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by Rick Holland
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David Bixler Interview
A veteran sideman on the New York Jazz scene, alto saxophonist David Bixler has recently emerged as an accomplished, urbane bandleader and composer. Over the past eleven years, David has made a name for himself in the trenches of the New York City jazz scene. David has performed and toured with the orchestras of Toshiko Akiyoshi and Duke Ellington at prestigious venues including the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Symphony Center in Chicago, the Snow Mass Jazz Festival in Aspen, CO, and New York's JVC Jazz Festival.
Since 2000 David has been a member of the Grammy-nominated Chico O'Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, two years ago taking over the lead-alto chair. The band has toured through out Europe, North America and Central America in addition to performing at Birdland in New York City each Sunday. Additionally, during the fall of 2005, David performed with Jazz at Lincoln CenterÌs Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra at the historic Concert Hall in Shanghai, China.
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RIck Holland/JR247: Dave welcome to JR247, and thanks for spending some time with our listeners and readers. First let me ask, who were some of the important teachers and mentors who you believe help shape your musical sensibilities?
DB: Rick, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. My teacher as a kid in Wisconsin, Curt Hanrahan, instilled in me the discipline and the understanding of the time it takes in the shed to become a musician. Going to school and then coming to New York I brought with me a framework of how I then approached all the new things I was working on. My time at Indiana University was invaluable and I as get further from that time it becomes more so. My saxophone teacher, Eugene Rousseau was very open about what I wanted to do and had a Zen-like way of pointing me toward the answers and goals I was after. I thank David Baker for the aesthetic he embodied. The canon of music he celebrated is the foundation of what I’m doing now. When I got to New York I studied with George Coleman. That situation speaks for itself. In more of a mentoring situation, I also subbed frequently in Toshiko Akioshi’s band and sat next to Lew Tabackin many Monday nights. He offered quite a bit of constructive criticism that helped me be more aggressive and come out of my shell.
JR247: For those who may not know you, you’re a terrific composer. I’ve noticed you have some 20th century pieces for Saxophone quartet and string quartet. Can you tell us about these newest works, and the Saxophone piece with the String quartet?
DB: About two years ago, I brought the music I was working on for this new CD to Bob Aldridge, a great composer that is at Montclair State where I teach saxophone. I was looking for some feedback and came back with more than I bargained for. He encouraged me to write for the saxophone in different contexts, but with my harmonic and melodic sensibilities. I wrote a saxophone quartet, Heptagon, for the Twin-Cities based sax quartet, Jazzax. It consists of seven short movements based on specific melodic material. At the moment I’m working on a piece for alto saxophone and string quartet. I’m very excited about this. I have four performances this January with the Dakota String Quartet. There is also a saxophone concerto that is on hold while I am on the quintet project.
 JR247: Your wife being a string player, do you try to collaborate on creative musical projects with her?
DB: First she is my best, or maybe I should say most honest critic. She is coming from a different place as a classical musician and is able to zero in on things I’m not necessarily aware of. And yes, I’ve started writing for a group that includes her, called Auction Project. I have the musicians picked out, but we haven’t been able to get together because of busy schedules. The front line is saxophone and violin. I am hearing and envisioning music that is not the same as what I would write for my jazz quintet.
JR247: Dave one of the things I like about your playing, is your sound is focused, and his nice center. Is this from Classical training, or all the lead playing you obviously do? Some Alto players ride pitch high, but your sound has a rich and fullness to it. Can you elaborate?
DB: Thank you. I think one’s sound is maybe the most important aspect of your playing. I tell my students that the average listener doesn’t know or necessarily care what you are playing, but they can be drawn in by a sound. I’m sure that classical study and lead alto playing have both shaped my sound, but I think that for many years now I’ve used the great tenor saxophone sounds as my model for emulation. I hope this has made my sound dark, broad, maybe even un-alto like.
JR247: Let’s move to your newest project, entitled “Call it a Good Deal”. The compositions are great, written by you. Can you explain some of the influences of these tunes and possibly some of your musical aims with the tunes?
