Guitarist Blake Wilner and his quartet will embark on a national tour in June.
Originally from Perth but now London-based, Mr Wilner will perform with long-time collaborator saxophonist Brandon Allen, Freeman Jazz Fellowship finalist Sam Anning on bass and drummer Ben VanderWal.
The group, which so far has 12 dates scheduled on its tour, will feature music from Blake’s new album Interloper as well other original material. The tour is sponsored by the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.
Mr Wilner has moved between Australia and the UK for about six years and has traveled and worked in New York and other parts of Europe.
He spoke to Jazz Australia before getting on a plane to return home.
Jazz Australia: Why did you move to London
Blake Wilner: I made a couple of extended trips to New York and elsewhere in Europe before settling in London. My initial plan was to move to New York but the logistics (visas etc) proved too complicated. I concluded that as long as I was in the northern hemisphere at least I was part of the way there.
Then, of course, events conspire that make it difficult to uproot again. Having said that, another couple of moves are definitely on the cards; it may be a case of New York via Paris, if at all possible.
JA: You’re obviously well established on the UK scene. Did that take long to achieve?
BW: London is so big geographically and so heavily populated that you feel like you are constantly establishing yourself. People tend to be very transient here so there is always another network of musicians on the horizon. It was probably a couple of years ago that I realized that I was doing more of the work that I wanted to be doing; there is always room for new projects, new collaborations and new music. I guess that’s one of the joys of being here.
JA: Is it easy to get/organize European gigs from your London base?
BW: Easy – no; easier -yes. One of my goals that I set for myself when I started studying in WA was that I would be involved in the European Jazz Circuit by the time I was 30. I have just passed that milestone but having just signed to that rarity in jazz, an agent, next year it seems likely that the quartet will be touring mainland Europe, including several festivals.
JA: How would you describe the London scene? Is it vibrant?
BW: London is one the great cities in the world, so inevitably it traverses the full spectrum of all that is extremely negative and extremely positive. One positive is that London attracts musicians from all over the world, to perform, or to live and work. Even if there is an aging jazz audience and sometimes a tendency to dwell on certain eras of British Jazz, the sheer density and variety of people creates an environment rife for experimentation and evolution. It can’t help but be vibrant. The music produced here is a real amalgamation of jazz styles. Of course there is the heavy influence of American Jazz in the Ronnie Scotts era, but also, due to the strength and influx of mainland European musicians, a sense that the UK is becoming part of the middle ground between the two.
JA: Apart from you and your albums, which UK-based musicians should we keep an eye and ear out for?
There are too many to mention. As with anywhere there is that strange combination of established and emerging artists, with the established artists still producing incredible music. It would be interesting to know what up and coming UK musicians you have heard of. Before moving to the UK I had no idea of the existence of English musicians. Even those involved with ECM (or even Blue Note), I thought of as being based elsewhere. There are some younger groups in the UK that are getting huge attention in Europe, but are probably unheard of in Australia. Polar Bear and Acoustic Ladyland are two such bands. There seems to be a resurgence of groups that are focused on a particular sound and original music. That is something that has always been extremely important to me. I never aspired to having the best group of session musicians, but to have something more akin to the rock/pop ethos of building a group rapport and dynamic.
JA: Can you say something about the musicians you’ll be touring with? (We’ve just heard that Sam Anning has been named as a Freedman Award finalist.)
BW: I first met Brandon and Ben at WAAPA about 10 or so years ago. They both played for a while in one of my original groups and Brandon was the saxophonist on my first two CDs. Brandon and I subsequently moved over to London at approximately the same time and continued working together. Due to a move out of the UK for a period, I then hired a Londoner to fill his place in the quartet. It has just been over the last year or so that Brandon returned the group. He is one of my favorite musicians and a good friend.
Ben is probably well known to you as one of the premier drummers in the country. Ever since my days in WAYJO [Western Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra] I was amazed by him. Whenever I have had gigs in Australia, he has been a first call musician for my group. I always let the rhythm section choose their partner musician and as a result I booked Sam.
I met Sam in London a few years ago when he came down to one of my gigs. I had already heard a lot about him even then (and from the other side of the world). He seemed really genuine and unassuming and the seed was planted to involve him in a future project.
JA: Your latest album, Interloper, successfully traverses a lot musical territory. What can audiences expect from your concerts?
BW: I guess we’ll be busy traversing! Obviously we’ll be covering the material from Interloper but we’ll also be playing music from the previous albums.
JA: Brandon Allen is very prominent on the album – and to good effect because he sounds terrific. How did you conceive of your role as a guitarist in relation to the horn when you were writing and arranging the pieces?
BW: One succinct memory that I have from my conservatorium days was an essay that I wrote on Duke Ellington and the way he composed and arranged with the sound and personality of particular musicians in mind. That concept has remained with me ever since. It seemed like it should be a given that a band’s music reflects the personality of the musicians and vice versa. A lot of jazz groups seemed to be defined by the soloists irrespective of the compositions. I have always aspired to combine both. I write specifically with Brandon’s sound and temperament in mind, hence the importance of having him on the tour.
I always wanted to expand on the traditional roles of all the instruments in the group. Each instrument at some stage plays a supportive role and a lead role. Compositions range from all parts entirely written to musical fragments that are used as an improvisatory template.
JA: Jeremy Sawkins has recently returned to Australia after a stint living and working in Ireland and he commented that there many good guitarists there. Is that true of England as well? Are there many people doing interesting and original things on the instrument?
BW: There are some amazing guitarists in London, but more often than not the musicians in New York continue to influence my attitudes towards music. People like Ben Monder, Kurt Rosenwinkel and one of my favorite musicians, Kenny Wessel (a sideman of Ornette Coleman’s) are just so inspirational. It may be a stylistic thing but the New York musicality, energy and originality is still more to my taste. This seems to manifest itself in those who relocate to the states from elsewhere in the world. I may be biased having just spent two months there over New Year’s.
JA: Is London a good destination for Australian jazz musicians looking to test themselves and expand their horizons?
BW: From my experience, yes.
Tour dates and other information: www.blakewilnergroup.com
