?Jazz Views has rapidly become one of the most important jazz websites in the UK.? Provocateur Records
Site Map Home Page ARCHIVE: 2002 Newsletters December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 > September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 Built using 123web	October 2002
	Contents Editorial: The Passing of an Era? Feature: Gilad Atzmon ? Musician and Author. Gilad talks about his playing influences and his new book ?Guide To The Perplexed? Musician's Play List: Saxophonist Laura Macdonald picks her favourite albums. Peter King: Veteran alto saxophonist talks about his playing career, past and present. Christian Brewer: New comer Christian Brewer talks about where he?s been and where he?s going with the launch of his debut CD. Jazz Books: New autobiography of jazz giant, Oscar Peterson. Edited by Richard Palmer. CD Reviews:Reviews of releases by Lee Gibson, Mark Latimer, Mike Gorman, Christine Tobin, Christian Brewer and Stan Tracey/Bobby Wellins. Jazz Views Special Offers: Limited number of copies of 'The Right Vibes' by Bill Le Sage Trio and Trudy Kerr's sensational album 'My Old Flame' for just ?11.00 each! Competition: Win a copy of ?Introducing?Christian Brewer?. A new star in the making. Site Map: For a quick reference key in your search words to locate page references and links. Subscribe To Jazz Views Subscribe to Jazz Views to receive regular email updates. Editorial ? The Passing of an Era? Another chapter in the history of jazz has closed with the passing of vibraphone player and bandleader Lionel Hampton. Despite health problems from the late eighties, Hampton continued a hectic work schedule of live performances, festivals and recordings, and seemed unstoppable. In a career spanning more than seventy years, and transcending many stylistic changes, he brought joy to many with his exuberant stage persona and rousing live performances. From 1936 when he joined the Benny Goodman Quartet and Big Band, to leading his own large ensemble throughout the forties and fifties, and beyond a Lional Hampton show was always a swinging affair. A quick glance through the list of musicians with whom he has played, many of them recruited personally for his own bands, the is a veritable whose who of jazz with many important musicians from the end of the swing era into the bebop years a testimony not only to Hampton?s adaptability but also to the high esteem he was regarded with the younger generation of players. Passing through the ranks were swing era giants Chu Berry, Laurence Brown, Benny Carter, Sid Catlett, Nat King Cole, Johnny Hodges, Rex Stewart, Ben Webster; and of the young turks there was Art Farmer, Charles Mingus, Clifford Brown, Fats Navarro, Quincy Jones and Dexter Gordon. After hearing the sad news of Lionel Hampton?s death on 31, August in New York, I immediately went to check out some Hampton recordings from my collection. A browse through the shelves left me dismayed to find that of the hundreds of cassettes, CDs and LPs in my collection, that I had very little of his work. Some sides with the Benny Goodman Orchestra and Quartet, including a 1960?s reunion album, a few compilation albums with various aggregations from the mid forties, and that was it! If we talk about the Jazz Age of the 1920?s fading into the annals of jazz history, with sales of many CDs from this era diminishing (with the obvious exception of early Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and perhaps Sidney Bechet), it left me wondering if perhaps the music of the Thirties maybe destined for a similar fate. As a ?thirty-something? coming to jazz in my mid teens, and with so much music readily available, how far is it necessary (and indeed practical) for newcomers to the music to delve into the history of this great art form without getting swamped and bogged down? It is has also become apparent with modern recording technology that as listeners we have become spoiled by immaculate recordings, with no hiss, rumble, or any other distortions to overcome. Quite simply, have we the patience to listen to old recordings of inferior sound quality, which has the effect of making timeless music sound old and dated before we are more than eight bars in? I for one, do a lot of my listening in the car and some of these recordings are almost unlistenable when played in such an environment with traffic noise from the outside, and distortion from the inside. Is it perhaps not inevitable that with the passing of time, that not just jazz of the Thirties but also the innovative sounds of the Forties, may also suffer a similar fate? Top of Page GILAD ATZMON - MUSICIAN & AUTHOR: Nostalgico and Guide To The Perplexed Interview by Nick Lea ?I think music and art in general is a vehicle for change, and I think that this has a strong social value and impact. My music and compositions are very socially motivated, and I try at the moment to see myself as part of the Palestinian struggle for liberation, I try to do as much as I can to help destroy boundaries in respect of Israel.? Saxophonist, Gilad Atzmon, as the above statement