Out 20th July 2019
Contents
Joey DeFrancesco: 15
Adi Becker
03
Michel Camilo
07
Joey DeFrancesco
15
Joe Locke
21
Speaks about his new album Babbelou.
In conversation with Fiona Ross. In the Key of the Universe Behind the Subtle Disguise.
Kenny Garrett
28
The Gil Evans Orchestra
34
Jazz World Photo Competition
40
Darrell Craig Harris speaks with Kenny Garrett. Miles Evans speaks about his father’s legacy.
Behind the lens: It’s all about the moment!
Gregor Lisser
54
Empirical
60
On Eleven, Gregor Lisser about his new album.
The knack of pushing boundaries.
Michel Camilo: 07
Adi Becker: 03
Kenny Garrett: 28 Joe Locke: 21
Empirical: 60 Photography NoColofon: part of this publication may be reproduced or transmittedCredits: in any form without prior Carl Stefan Flach, Yasuhisa written permission of the Publisher. Permission is onlyHyde, deemed valid if approval is in writing. Publisher: Yoneda, Frankie Celenza, Joseph Jazz In Europe Media VOF Boggess, Richard Conde, Abbott, All Weversweg photo material been provided courtseyJohn of the artist and/ 13 contained in this magazine has Michael Woodall, Katz, Emile or their management. The publisher (Jazz In Europe Media Group),Jimmy authors, photographers 7553BH HENGELO (o) Holba, Katy Dillon, André Scheidegger and contributors reserve their rights with regards to copyright of their work. The Netherlands Editorial: Editor in Chief: Nigel J. Farmer Content Manager: Andrew Read Sub-editor: Pia Sonne-Schmidt
Advertising: advertising@jazzineurope.com Graphic Design: Andrew Read
Contributors: Darrell Craig Harris, Fiona Ross Jan Veldman, Nigel J. Farmer, Andrew Read.
www.jazzineurope.com
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior written permission of the Publisher. Permission is only deemed valid if approval is in writing. All photo material contained in this magazine has been provided courtsey of the artist and/ or their management. The publisher (Jazz In Europe Media), authors, photographers and contributors reserve their rights with regards to copyright of their work.
EDITORIAL
From The Editor
By Nigel J. Farmer
W
ell, here we are! One year on from the inception and launch of our Jazz In Europe print magazine. Our growing readership, respected industry experts, and advertisers have all been extremely pleased, providing us with welcomed positive constructive feedback. Some of the artists you asked to hear from have been included this time and more will come in our subsequent publications. The list is forever growing! Summer 2019 print magazine, now the 4th in our series. Offers artists interviews with interesting backstories and accomplishments that march from the past, present and into the exciting future of jazz music around the globe. Plus, witness the photographers passionate eye, capturing a moment in time that exemplifies and enhances why we should support and attend live jazz performances.
by many to be one of the leading voice of this instrument. In this interview, Joe covers a lot of ground, and clearly enjoys his life and enjoys the challenge of constantly honing his craft. Grammy award-winning saxophonist Kenny Garrett is Interviewed by Darrell Craig Harris. Read insightful backstories on the development, and the dues paid by Kenny from a young age. His close connection with some of the best big band generational players. Plus, how five years with Miles Davis taught him a leadership style that he adopts with upcoming jazz musicians. The Legacy of Gil Evans lives on through his son Miles Evans. This interview is very personal and insightful and worth the time to read more than once.
Tony Ozuna, takes us on an appreciative story, sharing how the founders and family connections inspired them to develop Overview: Adi Becker takes the natural the now renowned Jazz World Photo step from consummate sideman to a big Competition. Thousand of entries are band leader. Leading the Cologne Grand received and the founders kindly allowed Central Orchestra for his first album us to showcase some of the outstanding release titled ‘Babbelou’ with arrangements submissions. which span multiple genre’s. Since the albums recent release, Adi and the big Gregor Lisser is an up and coming band have already garnered impressive percussionist. His album titled – ‘On reviews. Eleven’ is full of rich sounds and tonal colours. In this interview, Gregor explains Fiona Ross interviews multiple Grammyhow he believes his arrangements allow the winning Michel Camilo. Originally from artist to expressive intuitive spontaneity if the Dominican Republic, Michel extensive and when needed. Worth a listen. work in education has included tutoring Esperanza Spalding and Hiromi. He’s Jan Veldman Interviews the London played the piano with a long list of famous based quartet – Empirical. The genesis artists, and Michel’s energy and passion of Empirical came out of the Tomorrow’s are clearly expressed in this fascinating Warriors program, an innovative jazz interview. music education and artist development program founded in 1991. This quartet has Andrew gets to chat with Joey now established itself as a leading force DeFrancesco. Covering many areas from on the London jazz scene, read about the Joey’s inclusion into the Miles Davis continuing innovative ways Empirical inner circle. To the reason for the title keeps itself of the cutting edge of jazz. of Joey’s latest album – ‘In The Key Of The Universe’ that’s very much a spiritual As always, my deepest thanks to all the statement. team that continue on this odyssey, I love you all very much – Nigel J. The vibraphonist Joe Locke is considered
1. | Jazz In Europe - Spring 2019
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ARTICLE
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ADI BECKER SPEAKS ABOUT HIS NEW ALBUM BABBELOU Text by: Nigel J. Farmer | Photos by: Stefan Flach
German trombonist Adi Becker has been intricately involved in both the German and International jazz scene as a soloist, conductor, arranger and composer for more than two decades. Over the years Adi has notched up an impressive list of credits as a sideman, however, this week marks a new phase in an already impressive career – the release of his first album as a leader. Titled “Babbelou” (Mons Records), the album sees Adi leading the Cologne’s Grand Central Orchestra in a set of arrangements spanning multiple genre’s. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Adi to find out more about the project.
A
di Becker studied jazz music at Musikhochschule Köln and later the Musikhochschule Mannheim majoring as a trombonist and moreover as composer/ arranger under Jiggs Whigham and Prof. Jürgen Friedrich. After graduating Adi joined the trombone section of the German “Big Band der Bundeswehr”, a position that he still holds to this day. As well as holding the 2nd trombone chair Adi also is one of the bands active arrangers. In addition to his work with the Big Band, Adi has also toured and recorded with many international artists including Albert Mangelsdorff, Michael Brecker, Kenny Wheeler, Jeff Lorber, George Whitty, Eric Marienthal, Bob Mintzer, Bill Watrous, Dave Liebman and Hiram Bullock to name just a few. Not limited by Genre, Adi has also built a long list of credits in the Pop world including James Blunt, Pe Werner, Gregor Meyle and the German pop legend Heino. In 2007, together with saxophonist Torsten Thomas, he founded the Grand Central Orchestra. I asked Adi where the idea to form a new Big Band came from “We’ll there were two main reasons and the main one was that my colleague Torsten Thomas had returned to Cologne after living in Amsterdam for some years. We’d worked together a great deal on
other projects and decided that it would be a good thing to start our own big band. The other reason is we wanted to create a band that would give younger players the chance to play. We felt that this was necessary for the Cologne scene at the time.” The Grand Central Orchestra forms the basis for the new album “Babbelou”. I was interested to find out why at this stage of his career he decided to release an album as a leader. “Well I’ve done a great deal working as a side-man however over the years I’ve started to focus more and more on composition and arrangement. I had many ideas about material and how I wanted to present it and thought now is the time to make an album under my own name.” In the press release for the album, it states “Music that touches your mind and soul. Music that provides for relaxing conversation as well as stimulating the intellect. Music that grooves like the devil, compelling you to listen with its intelligent compositions. Music that serves up a solid big band sound and that celebrates finely-shaped melodies. Music that pays stylistic tribute to easy going jazz, as well as refining pop music pearls with its arrangements, and exploring musical depth.” I asked Adi if he could elaborate on this. “Well, I wanted to make a big Band Album that would appeal to a
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Photo Š Stefan Flach
5. | Jazz In Europe - Summer 2019
Adi Becker wide audience. I felt with a lot of Big Band Music these days had become music for the head and not the soul. The Music needs to groove, people used to dance to Big Band music but these days it’s become far too intellectual. I wanted the music to be technically interesting but also to groove, I wanted to pay respect to melody and I think we were able to do just this with the album.” The material on the album is rather eclectic in nature mixing original material with songs one may not expect to find on a modern Big Band Album. With such a mix of material you often run the risk of producing an album that could sound inconsistent as a whole. When I asked Adi if this was a conscious thought when selecting the material he replied “No this is not something I was worried about at all. While the compositions are varied I think it’s the arrangements that tie the whole thing together.” The album contains a number of guest soloists including vocalist British born Jemma Endersby, George Whitty and saxophonist Eric Marienthal. “I really wanted to have George and Eric on the album. I remember doing some small band gigs in the Cologne area with my Funk band and George was our guest. After we had finished these shows George and I did a performance together with the Big Band in Aachen (ed: Germany) and one of the arrangements we played was “Space Babes”, It was the first time I had done this arrangement with
George and the way he approached the tune was exactly what I had envisaged when I wrote it. When I decided to include this tune on the album it was logical to ask George to join us.” said Adi. Two tracks on the album feature Eric Marienthal. Adi first met Eric on a gig with Jeff Lorber a few years ago, he explained: “It just clicked immediately between the two of us, after the gig we were enjoying a beer and decided that it would be great to work together again.” When he started to put together the material for the album Adi thought this would be the perfect opportunity to see if Eric was available. The Gods were smiling and Eric was not only available but thrilled to be able to take part in the recording. Adi went on to say that in November this year Eric will return to Europe for a number of concerts with the band. With this album now complete and ready for release and concerts planned for November I was interested to know what’s next for Adi Becker. “Well, we have a pretty heavy schedule with the Bundeswehr band including a new album we will be recording. I also have a number of projects that I’m currently doing the arrangements for and for the rest we’ll just see what happens.” Adi Beckers “Babbelou” is now available on Mons Records. More information on Adi Becker and his projects can be found on his website.
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INTERVIEW
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The Essence of
Michel Camilo Text by: Fiona Ross | Photos by Yasuhisa Yoneda & Frankie Celenza
Photo © Yasuhisa Yoneda
Michel Camilo’s awards fill a whole page on his website. He has won four Grammys and been nominated for a further five. An Emmy winner, honoured by the Mayor of New York City as ‘outstanding Dominican-American’ and awarded the Knight of the Heraldic Order of Christopher Columbus by the Dominican government. His extensive work in education has seen him tutoring Esperanza Spalding and Hiromi. He has played with Dizzy Gillespie, George Benson, Herbie Hancock, Jaco Pastorius, Michel Petrucciani, Chucho Valdes to name a very small few. An artist whose technical brilliance is mind-blowing. His energy and passion is hugely infectious and his artistry inspirational.
