By Mike Brannon
Eclectic barely cuts it. Like the more familiar chameleons, Josh Redman,
Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Branford Marsalis and many others normally
associated with jazz, electronica, even classical, Pam Kurstin represents the
most recent version of the eclectic, improvising musician. This is
illustrated in that she plays and improvises on number of different
instruments, stays open to anything and doesn't discriminate stylistically.
It's all good, from vocal sessions to playing bass on a Moog built Theremin
to working on her own adaptation of Rachmaninov for Theramin, and even film
scores. (for info and to hear this instrument, visit www.bigbriar.com)
Among many others, she continues to work with monster keyboardist/partner
Greg Kurstin (Chili Peppers, Bobby Hutcheson, Charles McPherson, Dweezil
Zappa, Robben Ford, Sheryl Crow), and always seeking new challenges, concepts
and artists to work with. Here she gives an account of life for an evolving,
contemporary, creative musician that you will definitely be hearing about.
AAJ: Who were your original influences as far as improvisation etc?
PK: My original influences...listening to my mom play a lot of Bach, Chopin,
Beethoven, Mozart, classical repertoire on piano... and whatever was on MTV
or the radio. I wasn't exposed to jazz until high school, where I picked up
playing upright bass just to take place of the senior who was graduating. I
got into playing jazz by accident. I was interested in just learning to play
another instrument and in jazz band class, bass was available! From that
point, I learned a few standards but I still didn't listen to much jazz. I
was listening to Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Prince, the Cure, R&B radio
stations, classical stations. I feel that I'm influenced by the music that's
surrounding me when I'm just hanging out with people, because it's not really
often I listen to it by myself. I still have a very limited CD collection!
I got into improvisation while in high school jazz band. My
influences...I'm not really sure! My friends would make me mix tapes of jazz
but I would have no clue who plays what. I do remember one friend making me
a beautiful compilation of some old Duke Ellington stuff. When I was old
enough to make it out to jam sessions, that's when I really started to
improvise as well as learn more tunes. And then after meeting Greg
(Kurstin), he really introduced me to a whole huge collection of recordings
that he has, which was another big influence on my improvising. It wasn't
just jazz that he was playing for me; some was reggae, punk, Brazilian. I
think what I heard the most was Greg practicing piano all day long, every
day, and listening to him improvise, the many different things that could be
done over the many different changes that could be played definitely stuck
with me. I'm still really horrible though at putting names to instruments
when people ask about who I've listened to the most because I really don't
listen to music much! When I do, I'm not usually reading the covers to find
out who the players are.
AAJ: Maybe it's more a guy thing. You play a number of instruments but
are focusing on the Theremin lately. How did that come about?
PK: This Rachmaninov cello and piano sonata. I am going to adapt it
for Theremin. It is SO gorgeous! This song off of a Paul Simon album "I Do
it for Your Love" is the title of the song. Everything I listen to, I treat
it like a drug -- I can get excessive! I know the emotion that it's going to
bring up, the memories and things and this song reminds me of when a friend
of mine played it for me and it was SO beautiful. And the changes are nice
surprises. And the lyrics seem to have some effect on me, so I listen to it
often these days.
Oh! there's this great Bowie's greatest hits compilation that's out of
print that I picked up ... it f*ckin rocks! reminds me of hearing it in the
background while on the bus on tour with Sebastin Tellier -- partying out! I
turn it up really loud for "ASHES TO ASHES", "LET'S DANCE"---reminds me of
watching it on MTV as a kid and loving it! Same with "MODERN LOVE".
I think about this one song a lot but keep forgetting to pick up the
CD... (same as listening to it though, as soon as i have it at home... it's
gonna be blasting out of the speakers!) this Norwegian group, Royksopp, or
something like that... there's this one single on it that is SO awesome...
dancing music... and takes me back to when I first heard it in the car, I got
picked up from the airport, my first time in London... looking out the
windows freaking out and this song in the background giving me the biggest
euphoric high! Whenever I hear it or even think about it I am transported
back to London grooving out to it! the bass groove is so fuckin great! Oh,
and every now and then.. Donald Fagen's album, "The Nightfly". Wow, now that
I think about it... shit! lately, i've been listening to music a whole lot
more often than usual! I guess I'm in a music listening phase! (laughs).
AAJ: Man, no kidding, "Nightfly" is one of my favorite albums. So tight
and perfectly sarcastic. The writing is so amazing in how it transports you
to another time and place, and you just want to go back again.