would suggest, feels very passionately about his homeland and social and cultural heritage, and has chosen music as his weapon against the injustices of the Middle East. However, if Gilad feels naturally drawn to jazz and the freedom of expression it allows from its practitioners, this also presents its own problem as to a feeling of identity. ?American music is not a part of my past, and also these songs that are recognised as ?standards?, I don?t identify them as such. They are not part of my musical or cultural heritage. So for example, the composition ?Yesterdays? and John Coltrane playing that tune, what was his reference point? This is crucial as coming as I do from Middle East, or even for a European musician, there is fairly limited access from a cultural aspect to the real origins of jazz. We can therefore only play these tunes with our own musical tendencies or approach in our improvisations. This is very interesting as it can be very free, but whether it is productive or unproductive is the question. There are many well-known jazz musicians in Israel and Europe, but I really feel that to be genuine to myself, and my ?musical accent? then my direct reference points to jazz are a bit limited.? I asked Gilad if this distant relationship to the source material made him feel compelled to write more himself? ?Yes, definitely. Basically what we do with the Orient House Ensemble is partly original music and if we play a standard, we do something very different with it, something to bring it home.? A trait that is immediately apparent on the Orient House Ensemble?s current release ?Nostalgico? where this concept of identity and the American popular song is investigated on titles including ?Singing In The Rain? and ?20th Century? which incorporates ?It Ain?t Necessarily So?, Ellington?s ?Caravan? and ?Mack The Knife?! Gilad?s quest to find his musical identity has been a continuing search throughout his playing life, and it was to be a considerable time before he settled upon music as a career choice. ?I started to play seriously when I was seventeen, although I had played the clarinet since I was young. I was considered somewhat of a ?talented youngster?, but never considered my clarinet playing as a serious occupation. There were far more interesting things going on around me. It was not until I was seventeen and was exposed to the music of a very great saxophone player who came to live in Israel that I was inspired to go and buy a saxophone. That was it then, all I wanted to do was go and practice 24 hours a day. Eventually I was drafted into the armed forces to non-combative duty, and became a musician in the army playing at many different functions. However, it was to be a number of years before I realised that playing music was what I wanted to do for a living. When I was twenty-four I became very involved in the rock?n?roll movement, and was a record producer during the late eighties. When I came to England I came to study, to do a masters degree in philosophy, and after being involved in the academic world for a while I decided that music was really where my interests lay.? How did you discover jazz, was it music that you had been exposed to in your formative years? ?No, not really, I discovered jazz when I was about seventeen. Up until then I had been playing clarinet, and considered somewhat of a ?prodigy? when I was thirteen or fourteen, and that was the path laid out for me, to study clarinet. But I really didn?t like classical music or the method of teaching, and I didn?t feel that it was something that I wished to devote my life to. And when I first heard Charlie Parker I felt completely different, because of the sense of freedom! I knew then that I wanted to play jazz. Even when I was a rock?n?roll producer I still felt it like jazz in as much as I looked to reshape the boundaries.? ?Charlie Parker definitely been a big influence on me as a musician. But it is apparent also when you listen to the music of Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and John Coltrane that they were extremely motivated by social and philosophical ideas, and this is where the music takes on an inexpressible sense of the sublime. And it is quite clear that this is something that jazz has lost sometime ago in the 70?2 and 80?s with the advent of Berklee College and other such educational institutions, the music is analysed too scientifically. Also, this is a problem in England where some musicians try to be too clever rather than simply trying to move people with their music.? And what about plans to record the band, is there a new album in the pipeline? ?Yeah, the Orient House Ensemble have been back in the studio, and we are currently recording a new album. It is very much a collaborative project, and we have joined forces with Romanian gypsy musicians, so we will feature a gypsy band; and we have an amazing Abyssinian singer with the album being very much about the right of return of the Abyssinian people. The album will be available in February or March next year. Atzmon has also been busy writing his book and this