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All For A Beautiful Life? & Stekpanna Interview by Steve Baxter  One thing you notice quite quickly when you visit jazz clubs around the country is the sheer number of good players there are around, from young guys just starting out to those who?ve been knocking around the scene for ages. People you?ve never heard of can often turn out to be as good as (sometimes better than) the more famous names. Dig a little deeper and you start to realise the depth and breadth of their knowledge and experience, even the younger ones, and the amount of dedication and hard work they put in. Yet here they are, lugging their stuff around to obscure destinations, playing in any venue that?ll have them to sparse audiences for a relative pittance, getting home in the middle of the night, then getting up the next day to start hustling more gigs and doing whatever they need to do to make ends meet. Why do they do it? What made them take it up in the first place and what keeps them going? It seemed to me that Steve Kershaw would be a good person to shed some light on the mystery. For one thing, as a bass player, he?s chosen one of the more cumbersome instruments to transport. He?s also got a wealth of experience of playing in different musical and geographical contexts, which is beginning to bear fruit. Stekpanna, the trio he co-leads with Swedish guitarist Mads Kj?lby and Danish drummer Petter Sv?rd, are starting to get noticed, with a prestigious gig recently at London?s Purcell Room and a very favourable review in the Guardian for the new album All for a Beautiful Life (Flat Five GBHCD 010, also reviewed elsewhere on this very site). Mostly, though, it?s because of that beatific grin of satisfaction that frequently crosses his face when he?s playing: it seems that this is a man who?s got things sorted. So what?s the secret?I started off by asking him a bit about his background: why the bass, why jazz etc. Did he come from a musical background? ?My Dad was a keen amateur musician who played piano and trumpet. In fact he made a be-bop record in 1956 and ran a big band up in Yorkshire until he died last year. So there was always jazz in the house. My decision to go for the double bass came from seeing Ray Brown on a TV programme: I was mesmerised by the sound of that fantastic beast of an instrument and by his extraordinary hands, and from then on my mind was made up. I later got to meet him in L.A. and to tell him that he was the reason that I started playing: I got the impression that quite a lot of people had told him the same thing! Nevertheless, it was fantastic to shake those wonderful hands. Once my decision was made I borrowed a beaten up old bass from my school (my teacher described it as a ?sideboard?), and started on my musical adventures.? Early influences and mentors? ?I had inspirational teachers, including Michael Calder, who was principal bass with the Halle Orchestra, got myself into the British Youth Symphony Orchestra (great for technique, reading, and meeting lovely girls!), and started playing in pit orchestras (they gave you money, and if you memorised the music you could watch lovely girls dancing). In Halifax in the 1970s you got your head kicked in if you didn?t play Heavy Metal, so I got a bass guitar and learned to play louder and faster than anyone else. I still remember playing the Princeville Rock Club in Bradford where we performed in between two strippers on a Sunday lunchtime: the audience threw glasses at you just to see if you were hard enough to stay on the stage. I don?t think I?ve ever had stage fright since then!? What were you doing pre-Stekpanna? ?I had almost a decade of blissful mischief playing with a band called The Honkin? Hep Cats, a 40s style jump-jive outfit who created am amiable rumpus wherever they ventured. We played at clubs and festivals all over the place, featured in a couple of films, released a few recordings, and split up because we were too old and too ugly to carry on. I was also doing quite a bit of serious jazz playing by then, and had the chance to play with quite a few of the big names of the UK jazz scene. I played a fair few gigs with Jamie Cullum before he got mega-famous too: we made a duo recording of ?Have You Met Miss Jones? for my wife Lal on our wedding anniversary (yes, I?ve met Miss Jones, now she?s Mrs. Kershaw!). He?s staggeringly talented and a great guy.? I knew from the very informative Stekpanna website (www.stekpanna.com ) that the three of them had got together in Los Angeles, but how and when did they get together? What were they all doing there and what made them decide to form a band?  ?I got to the point where I needed to move to another level musically. I was making a decent living and having a good time, but I needed to do something more creative. There was something about the way that American musicians played ? a relaxed feeling that still maintained incredible drive and intensity ? that I wanted to capture, so I felt that study in the States was the best option. That?s why I went to the Bass Institute of Technology at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, where I met Petter and Mads. We liked playing together and we liked each other, and that musical and personal bond has remained very strong ever since. The name ?Bass Institute of Technology? conjures up images of some soulless chops factory, but it was anything but that: the whole focus was on achieving an individual and honest style of playing, something that remains very important to me now. My own major influences at BIT were Bob Magnusson, one of the kindest people you could ever hope to meet, and one of greatest and most unsung bass players around (he played with Buddy Rich, Horace Silver, Joe Henderson, Anita O'Day, etc.) and Putter Smith, who not only played bass with Thelonious Monk, but is also one of the villains in the Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. How cool is that?!?How did it develop? ?Our big break came we won the Battle of the Bands in L.A. Our prize for winning was a video of the performance, and this helped us to get the record deal with Flat Five Records in the UK. They have released all our CDs (Standin? Tall, Ouch!, Notes from Underground and All for a Beautiful Life) and have supported us terrifically throughout our career. The Russian connection came through the Kaamosjazz Festival in Finland ? without doubt one of the world?s finest jazz events ? where we met pianist Leonid Vintskevitch. Mutual musical admiration developed into personal camaraderie, and before we knew it we were on tour in Russia, playing to audiences of 1000 or so at the Festival Jazz Province.? What?s the state of the jazz scene in Russia? ?The Russian Jazz scene is incredibly vibrant. Leonid is a staggeringly talented pianist (?Solo Pianist of the Year? several times in the old Soviet Union ? that?s serious!) but he had to learn his jazz through tiny snippets gleaned from the Voice of America, the BBC World Service, and whatever records he could get his hands on. I defy anyone to show more commitment to this music than he has done - he once spent an entire three months? wages on a Duke Ellington record! So the Russians bring passion, soul, depth and no little humour to their music, and these days there?s a strong link in the Russian mind between jazz and the freedom of the individual. This music really matters to them, and they play it with an uninhibited attitude that is incredibly exciting. If anyone wants more information about this, I wrote a brief piece for the July/August issue of Jazz Uk, which tells the story of touring in Russia.? Moving on, chronologically speaking, I asked Steve about the Latin from the North project with the Plaza Jazz Trio (George Haslam on baritone, Robin Jones on congas and trumpeter Steve Waterman). Latin from the North was also born at Kaamosjazz, actually. I?ve known George Haslam for some time anyway, but his Plaza Jazz Trio was there at the same time as Stekpanna, and we got talking over a few vodkas and reindeer steaks about how we could turn the -40? cold into something hotter. Why not form a ?double trio? and blend the Nordic cool with the Cuban fire? George is a complete monster on the baritone sax, and his SLAM Records label is responsible for many wonderful recordings; Robin is without question the Godfather of Latin Jazz in the UK; and Steve?s playing is utterly sublime. We?ve done quite a lot with him over the last couple of years, including a very enjoyable couple of weeks in the Caribbean. His playing on our new CD All for a Beautiful Life is quite magnificent.? All 3 seem to me to operate in a ?gunslingers for hire? kind of way - is that fair? Steve is getting pretty well-known now, but the other two also apparently go way back and are involved in various side projects. ?Yes and no, I think! In a sense we?re all ?gunslingers for hire?. That?s how the jazz world works. It?s like one big pool of players who get together for whatever needs doing. You tend to get the gig and then phone up whoever you think will be the most appropriate person for the job ? a bit like selecting a cricket team according to the weather conditions and the state of the pitch. We all have side projects: George tours worldwide, Robin has King Salsa, Steve has just made a fabulous big band recording, Mads has recently released a quartet recording with some brilliant Danish musicians, Petter will be touring with a Reggae band in the autumn, and I?m working on performing ?By the Vaar?, an adagio for double bass and string orchestra by Gavin Bryars, which he originally wrote for Charlie Haden. Finally on this tack, I asked about the Cuban connection with veteran