Xander Naylor: Following Energies

Music, like a story or a painting, will many times be inspired by real life experiences and then the artist's imagination takes over, giving listeners a window into the artist's soul.  Composer, guitarist, leader, and Burlington, Vermont native Xander Naylor gives audiences a window into his soul, crossbreeding introspection with modern jazz improvisation and North Indian Hindustani classical music, drawing on over fifteen years of study with tabla maestro Samir Chatterjee.

He reveals, "I’ve been studying with Samir since 2008.  I was magnetically drawn to him when I attended one of his masterclasses at The New School.  I had heard his tabla playing on a record and was immediately drawn to the sound and the depth of its spirit, which was unlike anything I had heard."

"I couldn’t quite put my finger on it," he confesses.  "It’s interesting, he plays tabla, I play guitar; it doesn’t always happen like that.  The virtuosity of his playing is one (huge) thing, but also, I haven’t met many people who spend so many hours of their day involved in music.  Just the thought of him is a reminder that I can always be more involved with music, and when I involve myself more with music I notice life always seems to get better.  That’s a lifelong lesson."

Naylor, once again, works with Samir Chatterjee on his 2026 release Children of Sound.   He explains how he came up with the title for the recording, "While I was writing the music for this record I met Michael Mwenso, with whom I’ve toured for the last few years.  As goes with gigs sometimes, I was learning his whole set of music while simultaneously writing my own record."

"When this happens," he discerns, "sometimes the outside music seeps in.  He had a lyric that said 'we are the children of light,' and I thought to myself, 'Maybe we are the children of light, but we’re definitely also the children of sound'."  

"Music is the first language we learn," he ascertains.  "We heard the beat of drums and the rhythm of the human voice while we’re in utero.  Whether we’re conscious of it or not, music shapes our lives, and we all have the ability to shape the world through music.  I realized midway through writing the record that most of the time I had my one-year-old son Tal in mind.  I realized I was writing the record for him.  He’s definitely a child of sound."

Real life experiences enter into Naylor's compositions and then his imagination shapes the chord progressions and improvisations.  He cites, "Some pieces come to me very quickly.  Both the music and title for 'Internal Eternal’ arrived like a gift in about ten minutes, but others take longer to reveal themselves."

Regarding the inspiration for his track “Wait for the Big Fish, Part I," which is followed with Part II, he simplifies, "Sometimes you just have to wait, like in the Hemingway story.  In my experience, it’s usually worth it!"

His track "Love After All" offers the audience a personal look into his life, as he proclaims, "At first, I didn’t know what this piece was called, but one day I realized it had always been dedicated to my son, and I thought to myself, 'It’s about love, after all'!"

"Sometimes the opposite is true for rehearsing," he points out.   "A piece like ‘Internal Eternal’ came to me quickly, but required a lot of rehearsing to get right.   For a piece like ‘Love After All’ my approach in the studio is more of following energies.  I wait for the right moment when everyone is in the right mood to hit record.  I think this was either a first or second take."

Following energies is Naylor's barometer during the recording process, which took an unexpected turn in June 2025, when while riding his bicycle, a motorist backed out of a driveway and collided with Naylor.  The accident had a profound effect on Naylor and pushed the release date of Children of Sound into April 2026.

He considers, "The collision, which happened in the middle of 2025, certainly changed my life.  I’ve been very fortunate in that the major results have been feelings of gratitude and acceptance.  If anything, the perspective shift that stemmed from coming so close to death has enabled me to accept all of my work on its own terms!  I think I shed some of my perfectionist tendencies, which certainly makes my day-to-day life easier!"

His recovery period may have obstructed the recording process but his communications with his band mates were ongoing.  Supporting Naylor are: Utsav Lai on piano, Raphaël Pannier on drums, and Birsa Chatterjee on tenor saxophone.  He recounts, "I met Utsav, Raphael and Birsa all through Samir.  It’s a web." 
  

"Raphael played in my band for several years in New York City and on Continuum," Naylor's previous release in October 2020.

"The focus of this record was to write for an entire ensemble of musicians who had experience with both jazz and North Indian Hindustani classical music," he surmises.  "Basically, thanks to a grant from the Vermont Arts Council, I was able to bring together a dream ensemble that normally wouldn’t meet.  Raphael happened to be coming to New York from Paris at the time I was hoping to record.  You can’t make this stuff up.  All of these musicians are masters in their own right, and they blessed this recording with their dedication to music and to sound."

Naylor was blessed with a dedicated team of musicians and also with an artist council that supports him.   He touts, "My experience with the Vermont Arts Council has been great!  They are a very supportive and vital organization in the state of Vermont, funding a broad range of projects and educational initiatives.  I was fortunate to have free reign over my recording project."

He used Bunker Studios in Brooklyn, New York to record the project, recalling, "I recorded one of my previous records, Continuum in the smaller room at the Bunker, but with a different engineer."

"I loved the feel of the main studio space with its openness and ability for everyone to make eye contact," he elates.  "John Davis was recommended to me for his ability to capture the raw energy of acoustic instruments, and since the tuning, timbre, and tonality of the instruments were of such importance for this record, it was a natural fit."

He recollects, "Working with John was very easy, and I found that in most cases he was one step ahead of me with how to track or even what to track.  His workflow is eye-opening, and it allowed us musicians an expansive energetic space to record at our own natural pace, with little thought of technicalities while in the studio.  We mixed this record the old way, live on a console in two days.  John’s way of working with sound both as a technician and with the improvising mind of a jazz musician is quite unique."

A third blessing was bestowed on him when he asked artist Julianna Brazil to create the artwork for the album cover.   He provides, "Julianna is my next door neighbor!  She also makes comics for our arts paper in Vermont, SevenDays.  Over the past several years I’ve seen a lot of her work floating by and it always caught my eye.  This felt like a project for her.  I wanted the art to express a combination of seriousness and childlike wonder.  I think she did that in flying colors!"

When Xander Naylor is not working on his music, he shares that he enjoys, "Going for family hikes.  Making art or playing soccer with my son.  Reading.  Always reading."

An artist endowed with several layers, enjoying music, literary works and visual art, Xander Naylor has an endless supply of inspiration for his music, drawing from his real life experiences and opening his imagination to communicate what his soul sees.  Crossbreeding introspection with modern jazz improvisation and North Indian Hindustani classical music, Naylor coalesces musical cultures, honing a lyricism that morphs into sagacious harmony.


Visit Xander Naylor at:
https://www.xandernaylor.com/
https://xandernaylor.bandcamp.com/album/children-of-sound