in now complete and ready to hit the stands. ?That?s right, my book is coming out in about a middle of October, and is called ?Guide To the Perplexed?, and is a fictional account of the 20th Century through ideology and philosophy. I?m also launching the book on the 16/17 October at the London Jazz Festival in a concert that will be half music and half literature.? At the time of doing this interview, the Orent House Ensemble were off on a tour around the UK from South Wales to Scotland, and then off to Germany. I asked Gilad how British audiences reacted to his particular brand of jazz. ?Amazing! The British audiences are absolutely immaculate, like they are really open to new music. The biggest problem in Britain is the media and the funding system, and in fact I?ve written about this in a paper on my website.They are very good at making a tour successful for two weeks, with little attention given to the long term prospects for the artists. We were talking about the jazz of the eighties, and in Britain the Jazz Warriors were creating a big impression, but how many of those players are still around today? Because the media is perhaps trying to create the scene instead of checking out the current players and letting the playing situations develop at their own natural pace. There are so many great players out there like Don Weller, Alan Barnes, Peter King and Christian Brewer (he?s a very soulful player!). These are people who try to get out there and play to an audience, to keep jazz alive. But these people find funding difficult to get, and the money goes to extremely untalented players that drive audience enthusiasm for a short period of time. For me the important thing is the opportunity to play and develop the music over a period of time. I?m happy to go and play anywhere, to bring live music to as many people as possible.? ?Nostalgico? by Gilad Atzmon and the Orient House Ensemble and Gilad?s book ?Guide To The Perplexed? are available from Also visit Gilad?s Website to read excerpts from the book, and other works by Gilad Atzmon. Top of Page Musician?s Play List: LAURA MACDONALD Saxophonist Laura Macdonald is quite rightly acknowledged as one of the finest jazz musicians Scotland has produced. Quite an accolade when one considers the wealth of talent that has come from North of the border in recent years. Last year saw the release, on Spartacus Records, of her debut CD entitled ?Laura? with such American heavyweights as Jeff ?Tain? Watts on drums, pianist David Budway and bassist, James Genus. An impressive cast list, and an impressive debut, giving ample notice that Ms Macdonald is not be a lady to be messed with. Of her favourite albums Laura says.. ?This has been impossible, as I have so many beloved CD's on my shelves however, here goes. 1. Crescent - John Coltrane (Impulse! 051200-2)- This is just an awesome album. Very inspirational and has so many different colours to it. Coltrane plays great on this record and the tunes are great. 2. My Song - Keith Jarret/Jan Garbarek (ECM 821406-2)- What a great C.D. I heard this in 1998, the year I was married. It is such a great C.D. My favourite playing I think of Jan Garbarek. 3. Black Hope - Kenny Garrett ( Warner Bros 9362 45017)- One of Kenny Garret?s earlier CDs and one of the best. He is really is a jazz train on this record. It features Joe Henderson and both of them play wonderfully on it. This record has really inspired me to become a better musician. Kenny Garrett has been really important in the development of the Alto Saxophone. 4. Mahler 5th Symphony (Bernstein) ? Just love Mahler, really can be very dark and at the same time really romantic. Thought evoking stuff this. 5. Know What I Mean? - Cannonball Adderley/Bill Evans (Original Jazz Classics OJC 105)- Lovely record. Beautiful Tunes. Cannonball Plays great. 6. Milestones - Miles Davis w/ John Coltrane, Cannonball (Columbia CK 40837)- This is one of the first recordings I ever listened to, and Cannonball played an important part in me choosing the Alto as my instrument. His solo on ?Milestones? is amazing. So well thought out, great sound, really something to look up to. 7. Innervisions - Stevie Wonder- Thought I would throw this in to confuse people slightly, I really love this record, I think Stevie?s compositions are amazing, great grooves and this is a must for anyones record collection. 8. Transition - John Coltrane - If feeling like some really deep jazz, this is a must. There are great moments on this record a high in Coltrane?s playing I think. 9. The Sound Of Love - Tommy Smith (Linn AKD 084) ? This record is so important to me. It was made the year Tommy and I met and really evokes such memories for me. I can put this record on at anytime, and it makes me feel happy. 10. Ellis and Tom - Antonio Carlos Jobim/Ellis Regina (Verve) ? The simplicity on this record is really beautifully apparent. The melodies and lyrics are great. 