PACHI TAPIZ - What are
your childhood musical memories?
NOBU STOWE - My parents
made me take piano lessons at 3 years old.
I remember not liking the
practice in the beginning… then I gradually got to love the piano. But I was never destined to become a concert
pianist… because I would never manage to practice 8-12 hours a day!
My parents
did not listen to jazz… but they
listened to classical music, movie soundtracks and 'ethnic' music… from Europe… Spain,
Italy (Canzone), and
especially France (Chanson)
as well as… from South America (folklore), Brazil
and Asia… India,
China and of course, Japan.
My first
music heroes were J S Bach, Chopin and Beethoven. I played some of their compositions. I started to compose when I was around 6
years old… some short classical inspired pieces… and some vocal songs. Quality is not high… but listening back some of my earliest compositions… I
can see melody has always been the biggest
element in my music.
My first
band was Do-jins (which means "Natives" in Japanese) that I formed
with my friends in the Boy Scouts. This
was when I was 8-10 years old. It was
kind of a joke band: there were older
kids in Boy Scouts who wanted to form a band.
We did not perform much except in Boyscout activities (camping,
etc). I played the piano, percussion and
sang (along with other guys). I have one
tape of Do-jins… and it somehow sounds interesting… kind of primitive ethnic
music… but of course, quality is not
high.
Around when
I was 10-11 years old… I really got into The Beatles. The Beatles remained to be my music heros
till I started getting into progressive rock in high school (15 years old or
so). I collected all of the Beatles
albums plus solo albums of the members… and also got into the music of other beat groups… Stones, Who, Kinks etc etc…
mostly British… but also Bob Dylan and some other Americans (Byrds, Doors,
Beach Boys etc). But I was not into Japanese pop/rock
musicians.
I formed a
band called "The Moons" with the fellow Do-jins, Eisin Hirata. Eisin was a good lyricist… and with him I
started to compose songs in the style of The Beatles. I played the guitar/piano/vocal, Eishin
played guitar… and we were joined by my class mate in the junior high school… Honyo Ohte, who decided to play the drums.
Then we
entered high school… Ohte and I went to the same high school, but Eisin went to
a different school. Around this time,
Eisin's and my musical tastes started to go apart… I started getting heavily
into progressive rock… first with British (e.g., YES, King Crimson, Pink Floyd
etc)… then discovered great
Europeans… Italians (PFM, Banco, AREA, New Trolls etc), Germans (Tangerine
Dream, Popol Vuh, Kraftwerk), French (Ange, Atoll etc), Spanish (CAI, Triana,
Granada, Los Canarios etc) and many others… Scandinavians, Russians etc. etc…
also Latin Americans. Ohte liked
progressive rock as well… but Eisin wanted to play in more vocal-oriented
British rock style. So we disbanded The
Moons.
In my
school, there was this excellent classical guitarist, Takashi Kanai, who also
happened to like progressive rock. So
with Ohte and Kanai, I formed a progressive rock trio, Pale Ghosts. I played
key/g/b/vo, Kanai played g/b and Ohte played the drums. I took the word "Pale" from the Procol Harum Song "A Whiter Shade of Pale"
and put it with something illusionary… "Ghosts"… hence Pale
Ghosts. Pale Ghosts
was mostly a studio band… but managed to play a few gigs… and those were all
well received… (we were the only progressive rock band around my hometown… by
the way… !...this was in late 80's).
After the
high school, I came to the US
to go to college… University of California, at Berkeley. But I kept Pale Ghosts alive… and often went
back to Japan
(at least twice year). I studied both music (composition) and psychology. I
also started to play with American musicians in college… but my tastes were
heavily influenced by Europeans… and was not
so big on the American style of the music… including jazz… at that time. Based on
the strength of demo, Pale Ghosts, was offered several contracts… but I
foolishly rejected all offers!
Because I expected SONY will call me any day… ! (of course that never
happened… !!!)
Around the
time I was graduating from college… my interests gradually shifted from
progressive rock to more fusion/jazz. This shift
occured gradually. Even though I listened to some jazz albums in high school… Kind Of Blue, A Love Supreme etc… I never really appreciated these music in the beggining. In college,
I discovered Chick Corea's playing in the original version of "Spain"
with Airto Moreira/Flora Purim/Joe Farrell/Stanley Clarke… I was shocked!...and felt… well... I needed to
practice the piano much harder!
