Andy Milne
This interview with Andy Milne was conducted by email during April 2007.
Tony Reif: You’ve only really been concentrating on solo piano for the last couple of years, and this is your first solo piano record. Who are the pianists you most enjoyed or enjoy listening to? In jazz, which pianists have been most influential in developing your own style?
Andy Milne: Glenn Gould and Oscar Peterson are obvious Canadian piano heroes, but I suppose since my beginnings I’d have to include artists like Elton John, Joe Jackson, and Stevie Wonder. In the jazz world I definitely give it up to Herbies Hancock and Nichols, Art Tatum, Monk, McCoy Tyner, Geri Allen, Kenny Werner, Bill Evans, Ahmad Jamal and more recently Brad Mehldau. In a more direct mentorship way I got a lot of influential encouragement from Joanne Brackeen, Muhal Richard Abrams, Don Thompson, and Mulgrew Miller.
TR: In general how does your approach to improvising on solo piano differ from what you do on piano/keys in Dapp Theory, your instrumental/vocal quintet?
AM: Well for one thing there’s more room to explore the entire range of the piano when I’m playing solo, because the instrument and the natural acoustics of the room dictate the dynamic range of the performance. Also, when I perform with Dapp Theory I use a lot of keyboards, which makes it difficult to play the inside of the piano. With Dapp I’m acting more as conductor/arranger, so playing solo is proving to be a very liberating experience because I can give in to whimsical impulses at any given moment.
TR: Specifically on this record, how did you go about working out your versions of the folk/pop standards and how did you decide what songs to cover? You count Joni Mitchell among your influences and you collaborated with Bruce Cockburn a few years ago – what draws you to their music and to pop materials generally?
AM: For me, I have to discover how I’m going to assume my own temporary ownership of a song before I can determine my approach. So in the case of the songs on Dreams and False Alarms, I played them a bunch of different ways for a while, until a path revealed itself. If a path didn’t reveal itself, as was the case with “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” I stepped away from the piano and tried to re-compose the sonic space the song would occupy. I came up with the idea of using the singing Tibetan bowl on this tune because it offered a meditative quality which I felt complemented the spirit of the original Dylan recording. Deciding what songs to record wasn’t easy, but essentially I looked for material rich with meaningful, strong melodic content and just enough room for some personal harmonic development. What draws me to this music? I think it’s the combined artistry of the poetry, songwriting and performance of their creators. Artists like Bruce Cockburn, Bob Marley, and Joni Mitchell use their songs to speak about important things that need to be heard in this world, yesterday and today. I guess I’m drawn to them for their courage and ideology.
TR: Dapp Theory was partly inspired by your years of performing with Steve Coleman’s groups, an association which began in 1990 when you attended the Banff Centre’s summer jazz workshop which he was running then. (A propos, the cover shot for this record was taken there last winter.) Could you talk about some of the things you learned during that time, and what your current thinking is re combining jazz, hip-hop, contemporary funk/groove etc.?
AM: I learned to practice thinking creatively. Banff continues to promote creativity and that is a wonderful thing. Learning to work with who each of us is, while exploring the universe for inspiration and then expressing those things in creative and personal ways, is to me the humbling and inspiring thing I came away from being in Banff in 1990 and in 2007. These days it seems like every musician listens to a multiplicity of musical genres, or at least they frequently cite diverging influences in interviews. Blending those influences isn’t quite as easy as citing them. For me, my goal is to do it in ways that don’t sound contrived or insincere. I guess that’s what I’m trying to do with jazz and hip-hop with Dapp Theory and what I’m trying to do with solo piano and folk and pop music.
TR: You call this record Dreams and False Alarms (is that a quote from Shakespeare?), and your bio states that your “musical concepts draw inspiration from various forms of music, politics, philosophy, comedy, and science fiction.” It also quotes you as creating Dapp Theory to “tell passionate stories, promote peace and inspire collective responsibility towards uplifting the human spiritual condition.” Clearly you’re concerned with content beyond mere questions of style. But here, without words, and without the visceral and kinetic impact of an electric/groove outfit to help drive home that content emotionally, what do you see as your role vis-à-vis the listener?
AM: Dreams and False Alarms is actually taken from the refrain of “Amelia,” the Joni Mitchell song which opens the CD. I chose it because I like how it expresses what we experience in our lives as we allow ourselves to grow and change. This CD represents a side of my musical self that, until recently, few listeners have had the opportunity to experience. It also marks a broadening of direction for me artistically and professionally. I guess I’m using the familiarity of these songs to float the listener back in time to different places in their (our) lives to remind them (us) of the idealism that existed whenever that was. We have so much information available to us in the digital age and our ability to store it expands daily. I think it’s important to remind ourselves that information isn’t necessarily the same as wisdom.
TR: An acoustic duo with the Swiss harmonica-player Gregoire Maret (a former member of Dapp Theory and currently in The Pat Metheny Group) is also being released in June on the ObliqSound label (www.obliqsound.com). Tell us something about how that project came about and how the two records complement each other.
AM: The duo with Gregoire came about when ObliqSound producer/owner Michele Locatelli and I were discussing different ideas of me recording for Obliq. During his years with Dapp Theory, Grégoire & I explored our mutual passion for beautiful melody, performing a few select standards on gigs. The idea for the duo fit my desire to explore multiple projects. Both the duo and solo CDs present me in very acoustic, intimate settings, playing much more piano than my previous recordings. I think they complement each other well, because on Dreams and False Alarms I’m exploring song forms through harmonic and melodic improvisation, whereas on Scenarios we’re dealing with sonic textures more. The joy for me with both of these recordings was being able to express pianistic subtleties to a much greater extent than on Dapp Theory recordings.
