Jazz

The Facets of Jazz Through Gary Motley

October 25, 2009 by samchupp

The Facets of Jazz Through Gary Motley

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Jazz is huge,
a rich, organic
ecosystem.
“I think most
of the labels
are more of a
marketing thing
than anything -
what do we call it
so we can sell it?”		 Jazz is humanity.
“It’s an oral tradition.
It’s handed down.
You can study it
but the best way
to do that is to get
out there with the players.
Chick Corea called it
“The University
of the Streets”		 Jazz is a science.
“Sometimes you really do
think about [
the Golden Mean
as you compose.]
Music is science,
in the artistic sense,
if we go back to
the early origins of music,
music was developed by
scientists.”

That’s the thing,

you have to be

in the shed, practicing

and figuring out, and

it’s a growth process

and it’s not going to

happen overnight.

 —–>

The more you learn,

you get to the point

where you’re mature

enough to deal with

certain things and it’s

going to come out

in your music.”

Jazz is simple and complex.



 “I realize that
the longer I’ve played
and the older I get now,
I’m finding that
I play simpler things because
that thing I was looking for
that I was thought was so elusive
and was a long way away
was right there
in my face
all along and
I wasn’t able to see it.		 .             So you start to               .
.       express complex ideas       .
.    in a series of simple ideas.    .
The end result
is sophisticated -
the thing that
makes it sophisticated
is how we organize it. “

Gary_motley_bliss_of_Jazz

Jazz is a language.


 “If someone walks up
to you and you don’t literally
speak the same language
if they smile
there will be something implied there
just as if they raise a fist
there’s going to be something
in the physical body language;
.                   Either they’re going                    .
.          to be receptive or not receptive;         .
There’s something
in the music
that makes us react
a certain way
and become sympathetic to it,
sympathetic in that
we become
in sync with it.”

Gary_Motley_pianst

Jazz is Oscar Peterson…..


 “I was in Toronto
when he died.
Everybody knew
he had been ill
for a long time,
but a loss is a loss
nonetheless.
Pretty much immediately
after that I started
looking at doing
a tribute album.
The project is not
the traditional tribute
that you would think of
when you’re doing
a tribute to someone.
Most people would try
to play like the person
they’re honoring.
My thing was not
to play like him
but to try to incorporate
some of his concepts
and his approach to music
with the idea of
getting people to think
about where he left off
and where we go from here.”

Link: Renaissance – http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/motley2


Jazz is Technology.


 “I pushed the envelope
in a lot of different ways.
I composed pieces that
were in the style and
in the tradition,
but it was done electronically.

The bass was me playing the bass,
playing the piano, vibraphone and percussion.
The idea with that
was to say that
technology has gotten
to a point where
we can recreate
these sounds
that are fairly realistic.
The idea is not
to replace musicians
but to offer an
alternative.
What is the boundary?
When does technology
get in the way of
creativity and art ?
Here’s traditional jazz
presented in a
non-traditional way.

The bottom line in jazz is, can the cat play?

All I’m doing is
using technology as a
means to an end.”

GMotleyjpegdone-81

http://garymotley.tripod.com/

Article by: Sam Chupp

listen to the live interview of Gary Motley by Sam Chupp.

UpComing Gary Motley Events

Emory University Jazz Festival 2010. Bassist John Clayton and drummer Herlin Riley will join Gary Motley in concert during the annual Emory University Jazz Fest on Friday, February 12th at 8:00 PM. More

Carmen Bradford Quartet in San Diego. Be sure to catch vocalist Carmen Bradford and her ensemble featuring Gary Motley in concert on Wednesday, March 3rd at 7:00 PM.More

Ocsar Peterson Tribute CD Released. Now available, Renaissance: a Tribute to Oscar Peterson features original compositions by pianist/composer Gary Motley.

Motley is joined by saxophonist, clarinetist victor Goines. Get your copies and MP3 downloads at CD Baby, iTunes, Rhapsody, DigStation and Lala.

Majestic Piano CD Available. MCG Records has released its latest solo piano project entitled Majestic Piano.

The recording features the unique treatment of sacred hymns by pianist Gary Motley