The Glass is half full?
December 6, 2010Karin’s Q&A with James Danderfer and Paul Rushka (both appearing at The Jazz Cellar this December)
J. I’ve been here a year and a half, just one more semester to go in the Masters program. At which point I will officially be a “master” of jazz composition,… also at which point my musician friends will harass me to no end with the likes of “Hey look, it’s Obi-wan Kenobi, the jedi jazz master.” etc, etc. I can’t wait. Of course,… that’s nothing compared to what Rushka’s in for once he becomes “Doctor Jazz.”
K. James, you are also coming back to the Cellar with your group “THE HAPPY”. Is this New Orleans inspired music something you have been working on while you have been in Montreal?
J. Originally, my love of New Orleans music comes from actually spending time in the “Big Easy” a few years back and listening to some of those fantastic musicians. Since then, I’ve been slowly working towards a better understanding of both the old traditional New Orleans jazz and the contemporary, funky New Orleans brass band music. The show at the Cellar will be a mix of these songs plus a slew of originals by yours truly which I’m very excited about. And yes, I did write this latest batch while here at McGill; in fact, I performed this music for my Master’s recital and it was fun! I’m going to go out on a limb and say it was one of the funnest masters recitals turned in in recent years.
K.. Are both of you finding obvious similarities between music that composers are creating in Montreal and Vancouver or do you find that there really is a different approach and style to music and concepts explored now that you are in Montreal?
J. That’s hard to say, as a post-grad student I’ve been pretty busy at school and therefore quite isolated; I still don’t know the scene very well unfortunately. As far as the other composers at McGill, I’ve noticed more European influence (ie straight 8th, modern classical type harmonies or rhythmic concepts), there’s also a lot of odd meter writing going on besides 5 and 7,… it gets pretty complicated, but it’s cool to hear too.
K.. What have each have you found to be the greatest challenges about moving to Montreal when you had made Vancouver your home for so long?
J. I’ve been traveling and moving around a lot since I was 16 years old, so Montreal was a comparatively easy place to move to for me. The language barrier has been a struggle at times, but I just need to spend some more time on my French studies,… next semester, I swear it will happen. It’s a beautiful language too, I’ve got no excuse!
K. Do you have any advice to younger musicians who are interested in the world of jazz and composition now that you are both immersed in that life as players and composers/arrangers?
J. I wouldn’t really recommend young jazzers do what I did but here are some thoughts: Be open minded and get any and all kinds of professional experience you can once you’re out of University, whether that’s playing cocktail gigs, booking jazz gigs, playing on cruise ships, teaching kids, etc. it’s all valuable experience! Please, PLEASE don’t go straight from undergrad studies to grad studies, to a teaching gig; you gotta get out there and learn to play outside of the academic environment, play for human beings who don’t know anything about how hip your licks are, just get out there.
K. Are there other forms of art or music that you go to for inspiration or for new ideas as you are working on your compositions or are you following your own muse and satisfying that inner drive to create?
J. I can get inspiration from anything; a jazz song, a rock-electro pop song, a movie, a story, from watching the news or reading the paper. Sometimes there’s no source of inspiration, I just sit at the piano and play freely until something catches my attention, it could be something very complicated or it could be a simple folk-song type of thing. I like writing in different styles too, so that helps me to be open to any possibility, even if it’s a really goofy song idea, I’ll still write it down because something about it makes me feel something.
K. Regarding recorded music (albums, CD’s, etc) and the new music you will be releasing, what are your thoughts on music downloads vs. CD’s? Will you still be offering your audience CD’s to buy or be directing them to itunes exclusively?
J. I’ll still print some CD’s because I think audiences would still rather have a CD than a download card, BUT I’m not going to print as many as before, I’m almost out of closet space already! The download cards are really handy for sharing your music in an affordable (and space effective) way. Actually, I’m kind of leaning towards having all of my music streaming from my website; I don’t know, some musicians balk at that idea, and I can see why, but I just don’t see album sales as much of a source of income by itself, it has to tie in to a whole number of things and the fact is we’ve got this tool (the internet) which we can use to share with people worldwide. You know, levels of engagement, and so on. This is a topic for a whole other article by itself!
K. Is there anything that one of your instructors or mentors have said to you in the recent past that has inspired, entertained or enlightened you?
J. Yes, Joe Sullivan told me how he experienced the kind of self-doubt that many of us arrive at a certain point in our development, where we say to ourselves “Well, I’m not a John Coltrane, this is just my level and I’ll have to accept that.” But it’s a very self-defeating viewpoint and the fact is we can continue to improve, while still really enjoying music. I could really relate to what Joe was saying and it’s inspired me to expect more from myself, but in a positive way. Does that make any sense. Jan Jarczyk has also really helped me out with my composition process, teaching me to “trust my inner ear” and just write songs my a pencil, manuscript paper, and that’s it!
K. James, you are known (or unknown) to be “one of the best-kept jazz secrets in Canada” according to Mr. Bill King. Are you ever disenchanted about your choices of becoming a musician and composer or how do you keep positive about the realities of being a musician in Canada?
J. Yeah baby! ”Best-kept secret”, right here! Don’t tell anyone about my shows! No, I’m never disenchanted with my chosen path, because it’s so goddamn fun! I complain sometimes about how hard it is to make a living, true, but in the end I’m thankful to have something I enjoy so much. I’d much rather have something I love to do and struggle to make money than to make money and struggle to find something I love.
K.. Good luck to both of you in your “back at home” performances in Vancouver this coming December. Any last minute thoughts to share with people who may be inspired to come to your shows at The Jazz Cellar?
J. Just come on out and enjoy, it’s going to be a party!
K. Thanks James. Have a great time playing at The Cellar this month and enjoy your time back home.
