Those who know Chieli Minucci’s music already know what a fine composer he is and that he’s been able to crank out a Special EFX CD followed by a Chieli Minucci CD nearly every year for a number of years. (These days, Minucci and Special EFX are one and the same). But you may not realize how far and wide his composing abilities stretch beyond the world of contemporary jazz, to include television and radio station clips, as well as children’s musicals. When there is music to be composed, not just that which needs to be expressed from his own heart, but for a specific purpose directed by someone else, Chieli Minucci seems to easily get the job done.
This is a special time for Chieli, having won the Emmy for Music Composition for a Daytime Drama for his composing/producing work on CBS Guiding Light. The Emmy was presented June 14th in Hollywood, California, by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 34th Annual Daytime Creative Arts & Entertainment Awards. As an avid fan of his contemporary jazz music, it was a real treat for me to see him walk up on the stage with fellow composers to accept the award. Visit www.emmyonline.org to see the video playback for youself. Simply scroll down on the right side of the window, all the way to Music Direction and Composition – Drama, and double click to watch the clip (about two hours, ten minutes into the clip playback). Chieli is obviously happy and excited that Guiding Light won the Emmy.
I had the opportunity to interview Chieli about the Emmy awards and his latest CD, Sweet Surrender.
In our interview before winning the Emmy, Chieli had some interesting insights to share about writing for daytime drama. He said, “When I was younger, in my 20s, I wasn’t impressed with people who scored music for television. I was somewhat snooty, but later when I got involved in this type of composing, I found it to be a great outlet for writing and playing and arranging music that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do otherwise, not to mention the recording of it all.”
As a composer, writing jingles or writing for television has been the right road to travel for Minucci. “As for Guiding Light, we got a new executive producer who wants all kinds of music in the show. The music is stylistically suitable for shows such as Law and Order, and there are different kinds of night clubs on the show, so all kinds of musical styles are featured. So instead of having to compartmentalize the music, I have the opportunity to write in all styles, except smooth jazz, ironically!”
Speaking of Minucci’s skill in composition, he has added another CD to the repertoire of his vast collection of Chieli Minucci/Special EFX CD’s. This one, entitled Sweet Surrender, came out in March and is proving to be yet another successful endeavor in his busy career. It’s a surrender of sorts to places where Chieli’s been on his musical journey. Each song is a tribute to various phases of his evolution as an artist. Some songs hearken back to the days of George Jinda and Chieli as the original founders of Special EFX, and some speak to the solo CDs Chieli has composed, such as Renaissance. Chieli provides his own description of these songs in the liner notes, as he’s done on some other CD’s, and it’s always interesting to see where he’s coming from with each composition.
Those of us who’ve listened to many of the past CDs will see the influence of those tunes on the ones he created for this CD. For instance, the title track, 'Sweet Surrender,' reminds me of the sweet, more serene tunes Chieli has composed over the years, such as 'Ballerina' (Just Like Magic), 'Bella' (Masterpiece), 'You’re My Reason' (Night Grooves), 'Love is Always Young' (Got It Goin On), 'When Love Cries' (Body Language), 'Fantasies' (Party) as well as 'Quiet Beauty' and 'The Lady and the Sea' (Special EFX Collection). I told Chieli I think of all these songs of his as ‘lullabyes for adults’ -- songs that promote peaceful thoughts and a relaxed mood, songs that settle you down when you’re keyed up or worried about something. He liked the metaphor.
There are so many highlights throughout Sweet Surrender. One of them is his collaboration with Philip Hamilton’s , entitled, 'Chant.' Listeners are sure to enjoy that and also the tune Chieli and bass player Jerry Brooks have often played at concerts, entitled 'Rush Hour.' I've often wondered how in the world they could follow each other on this song when I’ve heard it live. Listening to it a few times on the CD gives me a better sense of the song’s progression, and also the skill of Brooks on bass. Brooks is an awesome player! Chieli and Jerry put a nice intro as a track before they get into their intense conversation on guitar and bass. I asked Chieli where this intro came from (entitled 'Dawn') and he told me, “'Dawn' was just part of a medley, while we were making stuff up on stage…..an afterthought, actually.” What an afterthought!
The CD starts off with two make-you-want-to-dance tunes. Chieli wrote the first song, 'Guitarzzz,' for some Guitarzzz concerts (Chieli's alternate band project, co-leading along with Chuck Loeb and Paul Jackson, Jr. Both this one and the single song 'Mystical,' are upbeat, very catchy tunes. Chieli mentioned his record company (Shanachie) is enthusiastically behind the record, and it’s getting a lot of airplay and is on the charts for 15 weeks now. Sweet Surrender as an album entered the Billboard Contemporary Jazz charts at #14.
'Astralcats' is fun, hearkening back to 'Courageous Cats,' and in this one Chieli has some super fast Frank Gambale-like speedy fingers (though I noticed this in many other songs, too). There’s a lot going on in this and many of the songs. As Chieli explained, ‘There’s a lot of layering of sounds and tones, that’s the whole idea. Some of the songs, like 'Cry of My Soul,' use a lot of guitars. I don’t know which guitar to listen to, there are so many parts that were layered. In learning about arranging, you discover that you can have a lot of layering going on, yet still have clarity and space in the music.”
I have to concentrate to stay with the songs 'Ascension' and 'New Bop.' Ascension reminds me of 'Destiny' (Got It Goin’ On); it’s different and I like it. I find myself wanting to take it apart, somehow, to understand it better. And 'New Bop' has something called hemiolas, a word Chieli introduced to me about this song a few months ago. I took advantage of the chance to ask him what it means. It's a term he learned in college -- "It's like when a rhythmical phrase is accented in such a way as to suggest a 'new' rthym. It's like a rhythm riff within a rhythm riff." Those of you who have appreciated the complexity of this music for longer than I have will no doubt be immediately comfortable listening to these two.
'Cry of My Soul' is a perfect title to a tune with a lot of emotion. It reminds me of Chieli’s powerful 'Without You' (Night Grooves) as well as his renditions of 'Because We’ve Ended As Lovers' and 'Europa.' And 'Play With Me,' featuring David Mann (seen in picture below, second from right), is one of my favorites on the album. Chieli mentioned this was originally recorded as a lyrical tune.
'Children’s Day' is a fitting tribute to the annual Children’s Fair in the area of Forest Hills where Chieli grew up. I love the way all the different harmonies come and go. It’s easy to see how Chieli can compose for children, as in Nickolodeon’s Dora the Explorer and now Thomas the Tank Engine. This really catches the essence of children’s kind of fun. Chieli explained it’s an old song from long ago, a melody he came up with in trying to write a rhythm song, one that starts with a conga player and clapping. It didn’t work as a world piece but he could adapt it to this newer song.
And of course the last one is Chieli’s acoustic duo with acoustic bassist Wayne Batchelor, 'Au Naturale.' That is so very complex, reminiscent of 'Beginnings 'from It’s Gonna Be Good. I wondered if he could actually remember how he played it, and did he write it down or is it just what came to him at the time of recording. Chieli said he had already played parts of it, and decided to turn it into something. “It’s good to add a duo or trio or solo piece to add to the texture of the record.”
Chieli’s been quite busy, having played on a cruise this past winter, (and scheduled to play on the upcoming Brian Culbertson All Star cruise next January.)
One of his latest accomplishments was working on a composing/scoring collaboration with Philip Hamilton for an upcoming Sundance Film Festival short, a project Philip Hamilton (seen in picture, far left) brought to him, entitled, 'Lifted.' It's produced/directed by Randall Dottin and will likely be submitted next year. A record was cut of this soundtrack. Chieli is also offering a trio performance including Jerry Brooks (his bass player), Lionel Cordew (his drummer) – the first of these is September 7th at the Long Beach Jazz Festival. (Brooks and Cordew pictured here left and right of Chieli, along with keyboardist Jay Rowe, far right). In addition, he is scheduled to perform in another Guitarzz concert with Paul Jackson, Jr. and Chuck Loeb in West Bend, Wisconsin (Milwaukee area) on September 8th.
Chieli has a lot of music available for downloading at his site, www.chielimusic.com. Among all the available music are CD material that was never released. One set of songs, East of the Sun, is a collection of some mideastern, new age tunes that provide peaceful, meditative listening. And there is Travels, a CD that was never before released. It's both soothing and stimulating, as its title would imply. Chieli has also added downloadable songs/solo transcriptions for the musicians out there who are curious to learn Cheli's songs, note for note.
In other news, Chieli has completed the score for the live stage show version of the long-running hit British children’s TV show, Thomas the Tank Engine – Thomas Saves The Day, which is now touring across the USA. Chieli has written and recorded songs for this project and as he explains, “I took the music from the tv and dvd’s and rearranged it according to the needs of the script. After rearranging came recording, and it’s a long piece of music to get the audience in the mood for the show. It’s called 'Journeys,' lasts 18 minutes, leading into the story line about the train and life and fantasy, and it’s very metaphorical. This was a very symbolic piece for me, as it was written right before my dad died.” (The late Ulpio Minucci composed for Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole and also scored the music for Robotech, a hit tv and dvd series, and greatly inspired Chieli in especially the composing aspect of his own musical career.)
So you can see, Minucci is quite a busy, sought-after musician these days. I wonder how he can produce all of this and constantly be so creatively inspired. As he puts it, “There’s inspiration but there’s also craft, and it’s like any craft that a person learns, whether it’s writing books or creating in some other way –when you know your craft, you get busy working at it day after day, you don’t need to wait until you ‘feel’ inspired.”
Words of wisdom from a master craftsman himself. To quote Jazziz Magazine, “Chieli Minucci is both an influential elder statesman and true innovator." I'm sure many in the music world would join me in saying, 'Amen to that.'
Happy Jazzin'
Beverly J. Packard
Jazz Circle Member of the Berks Arts Council
Reading, Pennsylvania
MyGirlSunday22@aol.com
Photo Credits: National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Chieli Minucci, Michael Packard
Yes, you can find Parris in New York. Not Paris, the city, of course, but rather Gil Parris, virtuoso guitarist who's here in New York City -- tonight. Not only here, but surrounded by an impressive group. Check out the cover of what will be a Live CD that is going to be made from Wednesday evening's 8:00 PM performance with GIL PARRIS AND FRIENDS at the Irvington Town Hall Theatre. Friends are none other than Paul Shaffer of the David Letterman Show, David Mann, Grammy nominated saxophone player, Randy Brecker, Grammy nominated trumpet player, along with vocalists Vanesse Thomas, Tommy "Pipes" McDonnell , and Master of Ceremonies Carolyn Kepcher of Apprentice.. There will even be an appearance by Bernie Williams of the New York Yankees. The show and the DVD will be dedicated to the late Michael Brecker, talented musician and brother of Randy Brecker.
