Archie Shepp et Hamid Drake, Junas 2011
Archie Shepp: The Complete Interview
Last
month, I spoke with saxophonist Archie Shepp, one of my heroes for
more than 40 years now. Shepp spoke at length about growing up in
Fort Lauderdale and Philadelphia. He told stories about John Coltrane
and Lee Morgan. He discussed the current movement, led by trumpeter
Nicholas Payton, to retire the term “jazz” from the lexicon, and
instead to call it “BAM,” or Black American Music.
Here’s
the complete transcript of my interview with Shepp, who performs Oct.
11-12 at Yoshi’s in Oakland, his first Bay Area club dates in about
20 years. What a trill, for me to speak with Shepp: In my mind, I can
still see him so vividly, strutting onstage, sharp as can be, ready
to fire up his soul-power at the John Coltrane Memorial Concert at
New York’s Town Hall, in 1971. It was the first of many times when
I’ve been privileged to see/hear this legendary figure – also a
blues singer, a playwright, a poet and leader of the “new breed”
that instigated the ‘60s black jazz avant-garde, the “fire music”
from which one of Shepp’s classic albums takes its name.
He
can play a ballad with tender beauty; almost excruciating to hear.
His “Attica Blues” album, from 1972, was to jazz what “What’s
Going on” was to soul music. But why even differentiate? Shepp is a
soul man, a jazz man, a blues man. Now 75 years old, he divides his
time between Paris, France, and Hadley, Mass, where he got on the
phone to talk about his life in music.
This
transcript expands considerably on a shorter version of this
interview, recently published in the San Jose Mercury News.
Q:
Archie, I watched a new video of you rehearsing your band and –
just like 40 years ago – you were dressed in the sharpest suit and
brimmed hat.
A:
I grew up in a tradition where musicians were generally – they were
sharp, they were well-dressed. I’m thinking of Ellington and Earl
Hines, people who were models for me: Miles Davis, Roy Haynes, Max
Roach. These were the people who were generally impeccably attired;
it’s part of the ambiance of the music. Apart from the fact that
they were playing beautifully, aesthetically they looked good.
People
come to hear music. But as in the theater, they also come to see it.
So there’s a visual aspect to the whole presentation.
plus sur:
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2012/10/10/archie-shepp-the-complete-interview/
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