Encounter #13: Polyphonic Guitar with Jeff
This week's Encounter is with 9 to 5'er artist, Jeff LeBlanc. Originally from Louisiana, Jeff is currently a chemical engineering PhD student at a university in New York City. Outside of his PhD research, Jeff enjoys playing and composing on the guitar. For his Encounter, Jeff has chosen to share an original composition on the acoustic guitar. If you would like to learn more about Jeff and his passion for music, please check out his bio on The Characters page of this website.
I first met Jeff three years ago when I began working at a research center at the university he attends. Although I have known him for a while, it was not until last year when I first Encountered Jeff’s musical talents.
Jeff is one of those guys who I have always admired for his tremendous passion for science. To me, he is the ultimate engineer who seems to know everything there is to know in the realm of chemical engineering because he is so curious and fascinated to see and understand our world through the lens of a scientist. Jeff always has an interesting science factoid on hand to share in any conversation and his quirky and hilarious sense of humor somehow manages to connect trivial day to day things with chemical engineering principles.
Despite my own dichotomy of science and art, I used to find myself surprisingly dismissive of the fact that people like Jeff, who to me were so immersed in the sciences, would find any connection to the world of the arts, which in contrast, is enveloped in intangible emotions and the idea that nothing is concrete and factual. But last year, Jeff proved me wrong when he shared with me his long-standing passion for music and the guitar.
The original composition that Jeff has chosen to share for his Encounter is a perfect example of his unique personality and musical style. Jeff brings it back to his Louisiana roots with his constant heavy rhythm, reminiscent of Cajun influences, combined with a fast paced melody that sprinkles the notes into every crevice of the rhythm. He captures both heavy and light in his music and reveals the harmony between what most would consider opposites. As a scientist and engineer, Jeff sees our world at the microscopic level and that ability translates into his musical style where, despite what may be perceived overall as chaotic and sporadic, each note has a defined purpose and placement – it’s musical entropy that is pleasant to the ear (proud Jeff? :p). Jeff really opened me up to a completely different way to hear and understand rhythm and melody and I am happy that he will now share his original music with the Encounters community.
And now, without further ado, I present to you our Encounter with the guitarist, Jeff LeBlanc.