Meet Jack DeJohnette

This article was first published on All About Jazz in March 2002.

One of the most creative and propulsive musicians in the history of jazz, drummer/pianist/composer Jack DeJohnette has played with most leading-edge jazz musicians of the time, usually at their request. He invariably brings out another side and a freshness in whoever he plays with. He is most noted as a drummer, but those who have heard him on his piano record (Landmark) and elsewhere realize he is also a major pianist. He has recently chosen to concentrate on adapting and synthesizing other musics into jazz, often in intimate and one-of-a-kind settings.

John Surman

John and I have known each other for over 30 years. I first met him through Stu Martin, a great drummer. He, John Surman, and a bassist named Barre Phillips formed an avant-garde trio in England called Trio, actually. They used early synthesizers and made compositions up spontaneously. Anyway, Stu moved back here [upstate New York] and John came with him. There was a place up here called Creative Music Studio. People like myself, Dave Holland, Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor, Collin Walcott—musicians who came from all around the world—we all came and taught there. John and I hooked up and played a little bit. John is a multi-instrumentalist who plays bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, and soprano as well as an electronic wind-blown instrument, a breath instrument made by Yamaha. He is a very original player with his dynamics and tone, but the best thing is his heart. He has a lot of soul and communicates with the audience and with the other players. We're around the same age, we have a lot of history together, we both like a lot of different types of music, and we just sort of have a rapport. We can get together and just make music happen, spontaneously or prepared. I really love and respect John. We decided to do a duet record about 20 years ago, The Amazing Adventures of Simon and Simon (ECM). Over the years, we've come together periodically for live performances in Europe, but we never recorded live or did any extensive touring.

New CD: Invisible Nature (ECM)

We recently decided we should do a tour and record live. ECM agreed to that, and we recorded the last few days of our tour and got what we thought was an accurate representation. We're really excited about it. It's about the chemistry we have together. John has never really gotten exposure over here in America. This CD gives us an opportunity to present that and to present me with someone different. Also, the duet format gives people a chance to hear the more melodic and orchestral aspects of my drumming. Even though we're a duet, it sounds quite full. John's son works with us and does the sound. He helped us with some pre-recorded atmospheric CDs we bring in and out during our playing to give some color. Some of the tunes: "Mysterium" is spontaneous, with me playing drums and the Roland HPD, a percussion unit with sticks playing the bass line. Everything was done simultaneously—there's no overdub. Some pieces are prepared. I wrote "Song for World Forgiveness." We came together to write "Outback Spirits." "Ganges Groove" is completely electronic, but the top of the sound is sound modeling—close to an acoustic tabla sound. No, I don't actually play tabla. I've listened to a lot of tabla, and I have a couple of Indian friends who play tabla. I've more or less picked it up by osmosis. I've played with some of these musicians who play these odd meters. I pick it up and adapt it to a jazz sensibility.

Invisible Nature live performance

We're going to play a concert in Woodstock June 15, the Vancouver Jazz Festival on June 21, the Congo Room in L.A. (They've changed their music policy to be more eclectic.) on June 22, and the Montreal Jazz Festival on June 27. John's going to come over in October and do a more extensive tour.

London Brass... That's Right

John is also an incredible composer. He's also composed for movies and ballet. He got a commission grant to write a suite called That's Right. It's based on five articles of the UN Charter on Human Rights. He wrote it for the London Brass, a ten-piece ensemble. We've actually been performing it with them. It's directed by trombonist David Purser, and they're one of the best brass sections in the world. They play a classical repertoire, but they also have three players who can improvise: John Barclay on trumpet, Richard Edwards on trombone, and Richard Bissill on the French horn. We did a concert in Queen Elizabeth Hall last year and recorded live. We performed the suite all over England. In fact, we just played in Manchester and Birmingham, and we played at the Umbria Jazz Festival last summer. We're going to play in Italy in April. The CD will probably come out in the fall this year, and hopefully, we'll be able to do something with the Brass over here. It's a lot of people to move around, but we're going to try to get some special funding to do some selected performances in the States. A few years ago, I wrote a piece for the Rova Saxophone Quartet, Suite for a Better World. John and I hired an arranger, Howard Moody, who also helped John arrange the other music. Howard took the third movement of my suite (it's four movements) and arranged it for the Brass. When we perform, we play that piece, but we didn't record it. We have a nice program: the Brass play a couple of pieces; I play some piano—John has written music for the piano. It's a very wonderful thing, and I feel very committed to performing it. This is something we really need to address for humanity considering these times we're living in.

