1. What's your latest project? *Just finished 2 shows with Elvira Arul for Cancer Awareness at the No Black Tie & Rendra at Nerofico & a one week show for the Moet & Chandon event at Pavilion. * Working on my originals for the first time, at the moment writing whatever that comes to mind that fits a piano trio setting. Debuted 2 of them at Reza's Open Mic thingy at The Bee Jaya One in Dec. * The 90s Movement, a project I did with Melina, Cookie Ong & Zalila Lee for a one month stint at Hakka Republic Sept 2011 is back in action this time with an additional member, Jack Lian. We'll be playing for 2 months starting April 2012 at the Waikiki Pub, Kelab Syabas PJ. Every Wednesdays. Tribute to 90s music.
2. What inspires your music? *Real life experiences & people I know as well as music from my favourite artists which are like a million of them.
3. What's your 5 Desert Island Albums? * Ben Folds Five - Whatever & Ever Amen * The Beatles - 1 * Michael Jackson - History Past Present & Future * Stevie Wonder - The Definitive Colllection (UK Edition) * Bill Evans - Portrait in Jazz
4. Who's one artist/musician that you love but most people probably don't know of? Ben Folds and his group Ben Folds Five. Sooooooooo under rated but he is so so so good. I love his playing and his songwriting. So cool. Check out Whatever & Ever Amen by Ben Folds Five, So awesome. 5. What's an advice you wish someone told you when you started in the arts? Be yourself, don't try to be someone else. Make your dreams bigger than your fears. You are your own worst critic so just play, don't think so much.
1. What's your latest project? Trying to get a working group together, and writing tunes for it.
I have two CDs for sale: 1) WVC Trio + 1 "ELEVEN" (2009) 2) Claude Diallo Situation (feat Julian Chan) - LIVE AT NO BLACK TIE
First one was recorded when I was roped in as a +1 (no relation to Google Plus) in the pre-existing trio. The second album was recorded, while the Claude Diallo Situation band was touring in Asia. We recorded it in NBT, and managed to release it last year in 2011.
I just DIY recorded a 6-piece solo saxophone improvised piece called KARMIC SUITE. I had an unfortunate experience recently, and this was my response to it. You can check it out at http://soundcloud.com/julianchanmusic/sets/karmic-suite
2. What inspires your music? I would say "life itself". Somehow or the other, everything inspires my music and my playing. I find that there are many parallels in non-music aspects of life, with music.
3. What's your 5 Desert Island Albums? [ the five albums that you could listen on repeat forever]
- Kenny Garrett SONGBOOK
- Miles Davis KIND OF BLUE
- Dave Koz (this one is tough, I really liked most of his albums - his debut album DAVE KOZ, LUCKY MAN, HELLO TOMORROW, OFF THE BEATEN PATH)
- Glenn Gould BACH GOLDBERG VARIATIONS
- Cannonball Adderley (this one also tough one, got a few like KNOW WHAT I MEAN, THEM DIRTY BLUES, SOMETHING ELSE, BOSSA NOVA, etc)
4. Who's one artist/musician that you love but most people probably don't know of? Antonio Hart, my professor in Queens College. Kicks anyone's butt on saxophone, and such a great musician and storyteller on the saxophone.
5. What's an advice you wish someone told you when you started in the arts? Wouldn't have mattered. I stuck to my own instincts and conscience. So a lot of advice from many people would've gone through a thorough screening, and if it works for me I'll use it, if it doesn't I don't. LOL! I did what my heart has told me to do, so here I am. :)
In today's [Creative Fridays] interview, we have drummer Adam Everett. I first met Adam while we were both studying at San Jose State University. During my time there, I had the opportunity to perform and work closely with Adam in ensembles as well as his own project - The Adam Everett Quartet.
Adam's varied musical influences inspired my own explorations. In fact, as I'm typing this - I'm listening to the artist he recommends in this interview.
Let's check out what Mr. Everett is doing nowadays....
1. What's your latest project? I'm currently rehearsing with a new group called Jackie Gage and the Jazz Cartel. It's a mix of Modern Jazz and RnB/Hip-Hop. The instrumentation is drums (my job), acoustic bass, guitar, fender rhodes and vocalized by local San Jose up-and-comer, Jackie Gage.
2. What inspires your music? Everything. I recently wrote a song about wind (Windy-Stormy) and one about lightning (In Lightning), but they are almost always about women, love, or little things (Moments).
3. What's your 5 Desert Island Albums? The Bad Plus - These Are The Vistas Miguel Zenon - Alma Adentro Robert Glasper - Canvas Avishai Cohen - Gently Disturbed Prefuse 73 - Surrounded by Silence
4. Who's one artist/musician that you love but most people probably don't know of? Son Lux. If anyone reading this knows about Son Lux, you get a quarter. Just kidding. If you don't know about Son Lux, please listen to Son Lux. His music is beautiful.
5. What's an advice you wish someone told you when you started in the arts? I wish someone had told me to be myself and not to compromise. It's the best advice I can give...