multi-instrumentalist and singer Bobby Carcass?s. Did that come about through Robin Jones? ?No. Through George in fact. Then Bobby stayed with me and Lal during the Latin from the North tour. Lal and Bobby are both painters too, so our house became a hothouse of creativity. Bobby just wanted to keep the good vibes going and get us over to Cuba.? When I spoke to Bobby myself last year, I sensed he was a bit brassed off with the Irakere supremo Chucho Valdes for taking over the Havana Festival and monopolising it for his own connections to the exclusion of others (like yourselves!). Was I right? ?I?ll say he was! I might be wrong here, but think it boils down to the fact that Cuban musicians are employed by the State. Despite the impression given by the Buena Vista Social Club success, past a certain age they seem to get pensioned off, and Bobby is far too vibrant a character to let this happen to him without a fight. Essentially Bobby started the Havana Jazz Festival and Chucho took it over, but obviously Bobby still carries a bit of clout. But I have to confess that Cuban politics are inscrutable to me!? Yet you obviously got the invite. ?Yeah! The day the letter arrived was one of the great ones. Imagine getting this in the post: So you finally made it to Cuba: what was it like playing there? Where did you go, what did you do, and what music did you manage to catch? ?Without doubt this was a life-changing experience. The first gig was in Santa Clara at the Teatro de Caridad, with us and a Cuban big band (standard line-up plus five percussion players!). It was the second most scary gig after the Princeville in Bradford, but had the greatest high afterwards. We played other gigs in Havana at the Teatro de Bellas Artes, the Anfiteatro del Parque Almendares, the Casa de Cultura and the Teatro Nacional. Cuban musicians just show up on stage and start jamming right there, and the audience get right up there with you. It?s brilliant! We got to play with members of the Buena Vista Social Club, and saw some stormingly good acts ? a raging Salsa band called Bamboleo sticks in the mind, along with a bassist who also played a full percussion set at the same time as his bass guitar (looked fabulous, sounded hideous!). The Cubans were incredibly hospitable. They entertained us in their homes, took us around the island, and made us feel unbelievably welcome. And there?s so much music there! They dance in bus queues (even if there?s no music) and they have bands at petrol stations. You can?t fail to get intoxicated with it.? Getting back to Stekpanna, I next asked about the logistics of playing and recording together given that they work out of 3 different countries. ?We try to look on the positive side of this. If two people have to get on aeroplanes to do a gig, it has to be worthwhile! This means that we tend to do tours, festivals or bigger gigs. The downside is not being able to pop round to Petter?s house for a beer very easily (although I did once drive all the way to Denmark for a rehearsal)!? Are Stekpanna?s collaborations with others a recognition of the limitations of the format? ?Not so much a worry about limitations, because we love the trio format, but more an acknowledgement of the positive benefits others can bring. The contributions of Ed Jones and Steve Waterman to All for a Beautiful Life are fabulous, and our collaborations with Leonid and Nikolay Vintskevitch are part of an ongoing process, but fundamentally we see Stekpanna as a self-contained entity to which we can ?bolt on? any excellent musician without losing our signature sound. Anyone who fancies a blow is more than welcome to join us!? I?d noticed from Steve?s email address that he was Dr. Kershaw and wondered what kind of doctor he was - was he perhaps another one like Art Themen, who has famously combined a distinguished medical career with an equally impressive musical one? If so, what kind of decisions and compromises were/are involved? ?No, I?m not a medical doctor. Actually I have a PhD in Classics, and I?m a tutor for Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. If you fancy studying Greek Myth, Latin or Cleopatra next academic year, or coming on a Swan Hellenic Cruise to North Africa, I?m your man! Compromises sometimes have to be made of course, but on the whole things work out OK ? the ancient world by day, jazz by night. I never really made conscious decisions about this because each side of my career just evolved on its own path.? How much of your time is taken up with music? In general, I?m always fascinated by the day-to-day business of being a professional jazz musician. It?s clearly almost impossible for most to survive just on playing jazz, and everyone has his/her own way of making it work. What?s yours? ?I try to balance the three big areas of my life as best I can: jazz; classics; wife and dog. Priorities