BY DANMICHAEL REYES,
Intent is one of those intangible qualities that make a jazz musician. While traits like technical facility, memory, harmonic and rhythmic sophistication play a huge part in the career and development of the aspiring jazz artist, intention is the X-factor that can make a performance special. In an art form that demands spontaneity and thrives within improvisation, hearing what you’re going to play before you play it—in some cases hearing it as you play—is crucial in order to get your message across.
Rhizome (Blue Note/ArtistShare, 2014) is Cuban-born, New York-based pianist and composer Fabian Almazan’s newest project. Set to release this February, Almazan’s newest album is a project with the intention to “unite all people from all walks of life and provide them with some inspiration to strive towards happiness.” Almazan’s sophomore album as a leader features original compositions by the pianist about topics ranging from the Arab Spring to the devastating shootings that took place here in the States last year.
“There were a lot of shootings that happened in the U.S that [occurred] around that time and I felt like it’s just little old me,” describes Almazan. “I’m just a pianist but I had hoped that standing up and saying [that] we’re all one and we’re all reflections of each other would help.”
“At the time I just felt that it was necessary for me—for my own moral compass—to say something about making the world a better place,” Almazan continues. “I know it sounds very kumbaya, but that’s the whole idea for Rhizome.”
Coming up with the album’s name came to the pianist after reading a passage in a book by Carl Jung’s Memories, Dreams, Reflections on life being analogous to a rhizome. “It kind of crystallized when I read [a] passage in Jung’s book,” Alamazan shares. “I travelled a lot for touring and had a lot of conversations with people about their lives and what they’re going through. It just became clear to me that it doesn’t matter where we’re from, we’re all experiencing very similar things in our lives and we’re all undergoing certain challenges.”
A challenge fit for our purposes is the slowly diminishing idea of apprenticeships and finishing schools in jazz. In previous years, a jazz musician would earn his/her stripes after serving as a sideman for a more experienced artist. While these sidemen were usually pretty bad musicians who were on the top of their game—Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter
b.1933
saxophone
‘s time with Art Blakey
Art Blakey
1919 – 1990
drums
and Miles, Miles Davis
Miles Davis
1926 – 1991
trumpet
with Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
1920 – 1955
sax, alto
, Bird with Jay McShann
Jay McShann
1909 – 2006
piano
—local scenes thrived on a microcosmic level with older local musicians taking the younger generation in.
While finishing schools aren’t as prevalent as they used to be, these opportunities still exist and Fabian Alamazan is an example. Since 2007, the young pianist has held the piano chair for trumpeter, Terence Blanchard
Terence Blanchard
b.1962
trumpet
. Almazan appears on Blanchard’s latest record for Blue Note, Magnetic (2013), the soundtrack for the movie Red Tails (Sony, 2012), and Choices (Concord, 2009).
When asked about advice for striving musicians looking to land apprenticeships, the humble pianist said, “Listen to your gut. I think a lot of people know the majority of the answers that they’re seeking, they’re just afraid to face up to the reality of it.”
“Usually, the reality of it requires an extreme amount of work and a lot of dedication,” Almazan reveals. “I think if you really love what you’re doing, and you have the courage to go forward [to] fulfill whatever destiny you want, things will line up. It’s not easy by any means, it’s the most difficult thing that any that [particular] person will probably have to do; it’s just part of life. But that’s what it entails, a lot of hard work. Just listen to your gut; if you feel like you have to do something to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve, just go for it.”
Going for it is a trait and attitude that Almazan inhibits not just in his life as a jazz pianist, but as a film composer, and a record label owner. Biophilia Records is Almazan’s own imprint where his first album, Personalities (2011), was released. Other artists that are part of Almazan’s Biophilia umbrella are bassist and singer-songwriter Desmond White and vocalist Charlie Christenson.