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J
une 2019 sees the release of his 25th album ‘Essence’ which explores the development of his 40-year career and the four elements that are embedded in his work – fire, air, water and earth. It was an absolute thrill for me to talk to him about his music and we began by discussing how he sees those four elements translate into his music and what this 25th album means to him. MC: “The fire links to the energy in my music and you know, I symbolize the fire with the energy. For me, they go together. Because even if it’s controlled energy, in a ballad or something, still there is an intensity that is always present in my music and it’s part of my personality too. I’m honest with myself and all my music has that kind of energy. It’s an internal fire and a creative spirit. In fact, that is why I revisited that track with this album – ‘On Fire’ – I’m so happy with how it turned out. Everyone on the album understood the concept and gave their very best. Everybody shines, you know! Which is what I wanted. I saved this particular project to be my landmark album, my 25th album. It’s retrospective but at the same time, it is looking towards the future. Time flies!
also transcends that ostinato. An ostinato is based on two modal centres which are a third apart but still the song goes into a lot of places and the harmonies are superimposed and well, it goes very far – you’ll see. This song is like a mini suite in itself ” Another track ‘Repercussions’ is dedicated to Art Blakely and we talked about how Art Blakely pulled Michel out of the audience to play with him during the incredible New York Jazz scene back in the eighties. MC: “Out of the whole repertoire of the new album, there’s only one straight ahead song, which I dedicated to Art Blakely. He was also a friend of mine and I met him when I was up and coming in the club Mikell’s in New York. It wasn’t just a club, it was very nurturing. Chaka Kahn used to sing there, David Sanborn played there and George Benson used to hang out there. It was very open. It was a really, really, great place. Art used to play there with the Jazz Messengers when he was in town. That’s where he played with Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, James Williams - all those guys, everyone was going there. The night I saw him, Woody Shaw was playing with him and Kenny Garrett was also there. It was special that night because Art pulled me out of the audience and I sat in with him. It was a lot of fun. It was kind of terrifying, ha, but I was already starting to tour with my trio and he knew that I was busy. Art got a kick out of having the young talents sit in with him - and God Bless him for that. We all need that at some point in our careers. So, I wrote a song called ‘Repercussions’ dedicated to him. The band are killing on it”
“Art got a kick out of having the young talents sit in with him and God Bless him for that.”
And you know, thank God we can still be creative and full of energy with that inner fire and at the same time, sharing it with all my guys, my friends. That’s what this album is all about – it’s the essence of my music, my style, things that I’ve worked on for many years – the language I’ve developed, my grooves, the way I interact with my guys. It’s also a dialogue between my rhythm section and the horn players, all the interaction and how we create and how we keep each other’s ideas and how they come together as a unit” The album is incredible and exudes passion and energy, which Michel himself, also exudes just by talking about his music – he literally sounds like he is on fire. This album includes some tracks with specific references and dedications to some great artists. For the track ‘Liquid Crystal’, for example, Michel wanted a ‘Miles Davis vibe’ and we discussed what this vibe actually means to him. MC: “Liquid Crystal, the title already implies the water element, it flows, but it flows within a groove and also flows and transforms itself, like a crystal. Multicolour, multi-dimensional. It’s very interesting because it’s based on an ostinato on the Bass but it
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Developing your own sound in the music industry is especially challenging in the Jazz world. You spend years and years studying legends, the traditions and trying to emulate them while also trying to stand out and be original. Michel has always stood out from the crowd and developed his uniqueness right from the beginning. The wonderful combination of his training, culture and experience is mind-blowing. We talked about how he found his sound, with a little help from Coltrane, and how this is embodied in the new album. MC: “What inspired me initially, was when I heard an interview that John Coltrane gave in Stockholm. It was amazing because Coltrane, at that time, when he gave that interview, was already sounding like John
Photo Š Frankie Celenza
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Photo © Yasuhisa Yoneda
Coltrane but he was saying that he was still working on his sound. He was very attentive to the concept of his music, the concept of his lines and the way he wanted to express his music - his soul - through his horn. So that also inspired me to try and do the same. To find my sound and that’s so important. It made me conscious. Made me think that all the big idols I had, they all had a sound. I realized it was important, not just to hone your skills – know all the licks, the traditions - but also to come up with your own point of view. It has been a conscious effort, right from the very beginning. It was also a combination of factors because when I came to New York, believe it or not, I was very much hardcore bebop. But then, all of a sudden, my Latin roots came into my playing, just naturally. The guys in the bandstand got totally excited and they were like ‘play more of that, more of
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that!’ It made me aware of the value of incorporating that side of my sound into my music – and that’s how it started evolving, more and more. But you know at the beginning, I was coming from the Caribbean and I wanted to sound more Bud Powell or Herbie Hancock! ‘Once you know the tradition, you are free to fly on your own” Michel is from the Dominican Republic and moved to New York to study. We discussed how his development early on influenced his writing and this new album and how he actually worked as a pit musician on Broadway. MC: “It all comes together because you know, when I came to New York I wasn’t entirely sure on whether I
Michel Camilo for a symphony. My Latin roots are very much present in this album because you know, it’s part of my identity and I think it’s important to remember where you come from. I never lose that. So, somehow, all these influences are reflected in this album” Continual reflection and growth are a key element of Michel’s work which is very clearly demonstrated in this album. Michel talked about how he was inspired by one of Bill Evans methods of reflection. MC: “I heard a story from Bill Evans manager that he used to record all his concerts and he would listen back to them and that’s how he kept shining the diamond, so to speak. I used to do the same, by the way, and my bass player Anthony Jackson used to record all the shows, and we used to listen to all of them – me, Anthony and Dave Weckl. It’s that essence that you are looking for and it is that essence that will define you as a creative artist. I was so picky with Anthony and even though it was an electric bass, we used to talk in terms of half mute, quarter mute, tuning the bass in a different way and that’s when he came up with the 6 string bass, at that time, which eventually was called the contrabass guitar – all these things were part of the development. He is a complete genius. I think the main thing is never to be still – always looking forward to something new. Celebrating that moment and knowing where that moment came from and that there is more to come”
was going to follow a classical career or a Jazz career. I was studying classical composition and orchestration but also studying piano at Julliard. But in the evenings, I was going to Jazz clubs to jam and to, you know, have fun! My work, in the early evenings, was actually in musicals, in the pit in the big Broadway hit Bob Fosse’s ‘Dancing’. I actually ended up being the co-musical director of the show and ha, most people don’t know about that. So, I was in the pit conducting and also on the stage as a pianist. I was exposed to many things at that time. I also studied big band writing and orchestration and arranging. So, all of that, all these influences, came together and are reflected now more than ever because now, in the last 15/16 years I’ve also been invited to play as guest soloist for many different symphony orchestras around the world. I have three major pieces written
Michel is also a dedicated educator and tutored Hiromi and Esperanza Spalding – two other artists are known for their originality, passion, energy and artistry. I see a very clear link with all three. We discussed what advice and guidance you can give to artists trying to develop their own sound. MC: “I do a demonstration of different styles. You know, like Oscar Peterson would do it this way, Errol Garner would do it that way. And then they start thinking. I even do a little Art Tatum as well. The easiest example is my work on the left hand and how I syncopate my stride. I just call it Latin stride. I worked really hard on that and yet, it became part of my style, naturally and now I don’t even think about it. It’s just there whenever I need it. But at the beginning, it was a lot of hours. I tell them when I recorded Take Five, I literally practiced with my eyes closed. To be able to forget about it and to just be able to improvise. You know all those different games you play with yourself are very important. But at the same time, I tell them to not be afraid of their own fantasies. I find most
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guys are very hard on themselves. They hesitate to go further out and it’s mainly because they are thinking about what they just played, not what they are about to play. You have to believe in yourself and that takes self-confidence. It’s a leap of faith but at the same time, if you are honest about it, it somehow comes together” Michel has incredible chemistry with all his musicians and this is overwhelmingly evident in his live performances and his recordings. The musicianship is out of this world and we discussed the importance of chemistry, discipline and freedom.
Photo © Yasuhisa Yoneda
MC: “I wrote this music originally for a trio, but I always thought of the trio as a mini-orchestra and now, well let’s put it this way – we just blew it out, in a big way with a big sound. I demand a lot from them and I’m actually very picky. I demand it to sound really, really tight – and they love that, when someone asks of them so much and I challenge them in a big way. That’s what makes it interesting for them and everyone loves growing. It’s a different thing when everyone is struggling together and it’s so satisfying when it all comes together. You should have seen the guys at the recording sessions – they were even taking
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selfies, they were so proud to be part of this session – it was really great comradery. Michael Dease, who is an incredible trombone player and showcased on the album in three solos - which are masterful - he sent me a beautiful note and I think he posted it on social media! Sharel Cassity - a killer soloist- I put her in a very tough spot when I gave her a solo in ‘On Fire’, but she delivered. That’s beautiful when that happens. Also, the great work of Ricky Rodriguez on Bass. He keeps a solid groove foundation for the whole band as he was able to contribute and create fresh rhythmic counterpoint and harmonic interaction on every track.” So how did the album actually evolve? MC: “Originally, this repertoire we used in a concert in Germany, the Klavier Festival Ruhr, a piano festival that I go to every year. I’m going this year and in fact, they are giving me the festival prize! It’s an amazing festival that goes on for a month and a half. So I went two years ago and I was collaborating with the WDR big band and this is where I premiered these charts first. So that was like the first stage. And after that, we came away with some recordings from
Michel Canilo the actual concert and we started polishing the charts and choosing what we would do and how we would evolve it into a recording project – and this is the result. I even thought of calling the album ‘Evolution’ at some point because of how these charts, starting as trio repertoire, have evolved. It’s like a dream come true for me. All my friends were asking me when the next big band album would happen and the fans all over the world – I think they are going to be pleased.” Part of Michel’s incredible sound is, of course, Latin driven. The passionate rhythms, grooves and percussive love in this new album, is key. MC: “I must underline my tributes to the conga players in this album. I was a good friend of Mongo Santamaria and we were also neighbours for about 15 years. He was an incredible gentleman and a great artist. Many times we shared a spotlight at the Blue Note in New York and we shared a double bill. When I was ready to make my first American debut album, ‘Michel Camilo’, we had just completed a weeks engagement and at the very end of the week, in the dressing room, we just said why don’t we play something together and surprise the fans? And we ended up just jamming, the two of us, congas and piano and we improvised a version of Blue Bossa. It worked out so nice. I dedicated ‘Mongo’s Blues’ to him on this album. And the intro is a very special moment - the way I play the intro, these are my classical chops, I would say. It’s a very tender moment and my touch on the piano, it’s very impressionistic.”
me do something like this - sound the way I sound and to create all this music. I feel blessed in that way. My Dad is 103, going to be 104 in August, God Bless his soul. My mum is 95, but you know, the Camilo’s, we live longer. So I plan to be around for a while” Thank goodness. Many years ago, a friend was staying with me before he set off backpacking around the world for a year. He literally had just one backpack. One of the items in his backpack was a CD holder. This was before the days of streaming and I was fascinated to see the music he had decided to take with him for his year of travelling. I found the thought of choosing a small amount of music horrifying. He had selected 10 CDs all of the same artist who I hadn’t heard of. I asked about this artist and my friend looked at me, smiled and said ‘just listen’. I was hooked after eight bars. While I was trying to write the introduction to this article, I struggled to find the right words to describe how Michel Camilo’s music makes me feel, how it might make you, the reader, feel. Inspired. Yes. Excited. Yes. Amazed. Yes. But no words felt enough. My friend was right. Just listen.
