Jeff Chan is a Chicago-based saxophonist and composer who has been actively involved with the creative music scene in Chicago for nearly a decade. His projects include His projects include the Chicago Clarinet Conglomerate, Cultural Arts Quartet, solo work, Turn of the Century, and big fUn philharmonic. Later this month the Chicago Clarinet Conglomerate and the Cultural Arts Quartet perform again -- at Elastic Sound & Vision Gallery on Saturday, February 12. Recently I spoke with Jeff about his influences and ongoing projects. 

Dan: How did you first get interested in the arts?

Jeff: I’ve been involved with music since I was about 9 or 10 years old, starting on the alto saxophone in fourth grade, through my school’s music program.  I started played in concert bands, which didn’t do much to get me excited.  There’s nothing for a saxophone to do in a concert band, as far as I’m concerned… always doubling the French horn part, always on the harmony, never get to play a melody and so on.  So I joined the jazz band as soon as I could, which was seventh grade.  There was this whole row of saxophones right in front, and I figured, “the saxophone must be able to do something interesting in this kind of band.”  Through jazz band, I was introduced to the idea of improvisation, and by the time I was in ninth grade or so, figured that maybe I’d be doing myself a favor if I checked out some examples of saxophone playing.  But I really started to become serious about music about my sophomore year in high school.

Dan: How did your focus on music develop after you graduated from high school?

Jeff: I wanted to pursue music, but that wasn’t so much encouraged or supported by my family.  So I ended up studying engineering because there was nothing else that I wanted to study other than music.  I figured at the very least, I could get a job after I graduated.  Engineering was very big at the time.  I ended up getting a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, while still being involved in music most of the time I was in college.  After school, I realized I had to at least give music a shot.  This is what I did and I never looked back.

Dan: Who are some of your influences? Did you grow up in a musical family?

Jeff: I do not come from a musical family.  My dad and brother are audiophiles - really into their stereo equipment - though we never really shared musical interests or tastes as a family.  My dad listened to classical music and opera when I was growing up, but he doesn’t really seem to listen to music anymore.  My brother is a big music fan… listens to and knows about a lot of different kinds of music.  He played trumpet through high school, which made me want to play an instrument, so there’s influence, right there.  He quit trumpet once he went to college.  I can’t remember my mom ever listening to much music, if any.  My cousin is a bit like my brother… a fan of music, and he played saxophone for a little bit, but eventually gave it up.  That’s actually how I got into the saxophone.  When I was old enough to join band, I asked my mom what instrument I should play.  She said “saxophone sounds nice.”  To this day, I still don’t know if she actually likes the saxophone, or if it was because I could use my cousin’s saxophone for free.

Regardless, I started playing saxophone in fourth grade.  I liked my early music teachers fine, but the first major influence in my life that I came to through music was my high school band instructor, Eric Hammer.  He was an excellent music teacher and performer as well, but he understood that most of his students weren’t going to go on and be professional musicians, so he instilled in us values that would help shape us into responsible adults.  You know, stuff like being punctual, dressing appropriately, being prepared to the best of one’s ability.  He was a very positive influence on all of us.

As far as musical influences go, I don’t have anything revolutionary to say.  Since there was never much music in my house growing up, I never listened to music myself as a kid.  I figured that if I wanted to get better at playing the saxophone then I should start listening to music that had saxophones.  Having no idea where to start, I found what I could in my family members’ respective collections… Spyro Gyra, Dave Brubeck, Glenn Miller, and so on.  Then a friend of mine in high school turned me onto a Miles Davis album called Star People, which was made in the 80’s.  I can’t say that it was love at first hearing, but I did find it very interesting and wanted to learn more about this Miles Davis guy.  I did my research and learned that he hung out with this other guy named Charlie Parker.  And through a lot of reading, record buying and listening, I found out who some of these figures were, and what I was drawn to. 

If I were to get specific, I could give volumes describing my thoughts on various musicians who have had an impact on me, but for now, I’ll just keep it simple.  I like the usual cats – Bird, Bach, Trane, Miles, Stravinsky, Ornette, just about any sax player named Sonny, and so on.  It’s all great.  I’m particularly drawn to Dewey Redman.  That guy had it all, as far as I’m concerned. 

Closer to home, I’ve been fortunate to be able to work with and learn from so many wonderful artists, such as Jimmy Ellis, Yoko Noge, Ed Wilkerson, Avreeayl Ra, Mwata Bowden, Kirk Brown, Ari Brown, Ameen Muhammad… the list goes on.  Of course, Francis Wong out in San Francisco, and Tatsu Aoki continue to inform my perspective on what it means to be an artist.

Outside of music, I don’t really know too much about other areas of the arts.  Visual art, film, literature… I’m no expert.  And I’m ok with that.

