A
FIRESIDE CHAT WITH MYRA MELFORD
I have been a proponent of Myra Melford's music for a long time. Just
look at the caliber of musicians she has working with her in her band
(Dave Douglas, Chris Speed, and Erik Friedlander), The Same River, Twice.
Her two most recent recordings, Above Blue on Arabesque with the before
mentioned The Same River, Twice band and Equal Interest on Omnitone with
Joseph Jarman are a testament to her artistry. A sneak peak, unedited
and in her own words.
FRED JUNG: Let's start from the beginning.
MYRA MELFORD: I started playing the piano when I was very young, like
three, four years old. Began classical piano lessons when I was in kindergarten.
The first classical teacher I had was a great blues and boogie woogie
player in the Chicago tradition. At the end of my lesson, I would get
a little taste of learning how to play the blues. This guy also was a
great stride player. He turned me onto Jelly Roll Morton and Scott Joplin
and stuff like that when I was a kid. I didn't stay with him. I continued
to take classical piano lessons through the eighth grade and then I gave
it up in high school. I just had other interests and didn't feel like
playing classical piano. When I got into college, I saw a sign up in a
restaurant. I went to Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington to
study environmental science. I saw a sign up in a restaurant for jazz
piano lessons and I thought that that would be a fun way to get back to
music without being so serious. I can just have fun and learn to improvise
and so on. So that's what I did. Within two or three months I realized
that I would rather major in music and do that and that is what I did.
FJ: Any regrets?
MYRA MELFORD: No (laughing). None.
FJ: It would have been an easier life being an environmental scientist
rather than a jazz musician.
MYRA MELFORD: Yeah, I do have my moments of wondering, "Is this going
to work and is this going to support me for the rest of my life?" But
on the other hand, I'm doing what I love.
FJ: You studied with Henry Threadgill for a time.
MYRA MELFORD: Well, I have to tell you, Fred. I never really had formal
composition lessons in college or even afterwards. Henry is the only person
that I ever studied composition with. So everything, aside from what I've
read of other composers and the little bit of talking that I have done
with other composers and my colleagues and stuff, all my ideas about composing
have pretty much come from what I've learned from Henry. That's enormous
to me. I learned so much from him. He basically gave me a way to start
a composition and that is by taking any small idea, it could be a melodic
phrase, it could be a rhythmic pattern, could be a cell of notes, part
of a mode or a scale, and he showed me all kinds of ways of developing
that material. His whole approach is what he calls organic composition,
which is once he applies all these techniques, he only uses the material
that came from that initial cell. In more complicated pieces, he might
combine two or three of these ideas. But it is very organic in that he
doesn't impose anything on the composition that did not derive from the
original material, including the structure and the form of the piece.
That is still the way I approach playing and composing.
FJ: It almost sounds silly, but for the benefit of those who have never
witnessed a Henry Threadgill performance, he has an almost majestic presence.
He almost has a coolness about him.
MYRA MELFORD: I have noticed that more when he is performing. I know what
you are talking about. He has this majesty about him. He is very self-assured
about what he is doing and very unassuming about it, which is beautiful.
He is also very warm and friendly in a one on one situation and a little
bit more approachable than he sometimes comes across as a performer. He
does have a certain majesty about him, doesn't he?
FJ: You have had a long association with Dave Douglas.
MYRA MELFORD: The first time I met Dave and heard him play, I had written
a composition for a big band here in New York called the Walter Thompson
Orchestra, actually. It was kind of a cross between a big band and an
improvising chamber ensemble. I originally had thought that Herb Robertson
was going to play the trumpet solo and I had kind of written the piece
or the section that I wanted him to improvise on with him in mind and
then Walter said, "Herb is not going to do your concert, but I have Dave
Douglas, he's great. You'll be very happy." And in fact I was. I was blown
away with Dave's playing from the first time I heard him. At that point,
all I knew was that he was someone that I wanted to work with and I asked
him a year after that if he would like to be in my band and he said yes
and we have worked together quite a bit since then. Since I have gotten
to know him, I understand what it was I was originally attracted to. I
think the thing that I appreciate the most when Dave is playing my music
is that he finds a way, he seems to understand what it is that I'm writing
and what I'm looking for the improviser to do and still make it his own.
There is so much connection improvising with him. He is listening. He
doesn't space out for a second on the bandstand. There is nothing, no
matter how many instruments are playing, there is nothing that gets by
him that he doesn't notice and respond to or consider in his response.
FJ: Let's touch on your band The Same River, Twice.
MYRA MELFORD: That band grew out of a project that I did before that.
The first thing that I asked Dave to do with me was a group that I was
calling the Extended Ensemble, which was really an extension of the trio
that I had worked with for many years. I invited Marty Ehrlich and Dave
to play in that band and to go to Europe and make a record for Hat Art,
which we did. While I was doing that, I started to feel like, "Well, this
is a great band." I am learning a lot and it would be great to try a project
which wasn't extending a group that I already had, but which included
completely new players for me and a different instrumentation where I
could try out some new ideas, things that I had been going towards in
my composing and playing but hadn't been able to realize yet. So I put
this band together in 1995. I thought about the instruments and particularly
about the players that I wanted to play with. That included Dave and Chris
Speed. Erik Friedlander on cello because I decided to replace the bass
with cello for this band so that I would be freer as a pianist to play
the low end of the piano and to cover some of the bass function and to
be able to use Erik as a switch hitter in playing the melody line and
also playing a bass function. Erik is great at doing both. Michael Sarin
on drums. I knew they would sound good with each other.
FJ: Let's touch on your latest album on OmniTone, Equal Interest.
MYRA MELFORD: Well, it has been a lot of fun. It's been an incredible
experience for me. I learned a lot from it. It was also very fulfilling.
Both Joseph and Leroy have been important inspirations for me. It's been
great. I'm learning from their years and years of experience making creative
music. There is a certain relaxed quality and ease in which they improvise
and perform. It's been very educational for me.
FJ: Is your audience getting younger?
MYRA MELFORD: I think so, Fred, yeah. I definitely noticed that in the
States in particular. There seems to be a greater interest among college
students now. I think there is a certain segment of the population that
is looking for something more meaningful, more personal in music than
just what is given in the pop world. I think it is also a reaction to
some of the more conservative trends in politics and economics. It just
seems like there is a generation that is coming up now that is not so
conservative. They want to look for art that is more personal and meaningful.
Fred Jung is Editor-In-Chief and anchors the nightly news. Comments? Email
him.