So I
started listening to fusion first… along the way, I discovered Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett… but it
did NOT speak to me immediately… then I discovered My Song… especially the song "Country"… by the European
Quartet… Jarrett/Garbarek/Danielson/Christensen… and I was very very shocked !!! So I credit
Keith and his song "Country" for really getting me into jazz… Then, I
started to collect all of Jarrett and related albums… and gradually I
understood what Jazz is about… Because of
Keith, I also started to practice total improvisation… or fully improvised
music… but with definite melodies/harmonic/rhythm structures all spontaneously
'composed'… as opposed to 'sound-exploration' à la free-improv. Obviously,
Keith Jarrett has been the main influence on my style… But I have some practice
tape from my teenage years where I tried to compose on the piano… which somehow
turned into improvisation. From these
early tapes, I can already hear the elements of total improvisation… and my
musical carácter. So I think at least part of the reasons why Keith's music
resonated with me so much was that I already had something similar in me… and
in the music of Keith Jarrett, I was able to hear the 'something' already
realized… i.e., melody/harmony/rhythm in spontaneous compostion or total
improvisation.
© 2008 Eisuke Koya
PACHI TAPIZ - You were born in Japan,
but you currently live in the USA.
What took you there?
NOBU STOWE - Please see
above… but there is this funny store. I decided
to go to the US
when I was still in junior high (13-15).
Well… I wanted to be a rock star… ! My parents
are rather conservative… although they are open to music. If I told them that I would go to the US to
be a rock star, they would have never allowed me… I also liked psychology… So I told my parents
that I wanted to go to the US
to study both music and psychology. Because of
Dr. Timothy Leary (the LSD guru)… I knew of UC Berkeley (where Dr. Leary
received his Ph.D). And I had also heard of Berklee School of music… and at least initially… I confused UC Berkeley with Berklee School of
Music… and thought… well… if I go to "Berkeley", I can study both psychology
and music! (and Berkeley is a famous academic school… and so I bet my parents would go for the idea… !) Of course,
I knew Berkeley is different from Berklee… before I came here… but I went on to study both
psychology and music at UC Berkeley!
PACHI TAPIZ - You're also a psychologist. Does it influence
in the way you approach to play jazz?
NOBU STOWE - I think it
does… but it's hard to express. The way
I conceptualize music is very psychological… also especially in my writings
about JAZZ.
PACHI TAPIZ - You seem very interested in music all over the
World. Who are your favourite european jazz players…
NOBU STOWE - Django
Reinhardt, Michel Petrucciani, Joachim Kühn, Aldo Romano, Enrico Rava, Jan Garbarek, Jon Christensen, Pierre Favre,
Jean François Jenny-Clark, Daniel Humair, Jacques Loussier, René Thomas, Eddie
Louiss, John Surman, Tete Montoliu and many
others!
PACHI TAPIZ - You said you know some Spanish prog-rock bands,
but do you know any Spanish jazz players?
NOBU STOWE - Alter
discovering "jazz" through
the music of Keith Jarrett, I started to buy many jazz albums around the globe…
not only from the US, but
also from other countries… especially from Europe. As I was already familiar with European 'pop'
music through progressive rock, it was only natural for me to get into European
players. Also, my background as a
classical pianist was (is) surely playing a BIG role in this. Before
Keith Jarrett, I already knew Paco de Lucia through his collaborations with
John McLaughlin/Al di Meola.
Then, I
discovered Tete Montoliu first… through introductory jazz books in
Japanese. So I tried several of his
albums… mostly 70's stuff… on Steeplechase or Enja. I like his music very much. My favorite track by Tete would be… his
rendition of the Blossom Dearie song "Sweet Georgie Fame" from the
album Catalonian Fire. At the same
time, I also bought the duo album Spain by Tomatito and Michel Camilo… and liked it too.
I also bought some albums by Chano Domínguez and also saw him live when
he came to Chicago Jazz Festival.
Recently, I
discovered the wonderful drumming of Ramón López. I chose the album Kalimba… with Joachim Kuhn and
Majid Bekkas… as my best international
album of 2007 for Jazz Tokyo.