British five-string violinist Helen Sherrah-Davies is one of my very epic friends. She’s performed with Jon Lord of Deep Purple in Switzerland and the wedding of Posh Spice to David Beckham in Ireland. After that, she relocated to Boston, graduated from Berklee College of Music, (Summa Cum Laude) with the “Most Valuable Player” award, and gained a Masters (with Academic Honours) in Contemporary Improvisation from New England Conservatory.
Darol Anger described Helen’s music as “so strong, it approaches the status of a new sentient being.... Even in the most thorny, complex episodes, we are moved to care, laugh and rejoice, washed by waves of melodic love.”
Musically, writing for my next album - but also revealing my first: "starstuff" to the world - I've been living too frantically to promote this yet!
Personally, it's to get in contact with my inner tortoise more this year, (despite being a dragon!) in order to encourage internal reflection and dialogue...the world moves too fast, and instead of the days hurtling through me, I’d like to be able to pass through each day in a more graceful, and grateful manner...so I can be more open to receive the music that is...
[Video] Jerry Leake on percussion and Helen on violin
2. What inspires your music?
Everything. Really everything. Life is music and music is life.
I’m a Synaesthete so see colours/textures/images with music, and that informs the bedrock of my compositions. I also create a "treasure box" to hold all those moments that inspire and move me. If the muse isn’t talking to me that day, I can draw upon that well, or bank of nourishing nuggets, then it's like fishing, and the ideas usually materialize in three ways:
a) I’m lucky and the piece just comes out in half an hour
b) It takes days/weeks of tweaking, and chipping away - like Michaelangelo's prisoners, I believe the "work of art" is already there, your job is just to reveal it. Creativity is part of the human condition.
c) Nothing ends up being codified, but it was a good fun engagement...
This is where one needs patience and the skill of ones craft - and a certain trust in the process, that it is more important than the product. It's all a working hypothesis...just like life, but for me, part of a larger sacred journey.
At best, music = one of the healing professions.
3. What's your 5 desert island albums?
This is so hard, as it changes as I change...and it's usually individual tracks rather than whole albums...but here goes...in no particular order:
1 "morimur": Bach Solo Violin Partita in d minor (with the cosmic chaconne )- recent research uncovers underpinning by chorales, and gematria....haunting and utterly beautiful
that's been on repeat for at least a week...the subtleties in between the notes blow my mind...
and now i've left out Rosa Passos, Tinariwen, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Fats Waller, Arvo Part....eek....
4. Who's one artist/musician that you love but most people probably don't know of?
Again, a challenge. there are two presently.
Simon Shaheen - incredible Palestinian violinist/composer, charismatic performer and teacher - album “Blue Flame" fuses Jazz and Arabic voices in a compelling way, that retains the integrity of both.
The singer-songwriter group: “Birdsong at Morning". local to Boston, echoes of Nick Drake, with imaginative arrangements, soulful and warm accents and a fresh naturalness that I find is rare these days. They are kind enough to ask me to play in the band's backing string quartet sometimes and I always come out feeling renewed...a sign of "good" music...
5. What's an advice you wish someone told you when you started in the arts?
Someone did.
My incredible piano teacher, Heather Slade-Lipkin - (I was much more of a natural pianist than violinist...) - when I was feeling confused about my future, I once asked her if she considered that I had enough talent to become a concert pianist...she said "yes - but....if you can do anything else in life, do it, earn a living and reserve music for pure joy and fun. but if you have to do it (i.e. it's a vocation) - then you will have to do it..."
My life has been unfolding in ways I could never have imagined over the last 10 years - but I believe one just has to have courage to "follow one's bliss" (to use a Joseph Campbell phrase). If you sense a quest in you, follow it with as much integrity as you can, and you will be helped on the way. Perhaps music chooses us, not the reverse....
I believe that an artist's life is a devotional life in essence - it will then have it's own inherent reward.
Photo courtesy of Option 22This week's [Creative Fridays] post features multi-talented Lori McKinney. We first met when I was invited to perform at Culturefest, a festival that Lori co-founded. Currently based in Princeton, West Virginia - Lori is in the heart of the creative movement at RiffRaff Arts Collective. Running a performance space, co-organizing a festival, being in a band, acting in theatre productions is all a part of Lori's life.
Let's learn what she's up to now!
1. What's your latest project? My latest project is with Option 22; our new release is called "The Change," and it is set for release in the first 1/2 of 2012.
2. What inspires your music? Soul searching, nature, the call for global change, and spirituality inspire my music.
3. What's your 5 Desert Island Albums? Radiohead- In Rainbows LTJ Bukem- The Journey Inwards The Weepies- Say I am You Enigma- The Cross of Changes LTJ Bukem- Progression Sessions
4. Who's one artist/musician that you love but most people probably don't know of? Rising Appalachia is amazing; a female duo of sisters with some serious soul. Their focus is "igniting soul sparks and social revolution through harmony."
5. What's an advice you wish someone told you when you started in the arts? I wish someone would have told me how very important it is to keep a great address book of all your wonderfully creative friends you meet along the way.
Friday, June 29, 2012 at 10:10AM 
