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JLCunningham

@jlcunninghammusic

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Writer and player of music. Also @joecunninghamhello @battle_hymns_and_gardens
Long Beach, CA

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10/3/26 Chris Corsano + Marta Warelis + Kim Alpert • BERLIN (Sowieso) by @jlcunninghammusic

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8 days ago

10/1/26 Tony Buck + Flo Stoffner • BERLIN (Morphine Raum) by @jlcunninghammusic

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8 days ago

9/17/26-9/18/26 Good times at @bluebutlerstudios with @derekhunterwilson and @parisbluebutler taken in Blue Butler Studios by @jlcunninghammusic

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a month ago

More great photos by Jason @photojq from 8/8/26. by @jlcunninghammusic

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2 months ago

My final show with Blue Cranes (8/8/26). Incredible photos by hero Jason Quigley. More to come.
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@photojq by @jlcunninghammusic

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2 months ago

Well, there's no way to sum up 20 years with Blue Cranes.

I'll just say this: on our good days, I think we were one of the most interesting bands in the Pacific Northwest. A fearless live band that came AT you with original songs we loved playing. We made a few cool records, but the live show was always our strength.

Not that we were much to look at. No dance moves!

The SONGS were the stars. More than in any of the many Portland bands I've played with, Blue Cranes was always about the SONGS. I'll treasure those wild shows—and those songs.

Thanks for the last 20 years, BCs. I hope you keep it up for another 20!

❤️ by @jlcunninghammusic

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2 months ago

WAR (2025)

6 original songs. All by me.

I call this project Sly Pig. It's a play on my last name. Think about it.

I'd reached a breaking point with flaky, unserious musicians. So I decided it was finally time to make the loud, uncompromising, "fuck you" noise record I'd always wanted to make.

And why not play everything myself?

With the help of the great—and wonderfully serious—Paris Butler, I did exactly that.

The album was originally going to be called Oregon Music Hall of Fame. I showed up with a few roadmaps, a lot of coffee, my sax, and years of pent-up energy. We tracked almost everything in two days. I finished a few overdubs—including all of "Truce"—at home before sending it back to Paris to mix.

During one take, I was yelling between drum phrases as a tribute to the great Milford Graves. Paris said it sounded like battle cries. Suddenly "Battle Cry" had its title, and the rest of the album fell into place around the idea of war, conflict, and, eventually, truce.

The 20-minute "Tanssi Unessa" was written and performed for an imaginary experimental dance company based in Finland. Sometimes you don't need a commission—you just need a good excuse. Ha!

This is the most satisfying record I've ever made.

I'd love to make another one.

Next time, I'd love to do it with musicians who are just as committed to the music as they are to showing up.

#reachout

❤️ by @jlcunninghammusic

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3 months ago

CONVERSATIONS WITH LOVE AND DEATH (2024)

9 original songs. 8 by me, 1 by Reed.

I'd wanted to make a record with this free-jazz quartet for nearly 20 years. (Think Ornette Coleman meets Albert Ayler.)

Battle Hymns & Gardens—originally Better Homes & Gardens—had actually recorded a full album years earlier, but we never released it because I wasn't happy with my performances.

This time around, I still hear things I'd do differently. That's probably why, next time, we'll live with the songs on stage for a while before taking them into the studio.

But I really do love this record.

I especially love the songs. And the slower, quieter pieces turned out to be my favorites. There are moments on this album that feel exactly like what I was hoping we'd capture.

Maybe the next Battle Hymns & Gardens record should just be an album of slow, quiet music.

Dan Duval joined us on guitar, and James Powers was supposed to play trombone throughout the sessions. Unfortunately, James came down with COVID just before we recorded, so all of his parts ended up being beautiful overdubs.

Sometimes records don't become exactly what you imagined. Sometimes they point you toward the next one. by @jlcunninghammusic

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3 months ago

MY ONLY SECRET (2023)

8 original songs. 4 by me, 4 by Reed.

