Jon Irabagon [3Dom Factor]

Seven years have passed since the last Zagreb concert of the explosive free jazz trio 3Dom Factor. Ahead of their highly anticipated return, we caught up with the group's youngest member — a brilliant saxophonist, composer, and label owner — to talk about his memories of Zagreb, his collaborations with the other two 3Dom Factor members; legendary musicians Barry Altschul and Joe Fonda, balancing a busy life between tours, recording sessions and family, and what the audience can expect from their upcoming performance.

It's been seven years since 3Dom Factor's last concert in Zagreb. Do you have any memories of that show?
Zagreb, has always been such a great place to visit and play. I remember hanging with you of course the last time I was in town. Zagreb has always been friendly and loves the music as much as we do. We always look forward to performing in this part of Europe; the audiences seem to "get it" more. What are your personal memories and impressions of Zagreb? If I'm not mistaken, this is already your fifth time visiting our city?
Yes, I've been fortunate to come to Zagreb in different groups and formations. I've always enjoyed walking around and seeing the different neighborhoods and checking out different museums each time I come. I've also been very lucky in that every time I've come the weather has been excellent! I hope that trend continues this time as well.

How would you describe 3Dom Factor and the music you create together?
I love Barry's concept for his bands— there's an expectation to know the entire history of the music— "from ragtime to no time", as the great Beaver Harris used to say. Barry's direction can change immediately depending on what he hears… and he hears a lot!!! He is always encouraging us to take chances and interact with the group above all. In fact, he says that the person with the most energy in the moment is the bandleader. It's a very democratic group and it's been a pleasure to be a part of it all these years.

In 3Dom Factor, you're playing alongside two legends of the New York free jazz scene; Barry Altschul & Joe Fonda. Even though you're considerably younger than your bandmates, you complement each other beautifully. How did your collaboration with them come about?
When I moved to New York City in the early 2000s, I sought Barry out. Knowing him from ARC, Circle and the Dave Holland record Conference of the Birds, I wanted to play alongside him and experience his sounds and textures. At the time, he and Joe Fonda had a trio with Billy Bang called the FAB Trio. When Billy passed, I had been playing with Barry for a few years already, and Barry and Joe invited me to a couple of sessions of their music. It seemed to click right away and here we are, over a dozen years later.

What are rehearsals and travels like with Joe and Barry? In what ways are you similar, and in what ways are you different? Who usually takes the lead?
Like I said, Barry believes that whoever has the most energy in the moment is the leader. That happens during our rehearsals and travels as well. Usually I'll be asking them about musician heroes that I know they've played or recorded with, so I'm trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can, especially on the long train or car rides. Both Barry and Joe have great stories and have been out there doing the thing for decades. It's been a privilege to be able to interact with that and pick their brains about music and life. Barry Altschul also played drums on your brilliant 2010 album Foxy. How did you end up choosing him for that project?
I moved to NYC in the early 2000s and tracking down Barry was one of my first goals. During that time period I was fascinated with Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, especially with their marathon soloing abilities. At the time there were several New York venues where you really could experiment and try different ideas out with no pressure. I so put together a trio with my roommate at the time, Peter Brendler on bass, and we'd hire a different drummer for each show and we'd pick one standard and play it for the whole set. We had some incredible drummers join us, but as that period of experimentation was ending and I was getting ready to document it, it was obvious that Barry was the correct choice for the album for so many reasons.

It seems to me that with Foxy, you helped bring Barry out of a kind of musical hibernation. Would you agree with that?
I have heard people say that, and if that's the case, that is great. The world needs to hear Barry more and know what kind of influence he's had in the lineage of the music. He's been a great mentor and friend and bandmate and I wouldn't be the musician I am without his guidance. As 3Dom Factor, you've released four albums so far. Do you have a personal favorite among them?
I don't! They are all special documentation of where the group was at those particular times. It's been great to work with the record label TUM, who's put out several of this trio's albums.

Is there a fifth album in the works?
We're going to be discussing future 3Dom Factor projects on this trip, and hopefully something new and fruitful will come of it! I've put out a couple of albums with Barry on my label recently: my trio with Barry and bassist Mark Helias added Uri Caine for a show at the Stone, and we loved it so much we released it as "Dinner & Dancing" on my label. Then last year that quartet met up again and added trombonist Ray Anderson (another hero of mine) which came out fantastic. That album is called Axiom 5 and comes out May 1st on my Bandcamp page.

You're very active on the free jazz scene. How do you manage to balance all your musical commitments with your family life? Does it require a lot of sacrifice?
It really is difficult to try to be honest and fully present in all different aspects of life. I've got two beautiful daughters now and they're the joy of my life, so I try to spend as much quality time with them as possible. On the other hand, there's so much to work on and try to get to musically, so I try to work on that as much as possible too. There's always a compromise, but trying to approach both honestly and fully has been a fun challenge.

You also run your own record label. Could you tell us a bit more about Irabbagast Records? What makes it special?
I like releasing my own material (and occasionally some other people's albums) because I get to be an active part of the whole process of making an album from beginning to end. I have had some bad experiences with major and intermediate labels in regards to artwork, liner notes, mixes, song order, etc. And I have seen friends of mine really get screwed by labels, with label heads deleting solos out of songs, and even changing album and song names without telling them! So for me, even though it takes longer to find each record, I enjoy the autonomy of it.

Considering that today most people listen to music via streaming services, how important do you think it still is to release physical formats like CDs and vinyl?
This is a really great question and one that my friends and I discuss often. The bass player I mentioned above, Peter Brendler and I are putting out a duo album of standards in a couple of months and we're going to try to just release it digitally and see how that goes. I still print small runs of CDs and occasionally LPs as there's a SMALL market for these things. I'm old enough to remember WANTING a physical product and thinking that was an essential and important part of the music.

With all the touring and recording, do you even have time to listen to music yourself?
Yes! I try to carve out time and check out things that have been recommended by friends and students. I'm currently trying to listen to some of the more unheralded tenor players in jazz history to try to find some things there.



Finally, what can we expect from your upcoming concert in Zagreb?
The 3Dom Factor will be drawing on our repertoire from the last few records as well as a new song or two. We'll throw in some standards and definitely some free improvisation as well. We always try to make the music as spontaneous as possible, so it'll for sure be fresh and interesting.

jura // 29/04/2025