Graham Connah's music sounds like jazz: that vocabulary constitutes the bulk of his background. But in truth his music is the sum total of a vast range of sonic environments that he finds stimulating. Connah's compositions display his varied influences: the extended forms and extroverted passion of Charles Mingus, the lyrical romanticism of Tadd Dameron and Billy Strayhorn, the dense orchestral textures of Frank Zappa and Steve Lacy, the hyperextended harmonic approach and intense improvisation of Eric Dolphy and Andrew Hill.
In his music there are copious quantities of written material bracketed by moments of free and/or collective improvisation. There are grooves, some of which come and go at the whim of the rhythm section. Some of it "swings," some of it "rocks." There are ballads. There are pieces, says Connah, that are "intended as hit singles." There are epic suite-like pieces that feature lengthy solos. There are synthesizer improvisations by Connah himself. Connah is not afraid of dissonance and ultra-extended harmony, but his music is basically tonal or modal.
Connah also writes lyrics; their content is free associative, humorous, pseudo-surreal, with a minimum of narrative and topicality. Vocalist Jewlia Eisenberg participates in Connah's ensembles in many respects like a "fourth horn." Connah chooses to feature all the players in his group (rather than himself) because they are all virtuosi, and more importantly because they are all highly original improvisers and they share Connah's extroverted and intense approach to music and sound. These players have
worked together as a group for a number of years now and it is plain that they enjoy playing together. The high degree of camaraderie and extensive rehearsal make for a well-organized and precisely executed presentation.
Connah was born in 1961 and raised in Baltimore. Music filled his house when he was a child: his mother is a harpist, and his father plays guitar. He woke up to good music by hearing Santana on AM radio in early Seventies. He was turned on, at the age of twelve, to other good music like Weather Report, the Mothers, Sun Ra, Roland Kirk, blues, reggae, Mahavishnu, and Captain Beefheart.
Watershed experiences included many Sundays spent at Baltimore's legendary Left Bank Jazz Society, hearing Rahsaan, Mingus, George Coleman, Woody Shaw, Sun Ra, and many others. "A great way to spend one's teenage years," he notes.
Connah says that he "began playing piano for fun as a typical bong-hit-addled teenager in the 1970's." He was fortunate to study music theory and harmony privately with the late Dr. Asher G. Zlotnik from 1976-78.
Connah lived in Santa Cruz, California from 1980 to 1990, receiving a BA, he says, "in bourgeois armchair neomarxist pseudointellectual sociology" from the University of
California at Santa Cruz in 1985. (He also has a Master's Degree in composition from Mills College.) It was at the University that he formed a lasting friendship with clarinettist Ben Goldberg. During his years in Santa Cruz he not only freelanced as a pianist but also hosted jazz radio programs and produced concerts by the Sun Ra Arkestra. In 1991 Connah toured Europe as part of one of Eugene Chadbourne's bands.
1995 saw the release of Snaps Erupt at Pure Spans, the first CD by the Graham Connah Group, on Sour Note records. The recording contains original compositions for quintet: two reeds plus piano, bass, and drums. Much of the year was spent promoting and distributing the recording. In the midst of all this Connah spent a lot of time writing, rehearsing and recording music for another release, this time for a sextet: trombone, two reeds, and rhythm. The resulting album, released in August 1996, was entitled My God Has Fleas. This album was released by Rastascan Records, a renowned Bay Area-based Independent label that specializes in adventurous music.
Another sizable project undertaken by Graham Connah during the past few years was the composition and performance of twelve songs for a thirteen-piece group: five saxophones, two brass, two violins, two basses, piano, drums, and a few vocalists. This group, Graham Connah's Noporkestra and Chorus, put on a series of bravura concerts between August 1995 and February 1997.
The Graham Connah Group's current lineup features Smith Dobson Jr. on percussion, Wank Frehley on bass, Jewlia Eisenberg on vocals, and three fine horn players: Ben Goldberg on clarinet, Rob Sudduth on saxophone, and trombonist Marty Wehner. This Group's latest album was released in 1998: Gurney to the Lincoln Center of Your Mind again on Rastascan Records.
Graham is still busy. Another album by this group is due out in early 2000: Watching Paint Dry. It consists of live performances captured at Bruno's in San Francisco. An electrified and expanded version of the group, known as Jettison Slinky, has just released its first album, Dank Side of the Morn, on Evander Records.
Meanwhile the Graham Connah Group performed in some notable venues. They appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival September 1995; Bimbo's 360 Club in San Francisco in November 1995; Potter Valley Jazz Festival in Potter Valley, California in May 1996; and the Knitting Factory's What Is Jazz? Festival in New York City on June 22, 1996. More recently the Group appeared in August 1997 at Jazz-In-Flight's Eddie
Moore Festival (at Yoshi's in Oakland, California), and for a long string of consecutive Tuesdays, beginning in September 1997 and running until the spring of 1999, at Bruno's in San Francisco.
Amidst all of this Graham Connah freelances as a jazz musician in Bay Area nightclubs on an almost nightly basis in an effort to make a living. He is privileged to work in this capacity with a number of highly respected Bay Area musicians, including drummers Elliot Kavee and Smith Dobson Jr.; horn players Ben Goldberg, Hal Stein, Marty Wehner, and Noel Jewkes; and vocalists like Brenda Boykin and Paula West, among many others.
Graham can be reached at 1786 San Jose Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94112-1955. Ph: 415-584-4826. E-mail: connah@earthlink.net.
