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.