I was lucky enough to see Michel’s incredible last performance in London, which resulted in a live album ‘Michel Camilo: Live in London’. We talked about how that came about. MC: “Live in London’ was one of the best evenings of my life. In fact, I must confess, I had the recording but I didn’t listen to it for like a year and a half! I just got busy with other projects and that took my attention away from it. But that particular album is still going and I’m playing it at the Umbria Jazz festival in Italy this year, playing a double Bill with George Benson. It will be amazing to play in such a large outdoor arena - and a lot of fun.” I asked Michel for some final thoughts on his album, what it means to him and what he would like his fans to feel when they listen to it.
Michel Camilo, Essence Now Available via Resilience Music Alliance
MC: “I want my fans to feel joy! This album is a landmark. It celebrates the past but looks into the future and I feel thankful and thank God that he let
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INTERVIEW
J
Joey DeFrancesco In The Key Of The Universe
Interview by: Andrew Read | Photos by: Michael Woodall
Recently organist Joey DeFrancesco released his latest album on Mack Avenue titled “In The Key Of The Universe”. With this album Joey takes a spiritual approach to the music building on the direction that first began to appear on his last album “Project Freedom”. With inspiration drawn from the landmark Pharoah Sanders album “Karma”, released almost exactly 50 years earlier, Sanders makes three guest appearances on the album, including a version of his best-known track from Karma “The Creator Has A Master Plan”. Playing drums on that track was the great Billy Hart, who reunites with Sanders as well as DeFrancesco, with whom he’s worked several times over the years. Recently I had the great pleasure of spending some time with Joey to speak about the album and a great deal more.
O
riginally hailing from Philadelphia Joey DeFrancesco has become one of he best know jazz organists on the scene today and a torchbearer for the City of Brotherly Love’s long standing tradition with the instrument. The son of “Papa” John DeFrancesco, (an organist himself) in the 1980’s Joey was credited with spearheading the resurgence of the instrument after a decade of hibernation in the mid 1970’s and early 1980’s. Not only known for it’s dubious gastronomic delights such as Hoagies and Cheesesteaks, in the 1950’s through to the mid 1970’s Philadelphia was also known as the Jazz Organ Capital of the World. This title was well deserved having spawned such greats as Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Bill Doggett, Don Patterson and the “Queen of the Organ” Shirley Scott.
In the early 1980’s, while still a young boy, Joey’s father would take him to gigs often encouraging him to sit in with the house bands. Joey recalls “there were a number
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of clubs in town that catered strictly for organ trios and one of these was a club called “Gert’s Lounge” on South Street. When the club first opened up it had Shirley Scott as the house organist and Johnny Williams on drums and they would invite different Sax players to come along and play. One night my dad took me down there to sit in, I was around 10, and at that time Don Patterson was playing organ and Philly Joe Jones was on drums. Well I sat in and they liked my playing, they enjoyed it and accepted me. The next thing I knew was that Don Patterson asked me if I could fill in for him for the rest of the summer, it was amazing, I was just a kid and still going to school. Well as it turned out, that summer the band was Philly Joe Jones on drums and Hank Mobley on sax.” This gig ended up lasting far longer than just that summer with Joey seen regularly on the bandstand on weekends so as not to interrupt school. I felt rather amazed when Joey told me this, after all, there are not that many kids of that age that are given
Photo Š Michael Woodall
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Photo © Michael Woodall
the opportunity in affect to learn their craft directly from the tradition. With my curiosity peaked I was interested in knowing what kind of impact this had on a kid of 10. Joey explained “Well, the thing is I started playing when I was 4 years old so by the time I played with those cats I’d already been playing six or seven years. I used to play for hours and hours at home, practising, playing with albums and when my dad was playing and he played a lot, I was watching what he was doing. He was always gigging so I had the opportunity to sit in there right away. I still remember the first time I did that, I was 6 years old. So I guess by the time the gigs at Gert’s came along, I already had the chops, but I really learned a lot on that gig”.
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During his career Joey has notched up a long list of credits both as a sideman and a leader that reads like a compendium of jazz in the late 20th century however the next major milestone in his career came while still in his teens, touring with the Miles Davis Band. I asked Joey how the opportunity came about. “Well it’s sort of a long story but Miles was doing an interview on a local TV station in Philly, It was a morning show called Time Out. Well seeing they were having Miles on the show the producers thought it would be good to have some live music for in between the commercial breaks. So they thought it would be a good idea to have some students from the High School I went to play. The band was myself on organ, Christian McBride on base and
Joey DeFrancesco not, he dug it. He asked for my number but I didn’t hear from him until the summer of the next year, 1988, I still can’t believe that chorus got me a gig with Miles.” Joey toured Europe with Miles in 1988 and later also appeared on the album “Amandla”, yet his stay in the band was short. Before joining Miles Joey had been signed to Columbia Records and his debut album “All of Me” was just about ready to be released. “I was sort of given an ultimatum by the record company” Said Joey “They had spent a lot of money on promotion and had organised a lot of things for me, don’t get me wrong, that was great but they told me I couldn’t do both”. Reflecting on this Joey went on to say that with the benefit of hindsight he could have done both without any issues, but the good thing is it didn’t affect his relationship with Miles “Miles was cool about it, you know we’d still hang out, I’d go over to his house, go to his gig’s and sit in, it was all cool.” The first time I had the pleasure of seeing Joey live was at the North Sea Jazz Festival when it was still in the Hague. I was not only amazed at his organ playing but highly impressed when he followed a lightning fast organ solo with an equally impressive trumpet solo proving the old adage that “Men can’t multi-task” blatantly incorrect. Joey explained that his inspiration for picking up the trumpet came from that 1988 Tour with Miles. “There was just something about that sound, I mean, listen to that and it’s right in front of you. I’d watch him, where he was putting the fingers on the valves, he didn’t know it but he was teaching me to play.”
a drummer called Stacy Dozier. They also thought it would be a good idea to have four young local trumpet players to come along and play and have Miles critique them! - If you watch the interview (Ed: the video is available on YouTube – search for the BillBoggsTV channel) you’ll see that didn’t go all the well.” One of the trumpet players was John Swana, When he came up he asked me to play a chorus for an intro and after we played Miles interrupted the interview and asked “Who’s your organ player”, well I was a nervous wreck, here I am on live television in my home town and I had no idea what Miles was going to say next! I’m thinking is he going to tear me apart on TV in front of all these people that know me? - anyway, believe it or
After returning from the tour Joey immediately bought a trumpet and started playing, He recalls “I didn’t really say anything about it, I just did it on my own. After I’d been playing for about four months I had about five or six good Miles licks down and when Miles heard about it he gave me his trumpet and told me to play. I was able to play one of his lines perfectly. He said WHAT, you sound just like me, play it again. The second time I stumbled, I guess I was a little nervous, anyway he said you played it better the first time.” Joey went on to explain how Miles was very encouraging about his trumpet playing and would constantly ask him to play, when someone walked into the room. This encouragement led Joey to continue to develop his skills on the instrument and the rest is history. As I mentioned above, the first time I saw Joey play live was at the North Sea Jazz Festival. To be honest I don’t recall the year, however the performance is etched in my mind. That gig was with the band Free Spirits led by John McLaughlin and with Dennis Chambers
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on drums. In the mid 1990’s McLaughlin was moving again toward the electric guitar after the trio featuring Trilok Gurtu and bassist Kai Eckhardt was disbanded in 1993. I asked Joey about the origins of this band. Joey explained that the Free Spirits project was definitely John’s project, “John is a gracious man, he always liked to give his projects a name but there’s no doubt, it was his music, it was his band.” John knew Joey from the Miles Davis Band and although in that band Joey was playing keyboards Miles would always introduce him as an organ player. Miles’ words had always stuck in John’s mind and when it came time to put the Free Spirits band together, he called on Joey and Dennis Chambers to be part of the band. “You know, he wanted to have the fastest playing musicians he could have, that’s what he likes because that’s the way he plays himself.”
got to do the soundtrack for the film so that was really cool as well.” As out time progressed we moved back to speaking about the new album “In The Key Of The Universe”. As I mentioned in the intro, this album has a strong metaphysical spiritual aspect to it as is eluded to in the title. I asked Joey to tell us a little about the back story of how this album came about. “I’d been listening a lot to Pharoah Sanders’s album “Kama’ from 1969. When listening to the track “The Creator Has A Master Plan” and how free that is and how beautiful the groove is at the same time I really wanted to do something that pays tribute to that album.” Pharoah and I had been talking about doing something together for some time, I remember he sat in with my band back in 2004 and since then we’d been in constant communication, but until now it was just never able to come together. This time everything just lined up.
“You know, he wanted to have the fastest playing musicians he could have, that’s what he likes because that’s the way he plays himself.”
Joey looks back fondly at the time he spent with the Free Spirits band “You know, I was 22 at the time and that gig opened a lot of doors for me. I learned a lot in that band, John would write some really demanding material to play so you needed to be on your game all the time.”
