“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on”
St. Paul, letter to the Philipians.
THERE’S NOTHING AS INSPIRING AS FOLLOWING A SEEKER ON A QUEST. LITERATURE IS FILLED WITH THEM, FROM JOHN BUNYAN’S PILGRIM’S PROGRESS TO TOLSTOY’S SOJOURNER IN ANNA KARENINA, OR LARRY DARELL LOOKING FOR PERFECT PEACE AND SIGNIFICANCE IN THE RAZOR’S EDGE.
WE’RE ATTRACTED TO THESE PEOPLE BECAUSE, LET’S FACE IT, MOST OF US DON’T TAKE THE TIME OR EFFORT TO CONSCIOUSLY USE OUR LIVES AS A PATH TO FIGURE OUT THE DEEPER ASPECTS OF LIFE. THINGS GET IN THE WAY.
ONE EXCEPTION HAS BEEN BASSIST MARK EGAN, WHO HAS USED HIS TALENTS AS A BASSIST AS A MEANS FOR LEARNING AND GROWING, NOT ONLY AS AN ARTIST, BUT AS A SPIRITUAL BEING.
EACH STAGE OF HIS CAREER HAS BEEN A LEARNING EXPERIENCE, AND EVEN THOUGH HE’S CONSIDERED ONE OF THE TOP OF HIS TRADE, HE STILL FEELS THAT HE HAS FAR TO GO. AND THAT’S SOMETHING, CONSIDERING THE COMPANY THAT HE’S KEPT, FORMING THE INITIAL PAT METHENY GROUP, BEING IN GIL EVANS’ INNOVATIVE ORCHESTRA AND SHARING THE STAGE WHAT THE LIKES OF STING, MAHAVISHNU JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, LARRY CORYELL AND PAT MARTINO.
THROUGH IT ALL, HE’S FORMED A MUSICAL PARTNERSHIP WITH DRUMMER GOTTLIEB. TOGETHER, THE TWO HAVE MUSICALLY TRAVELLED THROUGH MANY SONIC ENVIRONMENTS, CLIMAXED BY A GORGEOUSLY TEXTURED ALBUM OF DUOS, ENTITLED ELECTRIC BLUE.
HOPEFULLY, THIS LOCKDOWN WILL END SO WE CAN SEE THE TWO GENTS PULL OFF THESE INNOVATIVE PAS DE DEUX’S, BUT UNTIL THEN, WE’LL BE SATISFIED TO HEAR WHAT MR. EGAN HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE ALBUM AND RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS LONG TIME RHYTHM SECTION MEMBER.
I’VE BEEN FASCINATED BY THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BASSISTS AND DRUMMERS, FOR EXAMPLE THAT OF DAVIE WECKL AND TOM KENNEDY WHO HAVE BEEN BUDDIES FOR DECADES. WHEN AND HOW DID YOU AND DANNY GOTTLIEB REALIZE THAT THERE WAS A SPECIAL KINSHIP BETWEEN YOURSELVES?
Danny and I met at the University of Miami in the music school in 1970 and have been playing together ever since in various groups. We realized from the beginning that there was a special kinship in our playing styles and personalities.
WAS IT INITIALLY MUSICAL OR PERSONAL?
It was both musical and a great friendship
WHEN YOU AREN’T PLAYING WITH DANNY, WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A DRUMMER?
I look for a drummer with a solid groove that is hopefully experienced in a variety of playing styles. It’s important that a drummer listens and has the ability to interact with the music at hand and be able to both lead and compliment the music. A rhythm section has to be able to breath together in a musical way. I listen deeply to the drummer and derive a lot of my bass lines from listening to the drummer’s groove and sound. I enjoy a drummer that also listens as intently.
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“A rhythm section has to be able to breath together in a musical way….I enjoy a drummer that also listens as intently”
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WHAT IS YOUR PET PEEVE WITH DRUMMERS?
That they should groove, listen, interact and play with dynamics rather than play what they already know. It’s so about being in the moment and listening.
HOW ABOUT WITH BASSISTS?
The same.
WHAT DO YOU LISTEN FOR WHEN YOU WATCH ANOTHER BASSIST?
I listen for a strong rooted feel, a good understanding of the harmonic outline and a player that is in sync with the group. I look for a general feeling that brings all of the elements of the group together.
AND A DRUMMER BESIDES DANNY?
Similar to the way I listen to a bassist. As I mentioned earlier I listen for the groove and the way the drummer supports the band and plays with dynamics.
HOW DOES AN ELECTRIC BASSIST DEVELOP A PERSONAL TONE AND SOUND?
