Paul Cutlan shares his thoughts with Jazz Australia upon the release of his new album, Across the Top. Paul Cutlan (bass clarinet/soprano saxophone) Veronique Serret (violin) Liisa Pallandi (violin) James Eccles (viola) Oliver Miller (cello) Brett Hirst (bass) Special guests: Mara Kiek (voice and tapan) Llew Kiek (bouzouki)
JK: What inspired you to make this album? PC: Along with my career as a jazz musician and improviser, I have loved listening to and studying classical music. My initial training (decades ago!) was as an orchestral clarinettist. More recently, my long standing membership of the Mara band has been yet another big influence on me as a musician. I thought it was high time I tried to bring these disparate passions together and try to create something which expresses a vision I can truly call my own. The inspiration for the ensemble template came from an ECM album by John Surman called Corruscating. I could see great potential in the combination of improvising wind player and bassist, with a string quartet providing the stable framework around which they could work. My grand plan was to expand the role of the string quartet to incorporate some serious compositional development in a 20th century context, ala Bartók. Ultimately the impetus to write the music which ended up on the album came from a remarkable 7 week tour with the Mara Band for Musica Viva in Schools. Spanning the top end of Australia from west to east, the tour was called Across the Top. I wrote the 3 main themes for the suite of that name on that tour. Looking back, the most memorable part of the journey was across the Kimberley, particularly the Gibb River Road, small towns like Derby and Wyndham, Aboriginal communities and schools and the sheer scale of the plains, river beds and mudflats. It’s truly one of the most amazing areas I’ve ever visited and somehow its effect on me ended up filtering through into this music. JK: What have been the highlights of putting it together? PC: When I was looking for a string quartet to play my music, I had no idea I would meet a group who were just as keen to improvise as they are to perform classical music! Once I got to know The NOISE string quartet, I became inspired to write music which would allow them to shine as improvisers as well as consummate classical players. The collaborative aspect of writing for a particular group of musicians helps make the process more organic and engaging. I found myself writing, not just for instruments, for personalities with immense potential to create and contribute. Their hard work and feedback over several years have been critical to the development of the final work. In terms of recording, mixing and mastering the album, the most important person has been my producer Llew Kiek. Without him, the whole process of recording, editing, choosing takes and achieving the sound of the finished product would have been fraught. His commitment and hard work at every stage of this CD has been nothing short of remarkable.
Paul Cutlan released his CD on 3rd July 2015. For more information on Paul and Across the Top visit Paul Cutlan Feature image in header and image of Brett Hirst and Paul Cutlan photographer Joanne Kee
