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 GIL GOLDSTEIN JAM talks with the acclaimed keyboard man about a multifaceted career in music, the joys of being a sideman... and working with Miles.
GG: Well, there aren't a lot of jazz accordionists to influence me. And that's a good thing. Not like the piano, where influences seem overwhelming. I can hardly ever play a phrase on piano that doesn't recall Bill, Herbie... But when I play the accordion, if I play one of those phrases, it's kind of refreshing. I also love that I can hold a note, unlike the piano where you can't sustain or use vibrato. JAM: Why does the accordion get such a bad rap? GG: Lawrence Welk? I happened to enjoy watching that show when I was an infant -- I'm told -- and I loved and waited for the accordionist to show up. There's so much great accordion music all over the world, it's a shame for the negativity. I'm guilty too of not taking the accordion seriously. From about 16 to 36 I even forgot I played the accordion. JAM: Your outstanding playing on both accordion and piano can be heard on Karrin Allyson's new CD, "From Paris to Rio." How was it coming to KC and working with Karrin's band? GG: I enjoyed it a lot. They made it very easy because everything was musically organized, everyone played great, and Karrin was inspiring and fun to be around. Absolutely no problems. That's rare, and I hope to be able to join them again in the future in one capacity or another. JAM: Tell us a little about your beginnings. Where did you grow up, where did you get your training as a musician, that kind of thing. GG: I started playing accordion when I was about five; then I switched to piano around eight, along with a brief disastrous affair with cello. I grew up in Baltimore and my family moved to Silver Spring, Maryland when I was in the sixth grade. I played in bands, got interested in jazz and arranging, went to workshops around the area. Then I went to a zillion colleges... American University, Berklee, the University of Maryland, the University of Miami. And after that I did an independent degree in music education at the Union Graduate School. JAM: You've worked as both a leader and a sideman. Which do you prefer and why? GG: I think I prefer the sideman position. It's so hard to be a bandleader and it's something I never was good at. I think I play better as a sideman, with less musical and organizational responsibilities on my mind. Not so, however, in the studio. I do enjoy being a leader on my dates and I love organizing and having more and more responsibilities in the studio. JAM: You are also a highly respected arranger. How did you hone those skills? GG: Just from doing it. I remember all the mysteries surrounding arranging when I was a kid. It seemed impossible. The first arrangements I did professionally, I was prepared to say "let's just tacit measures 1-200." But when it worked I was amazed. And my amazement continues. I really love the process of arranging and the ability to enjoy the results and continue to learn and expand my craft. I feel like I'm way at the beginning. I hope I have the opportunity to continue. JAM: As a sideman, you've appeared with some of the finest jazz musicians in the world. Let's do some name association. Pat Martino. GG: Pat was my first professional experience. I did my first three records with him in about the course of three weeks, after we did gigs for about two years. I remember it fondly. He's a sweet and sensitive man who came from the streets of Philly. Mystical, complex, but simply one hell of a guitar player. JAM: Jim Hall. GG: I guess I just dig guitar players. Those records (he did) with Bill Evans turned me around. It was an honor to work with him for two or three years, and happily I continued to work with him as he got involved in arranging, in the capacity of a producer. It's just a big honor. I feel very lucky. JAM: Billy Cobham. GG: Billy was my European fusion experience. The first band I played in with him was with Michael Urbaniak, Mike Stern and Tim Landers. It was fun, but not really my kind of music. But he gave me a lot of opportunities to write and play little solo piano things. The best part of the gig was that I met my wife in Ascona, Switzerland; and 18 years later we're still together. JAM: Pat Metheny. GG: I met Pat at the University of Miami, and that's another thing like Billy's gig. The University of Miami was kind of forgettable as a school experience, but I met Pat. And we're still working together and are friends... I don't want to say how many years later! He defined my musical generation and makes me proud to be part of it. Again, I feel lucky and honored to be in the periphery of his musical world. JAM: Gil Evans. GG: I met Gil through a project I did with Billy Cobham in Switzerland. When I first saw him sitting at a table sorting through music, I felt a deep connection and love for him. He became a father figure for me; and I wouldn't have any idea how to arrange anything without what I learned from him. I continue to learn from him. For me, he is the premier jazz arranger. I'm very honored that I met him and that he gave me a little nod and some encouragement. "...(Jazz education) should be deeply integrated with the real world of jazz. By that I mean that professional musicians must make the time -- and schools should seek them out -- to make the education more realistic." -- Gil Goldstein JAM: Regarding Gil Evans, you were very much involved in dusting off many of his arrangements for the 1991 Montreux concert with Miles Davis shortly before Davis died. Talk a little about that experience. It must have been pretty intense. GG: Anita Evans, Gil's widow, recommended me to Quincy Jones and he asked me to reconstruct those arrangements. I worked from piano sketches Gil did, listened to the records, changed some things and decided on orchestration. I think I did a good job, and the gig came off miraculously well. It's hard music. We only rehearsed one day and Miles was rusty. But he rose to the occasion. When he left that night, he said, "That was nice, let's do it again." Oh well, so it goes. JAM: Do you have any specific recollections of Miles from that time? GG: It was exciting for me to meet Miles like that. Not as a piano player but as an arranger. It was easy for him to remember my name because it was Gil and I had grey hair. He kind of made me Gil Evans in his head, I think. He'd walk over to me and say, "How do I sound, Gil?" I don't really remember how I responded, but I remember he punched me a couple of times, in a friendly way. The whole thing was thrilling, and funny, and tragic. JAM: Give us kind of an overview of what your professional life is like now. Every day must be completely different... GG: I do wear a lot of hats. I produce, arrange, play, conduct. Basically, I'm trying to get better and learn something everyday. JAM: Are you optimistic about the future of jazz? GG: I'm concerned about this traditional new generation. I think jazz needs a revolution. In reality, this current generation might have the same problem I have with the piano: overwhelming influences. How can you expand on Jaco, Herbie, Pat, Trane, Tony Williams and Miles? So, thanks to influences which will be nameless, this generation turned their backs on evolution and decided not to expand but to maintain tradition. That's a disaster for the future of jazz. But I think that, quietly out there, there are young people who are in touch with their musical conscience and see the path before them. And the rest of us have a big responsibility, too, of course. Time will tell. I feel that, without Miles out there in the living world, we are all a little lost now. We all have a lot more responsibility to follow his lead of innovation and joyous creation and everything that goes along with that. I don't know if we've accepted his loss yet. But we must and then move on. Every one of us. JAM: This issue of JAM has a jazz education theme. How do you feel about jazz education in the schools and colleges? GG: I think it's important. But it should be deeply integrated with the real world of jazz. By that I mean that professional musicians must make the time -- and schools should seek them out -- to make the education more realistic. I think that if jazz education becomes a specialized field left to those who only teach, there will be a schism between schools and the real world. Jazz needs a community, a place where it can flourish. No one city really provides that currently, so it's good if schools can. Learning is such a mysterious thing. Someone only learns when they seek out information and direct their own learning. In other words, jazz can't be taught, but if schools are there and provide the atmosphere, it can be learned there. JAM: We sometimes conclude these interviews with the always-challenging Desert Island Question. If shipwrecked, what three albums would you like to have nearby? GG: Bill Evans, "Live at the Village Vanguard," Jaco Pastorius' first record, and "Miles Ahead" by Gil and Miles. That leaves a lot out, but it implies the many other recordings I love. (Gil Goldstein will be appearing with Al Jarreau and the Kansas City Symphony on Nov. 19-20.) © 1999 Mike Metheny RETURN TO OCTOBER 1999 MAIN INDEX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved. |
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