Neil Cowley: "Its great that I do music and not comedy! It means I can be understood in all sorts of new places"

On October 13, Neil Cowley will be in Luxembourg for the very first time. I had a little chat with Neil and we talked about as varied subjects as "live concert vs recording", the "Old-fashioned image classical music has to face" or simply improvisation.

D: Who (which pianists) did you admire while growing up?

N.C. :   As a child I admired Erroll Garner for his lyricism. Michel Petrucciani for his melody. Dudley Moore for his charisma. After that I tended to become obsessed with other instrumentalists. Frank Zappa had a great influence on me. His playing and his composition.

D: Aged 10, you already played Shostakovich. So you have a classical background. What made you turn into a Jazz pianist?

N.C. :    I was taught classically. Though I had no real love for music until someone introduced me to American soul/funk and jazz. It was then that the passion was ignited and I began to teach myself the language of contemporary music by ear. I was performing with bands aged 14 and in order to survive I had to build up my jazz and blues knowledge very quickly.

D: Are you still listening to classical music?

N.C. :    I still love Shostakovich. Though mostly I just play the occasional piece of Bach or Mozart on the piano, rather than listening to it on CD.

D: Why you think, is classical music generally felt as old-fashioned and boring by young people?

N.C. :   Because it not an instant thing perhaps? However having said that, I'm not sure it ever was a particularly young persons music. There are emotions within it that only come with age and understanding. The beauty of a passage may only speak to someone with 'battle scars'. You can't expect that from a young person. There will always be young people coming through who appreciate it, but when you look at the 'classical scene' it's hardly something that is going to appeal to the vast majority of young people looking for a good time and trying to find their voice!

D: The music you are playing with your trio is what? “Rock’n’rolled” Jazz? “Popified” Jazz? “Jazzified” Pop Rock? Would you be able to define it that specifically? Is it the British touch that makes it special?

N.C. :   It's very hard to define. Especially for me, being so closely connected to it. There are commonalities between rock, classical, soul and jazz that appeal to me a musician, however they are dressed up. I call the music that appeals to me, 'soul' music. Not in the Aretha Franklin sense of soul, but in the sense that it appeals and speaks to my soul. I would hope that our music could be called  'soul' music in that sense. There are verse, bridge, chorus formats to a lot of our music, so I can see why people would call it 'popified' jazz. Probably like all forms of music, if you're into it, its just music. If you've never heard it before or are trying to explain it to someone then you probably need a tag or name to call it. Then call it what you like!

D: What is your inspiration for your music?

N.C. :   Personal experience of course. The notion that without music my life is impossible to imagine!

D: How much space does improvisation have in your music, in your concerts? Could you possibly briefly explain what improvisation is and how people during a concert can recognize it as such?

N.C. :   We have sections of improvisation in our music. It generally takes the form of having a chord or a series of chords as your basis. You either play around those chords, or internalise those chords and use them as a root for developing invented notes or expansions of those chords. It acts as a way of voicing something instantaneous and impulsive.

D: Live concert vs recording ? Why not just record live concerts ? Is a recording session still very important process for the trio in order to create something new or is it more sth that needs to be done because your label needs albums to be sold?

N.C. :   Good question! A clarity of sound can be achieved in the studio which could never be attained in the live environment. Previously I have been treating the studio as an extension of the live environment. However on the record we are currently making I am treating it as its own discipline with overdubs and other instrumentalists in addition to the trio. The process of making a record does force ones hand into preparing something for a given date. Every musician needs a bit of pressure to achieve! A record is a very different listen to a live recording. I'm always motivated to make a good 'record' in the same way that any other recording artist would. Instrumental or jazz music too often is recorded in a way that puts it in danger of ageing very quickly. It's costly to guard against this, as I like to work in the best studios, but I think its worth it.

A live album will come soon though I think.

D: Do you already know what program you’re going to play in Luxembourg?

N.C. :   No. Will decide with ten mins to go!

D: It’s going to be your first time in Luxembourg, right? Do you have any expectations? How do you imagine the Luxemburgish public to be?

N.C. :   Yep. First time. I imagine they are going to be like most other mainland European audiences. Encouraging, intelligent and appreciative. Its great that I do music and not comedy! It means I can be understood in all sorts of new places.

D: What 3 Jazz album should not be missed in a CD collection? What would you recommend?

N.C. :   I'm not the person to ask. How about 3 albums not to miss regardless of genre?

1. Prefab Sprout: Steve Mcqueen

2. Arcade Fire: The Suburbs

3. Can: Ege Bamyase

D: What music do you listen to now on your ipod?

N.C. :   I'm listening to Bill Withers as we speak. However, Arcade Fire's 'suburbs' is a current favourite. John Lee Hooker, Can, and all the new demos for our new album... but that's work!!

Thank you to Neil for answering my questions!

Didier