Celebrated Jazz pianist Jason Rebello is one of those rare individuals in music to have worked with some of the out and out greats of his chosen genre but also with the likes of Sting and Peter Gabriel. A musician of great stature he first came to prominence at a young age and by the time 1990 came around he had recorded his first album, A Clearer View which was produced by Weather Report’s Wayne Shorter.
Sting invited Jason Rebello to join his band when legendary piano player and personal hero of Mr. Rebello’s, Kenny Kirkland passed on. Despite the loss of his hero, Jason recorded with Sting on his Grammy Award winning album Brand New Day in 1999 and Sacred Love in 2003 and toured with Sting’s band for six years.
Through an introduction by Sting, Jason was able to meet guitar legend Jeff Beck and became part of his touring show for the next six years.
Late in 2013 Jason revealed his latest solo work, Anything But Look (review of the album can also be found on Liverpool Sound and Vision’s website) and the circle had come fully round. I was able to chat with Mr. Rebello ahead of his concert in Liverpool as part of the International Jazz Festival.
Congratulations on the new album, it’s fantastic to have you back.
Jason: “Thank you, that’s grand”
Does it feel as though time has moved on for you or did it feel quite natural to slot back into your own work?
Jason: “I found it quite difficult in some ways, been sort out of the loop for a while really and thinking what do I have to say now. Music has changed quite a lot from the time I wasn’t doing that much and I came back it had really changed; there has been some really interesting developments. At first it was a bit daunting; I thought you know I’m an old geezer. You get to think like that, what I really have to say now. I spent quite a lot of time writing and finding out what I wanted to say and then thankfully it eventually came together and then by the time I was ready to record it I had just picked up a head of steam really. In the end it came together quite easily in a way.”
For want of a better word you seem at ease though on the album?
Jason: “Well doing music is always a challenge, there is always that thing at the back of your mind that will people like this, is this the right direction, there are always those sort of thoughts and I thought of this album, probably more than any of the others, it was free of all of second guessing what people might like, it was just really going with ideas that came to me and doing them as well as I could without worrying if it was the right thing or the wrong thing to do. The process of doing it I felt quite free, I thought actually I can do anything I want on this album. There was nobody to say I can’t so why not?”
Well it’s surprising really, I have noticed a major swing back to Jazz in the last few years, whether that’s because I’m getting older or because it has become more accessible again, have you noticed that or if there is an abundance of main stream Jazz available?
Jason: “Yes, well I think the Jazz scene is really healthy, I mean the thing is if you think of the history of Classical music, actually improvising has always been part of that and up until the start of the 20th century and I really think that improvising is such a basic part of music making, it is such a natural thing to do really that there will always be improvising in some sort of form or another. We improvise every day, spontaneity is really why we are here, to experience spontaneity and look into the unknown and not quite know what you are going to do and finding a way to deal with it, it is part of life; I don’t think it will ever go away. Maybe in one 100 years it won’t be called Jazz anymore but it will be there somewhere.”
I have noticed it in Liverpool there is more Jazz being played regularly, especially since The International Jazz festival started here at The Capstone Theatre, and it feels as though it’s just a great concept to have it back.
Jason: “It is yes, that’s the thing, anybody who has been to a live gig and seen people improvising it is exciting, you don’t get that in any other setting, nobody in the room knows what they are about to get. Where else would you get that, I love Classical music, you know the Beethoven symphonies or something, don’t me wrong because I do like that stuff but to go into a venue and actually not know what you are going to hear, and the half the time the performers don’t know either, that’s quite exciting I think.”
Some of the tracks that you have put down on the album I think frame that thought perfectly, for example Man on The Train which features Somudu Jayatilaka highlights what you have said exactly and Dark Night of the Soul as well.
Jason: “One of the things to me on the album was I wrote all the lyrics pretty much on the album and I wanted to talk about…, well I’m 44 now and I’m middle-aged really, I wanted to write about things that goes through the minds of middle-aged people, rather than the things that are geared towards young people which a lot of music is geared towards, especially lyrics and things and I think there is a place for talking about what it’s like to be older, growing up. I wanted the album to reflect the more difficult sides of life. I do recognise that writing lyrics is an art and I by no means hold myself up as a great lyricist, I think you can be put of trying because of all the greats that have passed our way before. Actually it is great fun writing them, it was perhaps my little indulgence.”
It is the feel of the music fused with the lyrics though and the rather brilliant cast of thousands working with you, including the legendary Pino Palladino that makes it stand out.
Jason: “On the album are people that I have known and worked with for years, people that are friends. I only met Jacob Collier though a few years ago and he is just 19. I met him in a workshop a couple of years ago and remembered him and got him on the album. But they are all people I like and I have enjoyed making music with and thought why not. Even Will Downing, I met when I was in my early 20s and I worked with him for a bit and he was such a nice guy and decided to get all these people together and actually we did the launch gig about a month ago and to get most of them, not all, up on stage. I really enjoyed the evening. I am not sure if it is financially viable to do with everyone again but it was great fun.”
What venue was it in?
Jason: “We played it a venue called the Vibe Bar on Brick Lane. I just wanted to do it somewhere that wasn’t a Jazz club because it would be just a bit more interesting. So we hired this venue in East London.
Out of all the tracks on the new album do you have a specific favourite on the new album?
Jason: “Ah that’s difficult, I can’t really. They all have different things going for them. The album is about a journey through life and looking for something and the problems you encounter as you go through life and how do you solve the problems. It goes from talking about the beginning of your life and the middle section in which the problems occur and the tricky areas and the finale of the album is uplifting and a happy ending. I couldn’t really say, sorry.”
Jason Rebello will be performing at The Capstone Theatre in Liverpool on February 27th. Tickets are available from the Ticket Quarter on Queen’s Square, Liverpool. Tickets for this show are priced at £17.50. This performance is part of the Liverpool Jazz Festival.