Keith Borden
Rapper Rob Dz (left) collaborated with Wallmann to create "Love Wins."
When a federal judge in Chicago posed blistering questions to attorneys trying to defend state bans on same-sex marriage, it was music to Johannes Wallmann’s ears. Literally, it turns out.
“I thought there had to be something in there that could make an interesting composition,” says Wallmann, a jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and director of the jazz studies program at UW-Madison. Three years later, Wallmann is out with his new suite and recording, Love Wins.
Wallmann could not get to the August 2014 oral arguments before Judge Richard Posner and two other members of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. But he had a special interest in the proceedings: He and his husband, Keith Borden, were two of the plaintiffs in the ACLU lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s ban (they had gotten married in Canada, where same-sex marriage was legal).
A month later Posner wrote the ruling that upheld an earlier federal court decision striking down Wisconsin’s same-sex marriage ban. In June 2015, the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage across the land.
Wallmann will debut his new work live on Oct. 6, in the season kickoff for the Greater Madison Jazz Consortium’s InDIGenous series. The release date for physical and digital copies of the album is Nov. 15.
“It’s a good time for it,” he says. “We seem to be taking a lot of steps backward and we need to remember to celebrate when we have successes and acknowledge that.”
The uplifting, moving record is not just a celebration of a court victory for gay couples; it’s a celebration of love, period. It’s also a triumphant melding of genres, including spoken word by Madison hip-hop artist Rob Dz, who is also the work’s lyricist.
Jazz is familiar territory for Dz, who performs weekly with the New Breed Trio at Nomad World Pub and with the Chicago Yestet, a 13-piece jazz group.
“He’s absolutely world-class as an improvisor,” says Wallmann of Dz. “There are few people in the world who can do what he can do — freestyle rapping in a jazz setting where he’s able to respond to what’s going on in the music.”
It’s not all spoken word. “Can I Know (More Love),” with vocals by Madison’s Jan Wheaton and lyrics by Dz, is an aching ballad of longing. “We (Will) Love,” which alternates Dz’s words with vocals by Borden, wouldn’t be out of place on the radio. The original audio that inspired the project became “The Seventh Circuit,” a dramatic, frenetic piece that uses snippets of the courtroom conversation.
The combination of a message with a universal theme in Love Wins gives Wallmann hope for a broad audience for the work.
“It’s something I’m really proud of,” he says of the collaboration. “It’s become something more than what I imagined it could have become.”
InDIGenous Jazz
The Greater Madison Jazz Consortium teams up with the Madison Music Collective and Wisconsin Union Theater to present four Friday evenings showcasing the region’s jazz talent. All concerts are free and take place at the Fredric March Play Circle at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 6 — Johannes Wallmann’s “Love Wins” Ensemble. Pianist Wallmann performs with a 10-piece ensemble that includes trumpeter Russ Johnson, saxophonist Tony Barba, bassist John Christensen, drummer Devin Drobka and vocalists Jan Wheaton and Keith Borden.
Oct. 20 — Dave Stoler Quartet. Stoler (piano), a Madison institution, plays with saxophonist Rich Perry (New York City) and Milwaukeeans Chuck Ledvina (bass) and drummer Dave Bayles (Wisconsin Conservatory of Music).
Nov. 3 — Nestle and Lovely Socialite. Nestle is an experimental trio led by bassist Rob Lundberg, who debuts Bird Song, a new album based on archived recordings from the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology. Lovely Socialite is a sextet that combines jazz, classical, rock and hip-hop.
Nov. 17 — Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble. This big-band ensemble performs trumpeter Dietrich’s original composition, “The Sound of Wisconsin.” and members include Tony Barba and Nick Bartell (saxophone), Darren Sterud and Jamie Kember (trombone), Johannes Wallmann (piano), John Christensen (bass) and Megan Moran (voice).
Editor's note: After Isthmus went to press, we confirmed that the Love Wins album will be released on Nov. 15. This article was corrected to reflect the fact that Rob Dz performs weekly at Nomad World Pub with The New Breed Trio, not with the Chicago Yestet. He has performed regionally with the Chicago Yestet, which has 13 members, not 10, as the article stated.
