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Playing music

This year I celebrate 10 years as bass player. I haven’t blogged much about bass playing or music lately, but my band is quite active and keeps on playing at restaurants and parties in our region. I started with music because I wanted to try something new. I had no particular experience from younger years and it was scary in the beginning. All the other guys in the band had several years of experience, but all turned out very well.

Learning new things

This musical journey did something for my life, besides giving me a fun hobby. It showed me the possibilities and the joy of learning new things. It is easy to get stuck with the things you master or are familiar with. You operate safely within known limits. Dare to step out! This will keep your life fresh: every once in a while launch out into unfamiliar territory. I challenge the view that the older you get, the harder it is to learn something new!

Wholeness

Another thing bass playing did for me, was to open my eyes to wholeness and systems thinking. This may sound strange to you, but it is true. Music is primarily a right-brain activity and much of the ability to see the whole resides there. My first approach to playing music was a typical left-brain approach. I learned what to play piece by piece. My “linear” mind was very present in every step. I kept myself like to a rail road track. But as I moved on I found something different. I noticed that there could be a creative flow, birthed in each moment in which I could express myself. Together with other musicians you are part of a whole and your flowing together creates music. The whole is more than the sum of the parts. This is an incredible interesting area. I believe that by participating  in musical activity you nourish your own ability to understand and navigate in the systems that surrounds us, a much needed ability in these days.

And art?

Giving attention to music opened up a new perspective for me.  It  enhanced other areas in my life, like creativity and problem solving. Some time ago I asked myself; what if I push this a little further? Music is just one form of creative expressions. I suffer from a slight degree of colour-blindness (green-red). One day I realized that I hadn’t really paid attention to (man-made) art and design because of that. When it came to design I often let someone else do the work. I chose to handle the functional and practical aspect. I have always enjoyed nature. Walking slowly, just looking at all the beauty around is so refreshing. But man-made art has been a white spot.

Going further

I said to myself; what new perspectives will open up if I start to pay attention to form, colour and beauty. Perhaps there is a border possible to cross here. So I started paying attention and you know what …here is new, exciting territory I haven’t visited before. Fascinating! It is strange how you can look at things and don’t really see. Art has been an inseparable part of human history for as long as we know. Music is one of the expressions of the heart of man and art is the same. It is like a palette with many colours. I believe that art is a very necessary part of our culture and of our lives.

I am not limited by my background or by already discovered natural talents or absence of talents. Who am I? I am crossing a border. I am changing. Anybody out there doing this journey also?

Other posts about this subject you might want to read:
Musicians and systems thinking

Gerald Weinberg posted a comment about musicians and systems thinking recently. Here are my thoughts about this subject:

Music can be played and created in solitude, but an extra dimension is added when musicians meet and play together. You don’t have to improvise; even playing a familiar song is a greater experience when played together with other musicians. Add an audience and you have yet another dimension. An enthusiastic crowd can inspire you and make you play like you never before. There is more to listening than just consuming. Listening can be participation and interaction. That makes such a difference. Of course each musician has to take his responsibility, but the whole is surely greater than the sum of the parts.

Music has much to do with relationships. It is said that international sports promotes understanding and fellowship, but think about it, competition is a main ingredient in sports. Imagine a musical movement where people from different countries meet and play together without competition and create music together. There you have some promotion of fellowship. Especially Jazz music is an universal concept that crosses all cultural boundaries. In fact, I believe all creative Arts promote connectedness.

Some of today’s music is produced like on assembly line, barren and without lasting impact. It is commercialized fast-food.

I had worked in the computer industry for some 15 years when I started playing myself. I had a rather analytical and left-brain approach to my work and life in general. Along this path I eagerly developed the technical and solitude side of playing bass. I soon discovered the other side; the need to play with awareness, to be connected with myself and with others. Music is to be played together with other people, whether they play or just listen. Being the person I am, I began to reflect over this new perspective and started to hunt for more information along this path. I found a way of thinking that felt natural. This is the way the world operates. If you let loose your artistic right-brain side, it will teach you connectedness.

You may live by these principles more or less, but perhaps you are not aware of the system or how things fit together. I have found that the better I understand the system, the better I can direct my steps, and maximize my musical learning and experiences. There are always problems along the way that needs to be solved and if you can see the principles, you have a better chance of finding a solution. Thankfully, often intuition comes to our help.

We, as citizens of this earth, should strive for wholeness. Only then can we break the downward spiral of destruction. We cannot afford to live in our own egoistic, disconnected world. I believe musicians and artists have an important role to play for us and for the future.

The annual Jazz Festival in UmeÃ¥ has ended for the fortieth time. It’s a great experience with all kinds of jazz and its magnitude and the caliber of visiting artists competes with (surpasses) Stockholm Jazz Festival. Miles has been here, Duke, Ella and Coltrane also. Unfortunately I missed them, but I have seen John Scofield, Wayne Shorter, Mike Stern and Joe Zawinul. This year the highlights were Richard Bona, Etienne Mbappe and Robben Ford.

Richard Bona was great, of course. He played the whole range from the sweetest ballads to storming funk. He can do anything he wants with his voice and with his bass. In one song he sang together with himself (using a looping machine) in multiple voices. No instruments, just Mr Bona himself, from the lowest bass to the highest pitch. It was awesome and the audience was captivated.

Robben Ford gave us a lot of 12 bar blues roundups during two hours. But he and his crew were good, really good. During the concert I was placed so that I could see the hands of the bass player, Terry Carlton (son of Larry Carlton). Terry was a very nice acquaintance. I watched him groove during different kinds of blues songs and I was inspired and got something into my system. I will definitively push the limits a bit more, when we play the blues in my band. Lesson learned: Always place yourself so that you can see the bass player!

