By Allen Huotari

"The term 'free music' is meaningless. Improvisation, yes, without a given style, jazz or whatever. But if there's anyone who is not free it's the musician. How can you be free with an instrument in your hands?"1 - Joëlle Léandre

The word "freedom" is one of the most cherished yet also most misunderstood and misused words in both historic and contemporary language.

A quick perusal of a thesaurus will yield 30 or more synonyms for "freedom" encompassing concepts from politics to sociology to philosophy to faith systems (both religious and scientific).

Certainly, nothing will engender controversy and hostility as rapidly as when one feels his or her freedom is being compromised or threatened.

Perhaps it is through the means of creative self-expression that a common denominator for freedom can be understood. Every person reading this is possessed of an intensely personal opinion about art and entertainment. It has been cited here many times before, but if beauty is in the eye of the beholder then "beautiful music" is in the ear of the behearer (whether that be musician or listener). No one can be said to enjoy having his or her preference in music ridiculed or attacked (although many of us have become quite adept at defending what may at first hearing seem to be bizarre or unusual).

Ultimately, freedom in music will begin with having pride of personal independence and a natural inclination towards exercising the "right" of finding an aural comfort zone.

But then again, could it not be argued that seeking the aural comfort zone is actually subverting freedom and not exercising sonic liberty? For example, whether one's preferences lean towards the stability of traditional jazz or the unpredictability of the avant-garde, if one never steps outside the comfort zone to seek new sounds, is one truly free?

At the risk of belaboring the point, both "spontaneity" and "familiarity" are recognized synonyms for "freedom." How does that come to be? If spontaneity equates to unpredictability, then it would seem that to be free one must step over a fence and out of familiar territory. On the other hand, might spontaneity simply be moving the fence farther out and thus expanding the familiar? Then again does not "freedom of choice" clearly include the right to neither step over nor move the fence?

One musician who has spent her career exploring, expanding, and eradicating the boundaries of artistic freedom is contra-bassist Joëlle Léandre.

A restless and relentless global traveler, she has appeared on nearly 80 recordings over the past 20 years with a proverbial "who's who" of musicians such as Anthony Braxton, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, William Parker, George Lewis, Marilyn Crispell, Irene Schweizer, Lindsay Cooper, George Graewe, François Houle, and Peter Kowald. She has had pieces dedicated to and written for her by the renowned composers John Cage and Giacinto Scelsi. She continues to regularly perform and record in Japan.

Joëlle Léandre's most recent release is "Out Of Sound" (Leo Records, 2002). Of this recording, AAJ Modern Jazz Editor Glenn Astarita writes:

"This estimable trio featuring, bassist Joëlle Léandre (France), saxophonist Urs Leimgruber (Switzerland) and vocalist Lauren Newton (USA) explore various harmonic ranges amid densely formulated motifs. With an average track length of three and one-half minutes, the artists frame many of their themes upon sleep-related events via song titles such as 'Sleeptalk' and 'The Insomniacs.' Therefore, the band sets the table for a series of abstract soundscapes, marked by Leimgruber's squeaks, pops, and micro themes, Newton's wordless vocalise, and Leandre's often imaginative means of spinning a pulse.

"Léandre's nimble-fingered articulations serve as the bond throughout this production, while Leimgruber and Newton often establish a guiding light, thanks to their insightful exchanges and comparable tonalities. Notions of subconscious phenomena are brought to fruition via Léandre's hallowed arco bass passages and Newton's whispery murmurs on 'I Think...' Leimgruber's gravelly tenor sax lines spur a frenetic and restless pace during the appropriately titled, 'The Insomniacs' where the trio's complex inclinations complement their ease of execution for a production brimming with distorted realism and lucidly enacted metaphors! Recommended."

Joëlle Léandre will perform with drummer Hamid Drake at the Vision Festival in NYC on May 25, 2002. She will also be an invited guest instructor for improvisation at Mills College from August - December 2002.

Joëlle Léandre was born and grew up in the small town of Aix-en-Provence in southern France. While a child, she played recorder and piano but adopted the bass as her instrument of choice shortly after becoming a teenager. Rapidly becoming prodigious and seemingly a "natural" (perhaps the bass chose her?), at the urging of her teacher she applied to the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris.

It was in Paris 1971 that Joëlle Léandre made a remarkable discovery. While browsing through second hand bookstores and record shops, she found a copy of bassist Slam Stewart's 1945 Savoy recording "Bowin' Singin' Slam". Although attracted to the intense blue of the record jacket and the image of the bass on the cover, it could not prepare her for what she was about to hear:

"The shock!--the pleasure in his playing, the jubilation and the technique of the bow which phrases with the voice. It is brilliant. Far from my traditional studies--I discovered another music. It plays a simple melody and sings."2

The revelation in the music of Slam Stewart quickly led to investigations of Mingus, Chambers, Garrison and LaFaro. This progressed to the following awareness, which would ultimately prove to be philosophically crucial:

"With jazz I realize that I deal more with humanity and brittleness. This music, becomes universal, represents a constant creative state, a state of freedom and revolt; the risk to be oneself and to seek. It is a music of heart and of questions, where the musician is responsible."3

Another landmark listening experience was the duet recording between bassist Richard Davis and poetess Jayne Cortez "Celebrations and Solitudes" (Strata East-Record, 1974). Of this album, Joëlle Léandre reflects:

"Verbal language and musical language meet, the words burst, trail, shout. The independence of the duet, the improvisations, and the polyrythms impressed me. It was with this recording and listening in the clubs that I launched out at home, into improvisation, to seek sound, tact, feeling. It became necessary to test, to work, to become lost, to know I was lost, to start again, to suffer, to howl, to feel ready to burst, to know how very small one is."4

About the same time that Ms. Léandre was making her initial explorations of jazz, she was also being philosophically influenced through the written works of American composer John Cage, specifically the books "For the Birds" and "Silence".

