What’s most interesting about naming a quartet James Farm—aside from the fact that it’s a name that only a sweet, little, Midwestern grandmother could love—is that four superstars have assumed the identity of one regular guy. And there’s nothing regular about James Farm. Formed in 2009, saxophonist Joshua Redman, drummer Eric Harland, bassist Matt Penman, and pianist Aaron Parks have taken jazz and added a few groovy flourishes that color the group’s musical journey. Their music crosses the boundaries of straight-ahead jazz without venturing into the smooth or avant-garde idioms. Theirs is a union based on trust and fearlessness; they allow themselves and each other the freedom to go wherever the music takes them, and they’re the better for it.
James Farm is scheduled to bring their music to the metro DC area tonight when they perform at the University of Maryland at College Park’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Joshua Redman, the most celebrated member of the group, took some time out of his schedule this past Wednesday evening to answer a few questions by phone. Here’s what he had to say about James Farm and how the group settled on that wacky name.
Bridget Arnwine: I’m sure you get this question a lot, but can you please tell me what inspired the name of the group?
Joshua Redman: (laughter) Well, there was a lot of back and forth. There were emails, powwows, and meetings about what we wanted to name the group, and James Farm was what we decided upon. I think if you asked each of us we might give you slightly different answers, but for me it’s just a name that we decided on. There’s no broader significance.
BA: You’ve worked with members of James Farm in other settings before the group formed in 2009, but you’ve worked with many different musicians over the course of your career. What was it about this group of guys that felt right as far as forming a quartet? Why not form a trio project or a big band?
JR: I think that there’s a natural chemistry and empathy and shared musical vision that we all have. Aaron, Matt, and Eric as a rhythm section have this incredible fluidity and great sense of being able to play grooves, but to always have a give and take and a kind of a conversational energy that exists within those grooves. That’s something that I really relate to as a saxophonist. Just the sense of always having a conversation when we’re improvising. Not being strictly limited to this formula of soloist out front, and then rhythm section backing that soloist up.
I think we have a shared common philosophy as far as improvisation and rhythmic and harmonic interaction go. Compositionally, we all enjoy writing and we’re all interested in exploring the relationship between jazz and other forms of music. We all bring other influences into our writing; we’re also interested in exploring the relationship between composition and improvisation in general. While improvisation is the heart and soul of what we do-- and is kind of the essence of jazz for all of us-- we’re all interested in writing songs that have a strength and purpose unto themselves. Songs that can stand as songs, and that incorporate improvisation-- maybe not always in formulaic ways. We’re experimenting with ways of approaching improvisation and how to integrate improvisation into the song so that everything exists to tell some kind of larger story.
BA: How would you describe the music James Farm makes? How do you see the group growing?
JR: Well, I think the music we write is tuneful. We write complicated stuff, but I think there’s an inherent lyricism that underlies a lot of what we do. The music grooves. There’s a power and intensity to the music. There’s a deep emotive quality to the music. Those are things that define the sound of the band. This certainly isn’t what you would call straight-ahead jazz, although we all come from that world and love that world. I think the music we play as James Farm tends to draw upon grooves and approaches outside of that traditional, 4/4, straight-ahead swing. We’re continuing to write new music. I’m excited about the band. We’ve had a great run so far, and I’m looking forward to extending that.
7pm show time (Sunday, September 25, 2011); tickets: $45 regular, $36 UMD faculty and staff, $40 UMD alumni and senior citizens, $9 students; website: http://claricesmithcenter.umd.edu; phone: 301-405-2787
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