Latch Music's Ezine #10
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* "The Zine" content is contributed by Dave Latchaw and colleagues who use the Internet to promote their musical projects. You can check out previous issues at "The Zine" Archives.
- Article: "Am I A Jazz Musician?" by Dave Latchaw
- Guest Artist: Sandhya Sanjana - A wonderful blend of Indian and Western influences.
- Featured Web Site: Classical Music of India
- Featured Web Video: Ravi Shankar
- CD Pick: Tribal Tech "Rocket Science"
Am I A Jazz Musician?
by Dave Latchaw
What is a jazz musician? What is jazz? Can you teach jazz? Ask 10 people and you will get 10 different answers. For over 20 years I have been immersed in the process of being a musician. Playing, studying and teaching "Jazz" has been the primary direction of my musical adventure. The more I learn about "Jazz", the harder it is for me to say specifically what it is. "Jazz" to me seems more tangible as a concept or spirit in playing, rather than a specific thing. "Jazz" has so many influences and is so constantly changing that it surprises me how many musicians and fans say with absolute conviction that "Jazz" is this or "Jazz" is that. Is Willie Nelson singing Stardust or Herbie Hancock playing a Nirvana tune "Jazz"? Is Woody Herman more a "Jazz" musician than Anthony Braxton? Who is the better "Jazz" guitarist, Allan Holdsworth or Joe Pass? Does being able to say "Jazz" is this or that, or he is or isn't a "Jazz" musician even matter?
As a music educator I am okay with being able to break down "Jazz" music for descriptive purposes. I think if you are describing a gig, a band or a recording as being "Free Jazz", " Jazz Rock" or "World Jazz", that is cool. Most people would be able to understand what you were talking about from a genre description. Although getting into the scene of saying one thing is "Jazz" and another is not is a completely tedious bore. Some will say that Dixieland is the only true form of "Jazz", others will say it is Bebop. I guess these people are just passionate about their own musical trip, which is cool. But when a "Jazz" musician or "Jazz" music fan feels the need to be dismissive of the other sub-genres of "Jazz", they come across as being insecure or self-righteous rather than knowledgeable.
Society and mass consumerism seems to be more comfortable when they can label everything into nice neat little packages. If picking only one genre underneath the umbrella of "Jazz" makes me a jazz musician, I'd rather not be one. I'd rather be known as an improvising musician who explores all directions. Improvisation is the one unifying factor in all the genres under the "Jazz Umbrella". If I had to pick only one direction in "Jazz" I would find that limiting, but that's just me. Nothing against artists and fans who immerse themselves in one particular kind of jazz. It's great that some people can and will just focus on one narrow aspect of jazz. We need these people to carry on the historical aspects and traditions of every certain kind of "Jazz". But, is that being a "Jazz" musician or a "Jazz" historian/preservationist?
When I teach students who want to play "Jazz", I find it to be an interesting challenge. I believe that if I just teach licks, I'm not aiding the "Jazz" cause. I am just teaching the student to mimic my perception of how to play. A useful knowledge of harmony is the issue that is usually most problematic for musicians that take that first step into the "Jazz" arena. I am always keen to show how I approach playing any certain style of "Jazz". As a music educator though, I feel I need to make sure the student has the technical and harmonic facility that will allow them to develop their own voice within the stylistic confines of any given genre of "Jazz", or any other kind of music. If a student has the tools to analyze the musical tendencies of any genre of music, then music is a wide open world. This will allow the student to follow their own direction, be an innovator, historian, or whatever, which in the long run is healthier for all music. The goal for all educators should be to get your students to a place where they don't need you anymore.
Being an improvising musician allows me to explore all possible directions of jazz and any other music that I find interesting, past, present and future. It seems to me that when "Jazz" musicians are open to wide variety of music, they also increase the depth of their musical voice and gigging potential. If Dixieland is your passion as a musician, great for you. As a gigging musician you will have to hope that whatever region you live in also has a following for Dixieland! Jazz has it trends regionally and globally. If the masses were to stop thinking that the "Pop Jazz" of Kenny G is cool, and they started to buy the "Jazz Rock" of Allan Holdsworth by the millions, Kenny G would either have to adapt to the new musical direction, or be left out. (In a perfect world...)*** The improvising musician should be able to carry their voice across genres seamlessly. Miles Davis is a great example of what I think the "Improvising" musician is all about. He was able to have his own distinct voice in every genre of "Jazz" that he performed in. Miles was also one who was always on the cutting edge of developing several of the sub-genres of the "Jazz" of today. I doubt that Miles would think that because he changed directions with his music, he somehow stopped being a "Jazz" musician. He just played and went where he wanted with his music. What a cool place to be!
When dealing with music, just dig what you dig. You'll either be open to new ideas and directions or not. Lighten up and remember that music is a cool thing in all it's forms. The world is already filled with too much prejudice, let's not perpetuate negative attitudes about music. It is a challenge sometimes, but there is room for all music in this musical world.
*** (I'm still trying not to be musically biased........ it's a challenge!!!!)
Sandhya Sanjana
#1 Where can people find out more about you and your Internet activities?
On www.sandhyasanjana.com and of course www.mp3.com/sandhyasanjana and now also www.mp3.com/indianmusiccollect.
#2 How did studying Indian classical vocals with several gurus and absorbing the styles of various "gharanas" affect your music of today?
I love music in every form and style and have heard a lot of it. When I sing, I guess many of the things I have loved filter through my consciousness. Since Indian classical vocals were a big part of my musical training, they are reflected in my singing. The study of Indian vocals is an oral traditional. This means you learn through listening and imitating your teacher. This fine tunes the listening and absorbing power of the student. Probably this makes me a person with wide open ears who can appreciate many genres of music.