'Laura' by Laura Macdonald is availble from Spartacus Records See our review in March's CD Reviews Top of Page PETER KING ? The UK?s Premier Alto Saxophonist Interview by Nick Lea Peter King has been a leading light on the British jazz scene for a considerable number of years, and his enthusiasm for his chosen instrument and musical idiom show no signs of slowing down. I recently caught up with Peter when he played at the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal, as part of a short tour with the Neil Yates Quartet. It had been quite a while since I had heard King live, but after a few minutes of the altoist hitting the stand it became apparent why that once heard, he is not easily forgotten. In an imaginatively programmed set comprising of some seldom heard gems from the hard bop era- ?Step Lightly? (Joe Henderson), Frank Foster?s ?Winter Set?, ?Open Sesame? (Freddie Hubbard), ?Fungi Mama? (Blue Mitchell), and a Hank Mobley line ?The Changing Scene?; the saxophonist dazzled a captivated audience not with technique, but a superlative display of bebop/hard bop alto playing, with music pouring from the bell of his horn with one quick silver idea after another. A self-taught musician King got his first big opportunity when asked to play the opening night at Ronnie Scott?s old place in Gerrard Street, and followed that by being voted New Star in the Melody Maker Jazz Poll in 1960 and then working with the Johnny Dankworth orchestra during 1961. After that King changed to tenor and worked with the Tony Kinsey Quintet, before returning to his favoured alto sax. During this time he also had a grounding in the big bands of Maynard Ferguson, Tubby Hayes and Stan Tracey, and continued his small group playing with such luminaries as Zoot Sims, Red Rodney, Hampton Hawes, Nat Adderley, and Philly Joe Jones. JAZZ VIEWS: Peter, that is quite a cast list. The late 50?s and 60?s must have been a heady period for you, at a time when Ronnie?s place was starting to make a name for itself and British jazz seemed to making real headway. You most have some fond recollections of those early days? PK: It was the first time many of us had heard all those great players, ?live?. Nearly all saxophonists at first actually. Ronnie?s influence!! It also showed to the British Jazz Public that we were much better than they had realised. Most of the Americans were either amazed at how well we played or showed us how to improve, just by playing alongside them. I guess the weak link tended to be the rhythm sections to some extent. But there were many exceptions to that. Sonny Rollins told a British interviewer that Stan Tracey was so good he couldn?t understand why the British Press did not realise what a ?Giant? they had here. I can tell you for a fact that Elvin Jones, Philly Joe and many other drummers from the States, worshiped Phil Seaman. Elvin told me recently they would say of Phil: ?That?s how we would all play, if we could?! I have far too many stories to tell them all here.They would fill a small book. But I guess the things that stick out as the biggest thrills were: Jamming some Saturday nights with Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, always a real pleasure. Sitting in with Sony Stitt and maybe Ronnie and Tubby.Unlike Al and Zoot who were so laid back, Sonny took no prisoners and was always trying to cut you, which was great!! He had great respect for us and we gave as good as we got, especially Tubby. You learn fast like that, the way they did back in New York!! We would hear what those guys really thought of us too, through other Americans that worked at Ronnie?s. I think most of those guys had respect for us and they loved to play here. Another personal memory was meeting and hearing Lucky Thompson. We became quite good friends and he gave me a free lesson. Oh and of course, I was very tight with Ben Webster. He pulled a knife on me in jest once, because I wanted to go home. It was 7. 00am and I was shattered, but he wanted me to hang out some more. He even had dinner with my parents one time.He was on his best behaviour and got on great with my dad. Ben was a lonely guy and loved to be part of that quiet domestic scene sometimes I guess. JV: Tell us a little about your initial exposure to jazz. Did you have an early ambition to become a musician, or was that something that came later? PK: I had various periods of being interested in music, from when I was pretty young. I had a few piano lessons in prep school but gave it up. Something I regret! Later, in my early days at Grammar School, I wanted to be a ?World Famous? Violinist! Well I had violin lessons for a while and even had to try and play in the school orchestra once. You can imagine it was a pretty sad orchestra. I gave that up too but still have a great love of the violin and all the strings. My love of Jazz started when I got my first radio at about 15 years. I listened to the Willis Conover Jazz hour every night in bed and heard all the great players for the first time. I went to see the film The Benny Goodman Story and that is what made me determined to make a career as a Jazz musician. I also loved the trumpet and wanted to play like Harry James, but when I woke up the next morning I wanted to play the clarinet like Benny