So now you know the name Gil Parris, but I wonder if you know him? There’s really no way for a music writer like me to introduce and get you excited about someone whose guitar playing and composing you may be missing so unnecessarily. Better to let those who know not only the music business, but also a great guitar sound when they hear it, help get the point across. Prepare yourself, then, to read what people like Chuck Loeb, Jeff Golub, David Clayton-Thomas (of Blood, Sweat and Tears), and a few well-respected magazine guitar gurus have to say. Here we go:
"Gil Parris is without a doubt one of the rising stars of the guitar at this time. His command of many techniques and styles has dazzled me since I first heard him play a few years back, and with his new project, he brings all of that
and more to the small jazz group setting. I can't wait to hear what he'll do next." - Chuck Loeb
"Gil's a very talented player. He fit right into the band the first night he played with us and made the guitar chair his own." - David Clayton-Thomas to the "New York Times" about Gil's work with Blood, Sweat & Tears.
"While most players his age tend to get carried away with effects and distortion, Gil's playing is clean and precise, especially considering the difficulty and speed of some of his lines." - Mike Varney, "Guitar Player" Spotlight
"Gil Parris shines through as the brightest new star in the genre since Larry Carlton." - Guitar Magazine
"A dazzling mixture of jazz, light funk, and even country, Parris' playing is so hot it avoids any cliches from those styles." - Vintage Guitar Magazine
"Gil never fails to impress me with his excellent command of the guitar. This cat can really play!" - Jeff Golub
All those quotes are intended to get, and hold, your attention, so that you can discover this gifted artist. Because Gil Parris has released albums in over four different genres: R&B, smooth jazz, traditional jazz and blues, he doesn’t fit neatly into any mold within the contemporary jazz genre. And his philosophy demands that he doesn’t fit into a mold. He’s also done an instructional video entitled, Modern Blues Guitar, and has been part of the national video, “Masters of the Stratocaster.”
For the contemporary 'smooth jazz' music fan, at least two of his albums fall into the category of potentially your most beloved CDs. That first album, titled simply Gil Parris, is a masterpiece of playing and includes original compositions as well as cover songs ‘Rainy Day in Georgia’ and ‘Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight.’ The original compositions as well as the cover songs are compelling, powerful tunes. Players on this CD include Will Lee, David Sanborn, Bob James, Mark Egan, Harvey Mason, Larry Goldings.
Those of us who heard and loved the first one have long-awaited the second one, entitled Strength, released this past August. One of the songs from the first CD, ‘When Love Was New,’ reappears on the newly released CD, this time with a slightly faster tempo and some new solo guitar lines. Once again, Parris has given us a stunning example of his composing and his playing. The CD is filled with tunes you want to hear over and over. Strength, produced by talented saxophone player/composer/arranger David Mann, also features Bob Baldwin and Randy Brecker.
In addition to playing with people like Blood, Sweat and Tears, Dr.John, Syndicate of Soul, Bill Doggett, and David Mann, Gil appears regularly in concert around the New York City area. He has been featured at the Catalina Jazz Trax Festival and the Berks Jazz Festival. And he also has a number of other CDs. One is billed as his 'sonic smorgasbord' recorded in front of a live audience, one is a tribute to Wes Montgomery, and of course there are his instructional videos, as well.
I’ve had the pleasure of watching Parris play a number of times, most recently at his CD release party, held in August of 2006. With David Mann on saxophone, Thierry Arpino on drums (Thierry is quite a drummer who tours with Jean Luc Ponty) , Matt King on keyboard, and Kip Sophos on bass, it was quite a memorable night. Each artist had solo performances over the course of two sets, and even the management of the Metropolitan Café didn’t want to miss one minute of Parris working his guitar magic or the rest of the band mesmerizing all of us.
I had a chance to talk with Gil Parris and also David Mann about the production of this CD and what it means in the career path that Parris is taking these days. They're both excited about the way the CD turned out and hope it places Gil Parris where he belongs -- squarely in front of a new and wider audience who, up until now, may not realize the unique talent that he is.
In addition to the new CD, Gil has also finished shooting an infomercial which features the romantic side of him (note the rose on his guitar.) This infomercial, according to Gil, will be aired in 60 and 90 second spots along with the DVD release on television stations around the country.
Of the show for this evening, Gil says it will be a great night and he's excited to have others be a part of it. In case you're wondering, it's true the Master of Ceremonies, Carolyn Kepcher, is Donald Trump's right hand girl, and she'll be there simply because she loves Gil's music!
To learn more about Gil Parris, please visit:
www.gilparris.com
http://www.myspace.com/gilparris
Happy Jazzin'
Beverly J. Packard
Jazz Circle Member of the Berks Arts Council
Reading, Pennsylvania
MyGirlSunday22@aol.com
by Beverly Packard
Music has a lot of names, among them jazz, blues, soul, rhythm and blues, but I never heard anyone use the term rhythm and soul. No wonder -- it was only recently invented by Will Brock. Do you know him? He has a couple of his own CDs, but you may know him best as that capable and fun-loving keyboard player with Gerald Veasley’s band.
Gerald Veasley has a great band, and he freely admits the love he has for the members of the band. He accepts them as they are and allows them to exhibit their own individuality and that’s true, especially, in the case of Will Brock. At first you might not even notice Will – he sits there quietly before the show, taking everything in, very attentive to Veasley, and you get the impression he’s going to sit there and do whatever Veasley requires for a song. And he does do that extremely well.
But something happens along the way.
Something gets a hold of Brock………and he’s never the same for the rest of the night. He starts to dance in his seat, keeping the beat with his head and shoulders. Taking command of his keyboard, he appears to push it into areas it can barely go, at times shrinking away from it as if it’s going to protest and not cooperate! How can there be such a dynamic relationship between Will and his keyboard? Will explains some of this in the interview below.
The first time I saw him, he seemed to be exercising throughout one of the songs. His whole body is part of fascinating rhythmic movements and he exudes soul. He has more rhythm than almost anyone you’ve ever watched. Every movement is about the music; he seems to have a secret, and you’ve just got to wait until he shares it with you.
By the time Will Brock is launching into what I see as one of his most-prized compositions, ‘Home’ you know that song has got to be his secret. It’s a moving, nostalgic, spellbinding rendition of our collective wish to ‘be back home,’ to reconnect with all that is important and precious to us, to be excited and to be so keyed up (as he is) about this moment in time that, along with him, we can hardly sit still, either, because we, too, are ‘Home.’
Brock is a dynamite keyboard player and a dynamic person as well. He’s Rhythm and Soul personified – I call it R & S, and I could hardly wait to talk with him about his music and find out what's behind all that energy he has.
BJP: Welcome to Smooth Vibes, Will! I'm glad we're finally getting to this interview! How did you get your start in playing keyboard? And 'where have you been’ up until this point in your career?
WB: Well, I started playing piano in my fifth grade band rehearsal hall, kind of fooling around and plucking out ideas with a bunch of other kids who played as well. I wanted to be a saxophone player at the time. The world is a much better place since I let that idea pass.
We would hang out in the band room and play tunes (or something… sort of resembling tunes). I fooled around like that on piano with short stints of lessons hear and there until I was in College. At that point I switched to piano completely as my “primary instrument."
BJP: Did you have that infectious enthusiasm right from the start? Were you sort of dramatic when you were playing, even early on?
WB: My friends will all tell you that I’m dramatic about everything. I have always been a little over the top in general. As long as I can remember, in my mind life has been something to get excited about, music in particular. There’s nothing more beautiful than being involved with and surrounded by art. Being able to get inside of an audience, fellow band members and ones self is, like, exciting. That’s what I’m responding to on that stage. Living in that space for an hour or two every night is just downright fun.
BJP: That’s a great way to express who you are, that really fits the Will I’ve seen on stage. You have so much fun, yet you’re so serious in doing the job ‘just right’ -- how do you do both at the same time?
WB: As I said before, the fun part is automatic. The job, however, is the job. To work on this level, a cat doesn’t necessarily need to be the next Herbie or Oscar. One needs to execute what the bandleader wants to hear and bring a voice and personality to the table. Executing takes focus. I focus a great deal of energy on making sure the “thing” is working.
BJP: You have eagle eyes for what’s coming, always watching Gerald and everyone to know your next step which you carry out with precision. You take a lot of pride in how you play. Where did you get your training?
WB: There are several “schools” that deserve credit for my training. I graduated from the University of the Arts with a Bachelors degree in Jazz piano. That experience gave me a fundamental understanding of music on a pretty high level. That’s the obvious answer. The truth is, my real training has been way more involved than that. When I got to Philadelphia, I’d go down to the Old Zanzibar blue (before it got all hip and upscale). On Thursday nights for many years, Barbara Walker had a residency there. I’d hang and sit in with the band, play the two songs I knew (Autumn Leaves and Night in Tunisia with a funk thing on it) and get on the bands nerves ungodly.
I say all that to say, it was that and hundreds of experiences like that, that really gave me a sense of making music person to person. My teachers, the cats who really taught me how to get down, are the philly gig hogs. They play in some dive or another every night to make ends meet. The beautiful thing is that they’re always willing to share a tidbit of knowledge or a story. If one truly wants to learn to “shake the room” and get people excited about the work, those men and women are the folks to teach it.
BJP: That sounds like a fertile background from which to grow. Wish I had been able to be there at Zanzibar Blue in those days. I’ve only been during the ‘hip and upscale,’ more recent years.
BJP: I have to ask about the song ‘Home,’ of course! How did it come about? It is really wonderful!!
WB: My best friend/big brother Charles Baldwin and I wrote that song. We spent quite a few years writing quite a few songs. Truthfully, “Home” is one of the many that we wrote in a period when we were focusing on songs that one might call timeless. The idea was to come up with songs that folks could relate to now and ten thousand years from now. There was a point when we were writing 1 or 2 of those a day. It was really quite insane now that I really think about it.
Anyway, it was really the only thing that Gerald had heard of mine at the time we started doing it. We did it at a jazz festival once and it’s become a part GV’s set.
BJP: I know from watching you that you have to move around! Is that just part of your natural self, as in, would your Mom tell us you were ‘always moving’ as a child?
WB: Yea… me and still don’t really get along too well. Especially when I’m doing the “thing”. Quite honestly I don’t understand how anyone can be still up under any kind of groove. For as long as I can remember music moved me, literally moved me, to …well… move. I’m guessing my mom would tell you that I was that way from the moment I came into the world.
BJP: I hear you on that and I’m sure most music lovers would agree. I’d say you definitely found your niche! Who would you say influenced you in your style of playing?
WB: It’s funny. My playing is not super influenced by musicians, piano players, and even less so jazz guys. The keyboard thing is kind of a small part of the picture for me. It’s only one of many artistic expressions that I need to be involved in to exist (not as deep as it sounds I promise). So what you hear when you hear me play is my entire artistic life, filtered through music that day. It’s kind of fluid for me. The books I read, the films I check out, art of any kind, it’s all the same to me. I just happen to be able to execute pretty well on the piano so that expression is very clear for folks that stop and listen.
