Music Questionnaire 1 - Ireland

I admit I lifted this idea from Ethan Iverson, but I really enjoyed reading the answers to the questionnaire he sent to musicians he knows. Naturally he did this with exclusively American players, I thought this would be an interesting thing to do with Irish or Irish based musicians too.

Sean Óg (Reed player)

Give us an example or two of an especially good or interesting:

1. Melody:

I have been studying the melodies of Hildegard von Bingen recently. A piece like Ave Generosa is facinating in the way it sustains a (strictly speaking) non-repeating melody for over 4 minutes without any lag in beauty and without the help of harmony or accompaniment of any kind.

2. Harmonic language:

Again looking back a few hundred years and enjoying the harmonic rollercoaster of Carlo Gesualdo. You can get a real sense of the excitement of what happens when you move beyond Gregorian style polyphony and an overload of rich, lush colours are weaved into the music.

3. Rhythmic feel:

Not an obvious candidate, but, Captain Beefheart and his magic band circa 1970 really had some interesting approaches to rhythm. Verging between sounding like people who have little to no musical training to tightly scored odd meter grooves, Beefheart manages some of the other-worldly time feel of Thelonious Monk.

4. Classical piece:

Kodaly's 'Nights in the Mountains' a suite for wordless female choir. Hindemith 'Das Marienleben' a song cycle of Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry for soprano and piano - the 1923 version is something I listen to a lot.

5. Jazz album:

Tony Malaby 'Adobe'. Arve Henriksen 'Sakuteiki'.

6. Book on music: (No response)

7 Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

Miles Davis 'Nefertiti'.

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

Rudi Mahall - bass clarinet.

Ariel Hernandez (Guitarist)

Give us an example or two of an especially good or interesting:


1. Melody:

‘Interplay’ – ‘Donna Lee’

2. Harmonic language:

Stella by Starlight - Falling Grace

3. Rhythmic feel:

One note Samba

4. Classical piece:

Bartok Quartets

5. Jazz album:

Coltrane Plays the blues - Bill Evans: You must believe in Spring

6. Book on music:

No Response


7 Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

Jim Hall - Bill Evans: Undercurrent


8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

Bach


9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

No Response

David Lyttle (Drummer)

Give us an example or two of an especially good or interesting:

1. Melody:
 
Bernhard Hermann's score for Hitchcock's 'Vertigo', Stephen Sondheim's 'Sweeney Todd' musical and Danny Elfman's score for Tim Burton's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' all come to mind for having moving and interesting melodies. 'Moon River' and 'Pure Imagination' are among my favourite jazz standards.


2. Harmony

See Question 1

3. Rhythmic feel:
 
It's difficult to answer this one as there are so many...
 
4. Classical piece:
 
Again there are so many but Bartok's 'Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta' comes to mind, as well as anything by Debussy, especially his piano works.
 
5. Jazz album:
 
Of the more recent albums I've listened to, Brian Blade's 'Perceptual', Terence Blanchard's 'A Tale of God's Will' and Eric Revis' 'Tales of the Stuttering Mime' are the most memorable to me.

6. Book on music:
 
'Bird Lives', the Ross Russell biography of Charlie Parker and 'Straight, No Chaser', the Leslie Gourse biography of Monk.

7. Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:
 
Pianist Vince Guaraldi's 'A Boy Named Charlie Brown'. Guaraldi's music from the sixties animation 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' was what got me into jazz. He may not have pushed any boundaries but he still produced some beautiful music (mostly piano trio), and got many people into jazz.

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:
 
The composers I mentioned above (Hermann, Sondheim, Elfman) would probably be the most surprising of my influences. I'd also have to add Elmer Bernstein into this category.

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

No Response

Simon Jermyn (Guitarist/Bassist)

Give us an example or two of an especially good or interesting:

1. Melody:

All the melodies on Eftir Pogn (After Silence) by Oskar Gudjonsson and Skuli Sverrisson. Tommy Potts-The Liffey Banks.

2. Harmonic language:

John Dowland's lute songs. Bulgarian Womens choirs. Andrew Hill. Christian Walumrod. Tim Berne.

