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Interviews July 2008
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An interview with Rik Wright |
Indieguitarists.com Interviews | |
1. Describe the early years of your musical roots and how your talent was nurtured. I've been a music fanatic as long as I can remember, oddly enough not spurned by any huge musical presence in my environment growing up. I can remember building cardboard guitars and dancing around my bedroom to the Rolling Stones. I started forming bands when I was in middle school and was touring the college circuit by high school. I didn't find out until much later in my life that my father had been a professional saxophonist until my older sister was born. 2. Were there any events, people or catalysts that were musically influential? In high school, the owner of a local indie record store took interest in my band and started promoting and managing us. When I was 18 a friend took me under his wing and introduced me to jazz guitar. I then enrolled in a jazz program led by renowned pianist and educator Ellis Marsalis. From there I started touring around the country with various indie rock bands. But then, a few years later, I went to see a performance by Pat Martino at the Iridium in New York. He was playing with Joe Lovano and I thought 'Man! That's what I want to do'. The next night I caught Jimmy Bruno at a different club and I was sold. I went to Mandolin Brothers and started pricing archtops! 3. How would you describe your sound? I like to call it "cool jazz", harkening back to the sounds of Kenny Burrell and Wes Montgomery in the 60's. This style of jazz attempts to avoid the aggressive tempos and harmonic abstraction of bebop. Instead it concentrates on thick grooves and often advanced modal or blues structures. It harkens back to the roots of modern jazz in old roadhouses, taverns and coffee shops. 4. How many CDs have you released as a solo artist? Um, I'd have to think about that for a second, I've been recording with different groups pretty constantly for over 10 years now. Seems like there have been five solo recordings with a sixth coming out this summer. 5. What is the name of your latest CD and describe the creative process that went into it? My most recent recording is "Boogie for Buddha" by the Wright/Grasso Quartet on HipSync Records. Trumpeter Tony Grasso and I started writing original jazz compositions that played off of each other's writing styles. This recording represents a true partnership, where both of us wrote exactly half of the material and the voice of each performance led to the voice of the next. 6. Where did you record your latest CD and who was involved in the recording and production of it? We recorded it at Jack Straw Productions with Doug Haire engineering. I've been recording with Doug for most of my jazz career. He truly understands recording acoustic instruments like no other engineer I've worked with. His background comes from doing live full band performances for radio. The tracks on the CD are pretty much completely live as well. We just set-up in a studio and went for it straight to disc. The band consisted of veterans of the Seattle Jazz scene – myself on guitar, Tony Grasso on trumpet, Ev Stern on double bass and Jeremy Jones on drums. It was mastered by Rick Fisher at RFI-CD Mastering here in Seattle. 7. How involved are you in the recording process of the projects you have worked on? I've produced every one of my solo recordings and many releases for other artists as well. I pick the material, studio, engineer, direct the sessions, assist in the mixes, and instruct the mastering sessions. 8. Describe some of the highs and lows of your musical career so far? Quite honestly, I don't dwell on it very much. I'm an improviser at heart, so I just do something and then sort my way through it in real time. Once it's gone it's gone. There are a few things that stick in my head. Like performing at big festivals such as Bumbershoot where the audience numbered in the thousands. That's always invigorating. Playing the big noteworthy national circuit jazz venues like Jazz Alley, Yoshi's or the Jazz Bakery is always intimidating but exhilarating. It's always really hip when some radio station in some far off country emails you a playlist with your name on it. I can also remember certain reviews where something particularly glowing was said because it's always cool and at the same time makes me a little uncomfortable. Getting my first publishing check from BMI was a highlight, even if it was for only $19. 9. How do you feel about playing to a live audience? I recently read an article by David Byrne in Wired magazine where he describes it very well. He explains how before recording technology existed, listeners had to experience music via troubadours, church music, chants, pub sing-alongs, ceremonial music, etc. – that when the event was over the music was gone. Byrne called CDs an "artifact" of a performance. With jazz the CD is often a keepsake, a momentum. It's no replacement for the event itself - the observation of the communication between the musicians, the facial expressions, the physicality of it, the introduction by performers of the history of the tune. With jazz the performance is the music. The musicians on that bandstand will never play that music exactly that way again. That experience at that time is unique. For me personally, it's just a great time. It's a social occasion. The members of my band are some of my best friends, so it's a chance to reconnect with them on a musical level. After the first few seconds of the first tune everything else fades out, it's just a microcosm of those instruments and performers at that time. I'm always a little surprised during the break between tunes when I realize there are people watching. 10. What does your live set up consist of? We are known for our original compositions, aggressive solos, odd "standards" and unusual cover songs. At our best, any tune can become a game of hot potato where we're constantly one-upping each other. It's very hard to have a bad night with these guys. There's always one smart-ass on the stage who's going to take a left turn and make everybody think on their toes for the rest of the tune. 11. Who does your booking? Are you under management? Yes, kind of. One of my best friends (Vikki Anselmo) has been managing the band for the last five years. She has her own production company (Painted Blue Management) and she's kind of an all-purpose management agency. She does some of the booking, publicity, and often the marketing. Recently I also picked up a second booking agency based here in Seattle. They tend to specialize on festivals and locking down all the booking for specific venues and then placing their affiliated acts in the performance slots. 12. What are your musical ambitions? I basically write and perform in the hopes that one day my material can stand up to just one composition by the likes of Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Kenny Burrell, Pat Martino or Wes Montogomery. If I can one day feel like I contributed even a single tune to the genre on a par equal to any one of them, I'll be satisfied. Ultimately, if I can influence just one individual to go out and buy a jazz guitar record, or mention the experience to one of their friends and influence them to go to a live jazz show, then I've achieved my goals. 13. Have you ever insured your music equipment? If so, with what company and would you recommend them to other musicians? I have a good-sized collection of unique handmade archtop guitars, so I'd be crazy not to insure them. I use Clarion Insurance to cover all my instruments and performance gear. Clarion specializes in insuring symphonies, orchestra pits and musicians. They've been easy to deal with and relatively inexpensive. However, I've never filed a loss claim with them so I can't say how they are to work with on that level. 14. What are some of your favorite venues to play? I really love performing at Egan's Jam house here in Seattle. It's an intimate room with a large enough stage for my whole quintet to be comfortable on. I love playing outdoor jazz festivals where there is a strong audience turnout and professional stage rigging, as well as local street markets and cultural events where the audience didn't necessarily come to see music and are pleasantly surprised at the quality of performance. That's always a great realization in the faces of your audience to watch. I also enjoy small rooms where you can here the conversations of the audience in between songs – eavesdrop on their experience of the show. 15. What music organizations are you affiliated with? Earshot Jazz here in Seattle, NARAS (the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences), BMI, ASCAP and the King County Arts Commission (4culture). I used to belong to the AFM (American Federation of Musicians), but if you're not a symphony, show or pit musician, they really won't do much for you. The AFM pretty much ignores the needs of your independent, touring or club musician, so I withdrew my membership. 16. Is there a venue that you play regularly at? Not really, I try to keep my calendar as diverse as possible. Besides the occasional stint where I'll sign up for a monthly slot at a local venue, I rarely play the same place more frequently than every three months or so. It's kind of nice in that we are constantly drawing in a new fan base at the same time as introducing our loyal followers to new places hosting live music in their local area. For more info on Rik Wright visit: www.RikWright.com
© 2008 Yonge Music
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