PK: Oh, my friend burned me a copy of this vocalist, Anita Ellis, with
Ellis Larkins on piano... this one song on there just hits me and I LOVE
listening to it - it's called "A Lazy Afternoon". Her voice is AMAZING! And
so much what I love to sound like sometimes, when I play.
AAJ: What's your educational background? Did you study with anyone?
PK: I'm self-taught. I learned from just playing with different
musicians as I got out there to jam sessions, when I was old enough to get
out there! I've played with Arthur Blythe, I've sat in on a couple of shows
with Brad Mehldau, Billy Childs and Greg when Gerry Gibbs would put together
this crazy three keyboard group to play in L.A. also Matthew Sweet, The
Indigo Girls, Cibo Matto, Natalie McNash. Also sat in with the Barenaked
Ladies. Of course, played with Geggy Tah (Greg Kurstins' group) for a few
years. I can't remember but there's more - many different styles of musicians!
AAJ: You play a number of instruments but now focus mainly on a little
known instrument, the Theremin. How did you get into playing it?
PK: I got into playing the Theremin ever since Greg rented the
documentary "Theremin: an Electronic Odyssey ". At first, I just wanted to
try the instrument but we ended up buying one since they were hard to find.
And as soon as I tried it, it felt very natural to play, so I was hooked.
AAJ: I take it you endorse them, too.
PK: Yes, I'm endorsed by Big Briar, Bob Moog's company that makes
Theremins as well as those Moogerfooger pedals. That's the only endorsement
so far.
AAJ: How do you go about writing?
PK: I write when something comes to me, so I keep pen and paper handy
wherever I go, and try to remember to have earplugs in case someone pops up
out of the woodworks playing something in the background (which happens
sometimes, esp. in this city!). Usually when I go out on walks it happens.
So then, I get home, and forget that I've written a song sometimes, and then
when I go through my journals, it's like a nice surprise to flip through and
find old songs. And if I still feel inspired by what's there, I get on the
piano and play it or track parts for it on my hard disk recorder.
AAJ: That works.
PK: No. But if it's feasible, maybe in the future. Right now, I'm very
busy working on a lot of stuff out here. And also still learning about what
my style is as a human being and musician.
AAJ: Good point. Very important to know, for everyone.
PK: Playing with Arthur and Gerry and Greg - really fun gigs. There were
a couple of really amazing shows that were pure "ROCK OUT!" with Sebastien
Tellier, like the one at Royal Albert Hall, and the Olympia in Paris, the
Matthew Sweet recording experience was wonderful - a room full of many
musicians, doing it all in one take together - that was awesome, and so rare.
AAJ: For sure.
PK: Currently I'm writing music and keeping a journal, taking photos,
going out and having these random adventures in the city that inspire me,
meeting crazy people, going to crazy parties... traveling... learning about
different cultures, languages, music, etc. I think the best way to describe
this current project is that it is my version of going to school! I'm taking
in living life to the fullest and recording as I go along... so that
hopefully by the end of the year, I'll put together the right compilation of
events (songs) for an album. I'm working on the Rachmaninov piece
passionately right now --- it's my latest drive... and in the near future, I
will be working with Danny Wang on a remix for that Norwegian group as well
as doing some disco tracks - I love disco! It goes hand in hand with
rollerskating, and this song I wrote that's all about rollerskating to slow
disco) and in the summer, a collaboration with Rea Mochiach, a very talented
drummer/percussionist/multi-instrumentalist/ programmer. That'll be so much
fun!
I do solo shows also, which are a lot of fun to do...using just the Theremin
and different pedals, like this sample/loop/delay thingy that I build chords
with live... sometimes if there's a drumset around, then I jump onto it and
do a beat to go with the groove I set with the chords in the looper thing.
In a couple of weeks, I'm going to do an improv show with Susie Ibarra -- she
does some fun, fun stuff on drums, gamelan percussion and stuff...woohoo!
And working on music for a movie soundtrack for this film based on the book
by Kotzwinkle "The Fan Man".
AAJ: Cool. Thanks, Pam, and all the best.
For more info, visit Pam's Web Site
Mike Brannon is guitarist/writer for the Synergy Group. The latest release is
"Barcodes" w/ Trey Gunn of King Crimson and Jeff Coffin of the Grammy-winning
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Synergy's followup, "Later", w/ special
guests, Harvie Swartz, Paul Wertico and others will be released in late '02.