Goodman. I think, looking back on it, I heard my first Jazz from listening to some of my sister?s records. She loved the big Swing Bands like Harry James, Goodman, Dorsey etc and I guess it rubbed off on me. JV: After years of playing in other people?s bands, it was not until 1982 that your first album as leader ?New Beginning? was released on Spotlite Records. Was this due to a case of waiting for the right time or was there some reluctance on your behalf to take the plunge into leading your own band? PK: A little of both I guess. In the early days I was a very nervous kid and the thought of running a band was totally daunting. In fact it still is sometimes, but it is the only way to really try to develop your own musical personality. When I first played at Ronnie Scotts, Pete King asked me to put my own quartet in on a semi regular basis. I was terrified and knew hardly any pro musicians. I ended up with a young bass player who was on the scene, a crazy but one time great drummer, Dick DeVere who simply told me he was going to be my drummer!! I was too scared to say no, even though he was a notorious junkie who was going down hill fast. The only pianist I knew was a semi professional but I loved his playing and we were very close. His name was Gordon Beck!! The band I have now is fantastic in that all the guys have such talent and empathy with what we are doing. As far as waiting for the right time is concerned, it was more a case of not being asked to make a record under my own name. Tony Williams, of Spotlite Records was the first guy to give me that chance. JV: The early eighties seem, if somewhat belatedly, became a very productive time for you, and it is nice to have re-released on CD ?Hi Fly? (Spotlite Jazz SPJ-CD 427), especially since the sad passing of pianist Pete Jacobsen earlier this year. Was the gig a one off with that particular band, or had you played together before? PK: We had played together several times in France. The late 60?s and all the 70?s were a bad time for me and many Jazz musicians. Jazz work was getting less and less and I also had bad addiction problems and spent a lot of the 70?s doing work in pit orchestras and dance bands to scrape a living. I almost gave up even wanting to play Jazz. Then one day I got this call from Philippe Briand, the drummer on that album, to do a few dates in France. It changed my life. I think Pete and Bobby Wellins told Philippe about me. Philippe kick started a new career for me. He introduced me to a club owner in Paris and I became a regular visitor to France. The most important thing was it made me want to play again. This new audience seemed to take to me for a while at least and the fact that I was working abroad seemed to make a big difference to my credentials in the UK. Not an uncommon story! I guess it was my new found love of playing again that drove me on to say, ?I am supposed to be a Jazz musician, not a sideman in some pit orchestra?. I am still grateful for the work I did in those commercial bands etc but it meant I had to double flute and clarinet. I felt this was stopping me from developing my own sound on alto. I always had trouble trying to double, but in those days there was a perception, among many studio players etc, that you were not really a ?real professional? if you didn?t. I finally had the courage to say to hell with that! I also realised that, if you wanted to be a Jazz musician and make a living, you had to match yourself against the best in the World and carve out an authoritative style of your own. Just trying to sound like a British copy of Bird was not enough. I had to dig deep within myself and try to find who I really was as a player. JV: With your more recent releases ?Tamburello? (MM CD0830 and ?Lush Life? (MM CD085) for Miles Music, there is a definite emphasis away from the out and out bebop alto playing that most people associate with you. I know you have a deep respect and interest for classical music, is this a conscious decision to explore other musical avenues? PK: I feel this goes back further than this. I was tentatively trying to find a new voice as far back as the earlier Spotlight albums like New Beginning. It may not have been obvious at the time though. In fact I was getting totally bogged down playing the same old bop tunes and standards in the same old way. I had to find something different. Way back in the 80?s I was listening a lot people like Coltrane, Chick Corea, Miles, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter et al and was trying to absorb some of those elements in my playing and writing. It was a gradual process of development. I have not tried to make drastic steps, but more a slow absorption of certain things into my playing. It has to become your own personal thing in the end, but I admit that for the last 20 years or so Coltrane has become a great influence on the way I hear things. I have always loved modern classical music, especially Bartok and Berg. There is a great affinity between what ?Trane and McCoy were doing harmonically and certain techniques that Bartok used. The use of