Jairus Sharif - percussion, drumship, alto saxophone, Realistic MG-1, Yamaha DSR-1000, Hammond T-200, Roland SP-404, Ableton, chimes, bells, flutes, bird whistles, glockenspiel, wind, field recordings, small instruments and toys

Q4DB
Take care of the people you love

(Q) Can you tell me a bit about yourself?

(A) My name is Jairus, I was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and that’s where I live.

(Q) When did you start to make music?

(A) I started making music in high school, producing sampled beats and scratching records. I also wanted play in a band, but nobody I knew wanted to make the music I was interested in, so I started doing a one man band r&b blues thing.

For a stretch of time I played in some garage bands but mostly I played the blues O.M.B. The one-man band means a lot to me. The musical output of Dr Ross, Joe Hill Louis, Madlib and J Dilla all demonstrate a sound that’s filtered through one human being. The music takes on a personal feeling that I connect with. I’ve gotten used to producing and playing all of the music I make and I enjoy being a part of that idea.

(Q) What does your moniker Q4DB mean?

(A) Q4DB is an acronym for Quest for Deep Breath. The project started in the spring of 2020 when C19 came and locked us down. There was a lot of energy around racial issues at that time and I’d been thinking about what being a black man has meant to me in my lifetime and what I want it to mean in my future. As a way to grow and stay energized, I built a music room and started the Q4DB project. I bought an alto saxophone, built up a drum kit, started collecting percussion instruments and learned to use Ableton. The alto was my first reed experience and I chose it to pay homage to Gary Bartz.

(Q) Your first EP was called ‘I Can Learn and Honor’.

(A) I titled the first Q4DB EP ‘I Can Learn and Honor’ to say that I’m interested in paying homage to those who’ve inspired me, and to say that although I don’t know how to play these instruments, learning and honoring is worthwhile. I learned how to play the instruments myself and I usually improvise the tracks based on a theme or drone. I use the genre tag ‘black classical music’ to pay homage to some of my heroes and to let them know I’m receiving the message. With this project I’m interested in letting my inspirations meet with improvisation and recording the results to share. I’m really just starting to communicate in this way.

(Q) For your day job, you work at a record store.

(A) The record shop has been a source of information and inspiration for me and this project. The guys there and our customers put me on to the new school of International Anthem, Leaving Records, Brownswood, Total Refreshment Centre, Ill Considered and so many groups that let me know there were ideas developing that I wanted to participate in. Through the shop I get to share this new music with the public and support labels and artists I believe in.

(Q) You sample Joe McPhee on this record.

(A) Joe's words introduced me to the idea of lateral thinking and the 'Nation Time' record sparked my growing idea of community music. Those pieces of information influence many parts of my life. The audience's energy and sound is as important to me as the instrument players and I'm learning from that approach. I sample him often as a way to make a connection with his music.

(Q) I read in the newspaper yesterday that MF Doom died. In your recording room I saw a MF Doom poster.

(A) MF DOOM is special to me and has been since I first heard him. His music and what I know of his approach to life mean a lot to me. I was personally emotional to hear about his death, but I'm renergized by his partner Jasmine's words after it was announced. I feel like he got his message out and took care of the people he loved. That's an achievement I admire. I put together a track on the day I heard and titled 'Dumile' for this record.

(Q) A comment under the interview I did with you a month ago was: "Your music got me through a difficult time".

(A) I started the Q4DB project as a way to communicate with myself more deeply and use what I learn to more accurately communicate with other people. The person who left that comment heard what I was saying and the message helped them in their own life. This music helped us both get through a difficult time so not only is it the most important feedback, it means that we communicated in a real way. That means a lot to me.


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