Joey’s career has not just been limited to the stage and studio. In 2009 he appeared in the film “Moonlight Serenade” where he played the role of “Franky D” an organ player and club owner. I asked Joey how this all came about, Joey explained “well I did a record in 2002 with the actor Joe Pesci called “Falling in love again”, on that record Joe was called Joe Dog’s but everybody knew it was Joe Pesci. Anyway, one of the gentleman associated with him, I think he was a personal assistant, was an aspiring film director and he was looking to make a movie. He’d been coming to all my gigs and loved the romanticism of the gigs and the clubs. He loved jazz, so he put the scenario together and got a screen writer to do the script and that was the movie.” I wanted to know how he felt about the transition from stage to film, “It wasn’t that hard for me, in the film I played an organ player and club owner so it was sort of a natural thing for me. You know, in this business you meet a lot of different personalities so it’s not like I didn’t have anything to draw from. I loved it, I really had a great time doing it. I also
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“Once we had this recording locked in my wife and manager Gloria, who also co-produced the album with me thought it made sense to get Billy Hart to play drums. Billy and I had worked together before and seeing he was on the original Kama album it all made perfect sense.” When speaking of the music on the album and his approach to it Joey said. “Well the album takes a far more spiritual approach to the music, It’s freer, still with forms and chord changes but freer on top of that. My last album made a start in this direction and without getting to heavy, as I grow as a person, this is the way my life is changing, everything I do in my life gets reflected in my music and my music speaks for me. There’s no doubt that “In The Key Of The Universe” is a document to Joey DeFrancesco’s artistry as a musician, however in speaking with Joey I’ve learned that it’s far more personal than that, this album is clearly a statement. Since the release of the album Joey has been touring heavenly throughout the united states and starting on the 5th of July will tour Europe. Joining Joey on the tour will be Troy Roberts on Sax and Billy Hart on drums. More information and the actual tour dates can be found at his website.
Photo Š Michael Woodall
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INTERVIEW
Joe Locke
Behind the Subtle Disguise Interview by: Andrew Read | Photos by: Joseph Boggess, Richard Conde & John Abbott
Vibraphonist Joe Locke is widely considered to be one of the leading voices on his instrument. Born in California and raised in Rochester New York, Joe moved to New York City in 1981 where he quickly established himself as one of the city’s first call Vibraphonists. Since this time, Joe has built an expansive discography both as a leader and sideman. Joe has won numerous awards and polls, including being a six-time recipient of the Jazz Journalists Association’s “Mallet Instrumentalist of the Year” Award.
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Photo © Joseph Boggess 22. | Jazz In Europe - Summer 2019
Photo © John Abbott
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Joe Locke
L
ate last year Joe released his latest album Subtle Disguise (Origin Records) bringing his total discography as a leader to over 35 releases. I recently had the pleasure to spend a few hours with Joe to speak about this and a great deal more. While Joe’s discography is extremely eclectic, with performance settings ranging from intimate duos through to large symphonic settings, this latest album features his current working quartet along with guest appearances by Raul Midón, David Binney, Adam Rogers and Alina Engibaryan.
feel better, I think that this is the essence of what music is about. I as have a need to play music that touches the heart, music that you feel below the waist as I like to say. It should touch the chakras. You know, sometimes I just want to make music you don’t have to think about but just makes you feel something. Music that puts you in touch with your sadness or makes you want to dance a little bit. I feel more than ever that this album is a coming together of these two aspects.” I asked Joe if he could give me an example. At first, he spoke about the 2015 release “Love Is A Pendulum” – a five-movement suite he composed based on a poem by Barbara Sfraga. Joe said “Although there is definitely some heart imbued stuff on that recording it was actually me satisfying my composer agenda. If you then take the album I released before this “Lay Down My Heart: Blues & Ballads” this is an example where I specifically wanted to satisfy that other aspect, to play for people. That album was all about beautiful melodies and songs that were one way or another imbued with the blues. So as I said before, on this latest album I feel both these aspects come together and I’m no longer warring with myself over these two divergent needs.”
“Although there is definitely some heart imbued stuff on that recording it was actually me satisfying my composer agenda.”
Photo © Richard Conde
Being somewhat familiar with Joe’s oeuvre I felt with this album there was something different, yet I found it elusive to be able to put my finger on exactly what this is. I asked Joe about his thoughts on this. “Well yes, I would agree with this, I’ve always felt that I have two distinct aspects as a musician and especially over the last decade I’ve been very conscious of this. The first aspect is that of a composer. I’ve always wanted to push myself or better said, challenge myself as a composer, There is a sort of intellectual need there, I want to write music that challenges myself. The other aspect is just to play music to folks, to play in a visceral way, to make them
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We went on to speak about the music on the album in a little more detail. One of the tracks on Joe’s new album titled “Make Me Feel Like It’s Raining,” is dedicated to Bobby Hutcherson who passed away in 2016. With Bobby playing an important role in Joe’s development as a musician I was interested to ask Joe about the origin of the composition. “Bobby was someone who I loved and still love, he was my touchstone and was in my mind the bellwether of the vibraphone. In fact, if it wasn’t for Bobby my path and trajectory as a musician would have been substantially different.” Some years back they held a tribute for Bobby at Birdland here in New York. Unfortunately, due to touring commitments I couldn’t yet they asked me if I would write something that could be read at the event. I remember being in a hotel room somewhere in Europe writing down my thoughts about Bobby Hutcherson and I realised that my own life in music came as a result of this incredible paradox of finding my own voice by failing miserably at trying to sound like Bobby Hutcherson. Bobby was such a kind and generous human being and when I finally got to know him as a person and even be embraced as a friend by him and his family I came to realise that all the incredible music he made was indeed a reflection of the human being making it. The song “Make Me Feel Like It’s Raining” I wrote just after he passed away, I just sat at the piano and in my sadness just wrote this piece. The title of the tune came from an interview Bobby did that I read. In this interview, Bobby was asked by the interviewer - What do you want to hear from a young musician? He answered, Man, I want them to make me laugh or cry, jerk my soul around, make me feel like it’s raining outside. That really touched me.” Moving on, I asked Joe about the motivation to do the Dylan cover “Who Killed Davey Moore?”. “Well, when I realized that I was going to collaborate with Raul Midón on this project I thought it would be great to have him sing on this Dylan song “Who Killed Davey Moore?” that I had done an arrangement of. He’s that kind of musician who has this deeply soulful approach to singing and with the arrangement being in a 15/8 time signature which is challenging at best, I knew Raul would be up for it, he has such a well-schooled background and he just nailed it. But, to go back to your question, Dylan wrote the song from the headlines back in 1963. During the heavyweight championship of that year, Davey More was hit so hard by his opponent Sugar Ramos that he fell into a coma and later died in hospital. Dylan’s text refers to the passing of the buck, from the sports writer to the manager to the referee to crowd all of which said, Hey, I’m just doing my job! - I’m not responsible. I saw the song as a metaphor for the
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passing of the buck that’s so prevalent in our culture and our government at the moment.” As we continued to speak about the album and the material, a consistent thread started to emerge. Joe mentioned a lot of the material for the album was written over a number of years. The songs were inspired by current events and once written he just left them to one side on his desk for future use. Once the album was complete, Joe realised that through much of the album there was a political theme or at least a statement present in the music. “I’ve been asked about this, I remember one journalist said Wow, this is a really political album, the reality was that it wasn’t meant to be, but on reflection how could it not be on some level given the times we’re living in. How can you not be affected by the things going on in the world and for me especially what’s going on in our country at the moment.” At this point in our conversation, we diverged off on a number of tangents, the music industry, politics, current affairs and the state of the world in general. After the two of us had effectively solved the problems of the world we returned to the task at hand, speaking about music. I wondered about the title of the album, is there a meaning behind it? As it turns out, the title track “Subtle Disguise” does not allude to the political thread we spoke about although on reflection it could certainly be read that way, after all, that’s the beauty of art, you can read into it whatever you want. The actual meaning behind the title has to do with the fact that the track is actually based on the changes to the Miles Davis song “Solar” although one needs to concentrate to hear this among the may harmonic substitutions. Joe also mentioned another aspect to his motivation for the
album title, “The other reason it’s called Subtle Disguise is that most of my themes historically have been about the way we try to connect with one another but with this one I was thinking about the ways we hide from each other and the masks that we all wear. I often say that the reason we all wear masks is that most people are intrinsically good people and we want to protect ourselves from the world. On the other hand, there are also those people with a darker motivation where the mask covers a hidden agenda.” Taking a step back from the new album, I asked Joe how he came to the vibraphone. Many players come to the instrument via the classical mallet tradition while others gravitate to the instrument after playing the drums. I was interested to hear about Joe’s path. “Well as a kid I was playing the drums but my Mum
insisted that I also take piano lessons. So there I was playing both Drums and Piano, it’s strange I wanted to play melodies but I didn’t want to be a pianist, I always thought of myself as a percussion guy. I often say when I found the vibes that’s when I found my voice. The instrument has the best of both worlds, so I guess it was a “no brainer” for me. You know, looking back there was no plan but the instrument became my lives work, my calling.” Many years ago I remember hearing a rather humorous saying. Unfortunately, I don’t remember who the source was, however, it referred to the three inevitable truths in life. “One Day you’ll pay tax, One day you’ll die and Piano and Guitar never work in a band together.” Well, one can certainly see the humour in this and of course there are many examples proving the final statement
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Photo © Richard Conde
Joe Locke
Photo © Richard Conde
“When hearing Joe speak of these two players, you can fully appreciate the depth of respect he has for these players and I’m fully aware that the feeling is mutual.”
false, however, you get my point. Having two chordal instruments in a jazz setting can be a challenge as far as voicing goes. Joe’s bands have in almost all cases included both piano and vibraphone so I was interested to know how Joe felt about this. “Yes, your right it can be an issue however I’m very lucky to have one of the best pianists around, Jim Ridl. Throughout my career I’ve been fortunate to work with many great pianists, George Cables, Kenny Barron, Billy Childs and Jim is right up there. He’s got amazing ears and we have this thing going on where he just knows where I’m going and always has the perfect voicing that doesn’t clash. You know, when I do my charts I’ll often write the piano part out fully and Jim just always eats the ink. I think the secret is to always be aware and keep your ears open, Jim’s a master at that.”