3. Rhythmic feel:

Q Tip (from the "The Renaissance") the songs ‘You’ and ‘Life is Better’. Charlie Haden/ Ed Blackwell on the Ornette Coleman record "Friends and Neighbours"on the tunes Lets Play and Long Time No See.Ethiopiques Vol 5 (the amazing clapping on 2 and 4 and then adding the triplet eight note before 2 and 4). Richard Davis with any drummer on an Andrew Hill record.

4. Classical piece:

Paul Hindemith-Marienleben 1. Morton Feldman Coptic Light.

5. Jazz album:

Geri Allen Trio-Etudes. Chris Cheek-Guilty. Paul Bley-Footloose

6. Book on music:

Modus Novus by Lars Edlund.

7 Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

Reid Anderson-The Vastness of Space. Jim Black-Alas No Axis+Habyor. Chris Speed-Emit+Swell Henry.

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

Michael Jackson-Bad (the album). Both of Slash's guitar solos on Sweet Child O'Mine by Guns'n'Roses (especially the second one).

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

On electric bass-Skuli Sverrisson, Stomu Takeishi, Tarus Mateen and James Jamerson.
On guitar- Marc Ducret, Hilmar Jensson, Nels Cline, Ben Monder and Derek Bailey

Ronan Guilfoyle (Bassist)

Give us an example or two of an especially good or interesting:


1. Melody:

JS Bach - “Largo“ from Concerto for Flute and Strings in G Minor (extraordinary non-repeating melody), ‘Falling Grace’, by Steve Swallow (brilliant circular melody that feels like it has no beginning or end)

2. Harmonic language:

George Russell - ‘Jazz Workshop’, Kenny Wheeler - ‘Deer Wan’, Gyorgy Ligeti - ‘Piano Études’

3. Rhythmic feel:

Elvin Jones on Wayne Shorter’s ‘Black Nile’ - the epitome of polyrhythmic swing, Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters ‘Thrust’ - savage grooves, Steve Coleman and Five Elements ‘Rhythm People’ - funk meets odd metres, meets chromaticism.

4. Classical piece:

Bartok String Quartet No.4 (though I could have chosen any of the six), Henri Dutilleux ‘Symphony No. 1, J.S. Bach ‘Brandenburg Concertos’

5. Jazz album: John Coltrane ‘Transition’, Keith Jarrett ‘My Song’, Charlie Parker ‘Complete Savoy Sessions’

6. Book on music:

‘Louis Armstrong, an Extravagant Life’ by Laurence Bergreen, ‘The Rest is Noise’ by Alex Ross, ‘History of Jazz’ by Ted Gioia, ‘From Swing to Bop’ by Ira Gitler

7. Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

Dave Holland ‘Emerald Tears’, Miles Davis ‘At the Plugged Nickel’, Steve Coleman ‘Black Science’, New and Used ‘Souvenir’

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

Jack Bruce’s bass playing with Cream, and the melodies of Burt Bacharach.

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

George Duvivier, Tommy Williams (bassis with the Jazztet), Steve Swallow

Mark McNight (Guitarist)

Give us an example or two of an especially good or interesting:

1. Melody:

Dave Binney's Welcome to Life album, track #4 Frez. Great album, this tune contains two very different but equally amazing grooves both of which have really interesting and appealing melodies.

2. Harmonic language:

Brad Mehldau's reharms during his solos on pretty much any standard tune but especially ballads from the Art of the Trio era (Blame It On My Youth, Bewitched, etc).

3. Rhythmic feel:

Jesse Van Ruller, anything he's ever done but if I had to pick one album would probably go for Circles, some great compositions on that record. One of the bounciest swing feels I've ever heard.

4. Classical piece:

No response

5. Jazz album:

Brad Mehldau Art of the Trio Vol 1

6. Book on music:

The Advancing Guitarist by Mick Goodrick, great and thought provoking resource full of ideas which could be generalised to any instrument.

7 Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

Brad Mehldau Art of the Trio Vol1, never get tired of this, or any of the others for that matter.

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

Many singer/songwriters, to keep it Irish I guess the music of people like Fionn Regan or Foy Vance would be good examples. For me when music in this genre is done well the constant primary concern of the performer/composer is the emotional impact upon the listener which is always a great reminder to me of what I want to do with music.

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

I probably haven't heard of him/her yet! So many great guitarists all over the place.....maybe Tim Miller, seems like not so many people know about him yet.