fourth chords and pentatonics in particular. I have always looked for a way to incorporate some of those and other classical techniques into my music, but it is very hard to do that and not turn it into some kind of fusion or third stream exercise. I hate that. It has to sound natural. I hope I have managed to pull it off in a small way with some of the things in my Miles Music releases. ?Lush Life? is available from Miles Music ?Hi Fly? is available from Spotlite Jazz Top of Page INTRODUCING?CHRISTIAN BREWER Interview by Nick Lea Outside of London, Christian Brewer will be a new name to many, as this is currently where he has chosen to base himself (after a brief sojourn in Spain), and from where he is set to launch his career in earnest. He has already amassed an impressive track record playing at Ronnie Scott?s with his own band (with a further weeks engagement a the club early next year), and stints with trumpeter, Damon Brown?s quintet, and the Geoff Gascoyne Sextet. However, the alto saxophonist now feels the time is right for him to take the stand as leader of his own musical destiny, and with the release of his debut CD ?Introducing?Christian Brewer? he is poised ready to take the UK by storm. The following is a transcription of an interview with Christian, where he spoke with genuine feeling and enthusiasm for the jazz tradition, and how he sees his role within the burgeoning scene that this country has produced. I initially asked Christian about how his interest in jazz began, ?I discovered jazz through my father and his love of the music.? he explained, ?He would take me to the clubs with him as a kid. I used to hear people like Don Weller and Peter King, and my father also had a large record collection ranging from Charlie Parker to Art Pepper, Coltrane, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea?s fusion albums that I was heavily into as a teenager, and of course there was Cannonball Adderley.? Unusual for a young person to be interested in jazz, I remarked, and also unusual to enjoy the same music as your parents? ?Yeah, I guess so. A lot of people come to jazz later in life. I was fortunate that that the records were readily available for me to listen to, and I seemed to like jazz almost immediately. I still feel a need to go back and listen afresh and discover more. There are still certain things I haven?t covered, but unfortunately one is limited by time and resources. Also sometimes we get stuck in a rut, listening to music that we know will make us feel a certain way at any given time, and it can be difficult to break that pattern.? Do you feel constricted by history and the weight of the jazz tradition? ?I do and I don?t , because certain things are just timeless aren?t they, and great music or great playing has this immeasurable timeless quality about it. It?s only by being myself that I?ve had the confidence to go out and do it, to go out and play. You grow up and are given the Charlie Parker Omnibook, and you?re left feeling that you must master this it, and some of the pieces in there are so hard to play that it kinds of dents your confidence if you can?t do it. Or you stick on a Cannonball Adderley solo, and the sheer virtuosity of the phrasing and the smoothness of the articulation, and the timing is amazing. I?d always felt that if that if I couldn?t take these down perfectly then I was no good. It?s only then that you have to say to yourself, ?Wait a minute, there are very few people that can do this anyway!? You have to be yourself and not worry about whether you can emulate these people brilliantly. Being yourself is what is important. So the answer to that is I still have constantly in my mind, when playing a certain tune, of how some of the great players would approach it, but the other side of me wants to put together what I have already, an assimilation of many players, and be myself.? Finding your own voice? ?Exactly! I?m not one of these players who is just a bebop player, I love Cannonball, Coltrane and Parker, but I also love Kenny Garrett, and I like fusion a lot, especially when I was a younger, James Brown and Maceo Parker have also been influences; and to be honest I don?t want to just play bebop. I find it boring just to play one type or style of music, I like to vary things which is something that Joe Locke mentioned to me that we had in common, when we played opposite each other at Ronnie Scott?s. He likes to vary things as well. There are so many musicians of my generation who are emulating other players, and approaching things in a very pure kind of way.? How do you view your approach to the music? Do you feel the need to get away from the American scene to a more British or European style to encompass your own cultural traditions? ?To be honest, I like the American approach. It?s much more rhythmical and in your face. I found that some of the British players were looking for an alternative in their playing and writing, which frankly left me cold.? Tell us about your musical education, how long have you been playing the saxophone? ?I started playing alto seriously at