With that being said, Joe also made the point that it’s not just an isolated thing between chordal instruments, it runs through the entire group. He went on to speak highly of the other members of his core quartet, Lorin Cohen on bass and drummer Samvel Sarkisyan. When hearing Joe speak of these two players, you can fully appreciate the depth of respect he has for these players and I’m fully aware that the feeling is mutual. This translates into the homogeneous ensemble sound the group has developed. Both live and in the studio, you get the feeling that these musicians have fused into a single instrument yet, at all times there is a sense of space for the individual. As our time was coming to a close I wanted to know what’s next for Joe Locke? “Good question! We’ll be doing some
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concerts here in the States to promote the album and we also hope to bring the band back to Europe in the fall. My management is working on some dates at the moment but I’m not sure what’s been locked in as yet. When it comes to the next project, I can say that it will definitely be coming from the tradition and will probably be a live album, a pure jazz record. I want to play my own take on some standards and take another look at some Coltrane repertoire. As far as the lineup goes, I’m thinking of doing it with organist Pat Bianchi and with Jeff Watts on drums, he’s one of my dearest friends. I also want to add Adam Rogers on Guitar. I’ve never done an album with organ before, you know, I come from Rochester in upstate New York and that town, like Philly, has a huge organ tradition, all the great players would come through, so I feel doing an organ album is sort of respecting my “Up State” roots. I truly enjoyed my time speaking with Joe, his passion for the music shines through as does his respect for the tradition. As often happens with interviews it’s difficult to stick to the allotted time however in this case I have to admit it got quite out of hand. We spent close on three hours talking. We covered many subjects, mostly music related and seeing we are limited by space, I suspect a part two to this interview will be coming soon. Stay tuned. In the meantime, if you have not as yet heard Joe’s new album or seen the band live I would urge you to do yourself a favour and grab the album.
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K ARTIST FEATURE
Kenny Garrett is a Grammy award winning saxophonist originally from Detroit Michigan who started his career at the young age of 18 years old as a touring member of Duke Ellington band. He has had a legendary career which included being a member of the Miles Davis band for over five years. Achieving a Grammy-winning album with Chick Corea in 2010 and numerous recordings with many household names in the jazz world! His impressive solo career and many Down Beat readers poll awards have cemented his legacy as one of the greats!
Kenny Garrett
Interview by: Darrel Craig Harris Concert Photos by: Carl Hyde, Studio photos by Jimmy Katz
Darrell Graig Harris: Even though you’re on the East coast now, I understand that you grew up in Detroit in the ’60s and early ’70s, what was that like for you growing up in the home of Motown records with all of that music coming out of there? Did it have an influence on you musically? Kenny Garrett: Well, I would definitely say that I enjoyed listening to the music of Motown, but you know I was listening to everything! I met people, actual jazz musicians who were playing with Motown, and a year before I went to my high school (McKenzie) in Detroit. James Jamerson Jr. the Motown bassist was actually in the band there and graduated from McKenzie before I arrived in the next semester! DCH: The interesting back story
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with Motown records was that Barry Gordy rounded up a bunch of great jazz musicians that had been playing in the various clubs in Detroit that could read music and recruited them to play in Motown records studio house band.
Eyes” He was playing the same melody but the production was a mother! I was like wow man, so you start understanding that these guys were about writing songs and there was a lot of musicians so they had more information to draw from.
KG: Yes, and I think that’s what made the Motown music so powerful because they were jazz musicians! If you think about Stevie Wonder, to me Stevie is a jazz musician. We don’t say that he’s a jazz musician, but if you listen to his music and his chord progressions you can hear that he studied with a lot of those Motown guys meaning he hung around and was informally influenced by them. A lot of that music if you listen to it, it was on such a high level!
DCH: Let’s jump to you getting your first big break as a young 18-yearold musician, going on the road with the Duke Ellington Orchestra conducted at that time by Mercer Ellington, what was that experience like coming just out of high school?
I remember listening to Junior Walker, the tune was called “These
KG: It was really a learning experience, coming right out of high school. Of course, I knew about the Ellington band, but to actually play the music and learn about guys like Johnny Hodges who I have so much respect for and who had a beautiful sound. In Duke’s band there were
Photo © Carl Hyde
K
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young age with these really experienced older guys, you’re learning both about music but also about life which is such a valuable thing.
so many different personalities that he could use as tools for his writing, but I think the main thing for me is that I was able to sit under two of Johnny Hodges protégés, one was Norris Turner and the other was Harold Minerve and those guys really taught me so much. They were both playing like Johnny Hodges, but with different approaches to it. Harold Minerve, I actually had the longest time with him as he was playing lead alto (sax) when I joined the band, so it was just a great time and as I said I was learning to blend with 18 other musicians, not just the sax section but with the entire band!
“I listen to every kind of music possible because I’m drawn to finding the spiritual stream....”
DCH: I would imagine, that many of the musicians in that band had been there for several years at that point?
KG: Yes, there was Chuck Connors who had been there for a while, there was Dick Love, Harold Minerve had played with Duke, but the special thing for me was that I got a chance to play with Cootie Williams who had come out of retirement and I really learned a lot from him because I sat right across from him, so it was a great experience for me for my three and a half years with the Ellington band. Being on the road, travelling as a big band, we had to room with people and there was a guy by the
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name of John Waldo sr. who used to tell me stories all the time, one I particularly remember was that he used to teach Wynton (Marsalis) and this is before Wynton showed up on the scene, so he would talk about Wynton and also his brother Bradford all the time because he had taught both of them. He knew a lot about classical music and he was always playing classical music and I would try to play the classical melody along with him so I really learned a lot! It was such a blessing to have that as my first experience coming out as a young player. DCH: That’s really the great thing about being on the road at such a
KG: Yes, and you know growing up I had some great teachers back in Detroit like Marcus Belgrave (trumpet) who was a Pillar of the community who taught people like Geri Allen, Bob Hurst, Rodney Whitaker so all these people came through him, and then there was my high school band director who was Bill Wiggins. He taught me so much and he allowed me to go to his shows to see how he would sight read the music and just show me different things. So there was a lot of great musicians in Detroit! There was just so much great music that came from there and so many different styles.
DCH: After the Ellington band what was your next move? KG: After the Ellington band, I moved to New York and I was playing with different big bands like Lionel Hampton, Frank Foster big band, I played with the Ellington band still subbing. Really whatever I could do at the time just to survive! DCH: What was your transition into becoming a bandleader, and heading up your own projects? KG: That came years later, I was writing and working in New York and I had a lot of great experiences. The first one after the Ellington band was working with Dannie Richmond doing the music of Charles Mingus,
Kenny Garrett and I had met Freddie Hubbard through Marcus Belgrave and that was great! Freddie was still playing at his apex, I stood next to him every night, I really had to get my stuff together! Also, I knew about Woody Shaw because my roommates in New York played with Woody so I had a chance to hear that music every time they were playing in New York, even just from tapes and things so I was hearing that music all the time. Then eventually on my first solo CD “Introducing Kenny Garrett” (1984 Criss Cross label), I was able to call Woody Shaw to play on my first CD, so I really learned a lot! DCH: Something that I really noticed listening to your music over the years on your various albums is that you really seem to draw from a lot of different influences musically, obviously straight-ahead jazz is there but also many other things in that mix, is that something that’s
always been there for you? KG: Actually, my high school band director Bill Wiggins used to always say the C7is the same all around the world. My mom used to listen to Motown my stepfather was listening to people like Joe Henderson, Stanley Turrentine, Maceo Parker so I was really listening to all kinds of different music growing up so my thing was you never had to just play one style it was all just music! If you think about jazz historically, it was music that appealed generally to a select group of people who liked and listened to jazz but now that it’s in schools it had much more exposure but it’s still like that in a way. I always say as a musician I want people to hear my music and be exposed to people, obviously not reaching as many people as someone like Beyoncé but of course, we would like for people to know who we are!
