James Cornish is a musician and composer who lives in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays trumpet, violin, and flute. Cornish has been active in the creative music scene in the Detroit - Ann Arbor region, and he is organizing a large ensemble performance called Fire by Night which happens this weekend. Recently I spoke with James about his musical influences, his ongoing projects, and the Fire by Night performance event. 

DG: How did you first get interested in playing music?

JC: I grew up in a house that was had tons of jazz LPs. My mother was a jazz head to the highest order. She loved Cannonball Adderley. She saw Coltrane live. But she was mostly into bop and soul jazz. It was Detroit, after all. She grew up in Yusef Lateef's neighborhood. Detroit's east side was full of jazz joints in her day. She always had music on -- it was like the air with us.

DG: What was the first instrument that you learned how to play? 

JC: My first instrument was the flute. I was entranced with Middle Eastern music early on, and the flute just seemed to go that way the best. I was also amazed by the old guys who played the blues on the flute -- it was agile and moody music. I remember my mother bartering at a pawn shop in Detroit for a flute that caught my eye. It was like watching Houdini work a lock. I think we walked out of there with it for 25 dollars.

DG: How did you get interested in playing the trumpet? 

JC: Later I picked up the trumpet when I wanted to play with percussion. And I was way into Cecil Taylor and his trumpeter, the late great Raphe Malik. He had such a heavy, heraldic sound -- it was like a storm out of Homer.

DG: Who are some trumpet players who have influenced you?

JC: Who doesn't love Miles -- he is omnipresent. But the players who influenced me are Raphe Malik, Bill Dixon, Wadada Leo Smith (he wasn't afraid to make the ugly notes). I admire that greatly.

DG: What are you planning for Fire by Night, the large ensemble performance happening at Edwin Gallery in Hamtramck this weekend? 

JC: It is a large free improv ensemble that will weave its way through an oratory about the abolitionist movement. The oratory is written by Brad Duncan, a Detroit writer and auto factory worker. It is part of the US Social Forum. It is a pleasure to blend Revolution and Revolutionary music. Many great players will be playing. 

DG: I really enjoyed the set you played during the Blank Slate Festival that happened earlier this spring. How would you describe your performance with Curtis Glatter?

JC: I am glad that you enjoyed the hit at the Blank Slate Festival. We were considering a trio with a guitarist, but we scrapped that idea after a consideration of minimalism and nuance. Guitars are fine -- but by nature of their design, they can compress an aesthetic. So it was a raw duet. Warts and all. I also think Curtis and I spoke about the Don Cherry / Ed Blackwell sessions in the past. A trumpet and drum duo is challenging (as it should be). It is both martial and subtle. No safety nets.

DG: What other plans do you have for later this year?

JC: I plan to keep working with opera singers, brass, and cello. I am drawn to that alchemy of instruments. I started a project with an otherworldly Mezzo named Deanna Relyea. It has an unidentifiable and exotic element that I find alluring.

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