But
compared to other European scenes in Germany,
France and Italy… my knowledge of Spanish Jazz
is still limited… unfortunately.
Nobu Stowe - Lee Pembleton Project Hommage An Klaus Kinski (Soul Note, 2007)
Cover painting by Honyo Ohte
PACHI TAPIZ - One of your last recordings is the totally
improvised recording Hommage An Klaus
Kinski with Lee Pembleton. How would you describe your creative approach to
this particular duo. What are your references (groups, music, musicians… ) when
you develop it?
NOBU STOWE - I started
to play total-improvisation… at least consciously… while I was in Chicago. So I have been doing it for about 10
years. Of course, I was inspired by
Keith Jarrett's solo improvisations. But
as I wrote… I was already doing somehting similar even when I was very
young. Also, I feel total-improvisation
is really an extension of composition… and fitting into my compositional style:
my compositions, usually just 'come' almost in a complete form. I hardly compose a song parts-by-parts…
rather I tend to compose the entire composition at once.
In public,
I started to practice total-improvisation with a drummer. This is because… I know I am not at the level of Keith Jarrett and so
I need a help… to me, a drummer (or percussionist) can give this help without
sacrificing my harmonic/melodic freedom… and often enhance my rhythmic sense
too. I have
practiced this "group" total-improvisation with reed players and
guitarists… and it works rather easily… given the players know "how to
listen".
To me
bassists are the most difficult
partners to practice total-improvisations.
Because total-improvisation sometimes/often requires tonal (as opposed atonal) harmonic
progression… and it is very hard to catch each other's chord progression with a
bassist. There is only one bassist
(Vytis Nivinskas) with whom I can do total-improvisation rather easily… but
only when we are on.
I met Lee
while in Chicago…
Lee specializes in 'Sound'… without any musical notes… he is coming from the
"musique concrète" tradition. And importantly, he can also
improvise on the spot using wide arrays/combinations of sounds. The
total-improv with Lee works thus well… because his sound does not impose any restriction on
melody/harmony/rhythm… so I can go pretty much anywhere.
Total-Improvisation on Sonic Canvas is a
variant of Total-Improvisation. It was
my idea to draw the 'painting' of Total-Improvisation on the canvas provided by
Lee's sound. So in a way… the
improvisation (for me) is reactive…
rather than initiative… but of
course, this is not always the
case.
PACHI TAPIZ - In this recording all pieces are spontaneously
composed or improvised, but the last one… Why did you decide to play a version
of such a classic as "''Round Midnight"?
NOBU STOWE - I am
inclined to cover many styles as long as some consistency is maintained for the
entire album. This
inclination explains the varied style within Hommage an Klaus
Kinski. But "'Round Midnight" was totally unplanned. I was not
planning to play this song when I started to playing. I heard the sound which Lee Pembleton started
to play… and somehow chose D-sharp minor chords to go with the sound… then the
atmosphere somehow reminded me of "'Round Midnight" (it is in the key of D-sharp minor). So I started to play the standard… but Lee
Pembleton and Ross Bonadonna had no
idea what I was going to play.
Having been
a professional musician for his life… Ross Bonadonna soon caught what I was
playing. So Ross started to play along
with me. But Lee… who is less experienced
in 'jazz'… did not know what song we
were playing till I told him (after the performance) that we just played
"'Round Midnight"!… So it was
very spontaneous thing (which I value the most… especially in this kind of
freely improvised music). I admit there
are some rough spots (for example, some perhaps noticed that I missed a chord
for the 2nd theme). But I
thought the overall sound/mood is fitting to the rest of the album. So I decided to include it in the album.
I think it
worked rather well… and my intention is to include at least one pre-composed
song (either standard or original) in each of my fully improvised album. For
example, in my next Soul Note album, An Die Musik, which
is another fully improvised album,
there is a version of my original "Pochi" (dedicated to my cat
Pochi!)
© 2008 Eisuke Koya
PACHI TAPIZ - You were talking about bassists… who are your
favourite bass players? Which bassists you'll like to play total improvisation
with?