Bandleading

I've been a bandleader for a number of years, but I don't really want a band now. I want to stay home more and work on myself spiritually and physically—better myself as a human being. I've been part of the Keith Jarrett trio for 25 years—that's very exciting and very challenging. I do projects here and there. If I feel the urge to put together a special group of people to do something, I'll do that. I like these duet projects. I did something with Bill Frisell last year, just an impromptu concert in Seattle. I have a studio in my home, and I just did a project with Foday Musa Suso. The first thing he did in America was with Herbie Hancock, The Village. He's also written pieces and performed with the Kronos Quartet. Right now he's touring with Philip Glass. He lives in Chicago. He's a Griot [musician/oral historian of the West African Mandingos] from Gambia, an incredible human being, and an incredible musician. We did this project that took about three days. He came up, and we did nine tracks: a couple of things written by him; the rest were co-written by him and me. He's taken me to another place, a more contemporary place. Doing things like that with various people in duet settings is very challenging. Don Alias and I started a project a while ago. He and I played together on drums, percussion, and keyboards. We're still trying to finish that up and hopefully put that out this year.

Charles Lloyd quartet

It was an exciting band and innovative band. We had a lot of fun. It's one of those bands that sort of incorporated the feeling of the late '60s -early '70s peace movement. At the time there was fertile ground for experimentation. It was very successful. That's where I first hooked up with Keith—we had a rapport right away, and we still have it. I'm really glad to have had that experience.

Keith Jarrett trio

Actually we're going out this week for concerts in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Boston. Then we'll be doing the JVC festival in June and some dates in Europe in July. We've been working consistently—even when Keith was sick we were working. We just had a CD come out called Inside Out (ECM)—you should get that. There's some free improvisation on it. We have another one coming out in the fall from some concert tours we did in Japan with some free improvisation.

Bill Evans trio

It was really an honor to play with Bill. He was a wonderful human being. His playing did perk up somehow in that group. I'm glad they documented that trio (Live at Montreaux, Verve). I wish they'd taken a recording of us at Ronnie Scott's club. After Montreaux we played Ronnie's for a month. I actually have some private tapes from the club which are amazing. Bill put a lot of heart and feeling, a lot of beauty into his playing. That was also memorable because of Eddie Gomez who later I got together with in a really exciting quartet I formed called New Directions with Lester Bowie and John Abercrombie.

Jack DeJohnette Special Edition bands

I like all of them really. Each one has its special place with me. I developed as a writer with the horns. After that disbanded, I formed a great trio with Michael Cain and Jerome Harris that lived its course. Since then I've enjoyed not being a bandleader.

Gateway Trio with John Abercrombie and Dave Holland

We did a tour last summer. Unfortunately, we were so busy we didn't get a chance to record, but we hope to do some this year if we can get our schedules together. That trio's still in everybody's mind. We enjoy doing it.

ECM anthology

ECM is putting out an anthology series with music by artists who've been with the label since its inception. Each artist (including me) has selected pieces from different albums. That should be coming out this year.

Jazz education/Terri Lyne Carrington

I do workshops, clinics, and master classes at universities and sometimes for Sonor Drums and Sabian [cymbal manufacturer]. (I design my own cymbals.) I haven't done any private teaching in a while. Terri Lyne Carrington really wasn't a student—I mean Terri just came up and hung out. She was already a pro. I love her. She composes, sings, and plays great. She's been working with Herbie Hancock, and she lives out in California. I went by her house last summer, and she gave me some of her CD's.

Musicians you would like to have played with

I would like to have played with Duke [Ellington] as a pianist. I did get a chance to play with Monk in the late '60s. We played a club in Harlem, four nights with Charlie Rouse, Walter Booker and myself. It was great. Herbie Nichols died young. He did a couple of albums on Blue Note with Art Blakey and Al McKibbon. Nobody talks about him. He was like a combination of Monk and Duke Ellington. I was still in Chicago when he died, I think. Dave Holland is interested in doing Herbie's music.

Website

I have a fan from Poland who put it up. People can go there and get information. [ Editor's note: Since 2002, Jack's website has moved to jackdejohnette.com. ]

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