Michael Buckley (Saxophonist)

Give us an example or two of an especially good or interesting:

1. Melody:

One I love that is not a well known melody is UMMG (Upper Manhattan Medical Group) by Billy Strayhorn .

2. Harmonic language:

Everything by Duke Ellington and Steely Dan

3. Rhythmic feel:

I love funk – back beat grooves, so Herbie’s Headhunters is great. For swing feel, ‘Miles Smiles’ , and ‘Four’ by Joe Henderson

4. Classical piece:

Mahler's 5th Symphony

5. Jazz album:

Joe Henderson ‘Four’ and ‘Tetragon’ - 'Coltrane Crescent', 'Ballads' - Rollins ‘The Bridge’, ‘Saxophone Colossus '

6. Book on music:

In my opinion Mark Levine’s Theory Book

7 Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

‘The Bridge’ Sonny Rollins

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

Woody Shaw

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

Craig Handy



Joe O Callaghan (Guitarist)

Give us an example or two of an especially good or interesting:

1. Melody:

`My one and only love` (Coltrane and Johnny Hartman) ; `Bye
Bye Blackbird` (Miles) ; ‘4;15 Bradford Executive` (Allan
Holdsworth - Magnificent melodic guitar solo) : `1 4 U `(John
McLaughlin, Floating Point - Great simple melody and fantastic flute solos).

2. Harmonic language:

Marilyn Crispell – plays freely with an amazing logic.

3. Rhythmic feel:

Mind Ecology (Shakti - wonderful groove and sound). Anything with Coltrane/Elvin ; ‘Thrust’-Headhunters.

4. Classical piece:

Bartok’s Violin concerto No.2 (Henryk Szeryng,violin - incredibly beautiful and intense), Villa-Lobos 5 preludes for guitar .

5. Jazz album:

Miles Davis Heard `Round The World.(It`s got everything!!), Transition-John Coltrane (Power, intensity, beauty)

6. Book on music:

Effortless Mastery-Kenny Werner (a life-changing book), Bob Dylan –‘Chronicles’, (very well written), ‘An Extravagant Life’ (Louis Armstrong story...entertaining and what a great man)

7 Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

Out on his own - Louis Stewart, A love Supreme - Coltrane .

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

Jimmy Raney – great understated player, very inventive and fluid.

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very
underrated:

Allan Holdsworth..doesn’t seem to be recognised by the jazz
community…..a very unique voice on guitar and technically
magnificent, wonderfully melodic. His playing on the Synthaxe at times is breath-taking.

Francesco Turrisi (Pianist)

Give us an example or two of an especially good or interesting:

1. Melody:

Round Midnight, Retrato em branco e preto (Jobim), Beatriz (Chico Buarque)

2. Harmonic Language:

All the music by Guinga, late 16th century music (DeMacque, Gesualdo, Luzzaschi) late Brahms piano music, Scriabin...Messiaen

3. Rhythmic Feel:

Most Monk tunes, the Atomic Basie band, Tira Poeira

4. Classical Piece:

Too much choice...Chopin Ballade n.1, Stravinsky Rite of Spring, Ligeti Atmospheres

5. Jazz Album:

Coltrane and Monk at Carnegie Hall, the early Jimmy Giuffre trios

6. Book on Music:

Rough Guide to World Music

7. Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

Bremen and Lausanne by Keith Jarrett

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

John Coltrane

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

Dunno if he is underrated but he def. should be more recognized...Paul Bley
...and not on my instrument...John Ruocco of course...

Aoife Doyle (Vocalist)

Give us an example or two of an especially good or interesting:

1. Melody:

Zingaro - A.C. Jobim, Deluge - Wayne Shorter

2. Harmonic language:

No response

3. Rhythmic feel:

Balkan Gypsy music

4. Classical piece:

Flute and Harp concerto in C Major. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

5. Jazz album:

Duke Ellington and John Coltrane 'In a Sentimental Mood'

6. Book on music:

Sri Chinmoy, Man Perfection in god satisfaction. Chapter 9: Music and meditation, Sound and silence

7 Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

Sarah Vaughan 'At Mister Kelly's'

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

Elvis (Not a joke!)

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

Esperanza Spalding