NOBU STOWE - My
favourite bassists are Gary Peacock and Jean-François Jenny-Clark… and of course, Scott
LaFaro. I also dig Arild Andersen, Miroslav Vitous, Dave Holland, Glen Moore et
al… I tend to like bassists who cannot only provide strong rhythmic
pulse/groove/swing… but who can also act as the secondary voice to the piano
and upper instruments. But I also like
people like Percy Heath, Pierre Michelot, Sam Jones, Doug Watkins, Paul
Chambers… who can provide a very good
groove/swing feeling.
It is
always tricky to play total-improvisation with a bassist. This is so even if the bassist is the giant
like Gary Peacock… if you compare Keith Jarrett's solo vs. trio
total-improvisations, you can tell Keith is more 'free' in solo setting.
It is not easy to create spontaneous tonal-chordal progression… and expect the
bassist will catch you on the spot (or you catch with your left hand, what the
bassist is playing).
One of my
favorite Jarrett/Peacock/DeJohnette tracks is "On Green Dolphin
Street" from the complete Blue Note Live boxed set. I love this track for the special "extension"… spontaneous
melodic and tonal improvisation of the trio managed to carry… Keith is not playing so many chords here… but
still… Gary was
so quick to get the tonal chordal progression and Jack provides very nice
fitting groove. But… this
is very hard even for the masters like Jarrett/Peacock/DeJohnette.
I would
like to try total-improvisation, of course, with Gary Peacock… but also with
Vytis Nivinskas. Vytis is a
superlative bassist from Lithuania who is a protégé of Vladimir Chekasin of Ganelin Trio. I met Vytis in Chicago… he came there to get Master degree
in Music. He and I had a trio called
Outside In… which is basically precursor to my current trio Trio Ricochet. Now he teaches at Vilnius Conservatory. His
idols are Miroslav Vitous and Arild Andersen et al. Vytis has
one album Saga on the Lithuanian label, Semplice. This
album was recorded by the group of the same name… "Saga"… consting of 3
other marvellous players from Lithuania: Andre Pabarčiūtė — voice, piano; Liudas
Mockūnas — reeds; Vytis Nivinskas — double-bass: Marius Aleksa — drums.
Vytis and I
have already tried total-improvisation together… and since we played it for a
while, we managed to learn some tricks… though it is still rather hard (i.e.,
we are more restrained to play chordal progression compared to without the
piano/bass).I have some
plans with Vytis for the future… so hopefully, that will happen soon.
PACHI TAPIZ - You have a piano jazz trio called Trio
Ricochet. Why did you choose that name?
NOBU STOWE - In fact
Trio Ricochet is my main project… and currently, the only composition-oriented
project of mine. Before moving to
Baltimore, I had a similar trio in Chicago called Outside-In Trio with Vytis Nivinskas (b) and Dan Bales
(Drs). This trio was disbanded because I
moved to Baltimore, Vytis went to NYC (now back
to Lithuania) and Dan joined
Fire-dancers performing in Las Vegas.
After
relocating to Baltimore,
I placed an add in local newspaper looking for a bassist and a drummer. The drummer Alan Munshower responded… and
said he has a roommate Tyler Goodwin who is a good bassist. Alan and Tyler are originally from Connecticut and friends
since elementary school. Alan came
to Baltimore to go to college, while Tyler joined Alan later… to attend Peabody Institute
(Conservatory) in Baltimore. Tyler
wanted to study classical double-bass.
I went down
to their house… and did an audition and found out they are in fact good
musicians. So I decided to form the
trio… but I am always bad at naming
my bands. I did not want to use Nobu Stowe Trio… because I wanted to make it more
democratic. So I asked Alan to come up a
good name… Alan suggested Ricochet Trio… because 'richochet' in his mind had a
good connotation. I though that sounded
a bit dull… so I suggested to change the order… to Trio Ricochet… and sounded
better. But there
is no serious meaning behind this
name!
© 2008 Eisuke Koya
PACHI TAPIZ - Why did you decide to base your work on
compositions?
NOBU STOWE - Composition
is in fact my main project… ever
since I started playing in a band in elementary school. Of course, we did some compulsory cover
songs… I have been always the primary composer to all of my projects… till just
a few years ago… when I 'discovered' that it is much easier to record/release
with fully improvised projects.