#3 What was it like singing in rock bands in Bombay?
It was BIG fun. The first ever rock band I sang with was called Genuine Spares ! We did only covers then...I'd love to sing songs of Janis Joplin and Chaka Khan. Then I played with a band called People which loved doing songs by the Beatles. There was a time in Bombay when there were many rock concerts. Alas, things have changed and there is less emphasis on rock music and even Indian classical music. Hindi film music and Bollywood have taken over everything. :-(
#4 What kind of effect did the music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane have on you when you first discovered it?
The music of Miles amazed me by its intensity and John's music by its beautiful use of Indian scales (in one period.) Following the new directions that Miles took every few years was like seeing the visionary shaping jazz for others to follow. Trane's spiritual search is reflected in his music, which made it very devotional in feeling.
I was amazed at the similarity and difference between Indian classical music and jazz. Both are improvisational art forms. But where Indian music explores the possibilities within a fixed structure of the raga (which is not only a scale but also a certain form), jazz has a chord structure over which infinite freedom is given to use dissonance and chromaticism. I also loved the quicksilver quality of jazz in contrast to the calm ocean quality of Indian classical music.
#5 How long were you with the group DIVYA and what was it like?
DIVYA was formed by my ex husband Dinshah Sanjana and me in 1987 to explore the possibilities of fusing Indian music with jazz and rock. The first version of it had 9 musicians - 4 western(keyboards, drums, bass and guitar) and 5 Indian (tabla, mridangam, Carnatic violin, a male Carnatic vocalist and a female Hindustani vocalist) There were many changes of personnel in the group subsequently. We've had some great musicians play our material and interpret it differently each time. It lasted until 1998. That was when Dinshah and I split up and that was the end of the band.
It was amazing how successful DIVYA was....we toured Europe and played at some great festivals all over the world. (All the performance credits can be found on my website.)
#6 You have had many great collaborations with other MP3.com artists, how do these projects come about?
In April 2000, I uploaded some of my music onto mp3.com as a "test the water" kind of thing. I was amazed at the response I received. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I had to remove the material I had uploaded. I was in a dilemma. I lived then in Heerenveen (a small town in north Holland which is back of the beyond !)There were no musicians there that I could work with. So I recorded some vocals (taranas which I composed)in a friend's studio in Groningen and uploaded them onto a section of my website. From all the musicians I had heard on mp3.com, I invited some of the ones that I liked the most to collaborate with me. They agreed readily and I was delighted. That's how the Tarana Project came about. As a result of the success of this project, I have recently started the Indian Music Collective.
#7 How do you overcome the long distance logistics of doing collaborations with other artists?
The collaborations are all web collaborations. So the long distance doesn't come into the picture at all. If you have a modem and a computer, you are in the ball park!
#8 How has the Internet been useful for you as an artist?
The previous answers show how it helped with the collaborations.
The other beautiful thing is that as an artist, one's main aim is being heard. Each day, a few hundred people listen to my music or download it. And all of this is absolutely free. This gives me a great feeling. I get beautiful emails from all over the world thanking me for my music and that is very rewarding.
Classical Music Of India
**Update - July 2002**
Unfortunately, the Classical Music Of India web site is no longer in existence.
Ever since the first time I heard Ravi Shankar when I was a child, I have found the music of India to be a completely engaging sound. Of course, being raised in the Midwest where the main musical influences were "The Archies" and "The Monkees", I had no idea what Ravi Shankar was about. I just knew that I thought it was very cool. When I was a little older, I heard the high school jazz band, and was moved in a similar fashion as when I saw Ravi Shankar for the first time. As I have grown as a musician, it has become easy to see the similarity between the music of India and Jazz. They both have musical freedom and discipline, and include improvisation. Musicians such as John McLaughlin and Joe Zawinul have for many years been blending the sounds of different cultures into some really amazing music. I find the Classical Music Of India site great for trying to get more familiar with such a wonderful art form. Check it out.
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar is the great sitarist and composer who is known for his pioneering work in bringing Indian music to the West. Indian classical music is based more on rhythm and melody, not on the basics of Western classical music which include harmony, counterpoint, chords, and modulation. There are two video clips available on the Ravi Shankar site. One is highlights from Sangeet Ratna, the 30-minute look at the life and times of Ravi Shankar. Very cool collage of pictures. The second is Ravi talking about taking a guru, and the role of the guru in Indian classical music. He also talks about his daughter Anoushka. Very cool footage of Ravi coaching other musicians. Click here to see the videos.
Tribal Tech
"Rocket Science"
Very cool music from one of the leading forces in Jazz Fusion today. Tribal Tech is Scott Henderson on guitar, Gary Willis on bass, Scott Kinsey on keyboards, and Kirk Covington on drums. "Rocket Science" has great playing by all. Wonderful use of current technology to produce a fabulously fresh sounding collection of music. "Rocket Science" is released on the ESC label. Each track has a very new and spontaneous feel. This is surely due to the fact that they went into the studio with no prepared material and jammed till the music worked itself out. Only a group of like-minded musicians with several years of making music together could pull this off. The 10 tracks have hints of great bands such as "Weather Report" and "The Headhunters" from the golden age of Fusion. I dig all the music and playing, but being a keyboard player myself, I think Scott Kinsey is especially brilliant. Not only a great player, a sound scientist. To a keyboard player, Scott is the "Jedi Master"! Click here to download a few of Tribal Tech's musical clips. Tribal Tech Rules!!!!!!!!
Tracks for "Rocket Science"
- Saturn
- Astro Chimp
- Song Holy Hall
- Rocket Science
- Sojlevska
- Mini Me
- Space Camel
- Moonshine
- Cap'n Kirk
- The Econoline
Click here to purchase "Rocket Science" at Amazon.com
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