Faquini, a native of Brazil, has lived in Berkeley, California, since he was 8. At 15, while studying in the Berkeley High School jazz program, he began a mentorship with renowned Brazilian composer Guinga. In 2016, Faquini released “Metal Na Madeira,” a collaborative album with singer Paula Santoro.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Sonic union
While Cressman and Faquini crossed paths on several occasions, they didn’t make a true musical connection until they performed together at California Brazil Camp in the small town of Cazadero, nestled among the redwood trees in the northern part of the state.
“I knew a lot about Ian because he’d worked with mom,” Cressman said during a recent weekend break in the middle of the two-week camp. “We had met outside of Brazil Camp, but that’s where the duo was really born. We started playing music there and realized the sound of guitar and trombone was really nice. It’s something we didn’t necessarily see happening a lot, so we started collaborating from there. The crazy thing is, shortly after that time we realized we had actually been at camp together as kids.
“My mom took me for the first time when I was 7 and Ian was also there,” Cressman said. “There was a kid’s program at that time, and we actually (have) pictures of us playing together, which is crazy. I had a very long break from going to camp after that. I went again in 2016 and I’ve been every year they’ve had it since then. There were a couple that didn’t happen because of the pandemic but I’ve been back every year since I came as an adult.”
While getting acquainted as adults, Cressman and Faquini realized beyond the unique pairing of trombone and acoustic guitar, they also shared a magical vocal synergy whether singing in English or Portuguese.
“The first thing we collaborated on was a song he wrote (with) lyrics I wrote,” Cressman said. “(It) worked really well but it was just me singing and him accompanying me on guitar. I love to harmonize and sing backup vocals, so I worked on that as we started getting material together. Ian would sing the lead on a lot of his songs that were in Portuguese, and I started finding these little pathways to compliment what he was doing. It became part of our sound to have these closely weaving harmonies, a texture we use in a lot of our material.”
Watch the official music video for “Ralando Coco” from the album, “Auburn Whisper,” by Natalie Cressman and Ian Faquini:
In the studio
Cressman and Faquini released their first duo album, “Setting Rays of Summer,” in 2019 and the follow-up, “Auburn Whisper,” in 2022.
“Our latest album was a bit of a pandemic project,” Cressman said. “We had a song or two already kind of tracked out right before everything shut down. Then we got into the groove of weekly recording sessions with my dad. He has a home studio, and we were in a bubble with him. We’d come over on Sunday night and make my parents dinner, sleep over and we’d spend all day Monday recording.
“We’d usually start with a basic track of guitar and vocals,” Cressman continued. “Then I’d go and write these trombone choir arrangements throughout the next week to then record the following week. At first it was going to just be one or two songs with trombone arrangements, but Ian really liked the sound. He was like, ‘That should be the sound of the whole album,’ so that’s what we did with every track.”
The extended downtime during the pandemic gave the musicians an unprecedented opportunity to craft the material without a tight deadline.
“Working on the album kept us focused during this void of having no gigs and very little work,” Cressman said. “It also gave us the luxury of having lots of time to explore and play around with these songs. It’s so rare to have that. When you’re in a studio, you’re paying by the hour. You’ve booked a certain amount of time. If the inspiration isn’t there or your voice doesn’t feel right, you have to settle with what happens in that short amount of time. If something wasn’t working, we put it away for a few weeks and looked at it later, no problem, no stress.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
New music
Cressman and Faquini, now based in New York, have been working on new music. The duo recently completed a holiday project and planned to record the next full-length in California in the days before this current tour started.
“We have a Christmas EP coming out in late November,” Cressman said. “That’s a fundraiser for a cancer charity and it’s going to be 7-inch vinyl. It will also be released digitally in December. We’re actually going into the studio this week to record our next duo record. It’s going to feature the music of Guinga, a teacher at Brazil Camp and one of Ian’s hugest influences. Guinga has become a mentor to me too in the last seven years. He’s written lyrics to a few of Ian’s songs so we’re going to get to have him as a special guest on our record, which is very exciting.”
Unlike the leisurely session for “Auburn Whisper,” this album will be recorded in a matter of days.
“I’m doing Brazil Camp this week but we’re also going to record at the studio (for) two days,” Cressman said. “We’ll be going back and forth to camp. I’m kind of wearing two hats. It’s a lot all at once this summer but we have a tight deadline with the label we work with, GroundUp Music. We need to turn it around and get it out next spring.
“We also have limited time with Guinga,” Cressman added. “We can always finish it up at my dad’s studio. It’s definitely going to be a lot more live than the past record. Hopefully we’ll have the bulk of it recorded by the time we leave for tour.”
This stretch of dates brings Cressman and Faquini to Dayton for the first time for an intimate performance in The Brightside’s VodVil Bar. Local artist Frank Calzada will open the show at 8 p.m.
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or donthrasher100@gmail.com.
HOW TO GO
Who: Natalie Cressman and Ian Faquini
Where: The Brightside, 905 E. Third St., Dayton
When: Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Cost: $18 in advance, $25 day of show
More info: 937-410-0450 or www.thebrightsidedayton.com
Artist info: www.nataliecressman.com
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