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by Rick Holland
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Horton has had many long musical associations with leaders such as saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom (1983-2000) and pianist Andrew Hill. He was a member of Hill's sextet from 1998 until 2003, and appears on the group's critically acclaimed cd, Dusk (Palmetto 2000). He was also musical director and co-arranger for Hill's big band, and is featured on the cd, A Beautiful Day (Palmetto 2002).
Horton has also had an integral collaboration with New York's Jazz Composers Collective, going back to its inception in 1992, and appears on several cds by the other members of the group, such as Ben Allison and Michael Blake, as well as the collective's Herbie Nichols Project. He is an original member of the HNP, a group co-led by Frank Kimbrough and Allison, that is dedicated to performing known and unknown compositions of the late, great pianist. In 1995, Horton went to the Library of Congress and uncovered over three dozen of Nichols' songs that had never been recorded. Several of these works appear on the three cds released by the HNP on Soul Note and Palmetto.
Through his work with the JCC, Horton has received composing grants from the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust and Meet the Composer.
Ron Horton was born in 1960 in Bethesda, Maryland, and has been frequently called on as a sideman to perform and/or record with such artists as Lee Konitz, Rez Abbasi, Phillip Johnston, Andy Laster, Mick Rossi, Matt Wilson, Bill Gerhardt, Bill Mays, Peggy Stern, Allan Chase, Andy Biskin, Ted Nash, Jon Gordon, John McKenna, Walter Thompson, Diana Perez, Billy Newman, Mario Pavone, Tina Marsh, and is currently a member of the Will Holshouser Trio, Sam Bardfeld Quintet and Ben Allison's "New Quartet".
In 1999, Horton released his debut cd, Genius Envy (OmniTone), featuring Jane Ira Bloom. All About Jazz said of the cd, "(Horton) shines as a formidable composer, arranger and leader. (It's) not difficult to discern why Horton is highly respected within jazz circles".
Subtextures, Horton's first release on Fresh Sounds New Talent (FSNT-175) features pianist Kimbrough, bassist Allison and drummer Matt Wilson. It includes four new original compositions, as well as those by Kimbrough, Hill, Olivier Messiaen, and Frederic Chopin. The cd was selected by Jazzman magazine (France) for its CHOC award as one of the top cds of 2004. Jazzwise (UK) also chose it as one of the top cds of 2004.
Horton's newest cd, Everything in a Dream (Fresh Sounds - FSNT 243), features his two-bass septet, which includes bassists John Hebert and Masa Kamaguchi as well as saxophonists Tony Malaby and John O'Gallagher, pianist Kimbrough and drummer Mike Sarin.
His other working ensemble is his "Vibes" quartet, which features vibist Tom Beckham, saxophonist Michael Blake and bassist Ben Allison. Horton has taught master classes and workshops at The New School (New York), New England Conservatory (Boston), Univ. No.Carolina, Oxford University (UK).
Rick Holland: I'm very happy to be interviewing my old college
roommate and gifted musician Ron Horton here at JR247. Welcome Ron,
and thank-you for spending some time with us. First question, you're
now in a position in your career where you're involved with several
collaborative, creative projects. I remember when you moved to
Queens, NY over 25 years ago, did you imagine you'd be where you are
musically now, 25 years ago?
Ron Horton:Well, who of us can say we knew where we would be now 25 years ago? When I arrived in New York in January of 1982 I was wide-eyed and eager to participate in NY's jazz scene. There was a lot of music to absorb and my desire was to see and hear as much music as I could, get to know a lot of the musicians, improve myself musically, and to hopefully work with as many of these musicians as possible. When I look back on these years, I consider myself to be extremely lucky to have seen, heard, met and played with so many wonderful musicians. For me, this is what living in New York has been about.
Rick Holland: Can you talk about some of the important people who
have influenced your creative process over the years? Andrew Hill for
example?
Ron Horton:I often feel that I have had the "best seat in the house" when it comes to observing the creative process in other jazz composers. Everyone works in their own unique way, and I have been lucky to have worked with Jane Ira Bloom, the Jazz Composers Collective (Ben Allison, Frank Kimbrough, Ted Nash, Michael Blake, John Schroeder), Andy Laster, Phillip Johnston, Will Holshouser, Mario Pavone, Rez Abbasi, Bill Gerhardt and many others.
Andrew Hill is, of course, in a class by himself as one of jazz's
greatest jazz composers, and I feel blessed that he chose me to be a
member of his "Point of Departure Sextet", (1999-2003), and to be
co-arranger and musical director of his big band from 2001 to 2003. To
work so closely with someone I consider to be one of the "giants" of
jazz is a great honor to me. I am thrilled that we will be performing
again together this coming November at NY's Merkin Concert Hall.