Here comes another two recommendations for real good jazz:

Les McCann/Eddie Harris – Swiss Movement, Live at Montreux Jazz Festival (1969)
I stumbled over this album a year ago and I have kept playing it at home. Now everybody in the house loves it, even my 13 year old daughter. It is said to be the peak of McCann’s career. I don’t know about that, but I do know that this recording is magic, total magic. It is infectiously joyful and so funky and the intermingling solos of saxophonist Eddie Harris and the trumpeter Benny Bailey have such great intensity. I want more of this, definitively.

Yellow Jackets – Time Squared (2003)
The albums Time Squared and Dreamland have been spinning in my car for the last month. Some parts remind me of Joe Zawinul and other of The Flecktones minus banjo. I especially like the drummer’s light and playful work on the cymbals. Bass player Jimmy Haslip is great of course. The melodies are gorgeous and weaved together, with intricate and subtle changes. This is an album that you typically can listen to again and again and find new interesting passages all the time. They have been going for a long time and yet they are not boring.

It is time to write about good music again. This time I would like to mention two favorites …

Capercaillie – Capercaillie (1995)
I have always loved Celtic folk music. The fiddles, the drums, the flutes and the melodies create an atmosphere that it is pure magic. During a period I searched for Celtic groups with a slight contemporary touch and I found the Scottish group Capercaille. They have a jazzy, funky sound and style and are not too much New Age sounding. The female vocalist has a wonderful voice and often sings in Gaelic, their “native language”. On this album the bass player lays down some really evil funky lines. Check out the song: Alasdir Mhic Cholla Ghasda. I have several albums, but this is the one I have listened to the most. Delirium is also quite nice. A fretless bass, with its singing voice, would fit just perfectly in music like this. I am apparently drawn to the borders of music; where jazz meets folk music or jazz meets hip hop or even jazz meets rock. I give them 5 out of 5 as rating.

Courduroy – Dad Man Cat (1992)
Courduroy plays Acid Jazz. The album Dad Man Cat is instrumental, as most of their songs are, and very funky. The bass player, Richard Searle, has a unique way of playing fast and bubbling bass lines. He plays incredibly fast sometimes, but not in the technical and boring way. Have a listen to this group, you might like it. I give this album highest rating also.

What has been spinning in my mp3-player the last week?

Mandalay – Instinct (2001)
A creative duo, Saul Freeman and Nicola Hitchcock is behind this album in the genre trip-hop/electronica. Like several other trip-hop groups, Lamb for example, the music gravitates around a fragile and intense female voice. Still, they have a unique sound. Most of the songs has beautiful moody melodies full of expression. At times a trumpet visits with a sound that reminds of Nils-Petter Molvaer’s. I absolutely love this album. I give it top rating, 5 out of 5. I will certainly get more cd’s from this group.

Avishai Cohen – Continuo (2006)
I first heard Avishai Cohen at the Stockholm Jazz Festival July 2006. What I heard was a interesting mix of israelian folk music, jazz and classical music with Avishai leading the group on accoustic and electric bass. Surprisingly I could hear traits of swedish folk music in the songs. It reminded me of the well-known swedish jazz-pianist Jan Johansson. Avishai has gained a great reputation in Sweden and visited several times. He performed at Umeå Jazz Festival in October 2006. My youngest son (15) and some of this friends went to the concert. When Albin came home he just walked around in the house and laughed and laughed! He said it was magical! Ahh! I missed that concert. His conversion to jazz became definitive this night and so also for some of his friends. As you can understand I give this album top rating, 5 out of 5

Uriah Heep – The Best Of Uriah Heep (1976)
For some reason I was a bit curious of Uriah Heep. I know they were very famous, but what I heard was not that interesting. I would call it symphonical hard rock with songs that almost never ends. One album was enough of this group and I give it the rating 2 out of 5.

What has been spinning in my mp3-player the last week?

Massive Attack – Blue Lines (1991)
A groundbreaking album in the trip-hop genre. A blend of hip-hop, soul and dub. I think this is their best album. I appreciate the variation of songs, styles and vocal voices on this album. Many of the other trip-hop groups have conformed to just one single style. Also, we have several catchy bass lines in this album. I will get back to this album again and again. I give it top rating, 5 out of 5.

Rage Against the Machine – Rage Against the Machine (1992)
This is a pioneer album that merge Rap and Heavy Metal. It is intense and rebellious and with an urgent message to the listener. Tom Morello on guitarr, the vocalist Zack de la Rocha and the bass player Tim Commerford create a unique sound. One of the songs is theme in the film Matrix, the movie that started out so good but ended in a bunch of clichés. The first time I listened to the album I did not like it at all, but after a while I was able to enter into the rage against the machine. Strong opposition demands fierce words. Tom Morello and Tim Commerford moved on to the group Audioslave. Tim Commerford is an notable and powerful bass player. Though I like the album my rating is 3 out of 5. It is interesting, but I do not love it.

Horace Silver Quintet – The Cap Verde Blues (1965)
The pianist Horace Silver is one of my favourites among the jazz hard-boppers. The album Songs to my Father is best, but this one is also very enjoyable. He plays funky, relaxed and not to complicated. My rating is 3 out of 5.

It was my eldest son (thanks Mattias) that did wet my appetite for a broader kind of music. I decided to take the challenge and I (forced) myself to listen to everything, I mean punk, funk, rock, metal, reggae, nu-metal, indie, folk music and you name it. And, after a while, when I opened myself and listened I, found that most kind of music gives something and is enjoyable. But I don’t listen to Slipknot. There goes the limit! Most people in my age still only listen to the music they listened to when they were teenagers. What is produced these days is interesting. Have you listened to Lamb and the album What Sound, for example?