If he’s not performing or creating music, Lambertville resident James Popik is often wandering in the woods of central New Jersey, particularly the vast region known as the Sourland Mountains, or just the Sourlands.
Filled with old growth forests, teeming with birds and native creatures, winding trails, undulating hills, and enchanting waterways, the Sourlands fascinates visitors. Especially when you realize this wilderness is just outside of one of the most densely populated places in the United States.
The area is thought to be called the “sour lands” because early European colonists and settlers found the area difficult to farm.
Popik finds it far from sour, however. About five or six years ago he was inspired to craft a suite of nine original songs dedicated to the essence of the forest.
“I fell in love with the Sourlands, just got inspired by the different places, and wrote music to reflect (my feelings),” Popik says. “The music didn’t fit in to any of the groups I was performing with, so I decided to make it its own thing.”
“Years back, there was a record by Mark O’Connor and Yo-Yo Ma titled ‘Appalachia Waltz,’ and I was really moved by that,” he says. “‘Sourland Symphony’ is along those lines, you might call it ‘nature-inspired jazz.’”
Combining Americana, blues, rock, jazz, and Latin influences, Popik’s “Sourland Symphony” will be performed for the first time on Sunday, December 7, at the Hopewell Theater. Popik’s ensemble of 10 musicians includes an array of talented folks from the region.
Daniella Fischetti of Long Valley plays violin; Fort Washington resident Mark Amentt plays bass; Hopewell-based cellist Dan Kassel is part of the group; Stephen Bryant of Freehold will handle guitars; Lambertville’s Mark Stewart plays mandolin and bouzouki; Chuggy Carter of Hillsborough performs on congas and percussion; Princeton resident Karttikeya Arul plays hand pan and miscellaneous percussion; and Andy Janowiak of Clinton plays drums.
The event is presented by the Hopewell Valley Arts Council.
“We are fortunate to have so many gifted artists living in Hopewell Valley,” said Carol Lipson, executive director of the Hopewell Valley Arts Council. “To have a local composer debut a major original work rooted in our own landscape is truly something special.”
Originally from South Plainfield, Popik has lived in the Lambertville area for about 25 years. He got to know the Sourlands through his friendship with Tom Kilbourne, former board member of the Sourland Planning Council and founder of the Sourland Mountain Festival.
“I was teaching music to Tom’s kids,” Popik says. “I was stunned to find out that people live in the area, but they don’t know what the Sourlands are. So I got involved with the Sourland Mountain Festival, to help bring awareness of what the land offers to the state and surrounding communities.”
Popik’s “Sourland Symphony” is difficult to categorize and has even been described as New Age music, but this listener affirms that it’s much more interesting and complex.
“That’s been a blessing and a curse. (Sourland Symphony) is so different, I can’t get it on jazz or rock radio. When people ask me to describe it, all I can say is it’s a mixture of all different things,” Popik says.
One of the segments, titled “Southside Spring,” has beautiful 12-string acoustic guitar work at the beginning, so gentle and ethereal it reminded this old prog rock fan of guitarist Steven Howe’s acoustic introduction to “Close to the Edge,” the 1972 masterpiece by Yes.
Then in contrast, there’s “Threnody for the Ash,”written in a minor key, and an actual lament for the ash trees in the Sourlands.
Popik reflects that sadly, the ash is in grave condition there.
“There’s an insect called the emerald ash borer that has killed a million ash trees in the Sourlands,” or 20 percent of the region’s total, he says. “One of the major projects for the Sourland Conservancy has been to plant more trees to replace the ash trees that have been lost.”
A more upbeat piece is the “Shagbark Shuffle,” a salute to another species of tree, but this one has an unusual appearance. This section is bluesy, rhythmic, and has a certain sense of humor to it.
“The shagbark is a hickory tree with very distinctive bark, which looks like it’s peeling,” Popik says. “It’s almost comical, like something out of Dr. Seuss’ Who-ville.”
“I wrote the main melody on piano, and for this piece, I wanted something funky and bluesier,” he says. “And, since hickory leaves have five petals (leaflets), part of the ‘Shagbark Shuffle’ is in a 5/4 tempo, which makes it funkier, more special.”