Rick Holland: A lot of people out their do not realize the many
things we have to do to maintain a creative-arts career. Can you tell
us some of the many things you do to support yourself and maintain
what's turning out to be an amazing creative and artistic career?
Ron Horton:I think that only a select few artists are able to make a living solely based on their creative talents. For the rest of us working stiffs, we need to stitch together a living based on our other talents that enable us to support our creative endeavors. As for me, my other music work includes private teaching and playing private functions like weddings, etc.
My other passion outside of music is working on older British cars
from the 1950's-70's, and I'm very lucky to have been apprenticing for
the last 5 years or so at a small shop in Mount Vernon NY
(Euromeccanica), that specialize in older German and British cars. I
consider the owner, Mike Shiffer, and his chief mechanic, Jose "Pop"
Gerena, to be the Charlie Parker and John Coltrane of auto mechanics.
Between them, I don't think there is any type of car, new or old,
that they cannot fix. And BTW, we listen to jazz and classical (mostly
WKCR radio) all day long. You can't beat that.
Rick Holland: I'm real taken by your compositions and arrangements.
What is your process, or is their a process to you're creating
interesting composition?
 Ron Horton
Ron Horton:One of the ways that I like to compose are to take 2 different ideas, like a low murky cyclical ostinato and an angular, jerky melody and countermelody, layer them on top of one another, enter them into my computer, string them together, and loop them for awhile, whilst I do something mindless, like fold laundry, or make lunch. Then I tweak it a little here and there, and when I think Ihave something that could be a complete musical thought, I write it down. When I have a few written down, I put it in front of real musicians to see if it'll hold water. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't, but even if it doesn't, I try to do something better next time.
Rick Holland: Can you elaborate on creating open and free and
creative improvisation? How important is environment to your success?
Ron Horton:I would say that open and free improvisation rests mostly on the shoulders of the players involved.The composer can set up the parameters for the players to express themselves within a piece, but it is the strength of the soloists themselves that makes it all work.
One thing that I have observed first hand is that the more
information and instructions you give to a soloist, (say dictating a
solo over a fast tune with changes every 2 beats), the more you put
that person in a straight jacket. Sometimes the less you give a
soloist, the more room they have to express themselves.
On my cd, Subtextures, Frank Kimbrough brought in a tune that was
based on 1 or 2 scales and a melody of about 8 bars, and that was the
whole tune. He likes to give the soloist maximum freedom.
If by "environment" you mean the musical environment, it means
everything. It is important for musicians who play together to have
admiration and respect for each others' strengths and talents, have
tolerance for each others' weaknesses and be able to work together to
make the group stronger than the sum of its individual parts. I think
it is also important to have a sense of adventure, openness and humor
for things, expected and unexpected, that may happen along the way.
Rick Holland: You're trumpet playing has such a beautiful flow to it.
And sound very comfortable. Please tell us about how you conceive
sound. How important is your equipment to you?
Ron Horton: Sound is everything. A musician may have brilliant ideas, but if they cannot be communicated convincingly through their instrument to the listener, then it is meaningless. I think sound is the best way to connect with the listener on a deep emotional level, and this is what I strive for every time I play.
By equipment, I think you mean trumpet and mouthpiece, and it is
very important to me. I still play the Bach large bore with a 25 bell
that I bought with my newspaper route money in 1973. For the last 20
years I have played a Bach 2C mouthpiece with a Black/Hill backbore #0.
Rick Holland: How important are goals for you? What are some you have
now and for the future?
Ron Horton: Goals, of course, are the key to being successful in any endeavor, and my current goals are to continue to enjoy all of the music and other projects that I am involved in at the present time, to maintain a high level of proficiency, and to continue to improve and make valid contributions whenever and wherever I can.
Rick Holland: What are some of the most interesting tours you've done
in last several years? What are some tours you'll be a part of in the
near future?
Ron Horton:Since 1990, I have been involved in concert tours with Jane Ira Bloom, Jazz Composers Collective, (mostly Ben Allison and the Herbie Nichols Project), Andrew Hill and Will Holshouser. Almost all tours have been to Europe, especially to Italy and Portugal, and what I like is to meet so many beautiful people who really love this music and are so appreciative of the fact that you travelled so far to play for them. It is a very enriching and gratifying experience.
At this time there are a few upcoming plans in the works for Ben
Allison's quartet. We just finished a couple of tours to Scandinavia
and Italy and are planning some more things this Fall and next Spring.
Rick Holland: Who are some of the most inspiring Jazz musicians for
you on the scene today?
Ron Horton:There are so many great musicians and bands at the moment that it is difficult to choose only a couple or a few to mention at this point. I have a deep respect for anyone who is composing his or her own original music and working towards achieving a unique personal, as well as a group, ensemble sound.
