James eyes Asia for jazz exploration

James eyes Asia for jazz exploration

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

During his visit to Indonesian jazz pianist Idang Rasjidi's
studio in Jakarta, pianist Bob James learned gamelan pentatonic
tunes, tinkled the ivories and played a Javanese pentatonic jazz
interpretation for an hour with Idang.

The next day, Dec. 10, at his concert in Jakarta, he played an
impromptu composition as an encore, after his performance of
pentatonic tunes with Idang was greeted by prolonged applause
from an audience of hundreds.

After about 10 minutes of fervent piano playing, James stood
up from his seat and embraced the surprised Idang, who felt it
was a great honor to play with James.

"I'm interested in exploring gamelan tunes more," James, 65,
told The Jakarta Post in an interview at the Four Seasons Hotel
in Central Jakarta.

The statement could easily have been interpreted as lip
service by the Indonesian press, to show he was interested in the
culture.

But, while it is possible that his interest in the gamelan is
only a passing one, his enthusiasm appears genuine.

After 40 years of playing jazz music, he is eager to challenge
preexisting notions of the genre through new forms.

James and his three fellow musicians -- bassist Nathan East,
drummer Lewis Pragasam and guitarist Jack Lee -- just completed a
project called Angels of Shanghai, in which they worked with five
young musicians from the Shanghai Music Conservatory.

The project blends modern jazz with the pentatonic sounds of
Chinese traditional music instruments.

He met these young musicians in August 2003 and they have been
working for two years to develop a new form of music, combining
American jazz and Chinese traditional music.

"Verbal communication was minimum. Every time they played some
thing I liked, I smiled." James said.

He smiled a lot that day, he said.

"These young people were totally receptive to the idea of
improvising and adapting their playing to whatever music I
presented them," James wrote in his website www.bobjames.com.

"I don't believe I've worked with any musicians who impressed
me so deeply, especially given the brief time we've had
together," he continued.

The day when he realized the collaboration was a success, he
cried, James said.

The collaboration resulted in some extraordinary music.

"It's very different from my previous works. I don't even know
what to call it," he said.

He was aware of the fact that, 40 years into his career, he
had come across a new structure of composition.

"I know some musicians choose to play the same music over and
over again," he said.

He admitted to nervousness over the reception of his new work.

James said his fans fell into different categories: Some
wanted him to play in concerts the music they were familiar with
from his recordings; others wanted to hear something different to
make for a new experience.

Most of his fans in the United States, though, are older than
his fans in Indonesia, South Korea and Japan.

"This is my fourth time here. The first time my friend Peter
Gontha invited me and my wife to get the feel of Indonesia," he
said.

The second time and the third time, he said, he performed in
front of a younger audience compared to his audience in the
States.

Young people in the U.S. were more interested in hip-hop and
pop, he added.

He said jazz was becoming an unfashionable music in the U.S.

On top of that, he said, radio stations and their market
survey dictated how musicians and labels made music.

Solo improvisation, which was the soul of jazz, he said, was
not popular with radio stations, which often cut solo playing
down.

Their surveys revealed that, for example, listeners preferred
vocal compositions and loved the sounds of the saxophone, he
said. So anything "unpopular" was at risk of being butchered, he
added.

"If you take it out of this, it's just pop music. Nice, sweet
jazz," he said.

"It is particularly difficult for new musicians to rise," he
said.

James, who founded Fourplay in 1991 with East, Lee Ritenour
and Harvey Mason, lamented the economy-driven music scene in the
States.

James, who obtained his master's degree in music at the
University of Michigan in 1962, released his first album Bold
Conceptions in 1963 with bassist Ron Brooks and drummer Bob
Pozar.

Since then, he has released 39 albums -- both collaborative
and solo.

Many people remember him for his 1978 composition Angela
for the TV series Taxi.

In 1980 he clinched a Grammy Award for his album with
guitarist Earl Klugh, One on One and received another Grammy in
1986 with saxophonist David Sanborn 1986 for their Double Vision.

His heyday may be over, but for jazz lovers he never ceases to
be relevant.

"For the Java Jazz Festival next year, I have asked Peter
Gontha to give me a smaller room for the Angels of Shanghai
Ensemble," he said.

"Peter said he would prepare a bigger room for Fourplay,"
James said.