Miloš: New York bassist, singer and multi-instrumentalist Clint Bahr was twenty years ago a member of the wild free-rock trio TriPod, whose eponymous album was one of the first titles of the MoonJune Records label (other TriPod members were saxophonist Keith Gurland and drummer Steve Romano). In the spring of 2022, Clint released the album Puzzlebox on MoonJune Records, which features a very diverse line-up of musicians:  ex-members of the legendary progressive rock bands King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator and Flash as well as personalities of the avant-garde jazz scene. Clint and I talked about the album and other connections in an email interview.

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Clint Bahr has worked in concert and on studio projects such as Andromeda, 40 Familys (he particularly appreciates this line-up with his long-time partner, drummer Billy Ficca), Menage á Trois, and Eartha Kitt. He also recorded the song “One More Red Nightmare” for the eponymous album tribute to King Crimson. In 2021, he received a grant from the New York City Artist Corps to lead a concert of free improvisation at Pyramid Studios. Videos of three songs from the evening are on his YouTube channel.

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The new album is the first output of Bahr's changeable project Puzzlebox. He invited three members of the prog rock band Flash from the early 70s: original Yes guitarist Peter Banks (who died in 2013 and is represented by one guitar solo sent to Bahr by his friend and Banks' manager George Mizer), drummer Mike Hough and singer Colin Carter. Other participants in the colorful puzzle are saxophonist and flautist David Jackson (VDGG), violinist David Cross (King Crimson), drummer Billy Ficca (Television), renowned (free) jazz pianist Marilyn Crispell, trombonist Dick Griffin (Sun Ra, Roland Kirk), saxophonist and oboist Jeff Schiller (The Roots), and sitar and violin player Dan Parkington (Andromeda). 

What were Bahr's musical beginnings like?

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Clint: I became a professional musician in 1968, when I was only fourteen years old. We won the Battle of the Bands with my old musical partner Dan Parkington, who plays violin and sitar on my album. Since then, I have gone through countless different projects in areas such as rock, jazz, folk, avant-garde, free jazz, cabaret, etc. It's not unlike the diversity of Puzzlebox.

In the early '70s, I moved from Eastham, Massachusetts to London. I found the British music scene much more interesting than what was happening in the States, with a few exceptions. London was a complete hotbed back then. There was so much music coming from there, it was just amazing. After rehearsals, I went to the Marquee Club and carried a bass case with me, so I rarely paid the entrance fee, which was only 50 pence at the time! The first band I made contact with was Flash. We became friends and we still are today. Sadly, guitarist Pete Banks (ex-Yes) left us... I miss him a lot! The next meeting was Wild Turkey with bassist Glenn Cornick (ex-Jethro Tull). He was a great guy and we also became good friends. So I met and jammed with a lot of really wonderful musicians and amazing people... Those were great times!

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Miloš: Bahr was at one time even a member of Flash, who released the comeback album Flash featuring Ray Bennett and Colin Carter in 2013. 

Clint: I joined them in their reincarnation between 2008 and 2009 and then I had the idea to create Puzzlebox as a band that would play half free improvisation and half composed songs. Mike Hough and I also played on Colin Carter’s solo debut, ‘One’.

Miloš:  Harmonium, Acoustic Guitars, Piano and Theremin, plus various trinkets in addition to 12, 8 & 4 string basses, and sings on five of the twelve tracks. His vocal performance is somewhere between John Lennon, John Wetton and David Bowie. He is the author of all compositions except for three collective improvisations, in the spirit of adventurous psychedelic free jazz. In them, Clint plays mainly the Stick and his teammates include Marilyn Crispell, Dick Griffin and Jeff Schiller, among others.

Where did he meet these jazz personalities?

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Clint: Marilyn Crispell is a dear friend of mine who I've known since the mid-seventies, when we both lived and made music in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where I grew up. I met Dick Griffin here in NYC on a bus trip. We chatted and became friends. Jeff Schiller is a great guy I've known for over 30 years from the New York music scene. This year we will be working together on a new record of Puzzlebox.

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I rotate and use certain instruments because of their different sound qualities for each recording. It's a confluence of circumstances that, for example, I used the Stick on the album in improvisations. It was a natural choice for “Plate” and “As Tympani Melt In The Greek Heat”, as its wide tonal range blends really well with piano, trombone, woodwinds and violin. I used different basses in composed pieces because of their heavy rock nature. The songs themselves usually dictate what instrument needs to be played.

Miloš: In addition to the four songs and two short atmospheric instrumentals, the album is completed by the opening and closing drone miniature Tabula Rasa 1 and 2 with tambura, sitar, flute and violin, the short psychedelic “Oslo” with Stephanie Feyne reciting, and the beautiful acid-folk piece “Lifeguard in the Rain” with harmonium, acoustic guitar and oboe. 

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“Tabula Rasa 1 & 2” frame the album and feature David Cross, David Jackson and Dan Parkington. Their relaxing nature is on the opposite end of the dynamic spectrum from the above-mentioned rock songs. 

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Clint: The themes of the lyrics are rather dark, dealing with nuclear domination (“New Design”), child abuse (“Shelter”), prostitution (“Fall From Grace”), loneliness (“Lifeguard In The Rain”), sex in politics (“Kicking The Wasp's Nest”), and infidelity (“Oslo”). The lyrics will soon be published on www.puzzlebox.band.

Miloš: The sound and genre diversity of the album directly evokes the listener's attention and although the first impression may be somewhat disorderly, after a few attentive listens you can fall in love with the diversity. Despite all the ingredients that Bahr put into his Puzzlebox, or perhaps because of them, we can call this a progressive rock work in the pure sense of this expression. 

Clint: Puzzlebox is a complete album from start to finish. I didn't plan to focus on a single style. I wanted the record to be half vocals and half instrumentals, to put it together in such a way that it was a flow of sound and atmosphere. Also, the keys vary as much as possible from song to song to make the experience more interesting for the listener. Whoever listens to the album in its entirety will experience the flow of how one song connects with another. And that's how the record is supposed to be heard.

Miloš: Finally, I asked Clint if he knew any musicians from the former Czechoslovakia and if he had any message for Czech listeners and readers:

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Clint: Yes. Although I don't know him personally, I'm a big fan of Czech bassist Miroslav Vitous from Weather Report - he's an amazing musician! The Czech Republic is the only country in the region where I haven't played yet. I toured Europe several times and performed in all the countries near yours, but surprisingly no one arranged for me to play in the Czech Republic. I would really like to perform there and meet the people, I hope it will work out. In conclusion, I want to thank you for this interview and warmly greet your listeners and readers... I'm sending love from New York City!!!