Darryl Jenifer: Hudson Valley’s Hardcore Pioneer Gets Jazzy

When people think of “Woodstock Music,” what comes to mind most is the folk- and Americana stylings of Bob Dylan and The Band, a sound being carried on today by acclaimed locals like The Felice Brothers. But most people wouldn’t know that Bad Brains, the undisputed pioneers of the heaviest hardcore punk, have a history in the area dating back to the early 1980s.  

Darryl Jenifer, the bassist and founding member of what Rolling Stone called “the mother of all black hard-rock bands,” has just released a new solo album that showcases another side of his talent. The Weather Channel is a virtual 180-degree turn from his legendary hardcore ensemble – an all-instrumental release rooted in exploratory jazz incorporating elements of fusion, dub and psychedelia. This 11-track collection was crafted with the help of some of the greatest veteran and emerging talent who call the Hudson Valley home. It also includes contributions from two local jazz greats who recently passed, Jack DeJohnette and Karl Berger.

DC-born Jenifer moved to Woodstock with his wife and two young children in 1981, as his band was astounding fans and critics alike during its long-standing residency at CBGB. His initial musical inspirations came from listening to DC’s college radio, the jazz, R&B, and funk spun at Howard University, and the Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath emanating from white rock stations in Maryland.  

The first single from the album, “Loves Harmony,” is perfect summer listening. It rides on a relaxed groove, accented by a swirling electric piano and chiming octave guitars, with a melody played on the melodica by DeJohnette and a luscious string arrangement from Berger. The tracks “August” and “Sacred Love” continue in this vein, revealing Darryl’s deep love for “Philly Soul” groups like The Stylistics.

The album isn’t all airy groove. Tunes like “Punkabomba,” “End Infinity,” and “Daisy” are high-energy jazz fusion, inspired by Jenifer’s love of bands like Return to Forever. On “Rock Love,” Jenifer and crew serve up some down-tuned heavy metal, one of the many showcases for the ensemble’s youngest member, Karma “Chogyi” Marco. Fans of Bad Brains also get reinventions of three of their classics, including “Re-Ignition II,”  “Rights,” and the aforementioned “Sacred Love.”

In our exclusive interview below, Jenifer waxes poetic about his love of Woodstock, nature, and its community of like-minded artists and musicians. He also reveals news about recently unearthed early Bad Brains recordings that will soon hit the shelves, along with the debut album from his new hardcore band, Palm Beach.

INSIDE+OUT: Your new album, The Weather Channel, has a bit of everything stylistically – 70s jazz fusion, dub and funk? How did this fusion of styles come about, and why did it take so long to gestate? 

Darryl Jenifer: I think it was a bit of realizing who I really was. When I was growing up in DC, we had a lot of jazz coming from the Howard University station: Lonnie Liston Smith and Roy Ayers, along with jazz fusion like Return to Forever and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. There was also the funk of James Brown and Sly, along with rock ‘n‘ roll from rock stations, including Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. In fact, some of the first songs I learned to play were Sabbath’s “Iron Man“ and “Sweet Leaf.“ So, in a sense, this is a return to the music that first inspired me.

As for my last solo album, 2010’s In Search of Black Judas, it was all me: dreaming up the riffs, programming beats, and playing multiple instruments in my laboratory. My wife, Lulu, said she missed me playing with other people, so I started doing that. With this album, I didn’t set out to create something as I did with the Bad Brains. I would be watching the news or doing a chore around the house, and something would come to me. I would be noodling, and the great spirit would gift me with inspiration. It was all very spontaneous and not at all rushed by a timeline. I did a lot of the basic tracks here at my home studio, then went to Dreamland and the Clubhouse to do overdubs and such. The album has a great, rich analog air thanks to these studios.

INSIDE+OUT: The contributions of Jack DeJohnette and Karl Berger, two recently passed greats who lived locally, are fantastic. How did this come about?

Darryl Jenifer: Jack and I knew each other for a long time; we were neighbors in Willow. He’s one of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, along with Lenny White and Billy Cobham. Jack was also a great pianist, and on my album he plays melodica rather than drums on the single “Loves Harmony.“ I met Karl, a great German jazz musician who founded the Creative Music Studio, through a legendary local named Trench. We used to call each other “the Man from Germany“ as a joke. Karl arranged the strings and conducted on “Loves Harmony.“ About 30 years ago, I asked Karl to teach me about music, since I had spent so many years just playing by ear with no formal training. After I went to his house and started to jam, he said: “You don’t need to know this shit; just keep doing what you’re doing.”

The last time I saw Jack was at the health food store Sunflower in Woodstock. It was right after the 2024 election, and he was pretty down about what was happening to civil rights. But I think, for both of us, making music together was a way to connect and tap into the uplifting spirit that music brings.

INSIDE+OUT: A standout on the album is the young guitarist, Karma “Chogyi“ Marco, whose style spans everything from Alan Holdsworth- and Al DiMeola-style fusion to Buckethead-style shredding to soulful Curtis Mayfield-style comping. How did you find him?

Darryl Jenifer: His mom, Rachel Marco-Havens, is like my little sister, and I’ve known Chogyi Marco since he was a baby. I love working with Chogyi; he is a true musical genius and a gifted artist, a really intuitive player like me. I knew he could really play from the time he was a teenager, when he was studying at the Rock Academy. He’s a sponge with a photographic memory. He picks things up quickly and never makes mistakes. I had a show where I played some Bad Brains songs, and he learned the set note for note. I once texted him a very challenging solo by Earl Klugh (a jazz guitarist) for a gig I invited him to play, and he learned it overnight. This kid’s been tearing it up since he was ten years old.

