Burns, Icarus Devdas, J-M Erlendson, Aaron Jensen, Marla Kishimoto, Qwyn MacLachlan, Tara Park, Hayley Preziosi, and Jeremy Voltz. They perform a variety of pop favorites, classic jazz standards, and original songs, having enthralled audiences around the world with their flawless harmonies, enthusiastic choreography, and impromptu interpolation.
For instance, Jensen's warm ballad "Annalea" features guitarist Kaki King and vocalist Jeremy Voltz. Jensen provides, "Kaki built the guitar arrangement much like she would have done for a live-looping piece. She covered various functions/timbres - bass, arpeggiation, harmonics, etc. on separate passes, and sent me seven complete layers of material."
"It was such an interesting process from a mix perspective," he reflects. "So often we're building up the arrangement, but in this case, we were stripping away, and uncovering the little treasures buried underneath the sonic strata. A song like 'Annalea' wouldn't benefit from an overly virtuosic performance. It's a tender, vulnerable, personal tune."
He lauds, "Kaki understood the assignment, and instead of providing complex showy takes, she offered an abundance of materials to draw from - each layer played with great sensitivity."
"Jeremy Voltz is a skilled performer," he compliments. "I know that his approach to music is 'feelings first'. He was an obvious choice to sing lead on 'Annalea'."
"Every piece is different," Jensen discerns about the recording. "The songs on this album include a tune that I wrote to buoy the spirits of a member who was battling cancer."
Another song, he shares is "a lullaby I wrote for my daughter which is sung by my wife, and an empowering break-up song written for a 90s pop diva-loving belter in the group - to name a few."
He considers, "Sourcing the guest instrumentalists was a similarly personal undertaking. Kaki King inspired [Countermeasure's vocalist] Daniel Boyle to pick up the guitar when he was a teen."
Delving further, he cites other guest musicians on the recording who were recommended or inspired by the vocalists in the group, such as, "Elora, a french horn player herself, pointed me towards [horn player] Dylan Hart. Marla's love of Snarky Puppy brought me to [drummer] Larnell Lewis. Ditto [with] J-M's affinity for [saxophonist] Leo P, and Qwyn's love for [bassist] Braylon Lacy's playing."
"Finding players that serve the needs of the song, and that also resonate with the members of the group was important to me," he notes. "It adds a layer of depth, connectivity and excitement for everyone involved."
This is true for the track "Into the Air," featuring Saskia Tomkins on nyckelharpa, a traditional Swedish instrument that is a cross between a violin and a cello. The music illuminates an array of folksy Baroque-style tones, resonating a Celtic-like spiritual, silhouette by the chanting vocals of Countermeasure's 12-piece vocal ensemble.
"I've known Saskia through the Ontario music scene for several years," he reveals. "I actually called on her to play on the soundtrack of an interactive VR theatre piece I scored a few years ago. She has such a profound connection to her instrument. I love the rawness of the nyckelharpa. It sounds both ancient and modern. Familiar and arcane. It seemed like a perfect fit for 'Into the Air'."
Besides tender ballads and uplifting spirituals, Jensen also dallies with bouncy R&B and funky grooves driving the track "What's the Rush? (Geddy Lee)." The tune is ignited by the jaunty vamps of pianist Clyde Lawrence and the nuanced vocals of Daniel Boyle.
Jensen explains, "The reference to Geddy Lee in the lyrics of 'What's the Rush?' was a happy accident. For whatever reason, I'd given myself the constraint to leave the house one morning and not return until I'd written a funky Vulfpek-esque tune for Countermeasure."
Vulfpek is a funk-soul-jazz quartet based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The band is known for making improvisation a significant part of their song development. A technique that is recognizable in Countermeasure's music.
"I'm pretty sure the title came first," he establishes about the track, "and shortly after came the goofy idea of giving an overly-eager partner the nickname 'Geddy Lee'. It's such an inside-baseball Canadian reference. It cracked me up, so I ran with it."
"I love Clyde's music," he commends, "and have been following his band, LAWRENCE, for some time. His funk/soul chops made him an obvious choice for 'What's the Rush?'. Daniel Boyle is uniquely adept at committing to the bit - at treating a song with earnest sincerity, but also bringing humour to his performance."
Jensen regards, "I've always loved songwriting. Since graduating with a composition degree many moons ago, I've worked as Composer-in-Residence for choirs, scored short films and VR projects, penned radio jingles, written for television, and collaborated on orchestral, opera, and musical theatre projects."
"Every composition comes with its own unique challenges," he determines. "I enjoy the riddle of discovering each new work, regardless of the genre or media. I actively seek opportunities to compose for artists from a wide range of backgrounds so that I can constantly be challenged, and have the chance to learn from my collaborators."
One such challenge came into his life when he worked with American playwriter, screenwriter and director Steven Peros on the adaptation of the theater production of The Cat’s Meow. He recalls, "I crossed paths with Steven online, quite by chance. I struck up a conversation. We hit it off, shared work, and formed a partnership."
"There's a lot that draws me to The Cat's Meow," he admits. "First off - it's a world that Steven has been exploring for nearly thirty years. He's steeped in its history. It's also a nice break to jump aboard a ship that's already moving full steam ahead,so to speak."
"Musical Theatre is a remarkable art form," he proclaims. "I love the idea that a story I'm contributing to, as a composer, lyricist and/or librettist, could have a life of its own - that a group of artists I've never met could dive into the world that I helped create, and breathe new life into the piece, making it their own. It's such an interdisciplinary, collaborative art form. I feed off the creative energy and enthusiasm of others."
The collaborative atmosphere of being a part of theater productions in addition to being in Countermeasure can be credited to motivating Jensen to be a part of SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival. He imparts, "SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival was the brainchild of my partner in crime, J-M Erlendson, me, Pat Silver, and the former manager of the Nylons, Paul Ryan."
He recounts, "What started as a casual 'pie in the sky' conversation quickly escalated. In our first year, I believe I programmed 80 concerts, workshops, and events. Since then, the Festival has gone on to be awarded one of the Top Festivals in Ontario, year over year."
"SING!," he enlightens, "aligns with Countermeausure's desire to innovate, explore, and community-build. We've had the opportunity to develop a great deal of new exciting repertoire, and to collaborate with artists from around the world through our involvement in the festival."
When Aaron Jensen isn't working on music, he declares he enjoys "spending time with my family, ideally in nature. Writing cryptic crosswords and designing puzzle-y experiences for my friends."
Blending soul, R&B, smooth jazz, coffeehouse folk, spirituals, uplifting chorals, and sonic pop, Jensen brings together a rich fusion that attracts a broad range of listeners. Amassing a vast collection of original material and covers, the Countermeasure Songbook offers an ageless repertoire.
Visit: https://www.countermeasuremusic.com/about/
https://aaronjensen.ca/bio/
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