Audrey Ochoa - The Head Of A Mouse - [CD]

My father used to tell me '...it's better to be the head of a mouse than the tail of a lion.' I didn't write [these tunes] with any specific musicians in mind - unlike previous albums - so when it came time to start planning the recording, I realized I was going to need different rhythm sections, strings, additional horns and a bass trombone - 12 musicians spread across 13 tracks. I tried to highlight everyone - they're all musicians I admire so much, it wasn't hard to find places for them to shine. All the songs are personal - they're about family, grief, relationships - I wrote them in late 2020/2021, when live performance was restricted, so composition was all I had as an outlet. I guess I was writing my own comfort music, borrowing from artists like Donny Hathaway and Daniel Caesar - and trying to include styles that I grew up playing, like Ska and Salsa. I even threw in a trombone chorale, a shout-out to my years playing in trombone quartets and choirs - I even sing on one of the tracks. This is without a doubt my favourite album. We recorded all the tracks in four days, and had it mixed the following week. It was recorded live off the floor - did two to three takes of each tune. I had the artwork finished before we even started recording. Everything about this album came together very easily - it wasn't a stressful endeavour. - Audrey Ochoa