released January 1, 2024

During the past two decades of friendship and creative collaboration with Jabe Ledoux, the only predictable constant has been change. Whether intellectual, spiritual, physiological, emotional or artistic, change comes quickly and decisively and for a person who has Whitman’s famous “I contain multitudes” (maybe not coincidentally, also the title of a song by another great chameleon, Bob Dylan) tattooed on their forearm, a constant reminder that stasis and homogeneity are enemies to personal growth which must be slain at all costs.

Ledoux’s evolution from freak folk drummer (Nest Material) to psych-jazz big bandleader (the le duo) to esoteric freeform percussionist and sound healer (Jo Bled) may seem like an unpredictable journey for most outsiders, but to those of us on the inside, the progression has been a natural and almost inevitable one.

“1,000 Days” is a work that documents Ledoux’s decision to live a sober life, with all of the creative, spiritual, emotional, social and other changes that such an existential lifestyle change can entail. As someone who is newly sober myself, “1,000 Days” serves as crushing proof that the tired cliche of addiction somehow fueling artistic activity and creative risk-taking is nothing more than a myth. Ledoux’s sober works are focused and clear, but also undeniably more experimental and fearless than it has ever been. There is still the passion and energy that always existed in his work, but now I hear hope, searching and optimism as well.

A counselor once told me “If you’re not having more fun in sobriety than you are in active use, there is something wrong with your program of sobriety”. “1,000 Days is proof of a program that is working quite properly, with the rewards that such a lifestyle promises. Here's to the next 1,000 days, and the sonic creations it will generate.