BJP: I know it must mean an awful lot to be able to play with someone like Gerald Veasley – what a great performer and friend he seems to be. How did you two get together?
WB: When I was in School at Uarts, Gerald came and did a guest artist swing with an ensemble called the Fusion Band. I was in the band and He was to play a concert with us. We did a duet (Stella by Starlight) and the vibe was amazing.
After that he’d call me to work on some of his productions and eventually I became a fulltime member of the band. Gerald has been like a brother to me for a long time. It’s to great to be able to absorb the music and life lessons from him. He’s a beautiful person and an awe-inspiring musician.
BJP: Yes, Gerald Veasley is amazing. You also have your own solo career that you’re working on – how is that going and what’s new on the horizon for you?
WB: I’m in the process of writing songs for another project. That is my main focus (Solo Career). I have spectacular band. We put on a super fun show (and modest to boot). Seriously, I’m just working on creating honest music and letting folks hear it. Hopefully that will yield the results I want. We’ll see!
BJP: From what I can see, everyone who hears and sees you in person just appreciates you and your style so much, so I think you’re going to get results! Is there something you’d like your present and potential fans to know about you at this point in your career?
WB: I would like fans to continue getting to know me. I’ll be making music for a very long time so I plan to create long-term relationships with folks that have an interest in good ol’ fashioned soul music. I have a long way to travel in this thing and it should be a fun journey to watch.
BJP: I’m sure it will be. Let me just say you are awesome to watch, you have an infectious smile, you’re totally involved, and when you play it’s just the greatest experience for me, every time you play – I never tire of seeing that passion and raw emotion you communicate, especially during that song ‘Home!’ I hope you keep playing in Reading a couple of times a year!
BJP: Thanks for doing this interview for Smooth Vibes, Will, and the best of luck in all your projects!
WB: Thank you for doing the interview with me!
Please check out Will Brock for yourself at one of the following websites:
http://www.myspace.com/willbrock
Happy Jazzin'
Beverly J. Packard
Jazz Circle Member of the Berks Arts Council
Reading, Pennsylvania
MyGirlSunday22@aol.com
Photo Credits: Will Brock and Michael Packard
by Beverly Packard
Often a musical artist has a great voice, whether his own or the way he plays his instrument of choice; often there is a talent to compose compelling music, or write memorable lyrics that speak easily to your heart. Some artists are physically attractive and/or have just the right threads (think Nick Colionne, for instance), and some have a stage presence you want to bask in long after the concert has ended, so unparalleled is their ability to connect with the audience and provide a captivating visual affect by their movements and expressions. Only rarely would I expect to find all these things in the person of one artist.
I first met Janita through her publicist, who asked me to review her latest CD. Listening to the CD a couple of times, I realized the voice, the compositions and the memorable lyrics were all there. She sings clearly with a good range and at times a more breathy, sensual style that fits her songs perfectly. Besides singing words, she uses her voice quite effectively as an instrument, as well. Upon seeing her in concert twice – once at Zanzibar Blue in Philadelphia and once in downtown Manhattan at the J & R Music Festival, I saw that the stage presence, punctuated with her sweet countenance, attractive appearance, and genuine appreciation to be before us, rounded out the picture. Finally, having conducted a recent interview with her (below), the maturity and insight she demonstrates confirm my impression that she is a rather unique artist, and has the whole package.
A Finland-born singer who became a phenomenon in her own country by the time she was a teen, Janita settled in New York City ten years ago and has been working hard ever since, hoping, as every artist does, for that moment when the chance comes to touch the lives of many with her music. I believe her moment has arrived.
Her latest CD, Seasons of Life, is a well-blended variety of songs and moods. The songs have a wistful feel, beautifully expressing so many things felt by many women in their ‘seasons of life.’ (Perhaps by men, too, but I won’t speak for them.) She gives words to many things we feel but seldom express, so you’ll find yourself singing along to those songs that particularly catch you where you are in life. She captures not only the longings and discoveries women make along their journeys, but her lyrics also capture differences in men and women and how they typically approach relationships. Just reading the song titles gives you an idea this CD has been borne of the common kind of poignancy we all experience during our own seasons of hope and change.
Watching Janita perform was a pleasant and exciting experience for me after becoming familiar with her music. She sang two full sets at Zanzibar Blue, a well-known jazz club in Philadelphia with great cuisine and ambiance. She was obviously very happy to be there and perform; she was eager to sing as many songs as she could share with us that evening, and it was easy to see the crowd was mesmerized by her. The set list included, ‘That’s How Life Goes,’ ‘No Words,’ ‘I’ll Be Fine,’ ‘Enjoy the Silence,’ a favorite of many which has climbed onto the Radio and Record chart, ‘I Miss You,’ ‘I Can’t Get Enough of You,’ ‘I Only Want You,’ ‘More Than Fantasy,’ ‘Give Me A Sign,’ ‘Let Me Love You,’ ‘Heaven,’ ‘Bear With Me,’ ‘Angel Eyes.’ Band members were Jonathan Maron, bass; Daniel Sadownick, percussion; John Deley, keyboard; Tomi Sachary, guitar; and Tobias Ralph, drums.
The show at the J & R Music Festival in New York City (shown in pictures here) featured many of these songs, and the only change in the band was bass player Nicholas D'Amato. Despite the oppressive heat of that day in June, Janita and band members showed no sign of wanting to slow down and the crowd only kept growing as her music drew people in. Janita shares easily with her audience in between songs, and one example was her telling us how thrilled she was to realize she was there, right now, at this festival, singing to us, that it was really happening!
Read on to see the interview and what Janita says about her early success, her impressions of the music scene in the states, her own development as an artist and her future hopes.
BJP: Welcome to SmoothVibes, Janita! You were successful in your singing career from teenage years in Finland. What made you want to come to the USA and is it all you hoped it would be?
Janita: By the time I was 16 I had already toured around Finland twice. It's a small country, so you end up performing at the same venues year after year... I guess I had always dreamed of an international singing career and was ready for a new challenge at 17. I am a pretty realistic person and have always been down to earth, so I didn't expect to be a success here in the States straight away. I was ready to work at perfecting my craft as an artist and I'm still a work in progress. I'm sure though that I've evolved way more in the New York environment than I ever would have in Finland -- the motivation to be as good as I can be is just that much higher, when there are so many other amazing artists around you. Moving to NY was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
BJP: What are the main differences you find here as compared to Finland, especially in the world of music?
Janita: The biggest difference is the enormity of the music business in the States. There's so much money to be had if you make it big, that there's a lot of people in the business for the wrong reasons. In Finland on the other hand it's almost impossible to get rich as an artist -- you make a good living, that's it. In a way it's good that way, so you can't be motivated by the fortune and fame.
BJP: Who would you say influenced you most in your own musical development -- both important people in your life and also musicians you grew up with?
Janita: Tomi Sachary, my musical collaborator has definitely influenced me a great deal, since he's been involved in every song I've ever recorded. But in terms of people I've idolized, Michael Jackson was probably my biggest hero growing up. I was in LOVE with him: I had the life-size MJ bedspread and everything. Kinda iffy, now that I think of it... Musically I have also been influenced by Meshell Ndegeocello, Bill Withers, Astrud Gilberto, Prince, Stevie Wonder. Really, I think the list is endless.
BJP: Has your band been with you from the start here in the US or have they joined you more recently in your career?
Janita: My band is from the States and has been formed during the years I've spent in NY. It's still not a permanent entity, it changes depending on who happens to be in town and available for gigs, but I do have a couple of main-stays: Danny Sadownick, my percussionist, who's played with the likes of Maxwell and Incognito, Jonathan Marron, my bass-player, who's played with Meshell Ndegeocello and India.Arie and Tomi Sachary, my guitarist, who has worked with me since the beginning of my career.
BJP: From reading about you, I realize part of the transition you've gone through is to put your own poetry and writings to music. Can you tell us more about that transition?
Janita: I was a very shy girl at 13 when I first started my career and it never would have occurred to me then to show my lyrics or compositions to anyone. And as I gained more confidence through performances and being in the public eye, I guess I became even more introverted about my inner workings. I always knew that I wanted to write my own music, but I just couldn't bring myself to open up for the longest time. It took an accident, a scaffolding falling on me one day in NY to realize that life is fragile and I have to do what I want to do in life, now. We never know what life throws our way, so we have to be brave and put ourselves out there, so as not to regret not having done it later. Shyness is such a waste of energy!
I started writing songs immediately after that and have now realized that I can't live without that outlet for my emotions.
BJP: I find the lyrics and themes of your songs to speak so well to how, especially women, feel in various stages of a loving (or not so loving, as the case may be) relationship -- simple, direct, poignant words that say so many of the things I've thought and felt, but didn't put into words as easily as you have or to music as beautifully as you have. Do you find others telling you how they appreciate the way you truly have captured these 'seasons of life?'
Janita: Thank you for the compliment! Yes, love is something that truly inspires me to write, those emotions have always been the strongest for me. I'm very sensitive and I suffer from it sometimes, but feeling things so intensely is helpful for me in what I do. So I can't complain...
I have always admired Joni Mitchell for using metaphors so beautifully to express emotions, but I find that what works for me is being more direct about what I'm trying to say. It feels more honest for me to just say it like it is. People have certainly expressed to me that they have felt the same exact emotions as I have felt, which of course is the best compliment; that people have been able to relate. We are not so different after all!
BJP: You are the first singer since Basia that has left such an impression on me with the uniqueness of your voice and the way you use your voice as an instrument, as she often does. Is that mostly improvisation on your part when you're performing, or do you have most of that phrasing figured out ahead of time? (It always sounds great.)
Janita: Thank you again. : ) I tend to analyze some things in my life to the point of unhealthiness, but singing is something that has always come natural. I do it all day pretty much everywhere I go, which is why my voice is becoming something that's directly connected to whatever I'm feeling at whatever moment. I think it's the same with any musician who is completely obsessed with their instrument and play it all the time. It just becomes something you rarely think about, you just do it. I still have a long way to go, before I'm where I want to ultimately be as a singer, but the compliment you just gave me sure makes me feel good.
BJP: I haven't yet heard you're other CD, but I'm anxious to hear that, too. (I think it's called, I'll Be Fine?) How are the two CDs different?
Janita: I consider I'll Be Fine more upbeat than Seasons of Life -- it has a younger energy. I'm proud of both albums, but there is more maturity in my voice and lyrics on Seasons of Life. I'm constantly growing as a person and as an artist, which of course is natural for everyone and anyone... The changes that I'm going through now will probably be obvious when I do my next project. Albums are like footnotes and it's nice to be able to see so clearly where you've come, where you've been and where you're going as an artist. That's how I think of these two albums, they are representative of the emotions and thoughts I was feeling at the time.
