Don’t Call it Jazz is thrilled to host Bay Area musician Saxreligious (Eli Maliwan) to listen to and celebrate his new album Elysia Marginata, out on Hot Record Societe. Host Jonathan Armstrong knew Eli back in Los Angeles as both of them went to California Institute of the Arts, although not at the same time.
Saxreligous is an outstanding jazz saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer and Elysia Marginata is an incredible synthesis of his talents, personality, and spirit. It’s also a great record; fresh, vibrant, and compelling.
He is also a trans man and an Asian American jazz musician. During the interview, we discuss those intersecting identities, his compositional techniques, affinity for puns, how he reconciles his background as a traditional jazz musician, and much more. I am very grateful for Eli’s courage, conviction, and vulnerability in this conversation, and of course I am thankful for his art and music.
It is inarguable that is is incredibly scary and dangerous to be trans in 2022, especially in Idaho, so if you, or anyone you know, is trans and/or Lesbian, Gay, Bi, or any other marginalized identiy, I encourage you to go to the following website which has information on resources to help. https://www.idaholegalaid.org/node/2738/idaho-lgbtqia-community-resources
To check out Saxreligious’ album please go to: https://saxreligious.bandcamp.com/album/elysia-marginata
Part 2 will air Saturday October 15th on KISU at 7pm.
*Warning to sensitive listeners, during the conversation, there are two instances of casual swearing. If you’d like an unbleeped version of the interview, you can find it on kisu.org
Interview
1. Student of the Universe - 3:30
2. Activity Monitor - 1:59
3. Saxercism - 2:00
Interview
4. Fly Agaric - 3:02
5. Loquacious Aquatic - 2:45
6. Model Minority Report - 1:43
7. Certificate of Travel Advisement - 2:24
Interview