I believe any instrumentalist develops a personal tone by first learning the instrument through dedicated practice as well as listening to a broad spectrum of other players and formulating your sound based on all of those experiences. For me, fretless bass gave me the freedom to articulate bass lines and melodies similar to the sound of a cello by experimenting with articulations that utilized slides from above and below notes as well as experimenting with various basses and electronic effects.
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO PLAY FRETLESS BASS?
I always loved the sound of acoustic bass and when I heard the first fretless bass from my friend, Stan Samole, also a master guitarist, it reminded me of a hybrid acoustic bass.
WHAT ARE ITS ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES?
The advantages are a very expressive sound that can fit in a variety of styles from Jazz to funk to rock as well as free music. The disadvantages are it’s difficult to play in tune and sounds terrible when you play out of tune. That is why I use inlaid fret markers on all my instruments as an aid for playing in tune.
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE BEFORE YOU HAD YOUR OWN SIGNATURE SOUND AND STYLE?
I’m still working on it…but I think playing and recording with the Pat Metheny group really shaped my sound in so many ways.
I was able to experiment with my sound and that orchestration really called for a fretless sound.
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“playing and recording with the Pat Metheny Group really shaped my sound in so many ways”
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YOU’RE ALSO WELL KNOWN FOR YOUR WORK WITH THE EARLY INCARNATION OF PAT METHENY’S BAND. DID YOU AND DANNY JOIN UP WITH PAT AT THE SAME TIME?
Yes, we joined together along with Lyle Mays. Danny had been playing with Pat in Gary Burton’s group as well as recorded a record with Pat called Watercolors. It was on ECM records and the bassist on that recording was Eberhard Weber, one of my favorite bassists.
DID THE BAND HAVE A MUSICAL ‘STATEMENT OF PURPOSE’ WHEN YOU GOT TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME?
Very much so. Pat had a very clear idea of how he wanted to have the band sound and Lyle Mays was the master orchestrator. We jelled as a group and were all very focused on creating a supportive group sound.
WHAT WERE YOURS AND DANNY’S FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THOSE EARLY ALBUMS AS YOU WERE MAKING THEM?
We were so thrilled to be in the studio in Oslo Norway with producer Manfred Eischer to record the group. We had been touring for a year before the first recording and the group was very strong and focused from playing 300 concerts in the first year. We basically recorded the songs in one or two takes with some synthesizer overdubs and guitar doubling parts put on later. We also extended some of our live arrangements and through the influence of Manfred, opened things up a bit in the studio.
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“We had been touring for a year before the first recording and the group was very strong and focused from playing 300 concerts in the first year. We basically recorded the songs in one or two takes”
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IN RETROSPECT, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THEM 30 YEARS HENCE?
I feel so fortunate to have been a part of the group and to have experienced playing this music all over the world. The music stills sounds fresh to me.
YOU ALSO SPENT SOME TIME WITH GIL EVANS’ ORCHESTRA. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THAT EXPERIENCE?
Playing with the Gil Evans Orchestra was one of the deepest musical experiences for me. I played with Gil and the group for six years and it was such a learning experience from reacting to all of the great players. Gil Evans was an innovator and was Miles Davis’ Mentor. Gil asked me to arrange for the band and gave me invaluable composition lessons. It was an improvisational band and I learned many different ways to compliment and support the many soloists each night. Gil gave us the freedom to play whatever we wanted to play whenever we wanted to play. He chose the players as compositional players for the ensemble.
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“Gil (Evans) gave us the freedom to play whatever we wanted to play whenever we wanted to play. He chose the players as compositional players for the ensemble”
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DID YOU EVER PULL OUT YOUR TRUMPET FOR HIM?
By the time I was with Gil I wasn’t playing trumpet any more. I had switched my undivided musical attention to bass.
IN YOUR EARLY DAYS, YOU TOOK SOME LESSONS FROM LEGENDS FROM JACO PASTORIUS AND DAVE HOLLAND. WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST THINGS YOU GLEANED FROM THEM?
I studied briefly in Florida with Jaco. We were both playing on the Miami scene in different groups. It was Jaco’s groove, both melodically and rhythmically that blew me away. No one was playing like that then and he was already not only a virtuoso but he had a completely unique sound and style. I realized I was in the presence of an innovator.
When I moved to New York in 1976 I studied with Dave Holland. I was an admirer of Dave’s through his playing with Miles Davis and Chick Corea’s group Circle as well as other artists. I studied acoustic bass with Dave and he really helped me with technique and feel and getting a good sound on the instrument. I still practice studies that I learned from both Jaco and Dave.