BJP: What is happening now as a result of more people getting to hear you and the Seasons of Life CD? What opportunities are you getting these days?
Janita: I've been traveling a lot this year and have been busy with shows and interviews, which I thoroughly enjoy. I'm in the beginning now with promoting this album and feel like this is the first fair chance in 10 years to get my voice heard in this country. It's been a struggle to get ahead and I know I'm really lucky to have gotten this far. There are so many awesome artists that I know, who are as deserving of what I'm experiencing now as me. I'm certainly going to do my best to enjoy all of these experiences to the fullest, and with this album pave the way for all my future projects. Lots of interesting opportunities are in the air and every time we do a show, something new pops up. There is no short-cut, everything is happening very organically, but right now, I wouldn't have it any other way.
BJP: What are your hopes for the future? Are you continuing to write your poetry with an eye to putting it to music? Do you write the melody lines or how do you collaborate with band members to write the songs?
Janita: I'd like to keep doing what I'm doing, hopefully increasingly successfully. Helen Keller said: "Life is either daring adventure or nothing at all." I have certainly experienced both sides of life, but right now I'm living just the right amount of adventure and I'd like to keep it that way.
I've been writing actively for some time now and have lots of ideas for a new album. I almost feel like I've gone backwards a little, that I'm not as mature as I used to be, which I find kinda weird. I guess life works that way sometimes. All of this will be going into the new project, which I will likely be writing with Tomi Sachary, my guitarist and long-time collaborator. I write the lyrics and together we work out the melody lines.
BJP: You're very comfortable on stage and your dancing and movements complement the music very well. How do you get yourself ready for a performance and what are you thinking when you're on stage? Does someone in the band help keep you focused on where you're going next in the performance?
Janita: We have great chemistry as a band and I love hanging out with the boys before and after the show. There's lots of joking around and I'm often laughing hysterically at their antics. We are way more serious on stage and I know my band-mates want to be as good as they can possibly be, I never have to worry about them. I guess all I really have to worry about on stage is doing the best I can to relate the song to the audience and hopefully make them feel like they understand what I'm saying. When I go and see performances of other artists, I'm always impressed most by the ones that make you feel like you've bonded with them on some level. That's what I'm hoping to do too.
Also, one of the most important things about performing is that you have to be in the moment -- you can't be thinking about what you're gonna have for dinner, cause otherwise you lose your energy and your intensity.
BJP: What kind of music do you find yourself listening to in your life now?
Janita: All my life I've listened to a lot of soul, R&B and hip hop, but right now I find myself listening to a lot of rock and folk music, which indeed can be very soulful too. I for example have Death Cab for Cutie, Travis, Neil Young, The Weepies, Patty Griffin and Gnarls Barkley on heavy rotation in my iPod. I know they are all very different from the music that I make, but I'm also hoping to be influenced by all of them in some way. Meaningful and interesting lyrics and heartfelt songs is what all these artists have in common. My taste in music is very broad these days.
On a personal note, I want to spread the word about Milton Nascimento, (listen to Tudo Voce Podia Ser) who is someone I only discovered recently, though he's been around for a while. I think that his is some of the most emotional music I've ever heard, even though I don't even understand the lyrics. Just beautiful!
BJP: That is so interesting -- I'll definitely look him up, it reminds me of how I feel about Amedeo Minghi from Italy -- beautiful music, and even though I have no idea what he's singing, it doesn't matter!
BJP: Before we stop, is there anything you'd like to communicate to your fans?
Janita: Yes. : ) My album Seasons of Life is in stores now and I'll be doing shows around the States to promote it. Fans of my music can sign up on my website www.janita.com to receive advance notification of my upcoming performances in their area. Peace of mind and happiness to all!
BJP: It’s been great talking with you, Janita and I wish you the very best in all your future projects, and I’ll be watching for them!
Janita: Thank you so much for your kind comments, I really appreciate it.
Happy Jazzin'
Beverly J. Packard
Jazz Circle Member of the Berks Arts Council
Reading, Pennsylvania
MyGirlSunday22@aol.com
Photos of Janita compliments of Janita.com
Concert photos credits: Rachel Henry
Music Journalist Jonathan Widran to be featured on the show airing Wednesday, June 21st at 9 PM!
Although our Jazz Personality column typically covers artists in the world of contemporary jazz music, this time we get an inside look at a music journalist and what he's up to besides writing! Jonathan Widran, prolific writer of well known magazines Smooth Jazz News and Jazziz, spends at least some of his time singing. Friends and family have known this for a long time, but it might be news to the rest of the music world. Most of this happens in the karaoke circuit in the LA area where he lives; most of it happens with a good friend of his named Fred; and most of it happens with songs that are affectionately known as 'one hit wonders.'
So when the America's Got Talent search was on (from the producers of American Idol), The Freds, as Jonathan and Fred are known, couldn't resist the opportunity to see if they have the right stuff to strut in front of a panel of jugdes -- a trio, nonetheless, typical of American Idol, complete with the American Idol band and a big stage on which to make their best impression. How did this happen and what was it like? Jonathan tells all in this interview with www.smoothvibes.com writer Beverly Packard.
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BJP: Before you tell us about your audtition for America's Got Talent, let's back up and talk about how long you've been a music journalist, what genres you write about and where your work appears?
JW: To make things easier I tell people I have been a music journalist for 15 years, but actually my first articles were in a small free paper called The LA Jazz Scene in early 1989, so I’ve actually been doing it for 17! For that publication, which is well known in the local jazz community of Los Angeles, I wrote a lot of features, reviews and also a column called "Night Rhythms", which covered record releases, concerts, club shows of all the local jazz talent (mostly smooth jazz guys on their way up like Richard Elliot, Boney James, etc). I started writing for the national jazz publication Jazziz in 1990 and have been doing the "Contempo" column, covering mostly smooth jazz (with touches of other genres like world music, a la Willie & Lobo) thrown in since 1991. So that’s 15 years! I’ve written hundreds of reviews and done many interviews for that column, and it’s been one of my great calling cards since the magazine is so well respected in the jazz world.
I’ve also written for the same amount of time, covering other genres as well, for Music Connection, a West Coast based industry magazine that has given me high visibility among the movers and shakers of the recording industry. I used to write a column in there called "Producer Crosstalk", and got to interview big pop, R&B, and even country producers, plus smooth jazz producers like Paul Brown and Jeff Lorber! And also many famous film composers. Currently, for MC, I write a less interesting column called “Close Up,” which profiles one of the magazine’s advertisers in each issue. So I talk to a lot of studio owners and people who run mastering facilities…and get to learn about some of the nuts and bolts about making music. So even if it’s not as exciting as talking to the artists, its’ educational! And over the past two years, I wrote cover stories on Mindi Abair and Brian Culbertson, bringing them to an audience that had probably not heard of them before!
I have regularly appeared on this online site, Peter Boehi’s SmoothVibes.com, since 1997, and so that’s a great place to find old columns for reference purposes. Peter, jazz aficionado from Switzerland, allows me to post as written with no pre-editing. These days I don’t contribute original information here, but my Jazziz 'Contempo' column is featured in its original form every month. Plus, SmoothVibes is in search engines all over the world, which means people can read my work that otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity.
Many people in the smooth jazz community know me from my extensive writings in the nationally distributed magazine Smooth Jazz News, which launched in December 1999 and is very popular among the true fans of the genre. In the summer, the publisher, Melanie Maxwell, travels to every major smooth jazz oriented festival so SJN has high visibility in that community. I like writing for this publication because the articles touch on the personal lives of the artists beyond just their latest gigs and recordings…and it’s always interesting to know about their families and hobbies. Online, I also write for the popular website All Music Guide, and my reviews there are syndicated to hundreds of websites worldwide, so my name is definitely out there. I started out for them just doing smooth jazz reviews (since before me, they only had straight ahead jazz critics reviewing smooth jazz, which they didn’t like much), but now have covered everything from rock to R&B to country, gospel and world music. There have been other publications and websites over the years, including Amazon.com, but these are the major ones I write for now.
In addition to the journalism, I also for years have done a lot of PR writing, which means bios and press releases for many different record companies and public relations firms. I have written bios on most of the major smooth jazz artists, but companies have hired me to write bios in many different genres beyond smooth jazz, and that’s always expanding. I may not like all the music these artists make, but they all have great stories to tell and it’s fun to help artists just starting out their careers.
PR writing also pays a lot better than the journalism and reviewing! But the journalism is what got my name out there in the first place. For one L.A. based company I work for regularly, I have written about rock, folk, jazz, gospel, country and even hardcore alternative rock. Plus I’ve written press releases for clients I grew up listening to like Air Supply, Tommy Tutone and The Knack!
BJP: What are the most satisfying aspects of your work in music journalism?
JW: I think the most satisfying thing is being able to have built what is essentially my own freelance business, setting my own hours and beating the system by working entirely at home! When you live in L.A., where people drive long distances on the clogged freeways and spend their lives in traffic, this is a real blessing. I’ve created an interesting niche for myself. Unlike many freelancers, I rarely have to pitch ideas to anyone. I’ve built the PR business by word of mouth so people call me all the time for new projects. And I write regularly for the same publications and am comfortable doing that! When I’m caught up on my work I can go to the beach or the movies, or just take a walk. On the professional side, I really enjoy talking to the artists and finding out what makes them tick creatively. I like the fact that musicians, whether unknown, well known or legendary, talk to me with respect and most of the time treat me very kindly. It’s fun listening to people’s stories and figuring out clever ways to convey them to either other journalists (when I do PR) or people reading the articles. I also love getting so many free CDs and getting to see so many great shows and concerts over the years, all for free. It’s kind of a dream job for a music lover. The couple of jazz cruises I have been on were the best things…what could be better than enjoying a week at sea and in beautiful ports and listening to great concerts every night. Fans pay a lot of hard earned money to do what I get to do for free…but then again, I provide something for the artists that helps their career. I still feel like a kid getting away with something, but I know I contribute as well.
BJP: Before developing your music journalism career, you also wrote a book about your journey into trying to make it big in Hollywood called Hooray for Hollywhat? Can you tell us about what you were trying to do in Hollywood and basically how it turned out?