For
composition projects, it usually takes a while even for a good musician to
'master' my compositions. This is
partially because my songs are not
necessarily simple and also partially because I do not want to write down every arrangement… for jazz, I always prefer
'spontaneity' over 'tight/sophisticated arrangements' (besides I am terrible at
transcribing music…!)
For fully
improvised music, all I do is to 'set the basic frame work' or the "topic"… for example, the topic for Hommage An Klaus Kinski was… Jarrett-type melodic improv meets
chamber-free a la Giuffre/Bley/Konitz
on sonic canvas… for my upcoming album An
Die Musik (Soul Note, due June 2008) with Alan Mushower (drs) and Badal Roy
(tabla), the topic was simpler… Jarrett-type melodic improv with helps from
drums/tabla.
Other than
these topics… I tried to everything to the 'moments' and the interplay between
each musicians involved. So I guess… my improvisation is not totally-free
per se… it is free within a frame work. I am not fond of very loose free-improvisation lacking 'focus'… so I use the 'frame
work' or topic to set the focus… but I still try to leave the frame work/topic
somewhat open to invite spontaneity.
PACHI TAPIZ - Are you planning to record with the Ricochet Trio?
NOBU STOWE - I hope
so. In fact, several labels have
interested in this project. But since
this project is dearest to my heart (and also the "preparation" has
already taken much more time than fully improvised projects), I am most 'picky'
about the deal… and consequently, I have not yet sealed a deal with any label…!
PACHI TAPIZ - What are your next projects?
NOBU STOWE - My next
release will be An Die Musik from
Soul Note (due June 2008). The album was
recorded at An die Musik
in Baltimore
with the drummer Alan Munshower and the tabla master Badal Roy who participated
in Miles Davis's On The Corner among
other projects. The music is basically
my 'Jarrett-inspired' solo piano improvisation (total-improvisation) with drums
and tablas. It is very melodic and
tonal… and perhaps closest to my 'natural' tendency as 'inside' player. I think the album would appeal to not only to
Jarrett fans… but also to fans of ethnic-tinged jazz/improv of Oregon and Pat Metheny
et al.
I have 2
more recordings ready to be released.
The first is Confusion Bleue
recorded at Wombat Studio (Brooklyn) in July
2007. I recorded this with Lee Pembleton
(sound), Ross Bonadonna (g/as), Tyler Goodwin (b) and Ray Sage. It is an extension of my 2 albums on Konnex (Brooklyn Moments and New York Moments)… with extroverted
inside/outside approach (e.g., Keith Jarrett + Cecil Taylor)… but perhaps more
'mature'. I am very happy with the results and am convinced that Ross Bonadonna
is the best kept secret in the NY scene.
Ross is in his early has been a professional musicians since age 16 and
is the owner/engineer of Wombat Studio where I have recorded most of my
works. Ross has albums on Clean Feed (Tangled Tango with Ethan Winograd) and is in the trio of
Erik "Charles' Son" Mingus.
Ross co-produced Erik's new album on Intuition.
The other
recording ready to be released in still untitled… but it was recorded in
January 2008 with Lee Pembleton (sound), Ross Bonadonna (bs/as/syn/g) and Jason
Bivins (g). Jason is an active critic
who contributes to Cadence, Signal to Noise and Dusted Magazine. He also happens to be an excellent guitarist
in the tradition of Keith Rowe/Derek Bailey/Bill Frisell and also a professor
of Comparative Religious Studies at North
Carolina State University. The concept of this album
was "AMM + Keith Jarrett".
Finally, I
really would like to record/release officially the music of my piano trio (Trio
Ricochet). Several labels have shown
interests in this project. However,
since this is my 'baby' project and most successful… at least bookings-wise (the
trio managed to play at Blue Note
NY, Knitting Factory and the
Smithsonian Institute all in a short period)… I am most picky about the
deal. Consequently, I have not yet
reached an agreement with any label.
Nobu Stowe & Alan Munshower with Badal Roy An die Music (Soul Note, 2008)
Cover painting by Honyo Ohte
PACHI TAPIZ - Any plans to play live in Europe and/or Spain?
