What is your greatest joy in improvised music?
I get a very
basic and fundamental joy from the activity itself. This is not necessarily
enough to generate good or interesting music however!
I don’t know if its a matter of “turning it into interesting music”, more
framing or delivering the activity or process of improvisation into
something that is not only somewhat intelligible for the listener but
perhaps more importantly constantly engaging for the performers. I believe
there needs to be almost a feedback loop or regenerative process of using
the group dynamics to produce things that are maybe on the border of “not
working” to keep things fresh and engaging. If the players are alert and
engaged, the music stands more of a chance of being interesting both to the
players and the listeners. Take all of this with a grain of salt, nothing
said about the activity of improvised music has ever really captured the
vibe or been 100 percent true.
musicians you perform with?
Personality, craft, the development and mastery of their own language… I
guess I appreciate a personal voice the most. I admire the dedication it
takes to cultivate and develop that voice.
to join their bands: how do you prioritize what you do?
I’m not
asked a ton but when I am and its by someone I really admire I will make
space for it. I love being a sideman with an inspiring bandleader. Aaron
Burnett, Dan Weiss and Mazz Swift are three artists I’ve gotten to perform
with in their groups just this year alone. They are all so different and
each exhibit total mastery over their materials, have interesting
aesthetics, so its a pleasure for me to help realize their vision. Its fun
as well, and I always learn something.
With my own bands I really have one main thing now and that’s Being
& Becoming. Other groups that I gave documented recently such as
Symphony or Forever 21 are more in a holding pattern until I can focus on
them more, although in NYC I’m always trying stuff out. I recently set up a
couple of gigs with the tenor player Mark Shim for instance, which was an
incredible experience.
I don’t know if its like this for everyone
but I’ve found that in this business it pays to be proactive. I am working
hard now to get B&B out there in front of listeners and to develop the
band sound.
Can’t pick just one, I’m sorry!
Bach and Coltrane. I know that’s boring
in a way but its true.
with, who would it be?
I’ve known and worked with too many
musicians who have died prematurely to really appreciate this idea. It’s a
bit morbid. If I HAD to resurrect someone would they be in? I’m a big fan of
the movie Reanimator. Things can go haywire.
you still like to achieve musically in your life?
Many things, more than I will be able to achieve. All sides of my work I
think have so much room to explore. I feel that I am reaching towards
something; a vision or a concept of how I would like my music to feel and
sound, and while I go forward. the thing itself keeps morphing. I think this
is a common feeling for artists.
Jazz Blog) to be the highest level of achievement. Do you however see areas
of improvement or development?
Thanks for that. But to answer the
question – of course! The only limits are that of the imagination and how
much time one is willing to put in to realize an idea.
Is there a musical setting that you would still like to perform in or
create?
Too many to name, but in reality most „new“ settings
happen naturally. I would like to explore the Early Music side of things at
some point.
prefer?
Just that people are there, relaxed and involving
themselves with the music. I don’t mind when people make noise and interact
with the music, it can be really nice.
do you particularly like?
Sure! These days I enjoy the act of
listening to music more than even getting into whether I “like” the specific
music or not. So I listen to lots of stuff without a lot of judgement on the
front end. It’s nice. My wife and I were recently going through classic
Pharrell stuff, some of the big hits he produced, Twista’s “Overnight
Celebrity” for instance. That stuff is kind of old now! Recently listening
to some Dua Lipa as well. If I’m in another country I will always listen to
the local pop radio. Recently in Sardinia they were playing some really nice
new pop stuff. American-influenced for sure, but still cool and it had a
vibe. Angelina Mango was one, she had a definite Rosalia influence (who I
also really like, especially Motomami).
who would it be?
Miley seems cool. I’d be happy to work for her.
I don’t know how to answer this! I don’t want to bullshit you but a real
answer will take some more consideration. There are things that are actually
changeable so those things I attempt to work on. I guess the real question
would be – what is something you’d like to change that is impossible to
change? Need to think on that.
Specific recordings:
“Embraceable You” from the album Standards
“From Beyond” – the Midi piano piece from the album Murmurs
Destination Void
often?
I will only listen to it maybe years later out of curiosity. After a recent
album comes I’m usually sick of hearing it for awhile.
That’s tough. Not sure. Maybe some Coltrane…
Digging around some older minimal techno recommendations from Nick Jozwiak,
Richie Hawtin for example. I listened to some of the Shostakovich Preludes
and Fugues last night. I love Steve Grossman’s stuff from the 70s and have
had “Shapes to Come” on repeat for the last year or two. I listen to a lot
of “early music”, stuff like Ockeghem, Phillipe de Vitry, and stuff from the
Ars Subtilior movement in the 1400’s. Recorder music from that era too. I
have Tomito Satori on right now while writing this – some more techno stuff.
An album called Blood Rising.
Comedian Tim Dillon
brings me a lot of joy these days. I have a book of interviews with Andrey
Tarkovsky on the nightstand now. I am really inspired by these
“larger-than-life” characters, so for instance when I read Mike Tyson’s
auto-biography “Undisputed Truth”, I thought there was a lot to chew on.
Great book.
The element of fun is often present in your compositions and improvisations,
either in the speed of the execution (pyrotechnics), the pulse and drive of
the music. How important is this to you as compared to your work with eg
Jeremiah Cymerman or Cory Smythe or Barry Guy? How do you place these
differences in your performances?
I think its more important just to be prepared and act/react naturally in
every situation.
non-figurative painting more acceptable than non-figurative music?
The age-old question. I don’t know what constitutes mainstream anymore but I
think for instance with Being & Becoming we could vary the repertoire
enough that we could play for pretty much anyone. I’m not necessarily
presenting it as “avant garde” music. That goes for other projects I play in
as well.
A lot has to do with how the music is presented, who it is advertised to,
which venues it is happening in. I wish promoters would understand better
how much of a difference they can make in the reception and the development
of audience by addressing some of these parameters more imaginatively and
directly. I feel that at times (not always) the lack of acceptance of more
„difficult“ music is a self-fulfilled prophecy, and it doesn’t need to be. A
lot of responsibility to create a better situation rests on the artists and
the presenters, in my opinion.
Non-figurative painting is fine as a thing in general of course but let’s be
honest: that world is now part of an international system of money
laundering, and has been for a long time. We all know this. On the other
side there is Francis Bacon’s criticism of non-figurative art, in which case
its resigned to becoming background ambiance, indistinguishable from
interior design, like buying a Mondrian-style decorative plate at Walmart.
So it’s acceptability is kind of strange and much different than music. I’m
not sure what non-figurative music is – I think I know what you mean but the
definitions here are to slippery to be of much use.