Of "For the Birds" Ms. Léandre says:

"Since the reading of 'For the Birds' I hear in a different way. The sounds of the street, a Bach toccata or telephone have their life and their importance. They can dialogue. It is enough to like them without hierarchy, even if our education is confined within the meaning of melody, of rate/rhythm, of dynamics. There are no beautiful or ugly sounds."5

And of John Cage:

"He gave to me some possibilities to understand music with passion, with the passions of what I am, not as the profession called 'musician.' What I am means being open to the happenings that are called sounds."6

and:

"He gives us the freedom to be oneself, conscious, listening. It's about long, meticulous work every day. It's about being responsible."7

In the mid-70's, Ms. Léandre received a scholarship and came to Buffalo, New York to study at the Center for Creative and Performing Arts. This opportunity allowed her to visit New York City. She reflects:

"In New York it is about freedom and the musicians are not afraid to interact in all kinds of context. In downtown I listened to jazz, saw performances, read Marcel Duchamp and the surrealists--all these people who unwedge thought and return the rebel in my work to me."8

With a revitalized attitude and fresh perspective, she returned to France:

"I took my life in hands, stopped the sets of contemporary music, and started to give solo concerts with the many concepts brought back from the United States. I wrote, composed, and recorded "Urban Bass". I use the totality of the sounds of my instrument. I autopsied my bass on the table in the studio of Daniel Deshays. The double bass is not only for tempo in jazz or for beautiful phrasing with the bow."9

Armed with these insights and philosophies, it is only natural and inevitable that over the past 25 years she has actively sought placing herself into challenging and unusual collaborations. This arises not only from a conscious effort to avoid predictability while sustaining personality but also to be inspired, to get out of a "comfort zone" and to explore and learn.

"People interest me, it does not matter where they come from. I am adventurous, full of different molecules which constitute me, a work in progress. In 1985, when Anthony Braxton required me to play with him, I said yes. When William Parker, who comes from the blues, or Derek Bailey invites me to play I say yes. I learned from them as I had hoped for, learned from their egos. Here, it is 'be yourself.' Sometimes the action is more significant than the result."10

To further elaborate on these concepts, a few comments on improvisation:

"I could say improvisation is natural music. It is one way to find out why you took up an instrument for the first time. Because you have an emotion when you take an instrument, and you express it naturally."11

and:

"Improvisation is 'cook,' 'walk,' 'esquisse (sketch),' and 'take time.' It's prolonged time. The result is open to variations. Improvisation is in real time. We are in life--Time continues without us. Deep improvisation is an exploration about sounds and us, our egos."12

and:

"Improvisation is an act of total love."13

So if there is a way to summarize the music of Joëlle Léandre, perhaps it's with the following equations: love = responsibility = freedom. A re-examination of her comments on jazz and Cage will immediately reveal that "freedom" and "responsibility" are vital tenets. But as further elaboration:

"To effectively do one's best--it must be done with love. As soon as there's conviction, perception, there's creation, thus movement and life, thus responsibility."14

and:

"Be creative, responsible, always responsible. It's freedom with a certain direction."15

Joëlle Léandre recommends the following recordings for those who are unfamiliar with her work:

URBAN BASS (solo)
NO COMMENT (solo)
HIROSHIMA (solo)
NO WAITING (with Derek Bailey, guitar)
CONTRABASSES (with William Parker, bass)
anything by LES DIABOLIQUES (with Irene Schweizer, piano and Maggie Nicols, vocals)

In addition, this writer recommends:

E'VERO (with Sebi Tramontana, trombone)
ORGANIC – MINERAL (with Kazue Sawai, bass koto)
SAPPORO DUETS (with Ryoji Hojito, piano)
OUT OF SOUND (with Urs Leimgruber, saxophone and Lauren Newton, voice)

footnotes:
1, 7, 14 – 15 "Bass Desires: Madame La Contra Basse" by Bryan Marley, Avant Magazine 18, Spring 2001
2 – 5, 8 – 10, "My Favorite Things" by Monique Feinstein, Jazz Magazine 513 (publication date unknown)
6, 11 – 12, "Interview with Joëlle Léandre" by Fujishima Yutaka, November 1996, http://www.sukothai.com/X.SA.10/X.10.Leandre.html
13, "Parcours" (Joëlle Léandre discographical booklet published by Artis Diffusion) excerpted from essay by Jean-Noel von der Weid, published in 2001

other resources:
"Discographie de Joëlle Léandre" by Philippe Renaud, Improjazz No. 75, May 2001

For additional information, please refer to the following webpage: http://www.shef.ac.uk/misc/rec/ps/efi/mleandre.html

Thanks to Mrs. Jim Harrington (formerly Kendra Olson) for assistance with French-English translation.

This is for Yolande Léandre and Ellen Huotari, mothers beloved, mothers departed.