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Take Five With...
Take Five with Albert Beger
Meet Albert Beger:
Albert Beger, the free-jazz pioneer and innovator, with his ninth album Peacemaker. Accompanied by his new electro-acoustic band, combining acoustic instruments and noise/glitches laptop works. Albert brings his music to a new level of creation and band dynamic. Following his critically acclaimed Big Mother, Peacemaker returns to a more personal, introspective observation of the inner self, and merges delicacy and aggression in one of the most unique jazz records of recent times.
Instrument(s):
Tenor and soprano saxophone, flute.
Teachers and/or influences?
Uri Toeplitz taught me the flute. Joe Viola taught me saxophone. Charlie Banacos taught me Improvisation.
Influenced by : John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Steve Lacy, Charles Lloyd, Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman.
I knew I wanted to be a musician when...
I think that in early age I was attracted to music. I don't know when exactly I decided to 'go for it.'
Your sound and approach to music:
Music to me is the big love for sound. What attracts me, in the musicians that I like, is their unique sound. Sounds of nature charmed me from an early age (birds, sounds of sea waves, animals' voices). To me, the world is a collection of different sounds and shapes. Om is the sound, for the Yoga believers, that the world evolved from.
Your teaching approach:
Teaching is a crucial and important part of my art. It is very important to me to share this wonderful gift I received from god. As a teacher, my role is to help my students find their inner tune and sound. A good teacher is someone that cancels his ego and checks with what works for the students. When I teach, I'm enthusiastic and full of curiosity like a kid. I think it's a personal example to my students, develop their curiosity and constant explore themselves.
Your dream band:
My dream band is full of friends and brothers gathered for a joint cause. I believe in long term relationships with other musicians and building communication. Only like that, I believe, we can create a deep art.
Road story: Your best or worst experience:
I enjoyed my tour with one of my previous bands in South Africa. It was a unique experience and I hope to return there soon.
Your favorite recording in your discography and why?
I really love my debut album The Primitive. It has something really naive. It was recorded with simple methods and still has that initial magic.
The first Jazz album I bought was:
Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus.
What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically?
I think that I contribute by burning my perspective of the world into the music. By reinventing my personal language in composition and improvisation, I am always in a constant search.
CDs you are listening to now:
These are the kind of questions I find very hard to answer, as it changes from one minute to another. I listen to a variety of musicians from different eras and also some contemporary stuff. I listened a lot to Nels Cline's music recently.
How would you describe the state of jazz today?
I believe the state of jazz today is fantastic. Such an amazing pile of opportunities, that I think the boundaries between styles are blurred and they are hard to define. Still there is a lot to learn and explore.
What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing?
Musicians should be as open to different styles as possible. Also, I recommend mutual respects between musicians.
What is in the near future?
Playing live the new music from the new album Peacemaker, hopefully all over the world. I start working on new materials for the next project. Hopefully in 2011 I'll record two new projects.
By Day:
I teach in three academic institutes: The Jerusalem Music Academy, Haifa University, and Muzik—The School of Contemporary Music.
If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be a:
A teacher, philosopher, farmer who raises sheep.
Photo Credit
Courtesy of Anova Music
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