So for me, I like to do music that I like and in turn, you hope that people like it? I listen to every kind of music possible because I’m drawn to finding the spiritual stream in the music, it might come from Gospel or whatever but I’m looking for that stream! I just love music and to me, a good melody is a good melody, so that’s just how I live you now! DCH: I know you like to bring in different players on your albums with different backgrounds, how important is that collaboration with other musicians? Do you feel that influences your music when your writing and recording? KG: I encourage musicians and I’m looking for people that have their individual voice and the potential to go some direction and who are open! At least you know in the same spiritual direction and hearing the same way I hear it. The musicians who are playing with me now include Vernell Brown jr. (pianist)
Photos left & below © Jimmy Katz
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from Las Vegas, he’s one of this guys that’s really an unsung hero, a lot of people don’t know about him but he’s got something special when you listen to him play. I also have Ronald Bruner playing with me, Chris Dave, Chester Brown, I mean so many drummers have played but it’s because they all have something that’s a little different and in turn I’m able to show them the different influences that I’ve had and hopefully, in turn, they can find their direction through that in the end. The thing about the younger guys like Brian Blade (drummer) I heard him and liked the way he plays, Photo © Carl Hyde
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I brought him on the road to Japan with me and he recorded with me, so after a while, other guys start saying well I would like that opportunity so that’s what happens! All the new guys are out there doing their thing, and at some point, they come through my band and I feel proud about that! That can’t get to Miles (Davis) but they can get to Kenny Garrett, and I try to expose them to the music and be true to it because if we are playing straight ahead then I want it to be authentic. If we are playing R&B I want it to be authentic, and the musicians when they play with me they also know that they are not handcuffed! The younger players need an opportunity to express themselves
Kenny Garrett without anybody getting in the way, I’ve been blessed with patience and I wait and let them develop, then once they get to that point then everybody’s looking for them! Then you have to start over again and get another younger guy. It’s not like the older guys couldn’t do it, but the younger guys are really hungry to play. DCH: I know you’ve been asked this question many times in your career, but tell me about your time With Miles and how that long term gig for you come about? KG: There are actually two stories to it, but I’ll tell you the first story of how I understood it. Miles was looking for an alto player and there’s a great tenor player from Maryland named Gary Commis and we were auditioning for this French film and he said well Miles is looking for an alto player are you interested? I was like of course, it’s Miles Davis! So a couple of days later he gave me Miles number and I called him and Miles wasn’t there but his valet picked up the phone and a couple of days later Miles called me back. I had sent him some music I had done with Art Blakey, OTB, and some other R&B stuff I was doing when he called me back he said it sounded like I was wearing Sonny Stitt’s dirty drawers haha! (Kenny says it again imitating Miles’ voice) Basically, I was just going to go out with Miles for a couple of days because at the time I was still playing with Art Blakey, and that ended up being about five and a half years with Miles and that was, of course, a great experience! I mean every night I got a chance to hear Miles play, and there’s no better teacher than hearing that! We had this thing we use to do like a call and response, he didn’t tell me to do it he would play a lick and I would play it back and that became part of the show! I heard him telling Herbie (Hancock) one time (Kenny imitates Mike’s voice) “yeah he’s playing all my
notes and the wrong ones too” haha! I didn’t think he hit any wrong notes, everything he played was beautiful to me! And you know that like the African tradition, passing the information down he was teaching the language every night all these years on stage so that was a great experience. I got a lot from a lot of different people but five and a half years with Miles he just had a beautiful sound and great melodies. DCH: You also toured and recorded with Chick Corea winning a Grammy in 2010 with the Five Peace band ( Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Kenny Garrett, Christian McBride and Vinnie Colaiuta. How did you originally meet Chick? KG: I used to see him when I played with Miles because he had the electric band at that time and we would cross paths, we also did the music of Bud Powell album together (Chick Corea and Friends-Remembering Bud Powell) there’s so much music that we’ve done together over the years. Chick and I have this thing about music, for a long time I would call him, and I would play something and he would play it back. Chick I just like the challenge of playing his music. To play it and still be able to bring my voice and I think that’s what he’s looking for, he wants me to do that, change things around because he’s always looking for another way to approach music. I’ve had a great friendship with Chick over the years! DCH: You’ve won a Grammy, received several other Grammy nominations and numerous Down Beat magazine readers poll awards over the years, what’s your feeling on these types of awards? KG: Well you know, it’s an acknowledgement to receive the Down Beat awards and to see that people like what I’m doing. I think every musician wants to be acknowledged whether you’re R&B or Hip Hop, you want people to know that you exist, and sometimes in this music, we don’t get that and we recognize that we won’t get that, but still, we play it because we want to play the music! I like playing R&B but playing great jazz is a little bit more complicated! And when we get to that level, it’s still a challenge. I always think about all the greats like Charley Parker, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson they set the precedent, these guys are such a force - wow! As we go along we learn to play but it’s still that level that these guys reached. So they continue to inspire me to try to get better. DCH: Kenny, thanks so much for being so generous with your stories and sharing your time with us, we look forward to seeing you out on the road and to hearing your new recordings! KG: I appreciate it, Thank you
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ARTIST FEATURE
THE Gil Evans Orchestra The Legacy Continues... An Interview with Miles Evans Interview by: Andrew Read | Photos courtesy of Miles Evans
Early in January 1949, the first of three sessions took place that would eventually result in one of the most seminal recordings in the history of jazz, The Birth of the Cool. Interestingly enough the full album was not released until close on seven years after the final session in March 1950. Prior to this tracks from the sessions were released as two pairs of singles, “Israel” and “Boplicity” were doubled together and Capitol released eight of the tracks on a 10” record titled Classics in Jazz—Miles Davis (H-459). In 1957. The album as we know it today was released in 1957. While this album is attributed to the Miles Davis Nonet, the idea and musical concept originated with Gil Evans.
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The Gil Evans Orchestra Gil Evans first developed an interest in music after attending a Duke Ellington concert with a family friend. In spite of studying piano Gil received most of his early training transcribing from his record collection. After graduating high school he formed an ensemble that would become the house band at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa Beach. The relocated to Hollywood, where it provided music for Bob Hope’s radio broadcasts. It’s this work with Bob Hope that caused Claude Thorhill to hire him as an arranger, a position he remained in until 1948 albeit with a break of several years during Evan’s stint in the army. By 1947 Gil Evans had moved to New York where he resided in a basement apartment behind a Chinese Laundry just three blocks away from 52nd Street. By this time Gil Evans had gained a reputation for his innovative arrangements of bebop tunes for the Claude Thornhill orchestra and his apartment had soon become a meeting place for musicians looking to develop new musical styles outside of the dominant bebop style of the day. Among those present at these gatherings were Charlie Parker, as well as Gerry Mulligan, John Lewis, George Russell and John Carisi. These meetings hosted by Evans touched on subjects such as instrumental textures, improvisation and the future of jazz. Drawing inspiration from the European impressionist composers a new group was proposed to explore these ideas and concepts. Evans originally considered using Charlie Parker for the project however he eventually moved away from this idea. The reason for this move according to Nat Hentoff who wrote in his article “The Birth of the Cool.” published in Downbeat Magazine (May 2, 1957) was that “Evans felt that Parker was too dedicated to his own solo voice and not an ensemble sound that Evans was hoping to tap into.” In the Summer of 1947, Evans met with Miles Davis and the two decided that Miles would lead the project and the band that take the name the Miles Davis Nonet. The members of the band
would be drawn from the musicians at the discussion group. According to Miles Evans, Gil Evans son and current leader of the Gil Evans Orchestra, The Birth of The Cool project was without a doubt Gil’s idea and being the humble man he had no problem allowing the project to carry Miles Davis’s name as the leader. This album was not only a true turning point in jazz history it also served to put Gil Evans on the map as one of the most innovative composers and arrangers of the time. When looking at the Gil Evans legacy the term sound innovator consistently comes to the forefront. So what was it that made Gil Evans a sound innovator? One of the first and most obvious aspects was his use of instrumentation that was uncommon to say the least in the jazz vocabulary of the time. There were not that many jazz arrangers around at the time that could deploy french horns, tuba, bassoon, oboe, and harp in such a convincing manner. However, this was not the only aspect, even when Evans was limited to more conventional instrumentation he was able to create refreshingly colourful harmonic textures from his ensembles. Harmonically Evans use of controlled dissonance is one of the defining factors of his writing. While he was often working with fairly standard harmonic progressions his voicing and in particular his voice leading created a unique sound pallet. When preparing this article I had the pleasure of speaking at length with Miles Evans about his father’s legacy and a great deal more. Speaking of the Gil Evans legacy, Miles said “One of the most exceptional things about my father was his ability to consistently innovate new styles, whether it was in the late forties with Birth of the Cool. The Fifties and Sixties with the classic Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain and Quiet Nights recordings or through to the late ‘60s with the jazz-rock fusion recordings such as the Ampex album. Also, he was a master collaborator, he had this amazing ability to find the most incredible musicians to
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perform his work and I believe that this was one of his main strengths.” I wanted to explore this aspect of innovation further with Miles. When I look back at those impromptu gatherings at his Manhattan apartment in the late forties and the accounts of what was discussed I wondered if being innovative for Gil was a goal in itself or whether it was more the case that he wrote what he heard and this just happened to be highly innovative. Miles replied “Well, good question, I’m not a hundred percent sure if my father was focused on innovation as an end in its self. The feeling I got from him was that he was not looking to write something innovative, he just wrote what he heard although I have to say he was a very analytical person and he was never worried about crossing the boundaries of convention.” There is no doubt that the Columbia recordings with Miles Davis catapulted Gil Evans into the mainstream consciousness however it was also during this time that Evans released two albums under his own name on the Impulse label “Out of the Cool” and “Into the Hot”. The first of these two albums were recorded after a six-week stint at the Jazz Gallery club in New York City. The album featured largely the same line-up that played the live gig’s however with the addition of Elvin Jones who played the percussion and shared the drum chair with Charlie Persip. The second of these two albums “Into the Hot” was a slight departure from Out of the Cool and featured a large ensemble under the direction of John Carisi and a septet with the Cecil Taylor Unit. With these two albums, Evans was clearly moving towards greater freedom in his compositions and arrangements where the line between composition and improvisation became even further blurred. While commercially the albums were overshadowed by the success of the Miles Davis recordings they received strong reviews by the critics. The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected “Out of the Cool” as part of its suggested “Core Collection”, calling it “Evans masterpiece under his own name and one of the best examples of jazz orchestration since the early Ellington bands”.
During this period Gil had become interested in the music of Jimi Hendrix. In a 1974 Rolling Stone article Gil Stated : “Just before Jimi died we were talking about doing a session together,” recalled Evans during a break in recording the Hendrix album in RCA’s studio B. “Alan Douglas [record label and production company boss] was involved with Jimi and came up with the idea of an album where Jimi would just play the guitar and have an orchestra built around him – my job. We were to get together on Monday – the Friday before he died.”
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Evans pulled back from the limelight taking a short hiatus only to return with a new orchestra featuring a different instrumental line-up than used in his past arrangements. At this time he had been inspired by the Free Jazz and Jazz Rock idioms. In this period his arrangements and compositions featured the addition of electronic instruments together with smaller lineup’s, rarely more than 15 players and frequently less.
Suffice to say Hendrix’s premature death in 1970 prevented this project from taking place however in 1974 Evans released an album titled “The Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix”. featuring arrangements of Hendrix’s music. The album featured guitarists John Abercrombie and Ryo Kawasaki as well as Howard Johnson, Billy Harper and David Sanborn who would later join Evans as part of the legendary “Monday Night Orchestra” during the iconic Sweet Basil residency.
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In March 1983 Gil Evans travelled to the UK for a short tour with a British band assembled by saxophonist John Surman and Don Weller. On this trip, Gil was joined by his son Miles on trumpet. Returning to the states in March of that year Gil began the now legendary residency at New York’s Sweet Basil and it was at the point Miles Evans permanently joined the band. Miles relayed that the residency lasted well into the 1990s with the band being led by Gil up until his death in 1988 and afterwards under his direction. As we continued to speak, Miles went on to speak about those Monday night gig’s with great reverence “Those gigs were amazing, Miles Davis would come by check out the band, Sting would come and sit in when he was in town, the great Jaco Pastorius would jam with us, you know the list just goes on. I remember in the early days of the residency, it was a very intense time, we’d go out on the road but always come back to the Monday Nights. I remember just after we started at Sweet Basil in 1983 we went to Japan opening for Miles Davis and
then came back in June to the residency. We did a lot of things in that time like the concerts in Umbria with Sting or the soundtrack to “Absolute Beginners” with David Bowie and Elvis Costello but we always came back to Sweet Basil.” It was around the mid-nineties that the Sweet Basil residency finally came to an end and at this point, the band’s activities tapered off somewhat, however, the band remained active with a number of Japanese tours, some special one-off projects including performances with Sting and in 2001 an extensive European tour. Moving forward to 2018 and Miles has again brought the band together to record a series of albums under the Title “Hidden Treasures”. The first in the series was released last year and focused on the repertoire from those Sweet Basil concerts. Miles explained that this series of recordings has been produced to remind everybody of this special time in history. Volume one in the series features compositions that the Orchestra
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played live in the late 70s and early 80s. The following albums in the series are “The Classics,” featuring modern renderings of Evans’ original arrangements, including “My Ship,” and “The Meaning of the Blues”.
