GREG BURK.

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GREG BURK.
Af Henrik Kaldahl.
Pianist,
komponist og
underviser Greg
Burk er født i
Lansing af
forældre som
begge er aktive
indenfor den
klassiske musik
og begyndte at
studere klaver i
en ung alder.
Han studerede
på UMassAmherst med
Yusef Lateef og
Archie Shepp, og
afsluttede hans bachelor grad på universitetet i Michigan. Efter college flyttede han
til Bratislava og turnerede i det centrale europa med hans egen trio. Som 25 årig
begyndte han at studere på New England Conservatory of Music, hvor han fuldførte
sin masters degree og modtog undervisning af George Russell, Danilo Perez og Paul
Bley som senere blev en kæmpe indflydelse på den måde han spiller musik og
improviserer på den dag i dag. Hans personlige lyd drevet af både en kærlighed til
den smukke melodis passager og fremadstormende improvisation har udmøntet i en
række udgivelser på det italienske legendariske selskab Soul note (Checking In,
Carpe Momentum og Berlin Bright) og det amerikanske selskab 482 Music (Nothing
Knowing, The Way In og hans seneste udgivelse Ivy Trio). Greg Burk underviser i
dag i klaverspil på flere italienske musik konservatorier og har stået for diverse
workshops rundt omkring i verden. Udover at være leder for flere grupper gennem
tiden har Greg Burk spillet sammen med flere store jazz ikoner såsom James Carter,
Rodney Whitaker, Gerald Cleaver, Jerry Bergonzi, Gerald Cleaver, Bob Moses, Steve
Swallow, Frank Lacy, John Tchicai og mange flere. Greg Burk har spillet musik i
forskellige konstellationer. Hans solo optrædender har inkluderet alt lige fra kreative
fortolkninger af Bach's musik til udforskninger inden i klaveret til dramatiske
fremførelser af hans egne originale kompositioner. Hans trio genopfinder det
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klassiske trio format ved at kombinere det simple og smukke med den kreative
spontanitet gennem kollektiv improvisation og hans kvartet bygger videre på
grundlaget fra trioen med tilføjelsen af tenor og sopran saxofoner. Han er blevet
kaldt en ekseptionel pianist/komponist (All Music Guide) og en musiker der spiller
med en tydelig kærlig og passion for hans håndværk (AllAboutJazz). På hans
hjemmeside (www.gregburk.com) kan man læse meget mere om ham og hans
mange spændende projekter.
Interview pr. mail med Greg Burk, Marts 2008.
Jazznet : How did your adventures with music begin. Did you have any training by
any teachers or are you self taught ???
Greg Burk : I come from a musical family. My father is a orchestral conductor and
my mother a trained opera singer. I heard classical music as a child and went to
many rehearsals etc. I even played some parts in Operas that my father staged.
Ironically, I was a terrible student of "classical" piano repertoire. I always made
mistakes, got bored practicing etc. I was destined to be an improvisor. I've since
studied with many great jazz musicians including Paul Bley, Archie Shepp, Yusef
Lateef, George Russell, Bob Moses and others.
Jazznet : What are you doing now, and what will be the next release from you and
your projects ???
Greg Burk : I am continuing to record both as a sideman and leader across genres.
I find myself increasing drawn to "free" music although my roots in jazz (playing
melodies over chord structures while swinging) are very deep and undeniable. I've
recorded some new music with a quartet I have here in Rome, and also some music
with Canadian drummer Michel Lambert. I also am planning to release a duo
recording with Bob Moses and myself.
Jazznet : Improvised music is these days a very different size to classify and put in
any boxes, since the boundaries are very flowing. Where do you see it going in the
future and what do you think is going to be the next big thing ???
Greg Burk : The world is always getting smaller, and improvising is something that
expresses being human. This means that more people from different places on Earth
will be playing and improvising together in the future. Jazz opened the door for
creative minds to express and challenge themselves through improvisation. Jazz is a
language however, and new languages have emerged and are being created and
elaborated with time. This process promises to keep improvised music alive, vital
and evolving from now to eternity. There is a discipline in learning to be a jazz
musician, however. I believe that regardless of the style or language involved, there
need to always be a set of skills involved in creation. As far as the next big
thing....surely it will be some more remarkable musicians expanding boundaries that
were thought to be fixed.
"The world is always getting smaller, and improvising
is something that expresses being human."
Jazznet : At your concerts and on your records as well, how much is improvised
and how much is planned before start ???
Greg Burk : Nearly all the music is improvised. That word has different meanings.
Normally I like to alternate between completely open improvisation-no
predetermined structure-with structured compositions. I find this to be the most
satisfying and challenging kind of musical journey. I dislike recordings that are too
well executed, too cleanly arranged, etc. My favorite jazz to listen to and to create
is "rough and ready"-music from this moment, as it concieved, preserving all of the
emotion, focus and spirit of the moment.
Jazznet : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you
and your music, what would they be ???
Greg Burk : Any recordings of John Coltrane, Paul Bley, Charles Mingus, Don
Cherry, Kieth Jarrett, Dollar Brand, Monk or Tristano.
Jazznet : Frank Zappa once said "Jazz is not dead it just smells funny". What are
your comments on that, do you think jazz is a dead and in serious need of a vitamin
injection ???
Greg Burk : The problem is not so much the music, but the society we live in
today. When jazz was created, developed and flourished, live music was central to
normal, working class people's lives. The cities in the US were filled with clubs
where bands came in for a week or two. Now people rent movies, cruise the
internet, have nintendo.....There is not the same connection between musicians and
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people today. Clubs are often filled with tourists and musicians. Concerts have
enabled jazz musicians to make the money they deserve, but have also made jazz
more "elite" and distanced it from a wider audience.
"My favorite jazz to listen to and to create is "rough
and ready"-music from this moment."
Jazznet : Do you have any plans of coming to Denmark to play some concerts ???
Greg Burk : Not at the moment, but I hope to come in the near future.
Jazznet : If a new listener was about to buy his first recording with your work.
Which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your music ???
Greg Burk : Well my first recording as a leader, Checking In (Soul Note 2002), is a
good one to start with. It sets down many of the ideas that I later continued to
develop on further recordings. Composition is also a central element of this
recording, and the tunes are very dear to me. Otherwise, Nothing, Knowing (482
Music 2005) is also very special because it features Steve Swallow and Bob Moses
reunited after many years.
Jazznet : Where do you see yourself, Mr. Greg Burk in 5-10 years, still making
music for the masses ???
Michael Jefry Stevens : I plan to continue making music for the next 60 years (I
hope!) Whether the masses will catch up to me, still remains to be seen.
Musikken.
Reviews
coming
soon.....
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