sixteen. Before that I?d been playing clarinet as a youngster, and went to the Guild Hall of Music as an exhibitionist. This meant that I had to pass an audition on clarinet, which I found extremely intimidating as the standard of playing was so high. It certainly wasn?t one of those ?great experiences? in life. I wanted to go to music college and do a degree in clarinet as my first instrument and saxophone as my second, but it wasn?t to be. I was always playing in a lot of bands, funk bands, groove bands, and feel fortunate to have been part of that scene. I was always exposed to really great players right from the beginning, which helped with a very ?hands on? form of education. One of the first bands I played with was a fusion band called Vortex, which featured Darren Abrahams on drums, who has since played with Jason Rebello. He?s a drummer in the Omar Hakim/Weather Report tradition and we rehearsed together for about two years. We didn?t do any gigs or anything, but for me that was an introduction to musical dedication really, the way Darren used to practice and his command of his instrument. This was a real lesson to me in terms of commitment. He was a great fusion drummer in the way he would set up a groove and feel. After this I went to Ian Carr?s workshop in Kentish Town, where Julian Joseph was on piano and the Mondesir brothers, Mark and Mike, were on drums and bass and Philip Bent on flute, and it was just sheer inspiration the level these guys were playing at. This was a big influence on me, and the atmosphere was really positive and supportive and this too was more of a fusion situation; playing things in unusual time signatures and stuff. It was at this point that I went to Leeds College of Music, and was heavily disappointed with the course and general atmosphere; despite the fact that I knew that so many good players had learned and benefited from the course, it wasn?t for me. It was at this point that I decided to leave Leeds and return to London and go to the Guildhall College of Music. I was immediately knocked off my feet through listening Jason Rebello and saxophonist, Steve Williamson, who were making big musical statements at that time in the mid-eighties. Even then Jason stood out and was someone who really did blend all styles together in one fantastic mix, he was definitely an influence. He would meet me in the practice rooms and offer encouragement, and suggest things that I should work on. We did a couple of gigs together at the Guildhall, when he invited me to play. I left the Guildhall after about a year, and was playing with a funk band called Push, with which I toured Japan. After that I went to Spain with my Spanish girlfriend, and stayed there for three years. While I was in Spain I met one of their top pianists, a guy called Chano Dominguez, who has mixed flamenco and jazz in a very imaginative way, with whom I was fortunate enough to tour and record. Since my return to London in 1992, I?ve been playing with many different bands, I?ve played in funk bands, with bassist Geoff Gascoyne?s Sextet, that was a great band, and also playing in my own quartet. Also, I?ve been playing with Damon Brown?s Qunitet, touring and recording, and also had a stint with ex Bob Marley trombonist, Rico Rodriguez. The major difference between now and then is that now I?m beginning to stand up and be a bandleader, and from a compositional angle feel ready to make a statement of my own. The current band consists of pianist Leon Greening, drummer Sebastian Rochford and Tom Herbert on bass, and we?ve been together as a unit for a couple of years, working on a group sound and concept. Rhythmically it?s a mixture of many different styles and influences. Sebastian and Tom are really organic rhythm players, they?re not just into the straight bebop thing and their groove playing over different styles is so tight. They?re so locked in, and they bounce ideas off each other, it?s a very exciting rhythm section. Pianist Leon Greening comes from the bebop angle, a phenomenal player with great ideas and technique, and he brings a palpable tension between rhythm and harmony. This along with a conscious mixture of different styles is definitely where the band is heading. It is definitely now the time to step out and be counted. It is a matter of personality and your growth as an individual, and I?ve now decided its time to stop sitting on the fence and to stand up and show who I am. Over the last two years my confidence has developed and I?ve opened up more as a person, and this by turns is reflected in my life and music. I?m growing up. Before I was perhaps too locked in, worrying about whether I was good enough, but it was no use sitting around worrying about it, you just have to get on and do it, to express yourself through your music. I want to make my own musical statement. Also, I now feel ready to present my own compositions. There are five of my tunes on the album, and I?ve written more since. Writing is now becoming a more important focus for me, as well as continuing to develop my playing. I?ve been working hard on my