The Two Questions: Tango Jazz Edition

Since the earliest days when Jelly Roll Morton combined jazz with what he called the "Latin tinge," there has been the incorporation of elements from the music of other cultures. One of the latest and most innovative performers to carry on this tradition is Argentine born bassist and producer, Pablo Aslan. While maintaining the elegance and melancholy of traditional tango, he has brought it into the 21st Century by combining it with contemporary jazz improvisation. Pablo has performed and recorded with a long list of other performers and groups from Argentina and the U.S. Among them are Adrian Iaies, Paquito D’Rivera, Marco Granados, the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Yo Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, Shakira, Joe Lovano, Gary Burton, Lalo Schifrin, and the New World Symphony. Pablo has also been involved in many prestigious musical projects such as The Tango Group with composer/pianist Roger Davidson, the New York Buenos Aires Connection and New York Tango Trio with bandoneonist Raul Jaurena, and as featured artist of the Lincoln Center Institute.

Furthermore, Pablo Aslan has done numerous recordings, and his latest release on Zoho Music, "Tango Grill," has been nominated for a Grammy in Latin Jazz.

I was very glad when Pablo agreed to answer my questions. The second has been tweaked to reflect his unique musical vision.


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

Love of Music made me decide! Besides having a visceral attraction to music since I was a little kid, I discovered as a teenager that I had a certain facility for playing music, particularly the bass. I did not grow up in a musical household, and music education in high school was a joke. I took lessons wherever I could, but had my eye on an education in the US. So the big decision in my life was to leave Argentina as an 18 year old and come to the US. I first came to California to study (UCSC, Cal Arts, UCLA), and after 10 years moved to NY to go into it deeper. Early on in California I started playing gigs (jazz, symphony, latin jazz, tango), and over the years I’ve made my living primarily as a musician. I love the lifestyle, the work, the co-workers. I’ve also worked a bit as a producer, both for live shows and in the studio, and in several aspects of the music business. Music has taken me around the world and introduced me to so many aspects of life and so many great people that my life is richer because of my career choice.


2. What inspired you to blend jazz and tango?

My parent’s record collection had a bit of Beatles, Bossa Nova, Piazzolla , jazz, and classical music, so that’s how I started forming my aesthetic. In my teen years I started buying progressive rock and jazz records (particularly ECM, but also Mingus, Coltrane, etc.), and when I moved to the US, I got into tango (beyond Piazzolla), while I completed my studies in classical music. At some point I became interested in searching for a mode of expression that resonated completely with who I am and what I love about music. In a more general sense, it was a search for identity as an Argentine-American. As much as I loved playing jazz and classical music, I did not see myself being 100% immersed in them as a career. Tango struck me like a lightning bolt and brought it all together, and gave me a creative place to go towards. A deciding moment was to hear bassist Charlie Haden play duets wtih bandoneonist Dino Saluzzi. I felt like the answer to my search was right in front of me. That was in 1986. I’ve been on that path ever since, and I feel fortunate after so many years to have been able to unlock a few doors in what now is generally called Tango Jazz.


To see videos of Pablo in performance, here's a link to his You Tube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/AvantangoMedia.

To get more information about him than can be included in this short post, go to Pablo's site at www.pabloaslan.com.

Two Questions (and Some Answers)

I recently sent an e-mail to various jazz artists who are good acquaintances and asked them two questions: 1) Why did you decide on a career in music? (2) What is it you love about jazz that made you decide to focus on that type of music (although I do realize that many of you also play other styles, like World and Classical. btw--I am including Brazilian under the heading Jazz. Or do those of you who play sambas, bossa nova and choros feel it should be a separate category?)

Periodically, I'll be posting the answers I've received from those who have responded. My first subject is a fine bassist who is currently my Astoria neighbor, Thomson Kneeland. His answers follow below:


1) I've played music and loved it since I was a kid, so it was quite natural for me to always be involved in the art form on some instrument or other. Since my music teachers painted a bleak picture of being a performing musician and "making it", I originally went to school for engineering and physics for a year and a half. I was always dedicated to creative music in whatever form, and I didn't want to become a music teacher, so music school didn't seem to be the answer. On top of that, my first acoustic bass was a high school graduation present from my father, so I didn't even start playing my "career" instrument until after high school. Well a year later, I was making a meager living performing jazz; since I already had some prerequisite knowledge, I just needed to learn my instrument and grow. I saw it could be done, dropped out of school at 18 and took it from there.

2) All in all, I consider myself a musician who specializes in "improvisation", with a focus on jazz. I do mainly find myself on jazz gigs these days, but also have done a lot of crossover with Balkan stuff, Indian music, as well as classical chamber music. I had my hands in many more styles in New England, but have been specializing more in the "jazz" realm for the past few years, simply out of the contexts I've found myself in. But I find that simply saying "I'm a jazz musician" pigeonholes me, because people are so categorical in terms of thought. So when the average person asks, I stick to something like "improvised based music with an emphasis on jazz".

For me, jazz and improvisation provide a freedom of choice that no other music does (and it therefore also requires an enormous responsibility to use that freedom wisely). I liken it to Hermann Hesse's "The Glass Bead Game", for anyone in the literary realm. A high artistic expression fusing visceral groove, emotion, mathematics, athletics/body movement/coordination, and freedom of choice...all taking place in real time. More than anything else, it's the fusion of these things...playing your ass off (and listening to a group that does) is an uplifting experience. And that can be combined with any level of intellectual sophistication one wants. For me, it's the highest artistic expression that I can think of. And for me, it's the biggest challenge I've ever faced in terms of a discipline. Becoming a great musician requires complete mastery on so many levels: mental, physical, emotional, and psychological.

Other art forms utilize various elements I've mentioned, but music encompasses more than many, and in real time. Perhaps the closest comparison would be improvisational dance. Or improvisational theater, utilizing language instead of sound....but I think the latter is pretty rare. I'm very curious about the Asian Noh Theater and other traditional forms that have combinations of all these things in real time with musical accompaniment, but I havent had the time or opportunity to learn. Which is not to denigrate any art form or set music/jazz above it, but I can't think of any other discipline that requires so many facets to be mastered intellectually, physically, and more. If anyone has any other thoughts on this, I'd love a perspective!
And finally, regarding jazz...I just love the music, as is, and from an historical perspective! That's the main thing when it comes down it...the spirit of the music, whether swing from the 50's and 60's, fusion, or modern chamber jazz without any hint of "swing" context. No rhyme or reason about it, it just kicks ass!


There are quite a few excellent examples of Thomson's playing on You Tube. Click here to see him perform "Solar."

For more information about him, go to www.thomsonkneeland.com.

Once more with feeling...

As a follow-up to my prior post on Vinodivino, here are links to a couple of You Tube videos showcasing members of the Jed Levy Trio: Jed himself, as well as two other members who played at the wine bar very often, pianist Misha Tsiganov and bassist Thomson Kneeland. In these videos the trio has been expanded into a quartet with the addition of drummer Alvester Garnett.

Featured are two examples of Jed's own wonderful compositions, "Two Tears" and "Giuseppe's Borgo," both of which I had the privilege of hearing live quite often at Vinodivino.

Click on this to see a performance of the first song and on this for the second one.

Enjoy!