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.
Irama Espanyola (Az Solo) Getaran Jiwa (Az Solo) St Thomas Body and Soul In Your Own Sweet Way My Girl You Don’t Know What Love Is Cissy Strut
Set 2
Little Waltz Peace 26-2 Triste (with Irena Taib) Misty (with Irena Taib) Blue Monk (Trio with Irena Taib) Think Of One My Favorite Things
Set 3
Zalila Lee Solo Mambo Influenciado My Little Suede Shoes Let’s Stay Together I’ve Never Been In Love Before Gentle Rain Widow’s Waltz Blues On The Corner
If you liked this post, please Like it or Tweet it! =)
I was very happy today to receive a wonderful package of awesome capos from the fine folks at G7th - The Capo Company!
I remember receiving my first two G7th Performance capos from Nick Campling, the inventor of these capos years ago & have been using them for shows since. I was very glad to hear from the company recently and was delighted to receive new capos including their newer designs.
Stay tuned for new compositions using these capos soon! =)
If you liked this post, please Like it or Tweet it! =)
Friday, June 15, 2012 at 10:09AM 
Photo Courtesy of Adam Everett