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“No one was playing like (Jaco) then and he was already not only a virtuoso but he had a completely unique sound and style. I realized I was in the presence of an innovator”
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WHAT WAS THE BEST MUSICAL ADVICE PEOPLE HAVE GIVEN YOU OVER YOUR LIFETIME?
From my Dad-Do it right the first time. Read the paper.
From Gil Evans-Never take anything for granted.
From reading about John Coltrane saying-Don’t look back-look forward
From Pianist William Boone from Miami- There’s more room at the top than there is at the bottom
From the director of the jazz dept. at the University of Miami, Whit Sidner-Groove! And listen to your sound.
YOU ALSO SPENT AWHILE WITH TENOR SAX LEGEND STAN GETZ. WHAT ARE YOUR REFLECTIONS ON THAT PERIOD OF YOUR CAREER?
Stan was an innovator and it was such an honor playing and recording with him. No matter how hard the travel was on European touring Stan always sounded great and inspiring. He had an individual sound and inspired the band to rise to his level every night.
THERE WAS ALSO A STINT WITH EUMIR DEODATO, WHO HAD THE BIG HIT “ALSO SPOKE ZARATHUSTRA”. WHAT WAS TOURING WITH HIM LIKE?
When I first moved to New York Deodato was my second tour with a major artist. The first tour was with the Pointer Sisters.
With Deodato, we toured for a month in Australia and a month in Mexico. I have so many great stories from those tours. I really liked his compositions and arrangements and he was very generous and gave us a lot of room to improvise and stretch out.
YOU’VE TEAMED WITH SOME OF THE GREATEST GUITARISTS AROUND, SUCH AS JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, LARRY CORYELL, STEVE KAHN AND PAT MARTINO. HOW DO YOU AVOID TRAFFIC JAMS PLAYING A FRETLESS BASS WITH THESE CHOP MASTERS?
With all of the above incredibly gifted musicians I play for the music and try to support the ensemble. I’m very aware of not getting in the way of players and giving people the space to speak their music while at the same time interacting with the rhythm section. At times, the music calls for more bass interaction into the area of the guitarist’s range and sound and at other times calls for creating a backdrop for the soloist.
I equate it to having a conversation with someone and exchanging ideas and not talking over someone. It requires deep listening and reacting.
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“I equate it to having a conversation with someone and exchanging ideas and not talking over someone. It requires deep listening and reacting”
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TELL ME ABOUT YOUR OWN BAND, THE ELEMENTS BAND, WHICH YOU FORMED WAY BACK IN 1982.
Elements is a group that I co-lead with drummer Danny Gottlieb. We still play together and will be touring and recording when the covid situation is over. Elements is a very creative outlet for Danny and I and we have recorded eight records over the years and toured in 47 countries.
WITH SUCH AN ENORMOUS CATALOGUE OF MATERIAL, DO YOU EVER GO BACK AND RE-ASSESS ALBUMS SUCH AS ILLUMINATION?
I sometimes go back and listen to past recordings and hear things that I like and other things that I now know that I would have done differently. The thing is, that was the best that we could do then…or at least that’s what we thought
.YOUR RECENT DUET ALBUM WITH GOTTLIEB (ELECTRIC BLUE) FEELS VERY SPONTANEOUS,
The new record, Mark Egan/Danny Gottlieb Electric Blue is our first Duo recording as a complete release. In the past, on some of our previous Elements records and solo projects, we have recorded duo.
Electric Blue is a combination of orchestrated improvisations and playing on original songs. Some of the new record is spontaneous and some are compositions that we multi tracked over. We recorded for three days in my studio, Electric Fields in Connecticut. Danny overdubbed some percussion and in some cases multiple drum kit tracks. We then orchestrated those basic grooves with additional basses.
YOU ALSO HAVE CREATED A NUMBER OF SOUNDTRACKS, INCLUDING THE HITS YOU’VE GOT MAIL AND THE COLOR OF MONEY. HOW IS MAKING THIS ALBUM DIFFERENT THAN MAKING A SOUNDTRACK?
Well first of all, Electric Blue isn’t a sound track. It’s a duo record exploring drums and bass and encompasses all of the time that Danny and I have spent together playing in so many musical situations over our nearly 50 years as a rhythm section team. This is a project that we always wanted to record to document our playing in the format as a duo.
