Brisbane group Misinterprotato have developed a reputation for pushing the boundaries of the piano trio format, an adventurous you can hear on their latest album, Variations.
Pianist and chief composer Sean Foran recently left Australia to study in the UK but spoke to Jazz Australia on the eve of his departure.
Jazz Australia: You mentioned you were off soon. Where exactly are you going?
Sean Foran: I’m off to Leeds to study my masters at the Leeds College of Music. They’ve got this great program there and I’ll be able to study with some excellent UK pianists, including John Taylor plus, hopefully, make some trips to Sweden for tuition with Bobo Stenson.
The trio will be over to the UK in 2008 and we’re planning some UK/European touring in the summer.
JA: Why did you want to study with John Taylor and Bobo Stenson?
SF: Well, I had heard that John is a wonderful teacher with a very communicative way. Bobo, I’m not sure. I’m just attracted to both of them for both their playing and writing, so that was the big drawcard for me.
JA: You were very modest and didn’t mention the fact that you’ve won a major award. Is there a connection between the Lord Mayor’s Young and Emerging Artist Fellowship and your study plans?
SF: Yes there is. I had decided to go overseas and do some further study. I had also decided on somewhere in the UK/Europe as it was where my interests lie as opposed to the USA. So I had thought that studying my masters would be an interested thing to do.
Luckily the Brisbane City Council has this artist fellowship scheme where you can apply for funding for whatever project you are engaging in – no real restrictions, just that the project must be beneficial to Brisbane in some way.
So I was lucky enough to be awarded a fellowship with the aim that after my studies I’ll return to Brisbane to help develop the scene there further, which I intend to do.
JA: Do you feel that overseas study will give you a fresh perspective?
SF: Yes I do. Apart from the study just being in another culture, seeing lots of new music, heaps of festivals and meeting a load of new musicians will be really exciting. Hopefully it will give me new ideas and perspectives on performance and writing.
JA: What is it about the piano trio format that interests you and makes you want to base your creative endeavours around it?
SF: The freedom of the trio format is exciting, while still having a heap of punch for only three players. I really enjoy working with the different combinations; the ways in which the three of us can interact around melody and harmony.
There’s this perfect balance of space and busyness that is fantastic. There’s so much scope with the trio; it feels very versatile to me.
JA: Had you played the material on Variations much live before recording?
SF: Well, we rehearsed some of the more challenging tracks a fair amount but hadn’t really played them live.
All up it was a nice mix of pieces, where a few were old favourites that we had been playing at shows, some were newly rehearsed and a few were brand new, written only a few weeks before the session. It made the recording feel fresh, I think.
JA: Is it always advantageous to work through the pieces in performance before going into the studio?
SF: I think it depends on the track. Some of John’s [Parker] works for the album needed some detailed rehearsal, and some we had played live a lot, but others not. Generally I think working the tunes in performance is really helpful, especially for the trio where interaction is so important.
JA: What are the biggest challenges for you in the recording process?
SF: Ah, just the whole thing of nailing the piece from a melody/harmony point of view plus playing a solo that you’re happy to hear for eternity!
I really enjoy the process, though. We had a real ball in the studio. Playing in a really consistent style through the whole session is also a challenge.
JA: As the title suggests, there is quite a diversity of approaches over the 12 tracks from the spaciousness of Ascent to the urgency and drama of Chunk. Did you have a central idea in mind as you were writing and arranging the album?
SF: Diversity in the material is always something that has been important to us. We never look at a piece and go, well that is too different from the other tunes. I think that the playing of the trio and individual styles of the players tie all the works together even if the tracks are quite different.
Chunk and Ascent are very different but I enjoy the change and I think it provides strong interest in the album. You can’t get too comfortable when you’re listening.
JA: Peter Knight’s trumpet works beautifully on Ascent (as does Lawrence English’s electronics). Did you have Peter in mind when writing it?
SF: Yes, definitely. I wrote that piece for Peter specifically as I thought it really suited his playing and sound. With Lawrence the original idea was to give him heaps of tracks off the album and let him play around with them, but, after hearing Ascent we just really thought that he would work best on that track.
It kinda gives a straightforward ballad a different aspect.
JA: I was just reading a review by Robert Forster (Go-Betweens) of the recent Pig City gig featuring the Saints. He said Brisbane was a perfect spot for punk to flower in the ’70s. Is there anything about the city that you think makes it particularly interesting for jazz musicians? Indeed, what has kept you there?
SF: Hmmm, yeah, I suppose there’s nothing particularly interesting for jazz musos, but the scene is steadily developing.
Brisbane is where I first started playing jazz, and it still provides inspiration to me in both the form of other musicians and performance opportunities.
Maybe it doesn’t have the acclaim that Sydney and Melbourne do but there is some really interesting music being made and real opportunities for you to create your own gigs and events. I like that.
Find out more
Misinterprotato’s website
MySpace profile