NOBU STOWE - No definite
plans yet, unfortunately. But my label,
Soul Note, is looking for a promoter… so hopefully, I will have a proper agent
in Europe soon! I may be able to go to Italy this summer to attend some
festivals there. This will be through my
trio with Andrea Centazzo and Perry Robinson, which released The Soul In The Mist (Ictus) last
summer. I am not so sure about my playing on this album… however, I believe it
is perhaps the best album to appreciate the sadly under-appreciated clarinet
mastery of Perry Robinson and the compositional skills of Andrea Centazzo who
is know more through his high level improvisation works with Steve Lacy, Derek
Bailey, John Zorn, Pierre Favre, Albert Mangelsdorff et al.
PACHI TAPIZ - You recently interviewed Keith Jarrett. Was it
very difficult to get that interview and having it done? Mr. Jarrett seems to
be very special... What is the most intense interview you've done?
NOBU STOWE - I have had
the pleasure to interview my music heroes for Jazz Tokyo. I have already interviewed Gary Peacock, Bill
Frisell and Keith Jarrett and am schedule to interview Michel Legrand and Gato
Barbieri. But it was only last Summer
(2007) when I started writing about jazz.
This is all thanks to the encouragements and opportunities given by the
editor-in-chief of Jazz Tokyo.
Inaoka-san (this is how I call him: "san" is Mr/Ms/Miss/Mrs in
Japanese) is a famous producer and book author in Japan with very extensive
connections. Without Inaoka-san's
support, all of my interviews probably never happened/happens… especially that
with Keith Jarrett… !
Inaoka-san
was the original ECM Japan Manager with Kenwood (the Japanese audio maker)
which distributed the German label to Japan throughout the 70's to the
early 80s. Thus, he has also been a
personal friend of Manfred Eicher and Steve Lake
for a long time… and importantly knows Keith well too. In fact,
Inaoka-san even produced one video project involving Keith in the 80's. It was a video picture of Japan shot from the sky. Keith and his son Gabriel (per) added the
fully improvised soundtrack to the picture under Inaoka-san's production. This video (DVD) is still available in Japan.
Keith
Jarrett is my 'god' at the piano… so to speak… and of course, I was a bit
nervous. But I guess that I proved
myself to be a well-studied pupil of Keith… ! In the interview, we covered a lot
of subjects and I was glad to know that Keith and I share many similar views
about the music. Consequently, the
interview went very well and much longer than we originally planned. The interview is now published at Jazz Tokyo… but unfortunately,
they are in Japanese only.
I had
expected my interview with Keith Jarrett to be the most intense… but as I said,
it went pretty smoothly. So far I just
had a lot of fan interviewing my heroes… and do not recall any 'intense' moment… yet… !
PACHI TAPIZ - Can you make a list of Jarrett favourites?
NOBU STOWE - I will
choose 5 best albums and 10 best songs.
ALBUMS
(order irrelevant):
- My Song – This is my most favorite jazz
album!
- Survivor's Suite – One of the best in inside/outside
approach. Especially, 'Conclusion'.
- Vienna Concert – Perhaps, the most accomplished total-improvisation ever.
- Still Live – For the thrilling interplay.
- Up for It – For the joyous interplay.
SONGS
(order irrelevant, except "Country"):
- "Country" (from My Song) – The song "started" my jazz carrier.
- "Lucky Southern" (from Free by Airto Moreira) – One of the best
'pop' songs by Keith Jarrett.
- "Part IIc" (from Köln Concert) – Perfect example of Jarrett's
"Song-oriented" Total-Improvisation.
- "Conclusion" (from Survivor's Suite) – Masterpiece of
inside/outside playing.
- "Sunshine Song" (from Nude Ants) – One of the best small combo
performance.
- "God Bless the Child" (from Standards Vol. 1 – The Album)
- Unusual, yet totally spontaneous arrangement which shined a new light
into this Billie Holiday standard.
- "Prism" (from Standards Vol. 1 – The Video) - For the beauty of the song and the
performance.
- "I Remember Clifford" (from Still Live) – Minimum notes, but deepest
emotional expression.
- "On Green Dolphin Street" (from Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note: The Complete Recordings) –
The best spontaneous trio improvisation ever captured… listen to the incredible
"extension."
- "The Wind" (from Paris Concert) – For the sheer beauty of the performance…
especially the Grass-like intro.
Más información sobre Nobu Stowe
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