Jason Anick is playing at One Longfellow Square this Thursday, August 18. For tickets go HERE. For his website, HERE.
How would you describe your music and what might people be able to expect from your live show?
This has always been the hardest question for me since my music draws from so many different influences and styles. I generally will say that the Jason Anick Trio weaves together a tapestry of jazz, Gypsy jazz, and original music. From one minute to the next, we might be playing a Gypsy inspired ballad, a jazz arrangement of a Beatles tune, a burning version of the swing classic "Sweet Georgia Brown", or a Flecktones inspired original piece. I find that the variety in styles, tempos, and colors helps to maintain interest, especially since there are no lyrics. My guitarist Lee Dynes and myself love to improvise and tap into the moment to see how we can play each tune differently each time we play it. It is always fun when we not only surprise each other with what we play but also surprise ourselves. My trio, which consists of myself on violin and electric mandolin, Lee Dynes on guitar, and Derek Van Wormer on bass, genuinely has a lot of fun on stage and hopefully that transfers to the audience.
How does your solo music differ from the other music you've been a part of?
The other group that I perform with the most is the John Jorgenson Quintet. With this group I strictly play violin and our repertoire includes a lot of Jorgenson's original pieces, Gypsy jazz, and swing. There are definitely a lot of similarities between what I do with Jorgenson's band and my own band, but I would say the main difference is the inclusion of my original compositions and the unique musical chemistry between myself and guitarist Lee Dynes.
What does your practice schedule look like?
When I was studying at Hartt Conservatory my practice schedule was a little more structured and included a mixture of technical studies, transcribing, and scales. I still try to practice around 6 hours a day when I can, but with all the touring I do it's hard to maintain a regular practice routine. I try to make good use of the practice time I have and tend to focus in on something more specific that I really need to work on whether it's a technique or a song I need to learn for an upcoming show.
Why do you love music?
There is so much to love about music, both playing it or just listening to it. For me, there is nothing more gratifying than being on stage with an amazing band, performing for a receptive audience. Having the ability to bring people joy, excitement, and wonderment makes all the long hours of practicing worth it. Of course I play for myself as well, but sharing my music with others provides me with a sense of fulfillment and purpose. Music is extremely multi-dimensional and I love to try to tap into these different dimensions in hopes that a listener will hear and feel something from my performance that is completely unique and exciting.
As a musician, listening to music is just as important as performing and I am constantly looking for other players to check out who truly love what they do. I enjoy hearing how other players express themselves through their instruments and compositions and always find new inspiration for my own playing.
What are some of your favorite musicians? Jazz and otherwise.
As a jazz violinist I naturally try to emulate the phrasing and feel of the greats like Stephane Grapelli, Didier Lockwood, Jean-luc Ponty, and Florin Niculescu but I am also heavily influenced by guitar and sax players like Bireli Lagrene, Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, and Cannonball Aderly. When I get a new record of say Stephane Grapelli that I really like, I will listen to it non-stop for months and it will pretty much be the only record I listen to during that period. I truly try to learn as much as I can listening and playing along with records so that their phrasing, sound, licks become a part of me and how I play. I am not necessarily just trying to sound like these other musicians, I more so try to understand where they come from when they solo and what makes them sound so great.
I also really enjoy listening to classical musicians such as Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell to hear the violin in a setting where it is played with such emotion, texture, and virtuosity. When I play ballads I try to match the feeling and colors conveyed by the great classical players.
My all time favorite band outside of the jazz and classical world is definitely the Beatles. My band plays an arrangement I made of "Something" and I even recorded "You Never Give Me Your Money" on my debut solo album "Sleepless". The endless creativity that poured out of the Beatles is extremely inspiring to me.
Because I often get so into these obscure jazz and classical records I sometimes find myself out of the loop as far as pop music goes so every now and then I get a refresher by listening to the radio or current CD's my friends are checking out.
Any final thoughts?
Even if jazz isn't your thing, I guarantee you are bound to get drawn into the music and will be tapping your feet before you know it!