The plan is to take these original recordings that already exist and overdub the current band.
“When Noah (Miles’ brother, producer and engineer of the Hidden Treasures recordings. -ed) and I were looking at the second album in the series we really wanted to include Dave Sanborn. Dave and my father were close and we thought it would be nice to include him in the project. When we were discussing it, Dave seemed really keen to do “My Ship”. Also, Alex Foster who has been with the band now for many years wanted to do “The Meaning of the Blues” so before we knew it the concept became “Hidden Treasures - The Classics,”. As yet we’ve not locked in all of the material but it will include two George Russell compositions such as “Blues in Orbit” and “Stratusphunk” and “Aos Pes Da Cruz” that I just love from the Quiet Nights album. We’ve already recorded some of the material but we have time. The album is not due for release until mid-2020.” The third album in the series is something completely
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different and will be based on a number of recordings from a core of musicians who worked with the band under my father, some alive and some that are no longer with us. The album features music that was largely written by my mother but had never been released. The plan is to take these original recordings that already exist and overdub the current band to expand the arrangements. At the time of writing, there was no firm date set for the release of Volume 3. While these three albums are already locked in and scheduled it’s clear that all three tend to look back. I was interested to know what Miles has planed for moving the band forward. “Well it’s nice to be able to present the people with some things they remember and enjoy but beyond these three records it’s time for us to really celebrate and innovate and really do the amazing stuff, or at least give it a shot, that my Father and Miles showed us by going out on a limb, being yourself and trying to do something innovative and interesting.” With that said, it’s clear that under Miles Evans, the Gil Evans legacy is in good hands.
PHOTO FEATURE
Photo - Seung Yull Nah 40. | Jazz In Europe - Summer 2019
Jazz Behind The Lens
Jazz World Photo Competition It’s all about the moment! Text by: Tony Ozuna | Photos courtesy of the Jazz World Photo Compertition
Among the most iconic photographs of the 20th century capturing both the essence of the modern era and the rise of jazz in Europe is one of Miles Davis holding his trumpet with an attached huge silencer up into the ear of Jeanne Moreau, as she looks back with a suggestive smile at her new friend and lover. This was taken during the recording of the soundtrack to the French film “Ascenseur pour l’échafaud” (Lift to the Scaffold) by Louis Malle in December (4th and 5th) 1957, and since at least the 1940s the quest by artists to capture jazz musicians in photos whether staged or live in performance seems to show no sign of diminishing, despite that jazz is no longer the most popular music of the times. The Jazz World Photo Competition, in its 6th edition, recognizes such a tradition of documenting jazz musicians worldwide to help keep the culture going and prospering. Welcoming both professionals and amateurs with photographs on the themes of jazz, blues, world music, etc., the photos must have been taken exclusively during previous year. Each contestant submitted only one photo into the competition.
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I
t all began as an exhibition in 2013 titled Jazz World Photo, held as part of the Jazzinec Festival in Trutnov (north-eastern Bohemia). The first exhibit had 44 photos. Then in 2014, they had the idea to have a competition which would run from Jan. 1st to the 31st—putting out an open call on Facebook for the best jazz photos from around the world taken in the previous year. A jury would select the 30 best photos and exhibit them at the Jazzinec Festival. Besides this, they decided to produce a catalogue to print the 30 best, and the exhibit would continue on tour around the Czech Republic and to other countries. There is no fee for entering the competition and so obviously interest grows significantly with each year. In the first year, they got 134 photos, promoting the competition only through Facebook. In 2019, 337 photos were submitted to the competition, according to one of the co-founders, Ivan Prokop. “We didn’t know what we were getting into at the beginning. Where would we get the photos from? Who would even send us anything?” says Prokop. The winner of the first competition turned out to be a professional dentist from France, Didier Jallais, who also again won last year’s competition for 2018. Among the founders, Ivan Prokop is the eldest and so he was also a member of the legendary Jazz Sekce (Jazz Section) in Czechoslovakia during the Communist era. The Jazz Section was official then went underground, meaning it initially formed with state approval but then continued despite the imprisonment of key figures who led the organization in promoting jazz and rock concerts, exhibits and publishing music journals in the 70s and 80s, until the Velvet Revolution ended Communism in 1989. Prokop, who is now in his mid-60s, was active in the Jazz Sekce since 1975, helping the organization with their publications, exhibits and concerts as someone schooled in printing and graphics. “We met every week on Wednesday evenings, and we prepared our activities,” he says. “We couldn’t get music from abroad so easily, but I got access more with them,” says Prokop, explaining why he had joined the Jazz Section in the first place, soon after leaving the army. “Then starting in the 80s, we started to have problems with the government, because many more people were getting involved and they started to get more political, more critical of the communist regime,” he says. With such origins, it is appropriate that the Jazz World Photo Competition and Exhibit is open to music scenes (photographers and musicians) around the world, far beyond the borders of the Czech Republic. Jazz World Photo has travelling exhibits keeping the last three years of winners visible in galleries, jazz festivals or concert and theatre venues. For instance, currently, JWP 2017 is being exhibited in Pribram, central Bohemia, at the Frantisek Drtikol Gallery this summer 2019. Drtikol, born in Pribram (in 1883) and later based in Prague was a mystic and an influential photographer for the avant-garde (best known for his nudes). Meanwhile, the staged, most artistic entries and winners in this year’s competition seem to unwittingly conjure up kindred spirits of the early modernists of photography, like Frantisek Drtikol.
Photo - Patrick Martineau 42. | Jazz In Europe - Summer 2019
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Photo - Oleg Panov Christian Scott
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Photo - Sobiesaaw Powlikowski James Carter
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Photo - Roberto Cifarelli Enrico Rava
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Photo - Arturo Di Vida Tom Harrell
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Photo - Jean-François Humbert 51. | Jazz In Europe - Summer 2019
Photo - Stefano Galli Carla Bley
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Photo - Claudio Romani Ron Carter
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ARTICLE
Gregor Lisser On Eleven
Text by: Andrew Read | Photos by: AndrĂŠ Scheidegger
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Photo © André Scheidegger
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Photo © André Scheidegger
E
arlier this year a CD arrived on my desk from Swiss percussionist Gregor Lisser. Immediately what caught my attention with this CD was the line-up, a double quartet featuring a String Quartet combined with a more traditional jazz quartet comprising of a rhythm section consisting of piano, bass and drums with solo trumpet. I’ve heard many attempts to combine these forces, some more successful than others, however upon the first listen it became clear that Lisser’s “On Eleven” has moved the bar up a number of notches. With my curiosity now raised I felt the need to reach out to Gregor to find out more about this project. Gregor hails from the Swiss town of Solothurn, some 50km from Bern. From a young age, Gregor’s passion was playing the drums however his musical education also extended to tuned percussion. Having performed in many different settings throughout his career, Gregor lists his experience playing the drums in a number of Switzerland’s best known Big Bands including the Swiss Army Big Band, as being a key factor in his development as a musician. It was through this that his interest in arranging and composition was peaked. Having also studied tuned percussion Gregor doesn’t see himself as a mallet player, “While I call myself a percussionist and I love playing mallets, I really see myself as a drummer first and foremost”, said Gregor.
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Gregor attended the Bern University of the Arts where he studied jazz drumming as well as composition and arrangement, and it was during his time there that the concept for the “On Eleven” was born. Gregor explained “It was during my studies that I came into contact with the world of the string quartet and fell in love with the sound-scape. I had the opportunity to write some music for string ensemble and it quickly became a dream of mine to combine this sound with a jazz quartet. I did some research and found a recording Max Roach did back in the 1980s with a double quartet and this became the initial inspiration for the concept. I thought man, I really need to do my own version of this.” While the line-up for the Max Roach album is similar to the line-up on Gregor’s album, but make no mistake the similarities between the two ends here. Gregor’s arrangements are far more holistic in their approach with both quartets fully integrated and given equal voices. The arrangements allow plenty of room for the string quartet to not only play a supporting role harmonically but also to take their fair share of the thematic duties. Dave Blaser’s trumpet playing is spectacular and while prominent throughout the album it’s never overbearing. In fact, I would go so far as saying his playing is one of the key factors that ties all of this together. One of the most impressive aspects of this album is the way Lisser shifts seamlessly from the through-composed sections
Gregor Lisser to the improvised. The entire album feels completely organic and in no way contrived or over thought. I asked Gregor what he found to be the greatest challenges when producing the album. “Well, that’s a great question, one of the largest challenges with this was to integrate a string quartet that is essentially very fragile, with the maximum force of the drums and trumpet in the writing process. I was looking for maximum transparency in the arrangements. I was lucky that the musicians I wrote for, were all very experienced in playing both jazz and classical music. They fully understood the concept and what I was trying to achieve with the music. I want to say that they were all crossover players but I don’t like that term, so maybe the best way to put it is to say they’ve all been socialised with many styles of music.”
structure to be flexible enough to allow for spontaneity. My main focus was to have an album that was full of all the rich sounds and tonal colours you can get with this line-up. I’m happy with the way it came out but I really want to expand the concept so I expect there will be more records along this line in the future.” Having heard the album a number of times, I can say that I’m deeply impressed with the writing on the album. The entire album feels completely organic and in no way contrived or
Gregor went on to say that “although having great musicians that understand the situation, their recording in is a key factor, it doesn’t take away the fact there is an inherent imbalance in volume between the two quartets, so it’s up to the composer to deal with this in the arrangements. I didn’t want to just make an album where the strings were an afterthought. That would have been a missed opportunity.” One of the aspects of this recording that impressed me greatly was the seamless manner in which the improvisational aspects were embodied within what is essential through-composed music. I brought up this point with Gregor as I was interested in knowing how he approached this in the compositional stage. Gregor replied “I need to say that on this recording I decided not to have the string quartet improvise, I took the approach to have them basically frame the structure so when you hear the solo passages by violins or cello you know, that this was composed as part of the string arrangements. All of the improvisational passages are taken by the jazz quartet, this was my plan. I wanted to not only produce full compositions but also wanted this
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over thought which is often the case with these type of projects. Although this recording is led by a drummer, don’t expect a “drum fest” here, this album is about composition and performance. We spoke about this aspect in some depth and Gregor made the point, that even though he’s a drummer he’s only focused on making music. “I love to play drum solos but this is not the point here, I don’t know anyone that has ever won a Grammy because the album has great drum solos on it! I see my self as a musician first and a drummer second.” If you’re one of those readers who may already be thinking that the album’s title is a reference to Spinal Tap, you’d be wrong. The press release stated “Even the title he‘s given the recording hints at the artistic essence of the album. It‘s a colloquial Swiss expression meaning “to go on foot“and the title alludes to the fact that the inspiration for the album is drawn from hiking in the forest. Gregor spoke about the fast-paced world we
live in and mentioned the Chinese proverb “If you are in a hurry, go slowly.” His goal with the music was to explore how deceleration can be expressed musically. “This has nothing to do with tempo’, said Gregor. “Speed has become the mantra of our age. At the same time, slowness can sparkle with unparalleled wonder“ and it’s exactly this aspect of his writing that makes this recording stand out. At the time we spoke, Gregor was in the process of organizing a number of live shows, however at that point he was not in a position to list any dates. “These days it’s not that easy to book dates with an eight-piece band but the biggest issue is coordinating the schedules of eight musicians. However, I hope to be able to announce some performance dates in the near future.” With that said, we’ll have to wait to have the opportunity to see “On Eleven” live. In the meantime, the record is available in all the usual places and if you are looking for an adventurous listen, then you can’t go past this album.