“Roaring Rocks” is inspired by one particular location on the east end of the Sourlands, literally a river of boulders with a stream running beneath. It’s musically represented by quiet arpeggios building to insistent chords and splashed with syncopated percussion.
Popik reflects that, under the right conditions, you can stand on the stone mounds and hear the water below, and sometimes the trickle turns into a roar.
Unlike a classical symphony, which is usually written, orchestrated, and revised formally in the composer’s space, then presented to an ensemble, the “Sourland Symphony” was written and then brainstormed via jam sessions and rehearsals.
“I composed most of the melodies on the piano, the forms were written out, but within the various pieces, there are large sections for improvisation,” Popik says. “I wrote out charts, got the main things going, and then it was more like, ‘OK guys, just go for it here.’ It’s a mixture of classical writing with jazz elements.”
Apparently Popik has enjoyed life onstage since a very young age.
When he was five, Jim was chosen to be the emcee of his kindergarten class’ Christmas play. He was the first one out on stage greeting the crowd and introducing the skits. Since then, he admits, not much has changed.
Popik grew up in a nice but not artsy home, where his father was an engineer and his mother was a nurse. There was abundant music, however, and Popik recalls all the adults gathering around to sing at family parties.
“I was always encouraged to play and sing and started piano lessons around age 7 or 8,” Popik says. “I continued to play piano through high school and college, and I still compose on piano, but when I perform in public, it’s exclusively on guitar.”
Between three older sisters who loved classic rock and listening to great New York rock stations of the time, Popik was steeped in guitar titans like Santana, the Allman Brothers, Jeff Beck, and Jimi Hendrix.
But he also became beguiled by jazz greats like Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny, and Miles Davis. Later still in college, he delved into classical music, particularly Chopin and Stravinsky.
Popik started his higher education at Penn State but graduated from what was then called Jersey City State College, now New Jersey City University. A few odd jobs followed his college days, but after that Popik’s professional life has centered around playing music full time, and it’s been that way for 30 years.
“I had a band called Ten Foot Tall and we put out three records, so we opened for Los Lonely Boys, Dave Mason, the Marshall Tucker Band, etc., and that was a good run,” Popik says.
At one of the early Sourland Mountain Festivals, Popik shared the stage with Bernie Worrell, keyboardist for Parliament/Funkadelic, who has also played with the Talking Heads.
He can also say, officially, that he played for the President of the United States, Barack Obama.
“We were at one of the White House annual Easter Egg Rolls, and I played with a husband-and- wife team who did children’s music,” Popik says.
Popik’s invitation to release “Sourland Symphony” on Wayfarer Records came in a roundabout way.
“I had released ‘Sourland Symphony’ on my own and submitted it for a Grammy, but it didn’t get nominated,” he says. “However, through those channels, it caught the ear of Wayfarer, and they released it this year. They’ve been doing a lot of promotional work for me, getting reviews and radio placement, etc.”
Popik has played for decades in and around the area, with ensembles of varying size and as a solo artist. But this presentation of “Sourland Symphony” at the Hopewell Theater is a one-of-a-kind event.
“It’s a very special occasion, and I’m honored that Carol Lipson and the folks there in Hopewell are helping me with this,” Popik says. “It’s 10 musicians, so it’s an unusual piece. ‘Sourland Symphony’ requires a specialized presentation, and to do it at the Hopewell Theater is perfect — you can’t just play this music at a bar.”
“We’ve been working on this concert for about a year, securing the date, making sure the musicians would be available there and then,” he adds. “Really, the Hopewell Valley Arts Council made this possible. Not only is the music unique, it costs a certain amount of money to put something like this on. It’s a big undertaking, and I am grateful for their help.”
Sourland Symphony by James Popik, Hopewell Theater, 5 South Greenwood Avenue, Hopewell. Sunday, December 7, 2 p.m. $60. www.hvartscouncil.org.
James Popik on the web: jamespopik.bandcamp.com/album/the-sourland-symphony.
The Sourlands on the web, www.sourland.org.