JW: I was always good at writing but I think it’s usually not practical to dream of making any sort of living doing it. Like being a musician, even if you’re talented, it’s hardly a safe career path like being a doctor, lawyer or teacher is. I hadn’t really thought about being a scriptwriter but while I was in my second year of UCLA, I was a big fan of the TV show Family Ties…and one day I woke up with a vision of Alex Keaton, the Michael J. Fox character, writing a term paper. I had just gotten a low grade on an English paper and needed to vent my frustration. I wrote a “spec” script (meaning on speculation, as a sample) for the show and was able to submit it to the producers of the show with just a release form. They liked it but said they already were working on a similar idea about Alex getting his first low grade in college. Anyway I got to go to tapings and meet the producers, and so for the next six years or so (including several after graduating) I wrote a lot of sitcom spec scripts and a few screenplays. I had an agent and began working with a partner, and had a lot of close calls in terms of selling stories and one of the screenplays, but it got very frustrating having so many close calls. Like a lot of people who are encouraged, I went through a lot of interesting experiences (chronicled humorously in the book) but ultimately focused on the music writing, where I was getting more respect and more money than I was ever able to make in Hollywood!
BJP: So when the America's Got Talent show was conceived by the makers of American Idol, you couldn't resist calling upon some of the talent that you have to see if you could possibly make your way back into 'show biz,' is that it?
JW: Kind of, but it’s doing a whole other thing. My original goals were to be a writer producer for television, not sing on TV, which is what my friend Fred and I (collectively known as The Freds) did on the first show of America’s Got Talent. Over the years, purely for fun, I did karaoke in various settings, and when I met Fred, we shared a mutual love for the one hit wonders of the 70s and 80s we grew up with…and karaoke was a fun and inexpensive way to hang out on the weekends. We didn’t have any specific act in mind, we just enjoyed singing together and we became real crowdpleasers on the karaoke circuit in the Burbank area. So when we heard about auditions for the show, we thought it would be fun to try out with all the strange folks who were bound to show up…we can carry a tune and we are definitely entertaining, but it shocked us when the evaluators liked what we did…and even more stunned when they called and said they wanted us to audition again on the main show stage at Paramount for the producers…suddenly we were onstage talking to Regis Philbin (the host), singing and entertaining the audience and having David Hasselhoff (one of the judges) tell us “You guys would be perfect to sing at a beach barbecue but not on this show!” So he got it that we were just having fun and hardly expected to win a million dollars. But the audience really liked us, and it was cool because we are not professionals so there was no pressure to get into the main competition. We also got to meet Simon Cowell, the show’s executive producer, who was very nice and told us, “You guys are good for the competition.” It was fun to go back to Paramount, home of Family Ties in the 80s, and do this instead of worrying about selling a script! Plus we got to meet all the other contestants on the show, many of whom were very talented and many of whom were weird, and the production team (many from American Idol) was really nice.
BJP: Tell us more about the talent that you and your friend have and how you share this talent every week around the LA area karaoke circuit.
JW: We were regulars at least twice a week at the Burbank Holiday Inn but have done it at different places (less regularly) since that venue closed a year ago. We have a repertoire of about 30 songs, all hits from the 70s and 80s that everyone who grew up then heard on Top 40 Radio. My friend Fred does comedy improvisation at Second City, and is an aspiring actor. I just do it for fun but maybe The Freds will have a career out of this. If William Hung could be famous, why not us? Reality TV gives people like us a chance to get our five minutes of fame! I really just enjoy making people laugh and smile, and not take life so seriously. I think there are karaoke singers all around America who like to have their moment in the spotlight. The one we got is just bigger. Obviously, the producers thought we were entertaining, and that’s all we really aspire to be considering our vocal limitations.
BJP: I've seen you perform live in a karaoke setting and I'd call it a quite 'commanding' performance -- total energy and dedication, you sing on key, you are simply 'on fire' about these favorite songs of yours. And a LOT of fun to watch. What was the reaction of people like the judges and others on the scene -- Regis Philbin and David Hasselhoff, to mention a few?
JW: Regis is just the host and I didn’t see how he reacted, but this is the breakdown on the show’s official judges. The British guy who is the Simon of the show, Piers Morgan (who was a big newspaper editor in England) didn’t get it at all but did say he thought we were fun. Brandy was born in 1979 and I’m sure never heard “Don’t Pull Your Love” so it didn’t connect with her…but she did like our Old Navy matching print shirts! Hasselhoff, who once recorded the other hit by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds himself, totally got what we were aiming for, with his beach barbecue remark. He acted like he thought we were fun but not right for a million dollar competition…which we already knew. Twice the next day, he said, Hey, how are the Freds doing? Once outside on the lot, the other when looking down from the judges table into the audience during a break. One of the producers of the show (and remember, this is the same group that does “Idol”) thinks we’d be great for corporate gigs. Another said of all the acts who didn’t “make it,” they were sorriest about us because everyone really liked us. Many of the other contestants came up and told us they enjoyed our performance as well. We’re sort of the crowd pleasers in between the great talent and the total Gong Show acts.
BJP: What is your personal reaction to being a part of this experience?
JW: It was really a fun experience, kind of surreal, and we got to meet a lot of interesting, strange and talented people…and sing on the biggest stage we were ever on. Plus it’s funny to think that the almighty Simon was watching us backstage, so he devoted five minutes of his life to “The Freds”! Also everyone on the show was very kind and attentive. It’s a great crew. Maybe if we can get enough people to write to NBC, they’ll have us back on the show like they do sometimes on the finale of Idol…Simon actually said, “people may like you and may want you back!” It was a great life experience, and one I’m sure thousands of karaoke singers across America would love to have!
BJP: Do you have a 'gut feeling' as to where this could lead you and Fred??
JW: Fred’s always fantasized about The Freds going on tour a la The Blues Brothers (another musical comedy act whose antics outshone their actual vocals), and TV is a powerful medium so who knows. Plus with internet marketing opportunities, you never know. Or it could just be a neat five minute thing and that’s the end of it. Either way, I know we’ll keep entertaining people. Whether we get paid for it, that’s the question. I’m enjoying the journey, wherever it leads. And it’s fun telling some of the musicians I know about it…so they can see me in a whole other way!
BJP: What's your advice for those who want to 'make it big' in the music/entertainment industry?
JW: That’s a question usually asked of people who have made it big. Have I made it big? Well, I make a living doing something I love, and am a Grammy voting member of the Recording Academy, so in a small way, yes, I suppose I have. Basically, I would say it’s about having the passion to do it…and showing up and not being afraid of rejection. As successful as I might appear as a writer to many, I can’t count the intense rejections I have received on my scripts and book projects. The journalism wasn’t really my first choice but when I started getting respect, I knew I was on to something. Follow your dream as far as it can go, but have the grace to adjust when you get to crucial crossroads, and there’s no shame in shifting gears. I love the stories artists tell me about the balance they have to strike between being commercial and being who they are. Usually success is a matter of both. Talent should be a given.
BJP: (tongue in cheek) Do you plan to give up music journalism and market yourself as an entertainer, if for nothing more than the parties of those celebrities who may have fallen in love with your style, or even better, if you triumph with the likes of anyone from Taylor Hicks to William Hung??
JW: I’m sure I’ll always be writing in some way, and I really enjoy what I do so I cant imagine abandoning it no matter what opportunities came my way. I’m sure if anything works out on the entertaining side, I would find a way to play a behind the scenes writing/scripting role. I will say however, that the idea of entertaining hundreds or thousands of people is probably more gratifying than seeing my name in print. I’ve been doing the writing so long, it’s not that big a deal anymore…but when I think of all the people who would love to be making a living doing something they enjoy, I am very grateful that I took the hard road and stayed on this path. As for Taylor, I think the fact that a guy who is more of a great and fun entertainer than a truly brilliant vocalist won Idol shows that America likes to be entertained and is ready for talent that isn’t in the typical cookie cutter mode. Enter the Freds! But seriously, I hope he can inspire a lot of people who work as hard as he did to “make it” for ten years to keep doing what they do best, and not give up.
BJP: Thanks, Jonathan, for spending some time with me so that musicians and others who keep up with your writing will know this other side of you that is quite fascinating!
JW: Thank you, too, and don’t forget to tune in Wednesday night!
BJP: No way would I miss this! That’s The Freds this Wednesday evening, June 21st, on America’s Got Talent, airing at 9 PM.
Interview done by Paul Adams*
Tony Levin. To most musicians, enough said. The guy's been everywhere and played with everybody who has made a dent in the world of music for the last thirty years. Peter Gabriel, John Lennon, King Crimson, Herbie Mann etc. etc. A musician's musician. The man loves to gig, and he's constantly on the road. But, the last few years he's started doing his own music, and Resonator is the current release on Narada Records. He also releases solo work on his Papabear Records label (Through his his web site only).
Tony is known for being solid and adventurous, and he doesn't disappoint. On Resonator, he opens up the door of his heart all the way, with an emphasis on lyric tunes. And the guy has hit the ball out of the park. The overall content of these songs are emotionally touching, with a dash of humor, irony, and mysticism. "Utopia" has a beautiful epic feel that just melts me. "Beyond My Reach" finds its genesis within the universal theme of grief, and the beauty of letting go of that that never stands still - life. The tune "Fragile As A Song" speaks of an encounter with a wonderful ape named Panbanesha, with Peter Gabriel. Throughout, there's a poignant ballad like approach to his recent decision to "open up" his lyric soul to the world. However, ballads aren't the only thing new and interesting. There are some wild rides here with instrumentals that shake the floor. "What Would Jimi Do" gives a rockin nod to Hendrix inspired music. The premise is interesting. If alive today, how would he Hendrix respond to the state of current music? On "Throw The God A Bone", even his dog Lilly takes part. A humorous movin' and groovin' celebration of our furry friends hold on simplicity and beauty. They have a lot to teach us. Woof!
In my discussion with him, he expressed concern that the lyric in these songs work well. There was also concern about the use of his voice. He wanted the music to stand - to be valid within itself, and not enslaved to a point in time that may not be as appropriate for an audience ten or twenty years from now (Tony expressed this same concern with some of the album covers for King Crimson). The themes are universal. Life, loss, existence, humor, and the sometimes precarious dance between science and the spiritual. These former themes expose Tony as a bit of a mystic, the later, allow him a bit of objectivity. He can acknowledge the sometimes overwhelming impact of these themes, yet balance the heavy, with the "Zen like" willingness to take the impact, dust himself off, get back on his feet, and re-join the dance for all it's beauty.
For the most part, the music industry has lost site of art. It offers us sameness with an ironic emphasis of trying to make itself look groundbreaking. Being an individual - making an artistic statement - is accomplished by sounding like everyone else. Tony and his wonderful band of Gypsy's ("The man" Adrian Belew on guitar, Jesse Gress on guitar, Tony's brother Pete Levin on organ, Jerry Marotta on drums, and Larry Fast on keyboards.) has offered us art. He's met the challenge of pushing the envelope, and taking a risk by heading into new territory. Exposing one self to these elements is being dynamic, involved, and alive. Tony Levin and the boys are alive! Resonator is alive!
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Q This album showcases vocals in a prominent way. As someone known as a musician's musician, and one of the "go to" guys for instrumental excursions with many people, do you think you took more chance or risk? Was it frightening?
