SML’s journey towards becoming an experimental jazz force began under rather unorthodox circumstances. In fact, the quintet was offered a record deal before it even had a name, or before all of its members had even played together.
It all started in mid-October 2022 when guitarist Gregory Uhlmann secured a two-night gig at ETA, a cocktail bar in Highland Park that had quickly gained a reputation as a hub for experimental jazz in Los Angeles. For the first night, Uhlmann called upon saxophonist Josh Johnson and electronics artist Jeremiah Chiu, with whom he had previously only played once. The next evening, bassist Anna Butterss and drummer Booker Stardrum were added to the mix, though the two had never played together before and only met moments before squeezing into the intimate alcove where the bands performed.
Reflecting on that spontaneous meeting, Scott McNiece, co-founder of Chicago’s International Anthem record label (now based in LA), recalled his immediate reaction: “The first thing I could think was, ‘I want to hear this in the club.’ I normally don’t have that reaction, but I could feel this in my loins,” McNiece said in a video call. “But it was tickling me in my brain in the way that avant-garde music does, too. This was everything I wanted.”
For McNiece, it was a visceral connection to the music, and he knew right away that SML had something special — even if the band hadn’t fully formed yet. This untraditional approach to collaboration and composition would become the defining characteristic of their experimental jazz albums, blending raw, unfiltered creativity with unconventional methods.