Harrington, Gustin & Zahn is the collaborative project of Dave Harrington, Jeremy Gustin, and Spencer Zahn. The trio is releasing a new album, Tura Lura, and has shared the following statement:
It’s nice when you don’t really start a band — it just kind of starts itself. After years of playing together (mostly with the improvising collective Exo-Tech and, later, in Dave’s Merry Pranksters band) we found ourselves planning a recording. An impromptu debut as a trio opening for Exo-Tech at Arts Centre Melbourne in Australia inspired Jeremy to start booking us regular gigs as a trio, much closer to home, at Bar Lunático (Dave could actually walk to the gig from his old apartment). Founded and run by musicians, Lunático became not only our little incubator, a place for undirected research, but also a good excuse to hang out and play, and see friends. It’s that kind of room. Often, Jesse Harris (a close friend and collaborator of Jeremy’s) would come and hang at our regular gigs. At one point the idea got hatched of going out to his house by the ocean, where he has a small studio setup, and recording an album—think Big Pink but with views of the water and just enough room for a trio. Not just looking for a pretty view and an escape from the city, we were excited because Jesse wanted to produce the session. His deep understanding of the jazz vocabulary that we are always circling but never quite speaking (musically at least) was invaluable. But most important was his sense of restraint, and comfort with, simplicity and space—he’s the master of a good song. It inspired us to take it easy, wait for the right moments to open up, play, and listen to each other and the room we were in. We brought our friend and master engineer, Phil Weinrobe, with us to record (we also happen to like hanging out with him), and that was it — the record was made in a long lost weekend quietly last summer. We wanted to make music that spoke to the sociality and looseness that permeated our Lunático sets, but was also considered, honed and welcoming to the listener; something good for quiet headphones and also to just put on while you’re puttering around the house. It’s the sound of the three of us being ourselves with each other: talking, thinking, laughing.
Dave Harrington (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, electronics) grew up as a jazz bassist steeped in the world of New York’s experimental underground. Stints followed in psychedelic, indie, and noise bands, eventually leading to the 2011 debut of his Darkside project with Nicolas Jaar. Harrington has since focused on his solo output, releasing two LPs with his Dave Harrington Group — Become Alive (2016) and Pure Imagination, No Country (2019) — while also composing soundtracks for independent film and collaborating with other artists.
Jeremy Gustin (drums, percussion) is a drummer who has toured and recorded with many artists all over the world. He also records solo material as The Ah and has released two albums for NNA Tapes: 2017’s Common Bliss, and this year’s Mere Husk. He also records and performs as one half of Star Rover, along with Will Graefe.
Spencer Zahn (bass, electric piano) is a multi-instrumentalist and performer originally from Massachusetts and currently based in New York. After working as a touring musician, Zahn released his first album under his own name, People of the Dawn, in 2018. He followed up with another album When We Were Brand New last year, and is finishing work on a new album set for release on Cascine later this year.
