The Two Questions: Late Winter Edition

Jake Herzog is a daring young guitarist who has managed to blur the line that separates jazz and rock, using the best aspects of each style to create a fresh approach to improvisation. I had the privilege of hearing him live recently in a trio with bassist Harvie S and drummer Victor Jones. The musical interplay among the three of them was fluid and exciting, a true union of heavy metal with straight-ahead.

As a result of this audacious breaking down of the barriers one would normally expect when different genres merge, I was very enthusiastic about getting Jake to participate in my "two questions" interview. So here it is folks!


1. Why did you decide on a career in music?

I think music chose me. If I asked myself, what could I live without, well, I could live without literature, history, or mathematics. I could survive just fine not studying physics, biology, chemistry. But I couldn't keep the small bit of sanity I have left without music. So when it came time to go to college and move on from just being a high school student, music was the only thing I wanted to do.


2. What is it about jazz that made you decide to focus on that type of music?

The spirit of jazz, to me, has always been complete freedom and creativity, that's what improvised music is all about. So, in a phrase, I decided to focus on jazz because, of all the musics (I'm a singer songwriter as well), jazz and improvised music has the most freedom. I love the thrill of unpredictability, chaos and, and when the performer doesn't know more about what will happen next then the audience does. That said, this spirit of jazz is not confined to one language, like bebop, or fusion, or modern jazz. It's in all of them and far beyond. So my whole thing with the rock influence, to me, is that's the next place to go. We had jazz in the 70s that was influenced by the rock bands at the time, so why should jazz today not be influenced by every other style of music. The way I see it, you leave style and language behind and just focus on being creative and moving people with improvisation. The rest doesn't matter. I think if you can do that, Charlie Parker would be proud.


To get a better idea of Jake Hertzog in action, go to his You Tube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/jakehertzog.

For even more information about Jake's music, check out his website at www.jakehertzog.com.

The Two Questions Redux

My latest blogpost subject is the only jazz artist I personally know who has played with Blood Sweat & Tears. His name is Tom Guarna, and he is an extraordinary guitarist who has been sideman with a long list of bands and individual jazz greats including the Yellowjackets, Randy Brecker, Lenny White, Bob Dorough, Buddy DeFranco, Javon Jackson, Les McCann, Joe Locke, the Mingus Orchestra, and Billy Drummond. He has gigged very recently with pianists George Colligan and Kerry Politzer. Tom has led his own groups in clubs such as the Blue Note, Sweet Rhythm, Fat Cat and Smalls. Furthermore, he holds an undergraduate degree from The New School and a Masters Degree from The Juilliard School.

Tom Guarna enthusiastically agreed to answer the familiar two questions. Those answers now follow.


1. Why did you decide on a career in music?

Well, a career in music really decided on me. My father played guitar and would have people over the house to play. He would also take me to band rehearsals. There was a lot of music happening around the house, so when I really developed a serious interest in music in my late teens, it was a natural progression.


2. What is it you love about jazz that made you decide to focus on that type of music?

I grew up listening to classic rock, funk and R and B. Then I got into the classic Jazz Rock groups like Return To Forever and Weather Report and Tony Williams Lifetime. Once I started to research all the artists that these band members worked with, I discovered Miles and Coltrane and I was hooked. I just kept working back from there listening to Bird, Monk, Bud Powell, Ellington, Mingus, etc. I have always loved to improvise. Even when I was playing in rock and funk bands I would always rather play improvised solos rather than play the solos on the recordings. The tunes and wide harmonic palette that jazz offered was something that drew me in as well.


If you'd like to experience Tom Guarna live, he has an upcoming gig with the John Benitez Group. It's happening Monday, January 24th, at the 55 Bar, from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

The next best thing would be to check out a You Tube video of him at Fat Cat, performing his original composition, "Shambleau". You can see it by clicking here.

For further information about Tom and his music, go to his website, www.tomguarna.com .