DB: I’m glad you enjoyed the tunes. Without sounding pretentious, it’s become more important to me to create a complete fabric with each composition. Not just a cool sounding head followed by cool sounding solos. I’m trying for someone sort of unity. Nothing is directly programmatic, but the titles reflect real experiences that I attempted to portray.
JR247: Do you believe your time with the Chico O’Farrill Orchestra affect the way some of these tunes were conceived?
DB: Its funny you should ask this, because the CD has gotten a couple of reviews where the reviewer makes note that while I’m a member of the Chico O’Farrill Orchestra and Arturo wrote the liner notes I don’t seem to make use of that influence. Well, for those to whom it wasn’t obvious, it’s not an Afro-Cuban record! At this point I’m not planning to make an Afro-Cuban record. Playing in that band for the past eight years has had one of the greatest influences on me as a musician in my adult life. This is especially evident if you listen to my previous recording, Show Me The Justice. Call It A Good Deal is more alive rhythmically, both in the compositions and how I use my saxophone. In Arturo’s band and Latin jazz for that matter rhythm trumps all. There are many layers happening at once. I tried to do that indirectly in a conceptual manner, not directly using clave.
JR247: Where did you meet Wendholt and Company?
DB: Scott and I were at IU. Andy and John I met at sessions when I first came to New York. Andy use to have sessions at his place in Brooklyn. Ugonna and I used to be neighbors; I don’t think we had ever played, but knowing he and Andy had worked with Jon Hendricks, I sounded him a few years ago to do some gigs.
JR247: Where have some of the outlets been to present this project?
DB: We have a record release gig scheduled for Monday September 25, at Smalls here in New York. There is more coming up. Anyone that wants to find where we’ll be can check my website, davidbixler.com.
JR247: Can you talk to us about how you’ve practiced over the years, and what kind of practice routine you may have?
DB: Coming up I was in the shed constantly, learning solos and tunes. All the things every one does. I need to do some practicing every day even though my time is limited. It usually involves some kind of sound work. After twenty plus years on the same mouthpiece I got a new Vandoren mouthpiece this summer. So now I’m especially working with that mouthpiece so it becomes second nature. In addition to sound I’m constantly trying to improve my chops. So I spend some time working on some technical exercise. Lastly I try to incorporate new concepts over tunes. Rather than work on a harmonic concept or a new line in an isolated fashion I’ll try to work on it over changes.
JR247: Are you teaching? If so where, and what are some things you teach?
DB: In addition to teaching privately, I teach at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. I have also been involved with a great camp in northern Wisconsin for the past seven years called Birch Creek.
As far as what I teach, emphasis on the fundamentals. You have to have a sound and solid technique in order to communicate no matter what type of music it is.
JR247: Do you believe Jazz Education is working? What are some of the strengths and weaknesses in your opinion?
DB: Look at all the talented players around. In that sense it is working. Its been said often that by exposing students to jazz in school you are building the future audience. Is that happening? Maybe. Weakness? Maybe too much sameness.
JR247: Dave, we’ve been running a series of articles at JR247 on the State of Jazz, and the current health of the music. What’s your take on the health and vitality of the music? What are some things you’d wish we as a community could do more effectively?
DB: From an artistic point of view I think it’s healthy. As long as there are humans, people will be searching for ways to filter life and express their take on it though music and art. Commercially is another subject. For me and most of the people I know it’s a struggle. Its tough to get your music heard. People go with what they know, with this new record I find it tough to get club owners and radio stations to take a chance with a commercially unknown entity. I can’t blame them on one hand; we live in a world with a bottom line. As far as what we can do as a community I see more artists involved in cooperatives, which seems it could be positive thing. I would like to get involved with something like that. 247 strikes me as something like that. You are letting people know about music.
JR247: What are some of your current and future goals with your music?
DB: I want to have more of a presence with my quintet. I have nearly enough material for a new recording, but we need to log in some time playing to take it to the next level. I also want to get Auction Project off the ground. Lastly I plan to spend more time composing, finishing the quintet and concerto.
For more information about Dave Bixler, please visit: DavidBixler.com |
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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