Photo © André Scheidegger
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The New Album From
James Bowman III
ARTICLE
Empirical
The knack of pushing boundaries
Photo © Emile Holba
Text by: Jan Veldman | Photos by Emile Holba & Katy Dillon
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Photo © Katy Dillon
W
“...the band rented ith the UK political world fully paralysed by Brexit, the opposite can unused retail be said for the UK jazz scene. It seems not only to be flourishing space at Old Street from a creative aspect but also from a cultural export aspect. One Underground station need only to sample the line-up of some of the European festivals in central London this summer to witness the surge of UK based acts on the program. and transformed One band that caught our attention earlier this year was the London based this into an informal quartet Empirical. In May the band released part two of a double EP-set titled Jazz Lounge.” ‘Distraction Tactics’. This current EP follows the 2018 release of “Indifference Culture” that formed part one of the set. Both of these releases have a political undertone and is described by the band as a “musical response to the culture wars and political upheaval that have become the ‘new normal’ of the world in 2018.” Recently I had the pleasure of sitting and speaking with Empirical bassist Tom Farmer about the band, the new album and their innovative PopUp series. The genesis of Empirical came out of the Tomorrow’s Warriors program, an innovative jazz music education and artist development program founded in 1991 by Janine Irons and bassist Gary Crosby. Now almost 15 years (and a number of incarnations) further the band has established itself as one of Britons leading ensembles. Tom explained “back in 2005 Shaney and Nathaniel played together in the Tomorrow’s Warriors band and after they graduated, they decided to form a band and called it Empirical. After gigging for a while they made a CD and brought it out on Courtney Pine’s label. That’s the point where I joined the band, I think that would have been around 2006. Back then it was a quintet and after about a years worth of gig’s in the UK and abroad we sort of went our own way. Then in 2008, we reformed the band,
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Empirical this time with Lewis Wright on vibes. I can remember we did our first gig with this line-up at the 2008 London Jazz Festival.” Since the reformation in 2008, the band (now consisting of Nathaniel Facey, Tom Farmer, Lewis Wright and Shaney Forbes) has become known as an ensemble with a “knack for pushing boundaries”, not just musically but also in the areas of marketing and audience development. This can be evidenced by the 2016 project that saw the band establish a number of “Pop-Up” jazz lounges at London Tube Stations. In a bid to expand their audience the band and their management, who were inspired by the Pop-Up restaurant movement, decided that this concept could be applied to the jazz world as well. With an innovative idea and funding from the UK Arts Council, the band rented an unused retail space at Old Street Underground station in central London and transformed this into an informal Jazz Lounge where commuters could just drop in to hear the band live, buy CD’s, or just chat. I asked Tom about the origins of this idea. “Well, just
before we recorded the ‘Connection’ album we were looking to perform as much as possible to develop the music in a live setting before going into the studio. We’ve always liked the idea of doing repeat performances in one location but these days it’s hard enough to get one gig let alone a run of five nights in one venue. So, I had this idea of going into Foyles book shop on the Charing Cross Road, where they’ve got a very cool performance space up on the 6th floor. I just went in and asked if we could do a gig there every day for a week at 6:00 pm. As it turned out they were up for it, so we set it up and went for it. On Monday it was a bit sparse as far as listeners go but by Friday and Saturday, we had over 250 people in there. It worked so well that we thought this is a great idea, we need to do it again.” Claudia Kuss-Tenzer, now the band manager, happened to be one of those people that attended the Foyles gigs. At that time Claudia was a fan of the band and offered her extensive marketing skills to the band to develop the concept further. The basic idea remained but the concept was to formalize the idea, bringing some “Joined Up Thinking” as Tom said, to
Photo © Katy Dillon
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Photo © Katy Dillon
Left, Empirical live at the Old Street Underground station, Pop-Up Jazz Lounge. Below Right, Commuters enjoying impromptu concert.
game at 8 am! Having been in this industry for more years than I care to mention, I’ve always been under the opinion that the best way to build a fan base is to take the music to the people, with so much music available to the public these days, sitting back and waiting to be discovered is a recipe for oblivion. It’s “out of the box” projects like this that can position a band way ahead of the competition.
be able to capitalize on the marketing opportunities the project provided. Tom stated “So we came up with the idea of doing it in a train station or somewhere else that has a lot of passing foot traffic. Once we had the idea worked out Claudia then helped us with the grant application. Luckily the Arts Council gave us the green light and with this in hand, we started looking for a space to do it in. I have to say It was an amazing experience.” There is no doubt that the project was a major success. During the six days that the Pop-Up was open the band played over twenty live sets to more than 3,000 listeners, many of them new to jazz. One of the highlights was the gig at 8 am for surprised morning commuters, as you can imagine a challenge for not only the public but also the band, musicians are not often known for being at the top of their
64. | Jazz In Europe - Spring 2019
Since the first Pop-Up series, the band has taken the concept to shopping centres in Birmingham and Berlin (as part of the JazzFest Berlin) and returned to Old Street Underground station. I wanted to take a step back and ask Tom about the new EP. Having mentioned in the introduction to this piece that the double EP-set had a large social commentary aspect to it, I was interested to know more about this. However, I was also interested in asking about the choice of a split release and the motivation behind this. Speaking of the meaning behind the music Tom explained that the band had been doing a lot of rehearsing and had come up with a few different directions. One was as he described rather “Colemanesque” with a lot of cyclical rhythmic aspects while the other was far more improvisational and open in nature. Eventually, they decided to take the latter into the studio, develop it and see what they came up with. During the recording process, they realised there was in fact to halves of a similar idea here. Tom said “It’s all about commenting on
Empirical the inhumanity and political chaos we see around the world. We realised what we do as improvisers are actually transcending all those issues, so we framed it as a response to all these social ills.”
at it long term, almost from a mentoring perspective. The idea would be that we would work together for a longer period of time. There are a lot of plans, we’ll just have to see what comes to fruition.”
Regarding the split release, Tom explained that the band was not looking to put out another full album as yet, while there are plans for a new album there still needs to be a number of things put into place. The goal of the EPs was purely to make the music available to their fan base. Both EPs largely document what the band had been doing during the Pop-Ups and with the interest, they generated there was a need to bring something out in a timely manner. “We needed to keep the momentum going while the plans for a full new album are being developed said, Tom.
When speaking about the band’s plans moving forward Tom stated that the focus at the moment is to expand the band’s reputation internationally. Earlier on in the band’s history, they toured extensively in Europe as well as a tour in the US and Canada where they performed at eight of the JVC festivals. These tours were quite early in the band’s existence and since the line-up change in 2008, the focus had been very much on the UK market. Tom went on to say “We’ve now reached a point, with our new management in place, where we feel the time is right to get serious about touring again.”
Currently, the band is in discussion with a number of European labels and partners and while at the moment Tom was unable to give more details he did say they hope to be able to announce some news on this in the near future. Tom went on to say “Once we have all this in place we want to look at producing the next full album, maybe this time with a guest. We’ve had this idea of connecting with someone of the older generation. The reason behind this is that the nature of the music we play is very connected to the tradition and in particular the 60s so we’d love to work with a guest that lived through this period. We’re not just looking to have someone show up at the sessions, record and then head off. We’re looking
Photo © Katy Dillon
By the time you read this article, Empirical will have just returned from a short US tour and a performance at the Edmonton Jazz Festival in Canada. The tour kicked off at the Rochester International Jazz Festival and then back to New York city for some club dates including a number of performances at Dizzy’s before closing the tour out in Washington DC. Back in the UK, it will be business as usual and according to Tom, there will hopefully be more European dates in the near future. Whatever the future brings for Empirical you can bet it will be innovative.
65. | Jazz In Europe - Summer 2019
Now Available
Gregor Lisser Double Quartet – “On Eleven” Featuring: Dave Blaser (tpt), Michael Haudenschild (p), André Pousaz (b), Vincent Milliou (vln), Samuel Jungen (vln), Adrian Häusler (va), Raphael Heggendorn (cello) "If you are in a hurry, go slowly" – this Chinese proverb has been set aside on the Swiss composer and drummer Gregor Lisser's On Eleven, his debut album with the Gregor Lisser Double Quartet. Lisser explores how deceleration can be expressed musically, in complex as well as thrilling and catchy ways. Even the title he's given this rst release, hints at the artistic essence of the album. It's a colloquial expression meaning "to go on foot". And true enough, the exceptional Swiss musician found the inspiration for all of his compositions during long nature walks.
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Peter Hedrich – “New Hope”
Featuring: Peter Hedrich and Jiggs Whigham With New Hope, Trombonist Peter Hedrich revisits Jiggs Whigham's 1970's album "Hope". For Peter Hedrich, the album was a key experience in his early musical development. Once he heard that distinctive Jiggs Whigham sound, he could never let it go. In 2016, forty years after Hope was released, he had the idea of re-recording the pieces from back then, and complementing them with his own original compositions played by Jiggs. It was an idea that Whigham welcomed with open arms!
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