TR: Could you say something your musical relationship to the pieces on this record?
AM: Sure, but first I want to point out that throughout this CD an attempt was made to take the listener on a sonic as well as musical voyage. At times the mix shifts perspectives, enabling the listener to be in different positions in the room and perhaps even different points in history.
“Amelia” – I’ve known this Joni song for years since hearing it on the Shadows and Light recording she did with all the jazz superstars, but it wasn’t that memory that influenced my including the song/ I think it was the balance between the dark and light qualities of the melody that appealed to me. I tried to represent this in my own way by evoking a slight gospel sound, juxtaposed against the darker, “Andy Milne-afied” harmonic interpretations. Both can be heard throughout, although the difference between the intro and the last two minutes sort of crystallizes it for me.
“Geewa” – I composed this song originally for my duo with Grégoire Maret but ended up performing it so much on solo piano that it made its way onto this recording. It’s based on an 11-beat cycle, which I keep track of in my left hand. Although its rhythmic structure and melodic contour don’t resemble the folk music represented on this CD, there are folk musics in the world which are built upon longer rhythmic cycles like this, so somewhere in my mind it’s representing those cultures.
“Message in a Bottle” – Sting is arguably one of the great pop melody writers of his generation. He’s crafted songs out of very few notes but with just enough notes to make them poignant and memorable. The fun was in taking this tried and tested song and making it my own. Sting’s familiar bass line has such a strong pull on the song that I needed to respect it, while still taking it somewhere. Some listeners might not realize that it’s actually been modified into a 71/2-beat structure. Because the bass line is so integral to the song, I also had to respect the harmonic structure, although I did explore a few subtle substitutions that I thought made the song a bit more mournful. Finally, certain things are happening to the mix in this song to pay homage to the cultural sound of The Police.
“I Shot the Sheriff” – To me Bob Marley was a folk musician and politician wrapped into one, not unlike Bob Dylan. Here I chose to use the familiarity of the intro (vamp between verses) as my reference point to the original. What happens in between is a result of my getting lost in the joys of playing solo piano.
“After the Gold Rush” – I remember hearing my brother play Neil Young in the early 70s, and although I didn’t understand the lyrics or their cultural significance, the melody spoke to me. I think this is some of the strongest, most honest melody writing in popular music. When K. D. Lang recorded this song a couple of years back I found myself revisiting it. This performance was all about the exploration of the song form. Ironically, it’s probably the most “jazz piano”-like performance on the CD.
“The Times They Are A-Changin'” – The arrangement on this song didn’t come easily for me as I found it difficult translating its anthem-like simplicity to the piano. I decided I’d explore timbre and not rhythm or harmony in this song. This was my first attempt at preparing the piano, which can be heard on a few melody notes. The use of the singing Buddha bowl to create the drone was inspired by a jam session I did in Australia where the percussionist used a singing bowl to center everyone before we began our improvisation. It had such a profound effect on me, I went out and got my own bowl. I wanted to create an otherworldly quality because I’m aware that many people have covered this song before for lots of different reasons (some artistic, some commercial).
“The Metamorph” – This composition was inspired by a Star Trek episode. It’s basically made of two parts, and I cue myself when I want to morph the form to the next section. I recorded it because, although this CD is largely about folk and pop music, I wanted to bridge the gap between my compositional approach and my improvisational approach for listeners who might not be familiar with my previous musical output.
“Don’t Let it Bring You Down” – This is another Neil Young classic that I remember from when my older brother listened to this stuff in the 1970s. I think there are several interpretations of this song, but I guess my comment would be that I think some of the same social-political-economic conditions which probably inspired Young still exist today (Iraq – Viet Nam, etc.). Having said this, I’m inspired by hopeful creations and refreshing viewpoints – and I think the way I perform this song is heavily inspired by the musicality in how Neil Young presented his message in this song.
“Sensei-tions” – I composed this in homage to pianist Herbie Nichols, whom I feel was greatly underappreciated during his lifetime. The approach I took to crafting the melody was directly inspired by the sonic impressions left in my mind after listening to his music for several months. Although it’s a short journey in a different direction, I like how it sets up the ear for the next composition.
“The Circle Game” – This is perhaps my favorite Joni Mitchell song. It’s the kind of song I’d like to hear all my favorite vocalists attempt to interpret. I was moved to record this after hearing Joni’s own reinterpretation on her Travelogue CD. Interpreting Joni as an instrumentalist isn’t easy due to her incredibly personal vocabulary and to the commonly head opinion that “you shouldn’t touch Joni.” Regardless, it’s a pleasure to explore her music and I suppose I wanted to share what I learned.
“Danny Boy” – I chose to close the CD with this song for two reasons. The first is that it’s my father’s favorite song and I dedicated this CD to him and my mother (something I’m happy I’m able to do while they’re both alive and healthy). The second is that it’s the closest to being a folk song, in the technical sense of folk music being considered music by and for the common people, integral to the culture and passed down through the aural tradition. Accordingly, I played the melody once with no improvisation and simply said, “thank you and good night.”