by Sarah Thomas

When COVID-19 brought live art-making to a standstill in spring 2020, vibraphonist Simon Moullier left New York City, spending time at his family’s house on a small island off the coast of Brittany, France. Moullier’s newest record, Isla, features music composed during that time and is a deep evocation of that place.

This week, Moullier returns to The Jazz Gallery stage to celebrate Isla’s release with bandmates Lex Korten, Alexander Claffy, and drummer Jongkuk Kim. We caught up with him to talk about the island and evolving through composing.

The Jazz Gallery: Could you start by telling me about your album that’s coming out this Friday, February 17?

Simon Moullier: The album is a dedication to the island that I spent a lot of time on as a kid. This island is located in the northwest of France, in Brittany. It's very wild. There aren’t many big buildings and cars and all that stuff. It's a very special place. There are a lot of cliffs, wind, both rough and calm seas—lots of variety in the landscape.

This island represents a little more than just the island. It also represents my roots. The part of nature there had a strong influence on me growing up.

TJG: How have nature and this island influenced your writing musically? 

SM: I feel like a lot of people have a similar story, but during the pandemic I left New York for about a year. I couldn't really be here anymore. There was no work left in the city, so I went back home, and spent a lot of time on the island. My family doesn't live there full time. It’s a family house that we go away to at times.

I spent a lot of time playing music there at the house, and writing a bunch of songs. A lot of them never saw it past the island and I never played them anywhere else. But some of these songs are the ones that are on the record. 

So the beginning of those compositions came out of that time during the pandemic where I was on the island. It felt like time stopped, because usually if you go somewhere to take a rest and take some time off, you always have a little piece of your mind saying, “But I could have been there or there or there, and I could have done this work or this work.” But in this case, it was more like, “Well, I'm here and the whole world is currently stopped.” So it felt like I was fully present being in a “time off” situation. 

I was lucky to have this place to retreat to. You go outside and it's really special, because every day is a different landscape and different weather. It’s never the same. So I would write a bunch of music, record it, then take a bike ride outside and just listen to it while taking in the setting. It was really fun.

TJG: This is your third album in two and a half years, which is a lot. What do you feel spurred on that outburst of releases?

SM: I had a bunch of tunes that I wrote since around 2017, so I was kind of backlogged. When you put out an album, those tunes are already probably a year old, or maybe two years old in some cases. When you’re recording it, you’re thinking, “I can't wait for this to come out,” because it’s what you’re working on at that point. Then when it finally comes out, you're already doing other things. They’re year-old tunes. So this is always the case.

But I just generally like writing. It's part of the expression in music. Writing develops itself just like your playing. It grows with you and it grows with the environment around you. Depending on the band you're working with or the city you're staying in, the urgency is going to change. And the influences change, as well. 

I have two main projects—one where I'm writing original music, which is the quartet, and the other one where we do standards, which is a trio. It's really fun, because those two projects have a lot of freedom within them to explore a bunch of different directions. In October, I’m releasing a new trio album, which is a set of standards, so right now I'm mostly excited about that. 

TJG: Is that the same trio as your last record, Countdown?

SM: Yes. It’s hard to build consistency nowadays, because there are just so many musicians everywhere. But I'm really trying to, if possible, build at least some sort of consistency throughout. 

TJG: I noticed that Jongkuk Kim is on all three of your albums, and there’s some other overlap too.

SM: He's the biggest constant, for sure. We've known each other for 11 years or something. We went to school together. We have a really good friendship and we understand each other on a lot of things. He helps me go in different directions, and has always been a big source of inspiration.

TJG: Is the quartet a group that came together for this album?

SM: Yes, this band came together for the recording in July. Then after that, I wanted to get some dates with them and build some consistency with them to develop the sound a little further.

TJG: Are there any shows coming up with the quartet that you're particularly excited about?

SM: Most of the shows are on the East Coast, but I also planned a West Coast tour in May. I’m excited for all of the shows, really, because I get to go back to some of these great venues and play original music.

Simon Moullier plays The Jazz Gallery on Friday, February 17. The group features Simon Moullier on vibraphone, Lex Korten on piano, Alexander Claffy on bass, and Jongkuk Kim on drums. Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. ET. $20 general admission (FREE for members), $30 cabaret seating ($20 for members), $20 Livestream (FREE for members). Purchase tickets here.