writing, and I hope that my music will reach out and move people on some sort of personal level. How do you feel about doubling, do you focus all your energies through the alto, or will the clarinet make a return? ?No, I don?t really double and have no plans to play jazz clarinet. I did a tour on tenor with a big band, but I don?t know, I just haven?t got into doubling. The alto?s a very difficult instrument to play and find your own voice. If I was going to play the tenor on a serious level, I would have to totally immerse myself with it. I love the tenor so much, that I couldn?t play it for a couple of months and then take it out on the road. I?d have to live with the instrument until I felt it was apart of myself, and I don?t feel I want to put aside the alto to do this. I definitely feel that the alto is my instrument and I just want to go out there and play!? ?Introducing?Christian Brewer? is available direct from Christian by calling 07870 820843, and a review of the album can be found in October?s CD Reviews Top of Page JAZZ BOOKS ? Autobiography of Oscar Peterson A Jazz Odyssey - The Life of Oscar Peterson An Autobiography. Edited by Richard Palmer. The legendary jazz pianist's autobiography has been a work in progress for nearly fifteen years and proves to be well worth the wait. As monumental as the man himself and his six-decade career in jazz, A Jazz Odyssey begins with Peterson's early years in Canada as part of a large family for whom times were often hard, going on to trace in detail not only his musical development but much of the social and political background that underscored it. Peterson's account focuses on his US debut at Carnegie Hall in 1949 and his startling rise as a presence in American jazz, as both a virtuoso and emphatic accompanist. The section on Norman Granz, Peterson's closest friend and manager from his earliest American days, pays tribute to the late impresario's groundbreaking achievements as a concert promoter, record producer and significant civil rights activist, while the section entitled 'Jazz People' logs Peterson's warm and often hilarious reminisences of the innumerable jazz stars he played for and with. Especially notable are his portraits of Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young and Ella Fitzgerald, though his deft and witty sketches of violinist Stuff Smith and trombone genius Bill Harris are hardly less remarkable. Later sections document Peterson's subsequent career as a solo pianist, his three highly successful series for the BBC as a chat-show host on Oscar's Piano Parties, reflections on the many pianos he owned and played and his thoughts on electronic music. The book's final pages are devoted to Peterson's reflections on political matters - racial, musical and Canadian - and on specific aspects of his personal life. A Jazz Odyssey is assuredly one of the finest books written by a jazzman. Its appearence is guaranteed to delight many, anger some and fascinate all. OSCAR PETERSON - THE - AUTHOR Jazz pianist Oscar Peterson is, in the words of Quincy Jones, 'one of the greatest musicians on the planet'. Born in Montreal in 1925 to immigrant parents of West Indian origin, he soon revealed himself to be a musical prodigy. He was still in high teens when he became the star attraction of Canada's leading big band, the renowned Johnny Holmes Orchestra and had just turned twenty when he made his first trio recordings for RCA. During the 1950's he demonstrated another side to his musical genius, becoming a brilliant accompanist for jazz impresario Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic tours and on myriad recording sessions. He was the ideal foil for a host of musicians including Hawkins, Gillespie, Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday. Despite a stroke in 1993, he continues to perform and record, making more music and swinging harder than most pianists in their prime. RICHARD PALMER - THE EDITOR Richard Palmer read English at Cambridge and has a doctorate in American studies from the University of East Anglia. A lifelong jazz fan, he has been a staff writer for Jazz Journal International since the 1970s. His jazz books include monographs on Oscar Peterson (1984), Stan Getz (1988) and Sonny Rollins (1998). Deceptions: The Work of Phillip Larkin will be published in 2003. Richard Palmer is an English teacher, a schools inspector and an advisor to NatWest bank. He lives in Bedford. A JAZZ ODYSSEY - THE ALBUM For a musical companion to this book, look for Oscar Peterson - A Jazz Odyssey, a CD compilation from The Verve Music Group. This collection, selected and with liner notes by Richard Palmer, showcases both Peterson the dazzling keyboard virtuoso and Peterson the supreme accompanist to jazz giants such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and others. Catalogue No. 5897802. Top of Page SUBSCRIBE TO JAZZ VIEWS: Subscribe to JAZZ VIEWS to receive regular email updates on new features and Newsletters. Just complete the form on our Home Page click once on SUBMIT. Top of Page
	Top of Page Copyright ? 2002-2006 Jazzviews