shift according to various deadline pressures, but I wouldn?t ever want to sacrifice any of them. Thankfully Lal is fantastically supportive (and a ruthless critic!) and understands the artistic side of things, and give and take on that side of life is essential. Everything else pretty much works itself out. Just every now and then I get totally knackered!? Some musicians are obviously more comfortable with self-promotion than others. Ex-pat American bass player Tom Hill said in a previous Jazz Views interview that to really make it you need to be down in London ?schmoozing the agents and critics?, or words to that effect. So how involved is Steve in the promotional side of things? ?I think Stekpanna is a different thing to what Tom was talking about. For a start, we do many more gigs abroad than we do in Britain. I?m very involved in the promotion of Stekpanna, but I hate doing it. I?d much rather practise, play cricket, walk the dog, drink fine malt whisky or lie on a beach in Greece with Lal. But that?s jazz: if you want to do nice gigs you?ve got to work at it!? Beyond simply being able to play the music you want to, do you have ambitions for Stekpanna to be better known? ?Of course, but the issues are complex. Being better known opens up the kind of opportunities that we?d really like to have. We recently performed at the Purcell Room in London, which was terrific, and I know it?s a hideous clich?, but I think Stekpanna courts respect much more than fame. At the moment we can play to anything between a normal UK jazz club and 1500 people in a Russian concert hall, and obviously it would be nice to play to more people and sell more CDs. But what really matters is communication ? are we making connections with the listeners or not? Whatever the answer, it really doesn?t matter who you are or how many people are present: you can play a blinding gig to 10 people and really suck in front of a thousand; a local band can delight the village pub and Herbie Hancock can disappoint the Royal Festival Hall. The crucial thing is getting the music across to the audience, not the numbers of bums on seats. ? Even more generally, are you optimistic about the future of jazz in the UK? ?I?m an optimist anyway, but yes, I am optimistic. There?s so much talent around (I teach kids who are far better than I ever was at their age), and there?s so much commitment in the clubs at grass roots level from organisers and audiences that you can?t help but look on the bright side. We have a thriving festival scene and the European tradition of contemporary Jazz is bringing some superb music to our ears. My one slight worry concerns conservatism amongst bookers and public alike, at all levels from major festivals to local pubs: just because you haven?t heard of it doesn?t mean it?s not worth hearing - take more chances everyone, or the music will die!? Are things getting easier or harder? ?Difficult to tell, except that the older I get, the harder it gets to play a big ungainly instrument like the double bass. So I play less. And it sounds so much better!? So, somewhere in there I think we have the answer to the question posed at the beginning. In fact I could probably have come up with it before even doing this interview ( though of course it would have been considerably less interesting). OK, I know this is a corny ending, and Steve?s already cunningly managed to slip in three or four plugs for the album, but here goes anyway: if you want to know about the motivation that keeps Steve Kershaw, and probably many other jazz musicians, going, well it?s ... All for a Beautiful Life.  Latest album from the band, highly inventive playing from the trio and featuring special guests Steve Waterman (trumpet & flugel) and Ed Jones (tenor sax). Stekapanna trio & Vintskevich duo This is a superb collaboration between Stekpanna and piano player Leonid Vintskevich and his son sax-player Nikolai Vintskevich. Contempoary jazz of the highest order. Latin Jazz project uniting the hip Nordic cool of Stekpanna with the fiery horns and percussion of The Plaza Jazz Trio. The music features sizzling blend of great compositions, vibrant improvisation and infectious rhythms played by the trio plus Steve Waterman (Trumpet & Flugelhorn) George Haslam (Baritone Saxophone) and Robin Jones (Percussion). "Latin from the North" is on the SLAM record label. (CD no.SLAMCD 321) The second album from the trio, featuring the bands take on James Brown?s classic pop song ?I Feel Good?. Featuring guest appearances from saxophonists Ed Jones and Andy Sheppard. And here is where it all started?on album at least. The bands debut album that already displays that strong group interplay, inventiveness and overall joy in making music. For more information check out the Stekapnna website at www.stekpanna.com |
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