A Not quite "frightening" but a big leap for me. Like many musicians, I like challenges, and even with my comfortable territory (Bass, Stick, and instrumental music) I'm usually pushing myself to move off the old ways of doing things, learn new techniques, make some up... stuff like that. Maybe it's from being in King Crimson for so long, a band where challenging ourselves individually and as a band is standard practice. So, for years I've had a lot of material brewing - things I wanted to communicate that I couldn't get across with my instrumental writing. And finally it seemed time to take a deep breath, write the material the way I felt it suited me best, and do lead vocals on it. I'd sung backgrounds a lot (with Peter Gabriel, King Crimson and some others) so I was familiar with my voice (it's qualities and lack of qualities...) The recording process took me much longer than usual this time, but in the end I'm happy it did so that I had time to adjust the compositions the way they needed.
Q There's a bit of the mystics imagination with this outing. One song example might be "Throw That Dog A Bone". Dogs have the simple mind thing down don't they? So much to teach us! Care to comment? By the way Lilly has great timing.
A "Throw The God A Bone" is somewhat characteristic of this new music - it's humor kind of masks a somewhat deep theme. Dogs look up to us, kind of like we're gods to them when you think about it. And the song is a processing of that fact midst our natural tendency to look up above us, and try to obey the edicts of our God or gods. It's amusing when our dogs, wanting so much to please us, break the rules sometimes, and feel so bad afterward - are we that different about our commandments? And then, science almost always being a component of these songs, what is going to happen when we create some new life (not so far in the future) and need to program it to obey 'commandments' of behavior from us? All interesting fodder for music, I think. Meanwhile, there's Lilly, my dog, happy to perform some barking for the song. I have to admit she did not bark on cue - but getting her barks on tape was as easy as... well, as getting a dog to bark!
Q I think when someone hears Resonator they are gonna get the Tony Levin approach. Music that seeks to use imagination a bit over formula. Can you elaborate about some of the tools and tricks you used to accomplish this.
A I certainly didn't want to sing about "love ya baby..." Maybe it's because I came from the progressive rock tradition, where music at least tried to be intelligent and challenging. And, for me, the themes were already there percolating in my mind before I set about writing the songs. It wasn't a case of thinking what a certain song would be about. I have lots of journals and poems about the things on my mind, often the collisions between where science and technology is taking us in this century, and the structures and traditions of religion. (My bedside reading is a very odd combination of science mags and the Bible.) When I have a theme, and perhaps a poem or a few pages of journal writings and drawings about it, it's kind of fun to form that into a song. The hard part for me comes when I have to shorten it (usually far too many ideas and verses to fit into reasonable length song) and when I need to fashion it into music that's my own style. (Some of the songs I rejected for the album were good musically but didn't suit the rock playing I wanted to do, or suit my voice, which is fairly limited.) (Incidentally, I ended up feeling that my voice limitations were a good thing for the material. There are ways a good singer can 'carry' some weaker parts of the song - maybe some lyrics that aren't up to the rest, but the singer can throw more emotion into those words and give them some resonance that way. Or, even weak melody lines can be made musical by the voice weaving around, adding filigree. Fine and dandy, but I can't do any of that, and so I had to keep plugging away at the music itself, knowing all I can do vocally is present the material. Ended up being better for the music, I think.)
Q I'm betting that approaching music in a non formulaic way may be very natural for you. I believe we are living in a time when formula music has never been stronger and more encouraged. I don't see people looking at music on it's own merits, but rather as a commodity and product to be compared. Consumers ask is that as good as this? Or is this one as good as the previous one - rather than looking at one particular piece on it's own merits?
A It's an interesting time for music, partly because music is somewhat a way of communicating, and it's a wild time for opening up new ways of communicating. I travel a great deal, and am always aware how much music is out there - it seems like almost everyone is making a CD. Listening just to the radio, you could get the sense that there is less unusual stuff being done, but I think it's quite different than that. Of course, the associated difficulty these days is getting your music heard, for the same reason - there is so much out there and so little of it gets media attention.
Q Do you think this new delivery system of selling digital downloads of songs - with the ability to bypass many middle men - is going to be a lasting vehicle for purchasing music?
A I've got no insight into the digital download world - seems to me that things are changing fast, and we don't know how music is going to be shared, and maybe paid for five years from now. It's certainly made things interesting! And maybe there's a lesson there for coming challenges in other areas - I think the rate of change with this new technology is increasing, and we'll have to get better at adapting, if we don't want to get stuck in the feeling of being left behind. It's complex now, in the field of music and music sales, but I think it may get like that with all media, and with information itself.
Q Back to the human and animal kingdom, and lessons learned from our planetary brethren. Peter Gabriel asked to you help him with a project in Atlanta. This lead to "Fragile As A Song". Can you give your fans your impression of what went down, and what this meant to you. What did it teach you?
A The story is in short that Peter called me from Atlanta where he was spending a few days playing music with apes! I joined him for a day, with Panbanesha (a bonobo ape) playing a bit of piano, while Peter and I jammed along. Her piano playing wasn't great, (though not bad for a beginner!) but her language ability amazed me. Later, in trying to "process" what had happened that day, I did what we musicians are lucky to be able to do, that is to process. I wrote a song about it, not explaining the event, but... filtering it through my musicality. So the resulting song ("Fragile As A Song") doesn't seem to be about apes, but covers the emotion and the wonder that I took from the event. It's hard to say what I "learned"' from it, but maybe it opened up my eyes to yet more permutations of what "communication" can be.
Q Tony, there is a bit of humor on this CD. AND, of coarse, the mystics perspective of science as on "Break It Down". You sang of the obsession of over analyzing and breaking things down. Of trying to make the abstract more definable. Even in the music business we have this need to break down the song and compartmentalize it so we can control the product, and assure good sales demographics. Any comments?
A Hah... you've got a good sense of the music business for sure. For me, though I sail into and around the music business. I remain somewhat on an island of just making music. We somewhat ignore the business end of things (until we need to address it, and that's often too late to be effective.) But it's a blessing, to be immersed in writing and recording music, and better still, being out on the road playing your music for the people who appreciate it. All musicians avoid compartmentalizing music, to be sure - we strive while making it, to make it our own and therefore, hopefully, different from the rest. Alas, it isn't ever completely different. To describe it in words, it is necessary to compare it to other music, hence to put it in a genre. We know that. But how nice that it's the job of others to do that - and we can happily sail along feeling our own music is unique!
Q Well it seems I'm going to drift back to the area of metaphysics and the song "Utopia". It offers us a choice of tools. It paints a picture of the many beautiful ways we have of seeing Utopia right before us - if we would just allow ourselves to see.
A Exactly. And in it is some reference to my having lost my father in the year I was writing - the writing I did about the painful side of loss, those poems and songs won't come out - more meaningful to me is the ever-present element in loss, of treasured connection. That's there, a bit, in "Utopia" and in "Beyond My Reach". And connection itself, between us fragile cousins in this human tribe, that's what I sing about, and that may be the function of music itself.
Q Concerning you not wanting to utilize the Music Industry formula approach, you said you certainly didn't want to sing about "love ya baby..." because you came from the progressive rock tradition, where music at least tried to be intelligent and challenging". My friend Gary Green played in a Prog group called Gentle Giant. They worked quite hard with little financial gain. In 1980, all "arty Rock", or "Progressive Rock" was buried in the closet. It's detractors called it pretentious and full of itself. Do you have any feelings about this?
A Well, in fact I don't like pretentious lyrics myself. In my opinion lyrics can be thought provoking and... well, resonant, without hammering you over the head that 'this is art. That naturalness, in writing, isn't easy to come by, and I struggled to try to achieve it - whether I succeeded or not, is for others to judge.
Q I see a strange irony happening in the business today. To be popular, your music has to be unique. One must be an individual. At the Grammys a few years ago Snoop Dog said something like, "we don't influence people, we just make music about what we see. People think for themselves". I'm not sure I agree with this. I hear a "sameness". From the phrasing, to the lyric, rhythm, and even the press photo pose. Irony. In order to be unique, I must be like everyone else. Care to respond?
A In a sense almost all of us who are trying to be unique are settled inside a musical genre with a lot of loose rules of form harmony and content. What we really are doing is bending some of those rules, maybe just combining elements that aren't often used together. It's a very rare musician who is writing outside the harmonic structure of hundreds of years ago. I listen sometimes to Schoenberg, to remind myself of the music (almost a century old now) that really did bust out of those rules - but my ear's not advanced enough to even get it, let alone write that way. Yet it's a good reminder to me - if I'm telling myself I want to be radical with my music, it's best I face the reality of just how radical I'm willing to get. (Add to that that if one is far from the norm harmonically, it'll distract from the other elements, like lyrics, that you might want the focus to be on.)
Q Every tune on the album is valid for me because I trust you. And I trust you because I feel that being dishonest and uninteresting would be a waste of your time. Even if you drive to a place that doesn't quite "tickle" my musical trigger, I'm going to say to myself. "Hmmm. I'm gonna put this away till tomorrow and have another listen. The guys a good driver." I find that it is this "trust" that is missing between the record buying public and the artists. Any comments?
A Well, first of all, thanks very much. Now, for 'trust,' interestingly I find myself grateful to be on a record label that has some musical faith in me. I've handed them albums before which didn't fit the kind of music they put out, yet they stick with me, not imposing anything on my music. And this time I've gone even further off their norm, with rock vocals, and some of them about religion - possibly a red flag to some companies.
As to the fans of my music, I do feel lucky to have a small following of listeners who don't expect to hear the same thing every outing. It's also a result of being in King Crimson, where the band always put its fans through a difficult conundrum - you liked the Discipline album of the early 80's... good, because Robert Fripp had us stop playing most of the earlier music in the live shows. But, next album - you'd like more of the same? too bad, we're looking for something new. Okay, maybe we don't succeed in finding that really new direction each time (definitely don't, in fact) but one thing's for sure - it demands a special kind of audience to stick with a band that keeps trying to forge new directions like that. So in a way the band got the audience it deserved - very astute, ready for the new, and... often frustrated that some of it's favorite music got dropped in the process.
Me, I'm not King Crimson, but I've been influenced by that experience. With my solo albums and tours, I'm just making the music I need to make. There was one album (Waters of Eden) which I wrote after a couple of years of back to back heavy prog bands. The collaborations (Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, Bozzio Levin Stevens, Liquid Tension Experiment) they were great, but I was craving some gentler, more Gabriel World Music like music. So that's the kind of music I wrote, though I knew the fans of what I'd been playing for the last years would find it too.. nice. Now, 'nice' is gone, I've got things to say, about science, religion, progress, connections among people... and the rock context fits it best.
Q Resonator is a very poetic album. There's humor, as well as keen observation and a desire to touch. You coordinated this with the eclectic risk taking you are known for. Do you have any advise for those who want to create art honestly, yet, find it difficult to find a "place" to gig - or reach an audience?