As for the new album, he brings so much to it. As you said, he can comp like Curtis Mayfield, play ripping jazz fusion, bring the funk, and add some nice electronic ambiance and acoustic textures. As the grandson of the great Richie Havens, I guess musical genius is in his DNA. 

INSIDE+OUT: Keyboardist John Medeski and drummer Ben Berowsky. What is it about them that makes them such great collaborators?

Darryl Jenifer: These guys are true professionals who take what I put before them, which isn’t complicated or formally written down, and elaborate on my inspiration and the vibrations. My music relies heavily on textural elements and energy, and these guys truly bring it. They are not only gifted and talented musicians but also some of the nicest people I have ever met or worked with. I used to joke that we should call the band “The Nice Guys.”

INSIDE+OUT: Let’s return to the beginning, the people who were your greatest influence as a young musician and now…

Darryl Jenifer: As I said, I am totally a product of DC-metro radio – the black and white stations. My earliest influences were James Brown and Sly Stone. As I got older, I got really turned on to jazz, especially jazz fusion like Return to Forever and the mellower form that radio programmers called “The Quiet Storm.“ Then I discovered punk, bands like The Damned and The Ramones, and the whole CBGB scene, where the Bad Brains would land in the late 1970s. Before discovering punk, we were a jazz fusion band called Mind Power. Maybe, in a sense, the new album is a return to that sound. What I listen to most now is classic R&B: the Delfonics, the Stylistics, Black Ivory, Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers, that kind of music. 

INSIDE+OUT: Bad Brains were true originators, the band that fused hardcore punk with reggae, funk, and heavy metal. What is the band’s current status? Any chance of another reunion?

Darryl Jenifer: As for a reunion, I can’t really say at this point, but I’m a “never say never“ guy. We’re all older guys now, and I’m not sure we could play the music the way we used to (laughs).

There’s something exciting on the record front, however. Ian MacKaye from Dischord just found our earliest recordings, including my first time in the studio, and we’re going to release them on Trust Records. We just got all the original band members together for the first time in ten years for an album photo shoot. 

I also have a rock band called Palm Beach that I’ve been making all-instrumental hardcore with. It happened because I was getting annoyed by what was happening in the news, so I was looking for a way to protest and project positive energy. I realized that rock music and the energy and intention behind it were what I needed. I never thought I would do hardcore again, but I just started writing ten songs, which I’m also going to release in the fall. The band is me, Chogyi on guitar, and Ariel Shafir on drums.

INSIDE+OUT: When did you first move to the Hudson Valley, and why did you decide to relocate here?

Darryl Jenifer: I was originally from DC and moved to NYC with the Bad Brains when I was around 19. I had a friend with a house in Stone Ridge who offered to take me up to the country for a getaway. It was a long ride, but when we got here, I was blown away by the beauty. I was living in Brooklyn with my wife and two kids, and when we saw a rental in Lake Hill for $550 a month, we jumped at it. 

When I was a little kid, I was always running off to the woods, so this was my paradise. When I was trying to make it in music, I came to New York City like a million other people. But being up here in the country was great for my family and me. We came up in 1981 and have since lived in several places, twice on Zena Road, once on Baumgarten, and in this place in Willow for the past 15 years.

INSIDE+OUT: Your Bad Brains’ co-founder Dr. Know is also local. Do you folks still collaborate on music and hang out? Are there any other folks from the CBGB scene who still live here and you hang with?

Darryl Jenifer: I came up with him, and he moved up here right after me. We both wanted to raise our families here, and we did. We will always share the same roots and vibrations.

INSIDE+OUT: What are some of your favorite things about living in the Hudson Valley? Any places to go and see?

Darryl Jenifer: I’m a lover of nature: trees, flowers, and birds. I’m not a big fan of crowds, and I feel like I live on the land. It’s a plot of earth where I’m at. Coming from DC, the projects, the heart of an urban environment, it seems I was somehow destined to be an artist and end up in a place full of like-minded people. I can’t see myself being an artist in Manhattan, in a loft, with fancy cars and noise; I couldn’t be creative in that environment. I feel real Native American roots here, a strong sense of fresh air and nature. When dandelions pop up in my yard, I recognize it. I don’t just walk to my studio here; I walk to my studio and say “Wow!“ I see the miracle that happens overnight with the land, and sometimes I wish I had a time-lapse camera to capture it. 

INSIDE+OUT: Who are some of your favorite local musicians to collaborate with, and who are some up-and-coming local talents we should keep an eye on?

Darryl Jenifer: I love working with Ras T, our great local reggae artist. Of course, Chogyi, too. I take music very seriously and trust that the cats I’m playing with do, too. I don’t work well with hobbyists. I want to work with the most gifted players, people like John Medeski, guys who are more formally trained than I am, musicians who not only have chops but the right spirit.

INSIDE+OUT: What are your favorite venues to catch a live show here?

Darryl Jenifer: Now that I don’t drink, I don’t go out as much as I used to (laughs). I spent my 30s, 40s, and 50s doing that. I loved the old Tinker Street Café and the Joyous Lake. These days, I just like to be in my studio, creating new music.

Photos courtesy of Darryl Jenifer + Luan Jenifer + Meg Lui + Sid McCray + Ben Perowsky + Chogyi Marco

Follow/Connect with Darryl Jenifer via Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify

Contributing writer Sal Cataldi is a musician, writer and former publicist living in the Hudson Valley NY.

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