Rick Holland: I want to talk about a couple of your last projects.
Will Holshouser's Trio disc with you is unbelievable. What was it
like to record with the accordion? This was a real creative project.
Tell us about it.
Ron Horton:I have been a part of Will's trio, (with Dave Phillips, bass), for several years. It is an entirely acoustic trio that listens well, plays dynamics, shapes phrases and breathes together. Will and Dave both have big, round, warm sounds, and I love to blend with them.
I also love Will's compositions, which are jazz-influenced, but are
also shaped by Will's broad knowledge of many different kinds of
music. Singing To a Bee is his second Cd for the Clean Feed label. His
first one was Reed Song, which was a studio project. The new one was
recorded live in concert in Faro, Portugal.
Groups with accordion and trumpet are not that common in jazz, but
I have always admired Dave Douglas' Charms of the Night Sky, with
accordionist Guy Klucevsek.
Rick Holland: I was equally taken with your work on Ben Allison's
Cowboy Justice recording. The chemistry is fantastic. What is it like
working with Ben in this setting?
Ron Horton:I was very excited when Ben asked me to be a part of this new group he was forming back in February 2005. Although I have played in several bands led or co-led by Ben over the years, this was the first group of his that had guitar, but no piano or saxophones. Steve Cardenas is a great guitarist, and the drummers involved, (Jeff Ballard, Mike Sarin and Gerald Cleaver), have all been outstanding. I feel very lucky to be a part of this group.
Rick Holland: Your new recording Everything in a Dream is a gem. I
was particularly taken with you're version of Samuel Barber's Saint
Ita's Vision. Tell us what inspired the classical themes. Is this
becoming more common for you? Also, elaborate on the rest of this
project, I loved the group. Kimbrough and Masa Kamaguchi had great
chemistry.
Ron Horton:The idea of doing my interpretations of classical music has been an ongoing theme of mine for a number of years. I have been moved by the works of Chopin, Robert Schumann, Olivier Messiaen and Samuel Barber in the past, and have been drawn mostly to their smaller/shorter works for solo piano or for voice. I definitely have plans to continue with this train of thought.
The septet idea was a dream come true for me. I wanted to explore
some writing possibilities with a slightly augmented group, with an
extra horn or two and an additional bassist. John Hebert and Masa
Kamaguchi were natural choices for me, because I had heard them play a
lot together with drummer Billy Mintz.
The rest of us, John O'Gallagher, Tony Malaby and Mike Sarin have been playing together in various bands in New York for quite some time. Of course Frank Kimbrough and I go back about 25 years to our pre-NY days in Washington, D.C. He is one of my closest friends and musical colleagues. Masa is on Frank's new cd, Play, with Paul Motion.
I admire all of these musicians more than I can say, and am so
grateful that were all available to record my music.
Rick Holland:Ron, I'm asking everybody this, what is your take on the
health of Jazz? And what are things what must keep doing to keep this
a viable art form?
Ron Horton: Well, if by the "health" of jazz, you mean that there are plenty of composers and performers who are dedicated to furthering jazz as an art form, I would say yes, jazz is healthy for sure. There seem to be tons of younger people who want to contribute to this music, but I do not see the opportunities to perform and record this music increasing along with the numbers of those who want to perform it.
Jazz promoters, presenting organizations, independent record
labels, distributors and retails stores all seem to be having an
extremely difficult time getting this music from the performers to the
ears of the listeners. This is the most troubling thing for me at this
time, and I hope that the situation will improve.
Rick Holland: Where did the education process really begin for you? Did
Berklee help? Are schools providing the necessary foundation for
musicians coming to NYC?
Ron Horton:My education begin when my father taught me to play trumpet
at around 5 years old. I had several inspiring private teachers over
the years, and was fortunate to be in a public school system that
really put a lot of emphasis on students achieving great things in the
arts. I'm not sure that junior, middle and high schools still value
the arts as much as in past decades.
Berklee was a great experience for me, because it was the first
time that I had met other students my own age from all over the
country and all over the world that shared my passion for jazz. It is
kind of a phenomenon when you meet someone from across the country or
across the globe that likes a lot of the same things you do, or can
turn you onto things you never heard before, or vice versa.
Rick Holland: I want to thank-you for taking the time to spend with
us. For more information about the music of Ron Horton, please visit: www.ronhorton.net
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Rick Holland |
| About the author: |
| A versatile musician and veteran performer in organizations such as the Louie Bellson Big Band (Chicago Based Band), Jimmy Dorsey, Mike Pendowski, Rob Parton , Buddy De Franco, Buselli-Wallrab and Terry Gibbs Bands, Rick Holland brings a wealth of experience and musicality to each performance. |
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