A I'm not such an expert or icon that I can give advice about how to create art honestly - still doing my best to learn that for myself. But 'places to gig' are certainly becoming scarcer. I'd say my only tip is about the music itself - to try to stick with the music that you love and are happy making. There are often pressures (market pressures, genres that radio or labels like) that push you toward making music that seems to fit a market. I know some artists who have been lucky with this. But I know many more who have abandoned the unique slant they started with to try to please market needs, and eventually found themselves without either sales success or a body of distinctive work to continue to build off of. They can deny you places to play, make it tough to sell your music, but they cannot take the music away from you - that's something only you yourself can do
Q How about a small description of how you felt playing with the guys on the album. They are all so great. I was especially keen about the guitar work by Jesse on "What Would Jimi Do"?
A That song, "What Would Jimi Do" was an obvious vehicle for guitar solo from a Hendrix fan - I know many guitarists who love playing in that vein, and I was a bit torn about who to have on it. Ended up feeling that Jesse would be ideal - and indeed, he went right into 'Jimi mode" and played exactly the part I needed. All the band (Jerry Marotta, Jesse, Larry Fast, and Pete Levin) are excellent musicians whom I trust in their musicality - so having them join in on songs was the fun part of the project for me. ( I usually had done some kind of demo of each part on the song, with me playing, and gradually the real track would reveal itself as player after player replaced my demo parts with the real thing.)
Q You mentioned that you had great album support and that they gave you freedom. You did have your Papabear label. Was trying to be a label and an artist a huge chunk of work?
A Not a lot of work, but that's simply because I neglected the biz part of the work. I've always been better at the artistic side, and with Papabear I would just release good music albums, and let the sales be whatever they are, on web only. (Far too time consuming to send to distribution or record stores - so it kept small and manageable, by just website sales.) When Narada was interested in having me do records for them, I was intrigued by the possibility of actually getting my releases into stores. The collaboration has been a good one, I think - they leave me to do what I need to artistically, even if it's very different from their other artists. And on my side, I tour a lot to support the store sales of my CDs, and have a bit of a following among Crimson and Gabriel fans.
Q Ok. How about short answers when I mention a few of the folks you have played with? It can be what you learned from them, or just your impression of their place in your heart.
Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew
These guys are an inspiration to me - a lot of what I've learned about truly being progressive, about breaking out of the mold, has been from playing alongside them, live, in studio and just inhaling their musical intuition.
Steps Ahead
I was only in the band a short time - but their musical ability was inspiring. Mike Mainieri (the band's founder and leader) was a band mate of mine from the first projects I did in New York, back when I moved there ("White Elephant" was the band) and Mike is one of those awesome players, who is also a fantastic band leader. The only reason I didn't do more with Steps Ahead was, alas, big commitments in the same years, to touring with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson. It's a shame, but you can't do it all.
Peter Gabriel
Probably the luckiest single thing in a career of lucky breaks is that I got to play with Peter. His sense of music is unique, his openness to unusual ideas (only Peter embraced my Stick playing from the beginning) is extraordinary, he's a great guy, and to boot, his tours are the most fun of all tours, because Peter's open to trying different things each day, whether it's camping in the wild, or motorcycling to the Grand Canyon on a day off.
John Lennon
Again, a lucky break for me, and an honor, that I was asked to play on John's album.
Herbie Mann
Back in my jazz days, Herbie was the force to bring together players of different styles - he threw me in with Potato's Bata Cubana, with Steve Gadd on drums... we started the Disco era (God forgive us) and Herbie was ever looking for new styles to explore.
Bill Bruford
My Crimson rhythm buddy - Bill's creativity is legendary (the man who never plays the same thing once!) When I joined Crimson I tried to hold things down, in a typical American rhythm section way - soon Bill opened my eyes to a new way to look at rhythm playing, innovative to the max, not concerned with tradition but blazing new paths. I sometimes still try to do it, but never forget who was my teacher in that aspect of musicality - Bill.
Buddy Rich
The stories are rife - always amusing tales about Buddy and his famous temper. But behind that, an amazing drive and unique ability to power a big band through it's paces. It's precious to me, to have spent a week playing with this master. (Yes, he did fire the whole band mid-session, but hired us back the next day - what else is new!)
******
*Paul Adams composes Music, writes Poetry and Stories, and Builds Instruments. He has a sideline band exploring world fusion and groove called THE NEURONS
Interview by Paul Adams
Paul Adams Music
My main job is working as a composer, but I do album reviews on a sparing basis. I'm especially drawn to write about music that I feel has great potential to counterbalance some of the "sameness" I hear in some music today.
Narada sent me Kazu Matsui's album Stone Monkey awhile back and I admit I put off listening for awhile. My mistake. This is interesting, creative, and risk taking in it's boldest sense. We spoke by phone when he was in LA working on a movie soundtrack with James Horner. Talking to the guy made me feel a sense of simpatico. He is forthright, open, and hasn't let the "business" end of music temper his attitude. Supported by charming bits of elfish laughter, this review/interview was a gas!
PA: You are in the USA doing music for the Zorro 2 soundtrack?
Kazu: Yeah, It’s called Legend of The Zorro, with Katherine Zeta Jones and Antonio Banderas.
PA: I got a hold of you because of the excitement I felt when I heard your new album Stone Monkey. The thing that excited me was that there doesn’t seem to be much risk taking in Instrumental or New Age music. There does seem to be a “sameness”. But you threw everything in this album but the kitchen sink
Kazu: (Laughter) Right
PA:Why did you take such a risk?
Kazu: Well if I am making a living ONLY on my music it might be risky. But, I write books and produce, and my living depends on those things (Kazu produces all of the recordings by his wife Keiko Matsui). Fortunately I have a deal that the record company (Narada) allows me to make all the creative decisions
PA: That was a very good deal
Kazu: Yeah (Laughter) I don’t know if I can continue that, but anytime they can cut me! (Laughter)
PA: Well, I find it an irony that we live in a time where we have very sophisticated composing tools, but I don’t see music in the market place pushing artistic boundaries. Matter of fact it seems less “chance taking” now than 25 years ago. I’m excited to see people push parameters and hope that there will be a place for those who want to do that.
Kazu: I hope so too. But now the outlet of music is shrinking in some ways. They only seem to want certain types of music and that’s a problem.
PA: Another interesting irony is that you mentioned that you don’t make a living from album sales. NOW, if you don’t have that market already defined and you have other means of support, this allows you more freedom in composing. So, lack of success in sales can foster more creativity! There are no executives telling you what and how to do something!
Kazu: Yeah. We used to make albums in one or two months in the studio. However we don’t need it anymore. You can have five thousand dollars worth of equipment and you can make an album. Technology has advanced so much that ones creativity can flourish. Unfortunately the market system is in the middle of a maze. We don’t know what to do. Internet is helping and killing part of the industry too. WE are in transition. I think we’ll be OK. And again, we are able to create using this technology and come up with great stuff. We may need to work on something else to make a living so it is a special time.
PA: I agree with you 100%
Kazu: Of course we need an (marketing) outlet because we want other people to listen. We haven’t figured out what to do, but this internet is either killing us or make us flourish. It can go either way
PA: Well it’s filled with irony
Kazu: Exactly
PA:What is going to happen? It’s such a blessing and I curse. I’I've always believed that the internet was going to be a continuation of the same. Most folks will drift to Rolling Stone or People magazine. Pop icons will attract the most attention. BUT, there’s going to be a place where you can find something different. Something more unique. They cannot make us go away
Kazu: Yes, exactly
PA: I had a friend in a band called Gentle Giant. Another in a band called Happy The Man. Of course progressive rock died a painful death and these groups couldn't’t make music after they were dropped by the label. Because of this revolution in technology They can NOW record their own albums. So we have guys like you who can take these tools of MIDI, DIGITAL RECORDING, SAMPLING, COMPUTER AND LIVE INSTRUMENTATION and make a complete cool mix of that.
Kazu: Yes, um hum. Yes, exactly what I was talking about. It is a great time.
PA: I want to make a turn and ask about your interest in the shakuhachi flute which you blend with this technology. How old were you when fell in love with this instrument
Kazu: I think I was about 16 or so.
PA: Some find that the pentatonic scale of the flute may pose a limitation (Pentatonic scale has 5 notes and is usually in a fixed scale ).
Kazu: I like limitation
PA: Tell me more about that
Kazu: If I have more talent in western music some may find the Shakuhachi to be at a disadvantage. However my music taste and ability is limited. I love music, but I don’t read western notation. I’m more like a “street player.” For a street player, limited technique is our “ballpark”. We stay there and we remain in the true character of the instrument. This limitation is a cultural thing in Japan - like Kabuki (Kabuki theater is an old and established performance and theatrical art form) In the last 300 years we don’t change or evolve. Even in the limited thing, there is so much depth. Like a comedian in Japan, he is saying the same joke for years. Everybody knows how the same joke goes. This comic theater called Kyogen has played the same joke for years and still people “dig it.” Like Shakespeare, many people know the story or the lines, but many people go to the theater to hear an artists interpretation of it.
PA: I have an injury to my left hand and have found that the limitation may have helped me to paint with a different color on the guitar and not fall into the trap of playing the same thing everyone else.
Kazu: Yeah, because of my limitation I never really go for the technique. I never wanted to play faster or jazzier, it was never fun for me. But at the same time, the music depth is so wide and deep, even with the limitation, one can go very far. There is an analogy to Indian Raga scales here. I have tendency to go to a theatrical emphasis on the music. I always like going into some world or different dimension or other world.
PA: think that’s evident for you, as well as your production of your wife Keiko Matsui’s albums. I’ve seen your stage shows and there is definitely a sense of cinema or theater there.
Kazu: Yeah. I like to create imaginative stories with the music. The music as a journey.
PA: You have had the opportunity to play with some of the finest and best trained musicians in the world. Explain how you marry your sense of “street playing”simplicity with their trained virtuosity.
Kazu: Well, as I said, I am a visual player. I can’t explain to them in western harmony what to do. But often I ask them to use their imagination. For example I’ll ask them to imagine an elf sitting on a mountain top. Good musicians understand this and they can bring out their own creativity to adapt to this. We both create an atmosphere.
PA: So there is an openness to those musicians you play with
Kazu: Yes. Their ability and knowledge of theory will not inhibit their use of simplicity.
PA: So, if a well schooled musician modulates to a different key because he wants to make change this is a problem?
Kazu: Yeah, I’m not a fan of this. I appreciate their vocabulary but it may be that keeping things simple within the key may be necessary for what I am doing. I am looking for emotion. Limitation helps to create space. Sometimes when I produce Keiko, I tell her to cut notes. I ask her to listen to silence. I want to feel the silence between the notes. I think I have a problem when a jazz player uses too many notes.