As far as sound tracks that we have done, that focus is on a third purpose, and complimenting another medium. Elements recorded the sound track to a movie titled Blown Away, a wind surfing movie. We released that as a sound track and that is available along with all of our recordings at markegan.com
YOUR CAREER SEEMS AS IF YOU’VE ALWAYS BEEN IN CONTROL OF THE MUSICAL SITUATION. HAS THER EVER BEEN A GIG OR SESSON THAT WAS A CHALLENGE/TRIAL BY FIRE?
Recording on saxophonist Bill Evans record with John McLaughlin was one highlight for me.
Another was touring with Pat Martino. I’ve never met any player that played with so much energy and conviction and playing with him was like playing with a locomotive in a beautiful way.
WITH A CAREER WITH A SURFEIT OF HIGHLIGHTS, WAS THERE A POINT WHEN YOU JUST SAT THERE AND THINK “I MADE IT” AS A MUSICIAN?
Honestly, I’ve never thought that I’ve made it as a musician. There have been many concerts throughout the world during my career that I’ve felt chills from the response of the audiences. One of those was playing with Sting and the Gil Evans Orchestra in Perugia Italy for a concert of fifty thousand fans.
WHAT MUSICIAN, LIVING OR DEAD, WOULD YOU PAY $1000 TO SEE PERFORM?
John Coltrane Quartet, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, James Jamerson at a Motown recording session.
YOU HAVE MADE VIDEOS ON MUSIC AND SPIRITUALITY. WHAT TOP 5 BOOKS DO YOU RECOMMEND EVERYONE TO READ?
Autobiography of a Yogi-Yoganada
Be Here Now-Ram Dass
Rainer Maria Rilke-On Love and Other Difficulties
Bill Byrson- A Short History of Nearly Everything
Siddhartha-Herman Hesse
YOU SEEM TO HAVE HAD A LEVEL HEAD THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER. WHAT PHILOSOPHY, TEACHING OR RELIGION KEEPS YOU GROUNDED?
I enjoy Eastern philosophy and Yoga. I’m friends with Krishna Das and have recorded and performed Kirtans with him for 12 years. Enjoying time with my wife, family, friends, nature and fishing keeps me grounded as well.
WHAT GIVES YOU THE MOST JOY?
Playing in a creative group where everyone is tuned into the moment and that musical wave is one of my favorite and joyful places to be in. Also as I mentioned, time with my wife, family, friends, and time in nature also gives me great joy.
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“Playing in a creative group where everyone is tuned into the moment and that musical wave is one of my favorite and joyful places to be in”
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WHO IN HISTORY WOULD YOU LIKE TO SIT DOWN WITH FOR AN EVENING AND PICK HIS OR HER BRAIN?
It’s a toss up between Abraham Lincoln and John Coltrane.
WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE GOALS?
I want to continue with the path of music, practicing, composing, performing with different groups, recording and touring. My ongoing goals also include staying in good physical shape, eating healthy food, reading and trying to be a better person and love everyone.
WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO SAY ABOUT YOU AT YOUR MEMORIAL SERVICE?
Yikes, tough question….that I was kind and shared love with people. That possibly some of my music touched someone.
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT YOURSELF WITH THIS COVID LOCKDOWN?
I’ve learned that this is a golden time to work and reflect on things in an uninterrupted way by continuing practicing, composing, recording, reading and working out. These are many of the things that I did before the lockdown. Now, in a sense, it’s like being back at school. The difference is that I’m the teacher and the student. What I really miss is the interaction of playing live with my friends.
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” it’s like being back at school. The difference is that I’m the teacher and the student”
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ISN’T IT ENCOURAGING TO HEAR THAT EVEN A BASSIST AS ACCOMPLISHED AS MARK EGAN STILL FEELS THAT HE HAS FAR TO GO IN ORDER TO BECOME THE BASSIST HE WANTS TO BE? ISN’T THAT THE TRUE SIGN OF A PILGRIM, BE HE ON A MUSICAL, PERSONAL OR SPIRITUAL QUEST. AS MY MOM USED TO SAY, “NEVER FOLLOW THE PERSON WHO’S ARRIVED: ONLY FOLLOW THOSE STILL ON THE JOURNEY”
THAT’S THE ALLURE OF BASSIST MARK EGAN. FROM HIS EARLIEST DAYS WITH PAT METHENY AND GIL EVANS, HE’S FOUND A KINDRED SPIRIT IN DRUMMER DANNY GOTTLIEB, AND TOGETHER THEY ARE SEARCHING AND FINDING NEW LANDS.
ENJOY FOLLOWING THEIR TREK; IT’S AN EXCITING ONE WITH PLENTY OF LANDMARKS!