Junius Paul: "Everybody needs to know what’s going on… black, white and in between"

Every edition of the London Jazz Festival usually has at least one musician who can be spotted in several groups on different stages throughout the 10-day event. Last year bassist Junius Paul was the must-see serial gigger. He launched his debut album, Ism, at Church Of Sound, swelled the string section of the Art Ensemble Of Chicago at the Barbican, and joined Soweto Kinch at EartH for the premiere of The Black Peril, a multi-media take on the race riots that rocked Britain, Europe and America in 1919.   

As far as Paul is concerned the socio-political noise of that last performance is not to be put on mute. “It’s just bringing more awareness of those things, so blacks can know their past, and history and that everybody can know, not just us,” he told me at his hotel in east central London. “Obviously, we have to know because it’s ours, but everybody needs to know what’s going on… black, white and in between.”  

If presenting historical truths about the 1920s in the 2020s is a priority for Paul, then addressing the question of his personal identity, musically speaking, is no less important. In the past eight years he has emerged as a vital figure on the Chicago music scene due to his membership of bands led by revered seniors such as the aforesaid Art Ensemble Of Chicago, as well as drummer-producer-forward thinker Makaya McCraven, who is partly responsible for Paul’s album title, Ism – as in 'Junius-ism', referring to one of the bassist’s most creative flourishes. However, the ‘Is’ in Ism is also a nod to a concept defined by two more of Chicago’s highly-respected artists, Kahil El Z’Bar and Corey Wilkes. “They have this thing, ‘Improvised Soul’, which is a way of being and making music. So, the Ism is that too… it’s really what and who you are.”

With this desire for self-definition comes the goal of constant evolution. At the relatively tender age of 32, Paul, as the above credits make clear, already boasts an enviable CV, having largely engaged with artists who fully uphold the visionary ideal of the AACM (Association For The Advancement Of Creative Musicians), as well as built organic bridges between the worlds of playing and programming. Moving between whirling free-improvisation, driving swing and shuddering backbeats, Ism is an album that underlines the fact that Paul has a wide vocabulary and quality sidemen (McCraven, trumpeters Marquis Hill and the aforementioned Wilkes, along with pianist Justin Dillard, among others). His eclecticism has deep roots, though.

“My father was a DJ and mom was a pianist, and music teacher, and science teacher as well. We grew up with so many different types of music in the house all the time. It’s like how do I… it was never something where I had to sit around and say to myself how do I play this folk music gig, do this R&B gig, and then go to something different? It was never that for me... but rather a question of my playing being a product of all my influences, and putting myself into any particular situation.

“So Art Ensemble, Makaya… maybe I’m playing some different things stylistically for each situation, but the common denominator is me… my Ism is just about trying to make it fit.” Be that as it may, Paul hails the springboard for his journey into music. “Oh yeah, the first bass I played came from the pastor of the church who’s a renowned saxophonist, Isaiah Smith. He also played bass for Rufus Thomas.”

Needless to say, untold African-American musicians have learned in a similar context. “Coltrane grew up in the church. The church, and church music, has the one thing that connects all black music. We’re talking to god, then there’s the explosion of sound that happens. It’s feeling the spirit, back to Africa, and it’s our sense of celebration.”

Cultural pride of this kind goes hand in hand with political awareness as far as Paul is concerned. Ism may reflect his individuality, but is not only about him. Chief among the bassist’s concerns is the future of his ville natale and its ‘coloured section’.

“The political structure of Chicago has a longstanding history of corruption so, as Chicagoans, especially black Chicagoans, we’ve had to deal with many things over time.” Paul says. “Changes were thrust upon the black community and still are. Especially now with gentrification, it’s like a whole new level of changes that are being thrust upon a lot of black communities in Chicago. I feel, as Chicago artists, we have an obligation to voice our concerns about the wrongs that go on in our city, and obviously in our country too. There’s so much happening, and over the years a lot of artists have voiced their concerns, and I feel like this generation has too.”   

This article originally appeared in the February 2020 issue of Jazzwise. Never miss an issue – subscribe today!