This Blue Cranes record was made during the height of quarantine. Reed recorded everyone individually at his home studio, one musician at a time.

You might assume that kind of process would hurt a band's chemistry. I think this album works BECAUSE of it.

We had been playing many of these songs for years, so everyone knew the material. But recording separately meant there was nowhere to hide. Every note, every phrase, every questionable decision was suddenly exposed. Sometimes hearing yourself that clearly takes away your perceived right to be sloppy.

I think "Sloan" and "Gaviota" are two of the best songs I've written for Blue Cranes. "Sandbox" was a longtime live favorite that finally found its way onto a record.

After hearing complaints about how difficult one of my newer songs was, I decided to write the simplest, dumbest song I could. Turns out that was a pretty good idea. We still play "A Night In Montavilla" almost every gig.

This record also contains one of my favorite Reed songs, "Forward." Brilliant. Listen to it.

Amazingly, My Only Secret received 4½ stars from DownBeat magazine.

Like a couple other Blue Cranes records, I still think we should've toured the world behind this one.

And a special SHOUT OUT to Todd Sickafoose for the masterfully creative mix.

❤️ by @jlcunninghammusic

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4 months ago

VOICES (2021)

9 original songs.

This was Blue Cranes' vocal record, featuring a different guest singer and lyricist on each track.

For whatever reason, this one took us over eight years(!) to finish.

The biggest surprise was "Tatehuari." The video somehow found an audience and currently has over 315,000 views on YouTube, which is probably 314,924 more people than I expected.

My personal favorites are "Late Bloomer" and "Ursula."

A strange project, a long journey, and a record I'm glad we finally finished. by @jlcunninghammusic

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4 months ago

SERGEANT MAJOR JUNIOR (2019)

6 original songs. 2 by me, 2 by Reed, 2 collaborations.

A weird, challenging album that I'm incredibly proud of.

For this one, Reed and I played everything ourselves. It started with an experiment: instead of writing songs the way we usually did, I'd start a drum beat on the Fun Machine and improvise melodies on the keyboard. Then I'd double those melodies on sax and see where they wanted to go.

The goal was to stop being so precious and have fun writing together.

And it worked.

Out of that process came songs “It's Hard To Make Friends” and “Perfectly Broken.” I brought in “Golden Geez” and “Straits of Mackinac.” Reed wrote the wild “Second Sleep.” And “The Balloon” started as a simple acoustic guitar idea I sent him that he transformed into a sweet meditation on time and fatherhood that he sings so beautifully and delicately.

What I hear now is two longtime collaborators giving themselves permission to experiment again. Not every idea worked, but enough of them did, I think.

Sometimes the best thing you can do as a songwriter is loosen your grip.

This record reminds me of that.

❤️ by @jlcunninghammusic

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4 months ago

RESTRAINT (2015)

10 original songs. 6 by me, 4 group improvisations.

It's no masterpiece, but I love this album.

I made it with guitarist Dan Duval and drummer Ken Ollis. Dan was a drinking buddy. Ken was someone I barely knew, but I loved his playing and writing. We had a rehearsal or two, went into the studio, recorded stark versions of some songs and a handful of improvisations, and then I spent months bringing in other musicians to overdub parts—sometimes written, sometimes loosely guided, sometimes completely improvised.

It was a dark and confusing period of my life. I was drinking heavily (more than usual) and carrying around a lot of doubt. Looking back, I remember maybe 15% of the recording process and almost none of the mixing or mastering.

Tbh, I didn’t really know what I was doing and had little to no support. Making a record can feel impossible when your primary creative tool is self-doubt. Maybe that's true for most artists.

What surprises me now is that I can still hear beauty in these songs. Dark beauty, maybe. Fragile beauty.

Sometimes I wonder whether the happier, sober version of me could make a record like this.

Who knows. But I’m glad this one exists.

❤️ by @jlcunninghammusic

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4 months ago