PA: find there’s an analogy w/ pop music - say Rap or Hip Hop - music simple in form. My problem is that there is no space. Everything both vocally as well as rhythmically is constantly busy. I think they and their producers realize that all this activity does all the work for the audience. It doesn’t force them to use their imagination. It almost grabs you physically and pulls you in - it does all the work so to speak. What’s your feedback on my little theory?
Kazu: Simple music is popular. Some Rap is very creative. Sometimes I just want to listen to the groove but I can’t hear the words.
PA: Lets take a turn. Here. You took up with the Shakuachi flute when you were younger. What pop music influenced you when you were younger?
Kazu: When I started to produce my own album, I asked others to tell me what I should listen to to get a good example of contemporary music. I was told to listen to Pink Floyd’s The Wall, and Michael Jackson’s Thriller. I listened to them hundreds of times. I listened to Quincy Jones' productions.
PA: Ah, Here we are back to the visual cues of music
Kazu: Yeah, I imagine visuals of watching the moon or traveling through the jungle. If you listen to Stone Monkey, it is very visual. It all comes from my travels. Twenty years ago I drove from England to India and this left a deep impact on me. All these experiences come back to me and I want to express this in my music
PA: Stone Monkey is very cinematic. I am thinking of the Cirque Du Soleil.
Kazu: Yeah I love them.
PA: When you were a very young man, what other music did you listen to?
Kazu: Well, like in high school I listened to Santana, Coltrane, The Doors and anything theatrical. Anything that told a story.
PA: Tell me about your interest in Coltrane
Kazu: Others introduced me to him. I especially like the simple work as on Love Supreme. Sometimes he played many many notes but he used space very well, You can feel the silence behind it. I don’t know how he does it (Laughter). I liked him more than other jazz musicians
PA: Isn’t it great to live in a time with this digital chip? At one time people argued that it was evil, but it can be a marvelous tool.
Kazu: Yeah, those people don’t understand. Like, I love the use of the drum machine. I believe these digital tools have spirit. I believe everything has spirit, and should be seen as this. Sometimes machines makes more sense. I don’t like it if a live drummer doesn’t feel or connect with the visual aspect. Sometimes these machines can express what we want to say. They are part of the universe.
PA: So, it’s how we USE those machines that makes the real difference as to their validity?
Kazu: Yes, to use them, you have to feel as if you and the machine are part of the universe. There is a relationship there. The creative mixture of human and machine is the way to go. After all, nature, the universe, includes the computer
PA: So if it’s here, it’s part of nature, otherwise
it wouldn’t be here?
Kazu: Yeah, (Laughter). Exactly. Certain people block themselves into a narrow interpretation, but sometimes a narrow thing can go deeper.
PA: Once you put up rigid judgment, there is an opportunity to miss something. This takes me back to what you said about time and space in music. Of not playing. Those moments can allow deeper penetration what you have created
Kazu: Yeah, and people should judge from what they hear and not be negative about what tool was used to create the music. There are times when I even use sample CD’s to cut and paste into the music I compose (Many top musicians have out CD’s containing grooves they have played - allowing you to paste them into your project)). AND, if I do this, it is almost like I have involved this musician in the album. It’s like having another player easily accessible.
PA: So, even though they are samples, you are still communicating with him
Kazu: Yes. I spoke to a number of well known musicians that have sample CD’s of their work and phrases. They assured me that using their samples and phrases was OK.
PA: in Stone Monkey you have a lot of mixes with grooves that involved a bit of sampling.
Kazu: Yes, I was helped with the project by Hajime Hyakkoku who was able to paste many musical statements using the Macintosh computer. I didn’t want to use JUST drum machine, but to mix all the elements together of machine, sampler, and live individual voice. I am influenced greatly by this new technology
PA: Yes, you might say it is like being a sculptor - working with clay. You can place your sound, stand back, take some away, add proportions, ad infinitum. It’s a joy
Kazu: Exactly, and these techniques are there for everybody. For a few thousand dollars you have your own studio. This is a time that so many people - who didn’t have a chance to be in music - can now create. Anybody who is interested can create music. It’s a great time
PA: Everything we do can be done in the living room. We can exchange files with others, and the creative process unfolds.
Kazu: Yes yes! Actually I am now making a documentary about the Dali People in India. I can shoot - edit - and do everything by myself with hi digital quality. This is the first time I have made a film - apart from Keiko’s DVD’s. Again, I can do it all myself.
PA: Well you have an album that is much like a story or film. You’ve been talking about theater and as I previously remarked, your music is very visual.
Kazu: Yeah, I love our imagination
PA: I’ve been taking your album with me on my journeys to the river where I lay and allow my imagination to flow. I find the varied elements to be calming - even in their most dynamic sections. As I said previously, you threw everything in this album but the kitchen sink.
Kazu: Yeah but you know - some of the critics say I went too far (Kazu is laughing as he says this), I was not as New Age as I was supposed to be - but why not (More laughter)?
PA: Exactly!!
Kazu: the music industry is doing so bad right now and everybody is trying to chase the same rabbit. Everything sounds all the same. It’s OK to try to make a living, but the industry is killing creativity because they don’t budge. Sometimes artists produce work that doesn’t reach full appreciation in their time
PA: Yes, that means we need a day job
Kazu: Exactly
PA: An interesting irony here. As I said earlier, perhaps it’s the guy who is somewhat unsuccessful, that is more successful. He doesn’t have the bound duty to produce for the market. His day job allows him to paint his pictures the way HE see them
Kazu: Right . And many times, people have quit music because of the business difficulty. Well, because of the new technology, they can now come back and continue to produce. We don’t have to rely on the money from the record companies. AND, they don’t have the money anymore anyway. What we have to do is to find a market on the internet - I don’t know how to do it - but we need to develop new marketing strategy
PA: I’m really glad we had this time to talk. I feel a connection with your creative process because you seem to be drawn to the idea of making passionate interesting music, rather than just commercial music that can get boring and lackluster over time
Kazu: Yeah Yeah Yeah. And I hope XM radio will do great (Referring to the new satellite radio subscription services like XM and Sirius that are not as bound to the same play lists as commercial radio)
PA: OK, AND THIS LEADS TO THE QUESTION: Where does your album Stone Monkey fit? In what genre is it placed? New Age, World Fusion?
Kazu I’m not sure. Narada is a good label and well recognized. I just hope everybody will, get further into this subscription radio and listen to music that is good
PA: This leads to some of the new internet stations like LIVE 365
Kazu: Yes, I am hopeful to see how these stations develop
PA: Again, they don’t have the same constraints as commercial radio.
Kazu: YES exactly As long as people have choice. If they choose me or they don’t choose me that’s OK. I just want them to have choices available. I want to see stations available that will offer something different
PA: When will you be done with your current work on the James Horner soundtrack ?
Kazu: I will go back to Japan next week.
PA: What was it like working with James?
Kazu He is great. AND, he knows how to work with “street Players” which is what I consider myself. He uses ethnic players very well. When we did Legends Of The Fall (Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins.), James brought in many folk players to work with the symphony. AND the orchestra members really appreciated their talents. The good composers let the street players play (Within their styles). And the blend of the folk and orchestral traditions add a great deal to the overall sound of the music
PA: Well, thank you for the interview. It was so good to talk and hear you speak of the unique approach of blending technology and street playing, with schooled and traditional orchestra. Your album Stone Monkey is truly daring and I think one of the most adventurous albums I’ve heard in a long time. It is a melting pot of the worlds sounds and traditions. I think many will appreciate your courage in making an album that truly pushed boundaries
Kazu: Thank you
The last 3 pictures are by Jun Sato, used with permission. Thanks Jun!
An Interview with the founders of the band about their latest CD, to be released April 26, 2005, by Heads Up International
Beverly J. Packard
Hiroshima’s contemporary jazz music is not simply music, but is also a significant contribution to the world. Significant because Hiroshima has a unique ability to lift us to spiritual places. To celebrate that which is worth celebrating and to encourage us to be wise about each other. Diversity is their middle name, and the varied cultural and religious influences that form the heritage of the band itself only enhances their credibility.
With a name like Hiroshima, none of us can be surprised that the music they make reaches deep within us and has so much to say. To come ‘up from the ashes’ is perhaps the longest journey to be made, and to associate one’s music with that concept would easily cause it to resonate with meaning. Their latest CD, to be released April 26th and entitled Obon, is no exception, with its deeply rooted meaning, timing, and style. It is offered as a tribute to the musicians, places and events that have inspired the band.
Obon continues the tradition of giving something back to the world, both in its commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the imprisonment of Japanese Americans, as well as in its tribute to the loss of relatives fighting as American war heroes in Europe. In addition, it marks the contemporary jazz band’s own 25th anniversary of their recording career. And it happens to celebrate the debut of their very first instrumental album in those 25 years. So this album is a blend of reverence and joy.
In an interview with Dan Kuramoto and June Kuramoto, founders of Hiroshima, they explain it best:
BJP: Congratulations on 25 years of Hiroshima’s recording career! Dan, you’ve mentioned that Obon represents a new beginning for Hiroshima. Would you tell us what is involved in this new beginning and the factors that led up to it?
Dan: Life is cyclical. This first 25-year cycle really represents several cycles within it. We have seen so many musical evolutions, and we have always tried to grow with each new change—yet stay true to our sound and our audience. We remember when we were first signed to a record deal, we kept hearing we’d never make it because we didn’t fit into any category. Now we hear that we sound too ‘distinctive and ethnic.’
June: So we are full circle—BUT we keep growing and discovering, and “Obon” reminds us to pay tribute to our ancestors as well as to celebrate.
BJP: This is the first instrumental album you’ve made. Can you tell us what went into that decision?
June: Yes, Obon is our first instrumental album. Like life itself, it was part situation, part inspiration. Our lead vocalist and good friend, Terry [Steele], had decided to go solo. These kinds of changes used to devastate me, but as I started growing up, I realized change can be made for the better, like the legacy of the city of Hiroshima—up from the ashes. It becomes a perfect situation for us to SIMPLIFY. In particular, we wanted to feature our keyboard player from Hawaii, Kimo Cornwell. Having played with so many top acts, including Frankie Beverly and Maze, Al Jarreau, and on and on, Kimo is phenomenal. WE have an exciting young taiko drummer, Shoji Kameda—and we decided it was time to make Dan take some time between writing and producing to play more sax and flute. Having less gives more breathing space . . .air . . .life. There is a beauty and new energy in that.
BJP: I am definitely enjoying the greater use of Kimo, especially his piano playing and of Dan on the saxophone and the flute! How did you arrive at the concept of Obon for this new CD? Would you share some of the highlights for you of this past year or two as this project evolved?
June: Dan actually came up with the concept of “OBON.’ Reflection and celebration. It represents so many things to us—25 years of recording, the 60th year anniversary of the imprisonment of Japanese Americans in c