Influences

I've been thinking a lot about how I have become the musician I am and what kind of musician I'd like to be.

with Len Aruliah at the The Cross Kings, Kings Cross, London.

Last week, I started writing arrangements of some tunes by my great friend, Len Aruliah, and it was very striking to me how much I had learned by playing his music.  Though we have both had many important teachers, I  came to the realization that Len and I really taught ourselves and each other to play by writing tunes for our various collaborative bands and playing a lot of gigs together.  This was especially true when I was in my early twenties, but continues today.  A lot of musicians talk about their influences only in terms of the famous musicians to whom they listen.   This is quite right of course.  My musical direction has been deeply affected by recordings by Jim Hall, John Coltrane, Django Reinhardt, Kenny Wheeler, and a big list of others.  Nevertheless, it seems that the older I get, the more I see the influence of my friends as paramount for my musical growth.

This is quite a natural thing, I think, and very much a part of the jazz tradition.  At my quartet gig this week, I really noticed how we are starting to play certain kinds of phrases and chords in more and more unified way.  I'm not just talking about playing 'tighter' as a band, though that is part of it, but that our playing is actually influenced and developed by the music we have made together over the years.  You notice this kind of thing in some families where certain unique phrases, expressions, or ideas are shared.  I'm deeply grateful for the musical and personal influences of my musical family: Rob Kohler, Len Aruliah, Stan Taylor, Brad Muirhead, Clyde Reed,  Daniel Heila, Al Johnston, Lorne Kellett, Joe Poole, Tim Barrett, Bill Clark, Dave Robbins, Al Matheson, Dave Branter, Coat Cooke, Hari Pal, Karen Graves, Tommy Babin, Stephen Robb, Curtis Andrews, Pepe Danza, Brent Gubbels, Ed Orgill, Kevin Hoferer, Sonya Lawson, Ross Bliss and so many others.