Dan: What is an early memory you have of doing something in the arts?

Jeff: I remember the first time I got my hands on a saxophone, I put the mouthpiece on upside down.  I don’t remember how it sounded like that.  Perhaps it’s a technique I need to revisit.

Dan: What would you say are some connections between who you are as an Asian American, and the way you approach the music you make?

Jeff: Ah, the question.  One that I ask myself and discuss with others on a regular basis.  I feel that that any artist’s music, or whatever form of expression one is involved with, should be a reflection of who one is.  What’s your story?  What are you about? 

A lot of artists I see seem to get stuck in stylistic and technical concerns, but if one wants to establish a unique voice, you’ve got to get past that.  We’ve got to find our own way of doing things.  That’s one thing I love so much about this music some call “jazz.”  All the major figures are major figures because they established their own sounds and concepts, changing or inventing techniques as needed, and in turn, re-defining what the “style” is.  But there is a common thread connecting all these artists.  Some sort of commonality.  I guess you can call it “tradition.”  For example, everybody plays the blues.  But everybody has their own way of doing it. 

Speaking more directly to the Asian American experience, I believe Asian Americans as a whole do not know their history nor have Asian American musicians investigated the legacy of Asian traditional musics.  This is a shame, because it is part of our heritage and legacy, and I think knowledge of these traditions can help inform, shape and contribute to an Asian American creative voice.  Again, as a whole, I think Asian Americans are not paying enough attention to preserving these vital components of our roots.  There’s no shortage of Asian American performers out there who have assimilated into “western” arts practices, or appropriated African American forms, usually facilitated through the misguided notion that “art” exists in a vacuum, unrelated and unattached to culture and community.

But if we know about ourselves, than our arts can be a truer representation of who we are. 

Dan: What are some things that you like about playing the saxophone?

Jeff: It is my first and primary instrument, so I know it better than any other instrument.  As a musical artist, the saxophone gives me my best shot at being able to express myself in a somewhat intentional manner.  The saxophone is a great instrument… it is capable of a wide dynamic and tonal range.  There’s a rich history to dig into.  Conversely, it’s a relatively modern instrument and there’s a lot of room to develop one’s own sound, so I feel an inherent responsibility to developing a unique and individual concept through my horn.  And saxophones look cool.

But despite the ultra-coolness of the sax, I do find myself searching and working to expand my “tonal palette.”  I have been working on the clarinet for the last few years.  I’ve played clarinet off and on since high school – in an effort to make concert band more interesting - but I have been taking it seriously for the past couple of years.  I learned that for cats from the earlier generations, you weren’t allowed to start musical studies on saxophone.  You were told to start on clarinet, and once you established some fundamentals, then you could pick up a saxophone.  This makes a lot of sense to me.  The clarinet is a much more rigorous instrument and doesn’t allow you get away with the slop that you can on a saxophone.  Good training to help one refine his sax technique.  But I love the clarinet for itself, too.  It’s an instrument with a lot of beauty.  I admire multi-instrumentalist John Carter for giving up the saxophone and flute in order to dedicating himself full-time to the clarinet.  The clarinet is hip.  Not everybody knows this, which is what makes it so.

Dan: How did you first get involved with the music scene in Chicago? What are some things that you like about the scene here?

Jeff: Like everything else, one step at a time.  I visited Chicago for the first time in ’97 or ’98 to perform in the Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival.  That’s when I met Tatsu Aoki and Yoko Noge.  I visited Chicago a handful of times after than and then made the move to Chicago in February 2002.  The first thing I did was hook up with Tatsu and Yoko.  They gave me lots of opportunities, inviting me to sit in with their groups.  As soon as I got into town, I got to share the bandstand with guys like John Watson, Sonny Seals, Phil Thomas, Mwata Bowden, Ameen Muhammad, and Jimmy Ellis.  I also hung out, of course.  Went to check out Von Freeman as often as I could down at the New Apartment Lounge, checked out Fred Anderson at the Velvet and wherever else he was performing, and so on.  I spent a lot of time learning who was doing what where.  I met a lot of people along the way, and have been forming and working various groups since.  During all this, I also took advantage of the opportunity to study with Jimmy Ellis.  It seems like everybody went through Jimmy at some point, so it was a great opportunity to spend time with a great musician and teacher.  He really showed me a lot, and I think about music very differently than when I arrived in Chicago because of him.

There were two things about the Chicago scene that really stood out to me.  The first is that musicians were more open in every sense.  They were friendlier, more open-minded, open to sharing opportunities, and open to checking out different things, musically speaking.  This was totally different than my experience in San Francisco.  The other thing that I noticed right away was the access to musicians that one can have.  Because there are opportunities for musicians to work in Chicago, they are out there, and you can see them, meet them, and hang out and talk with them.  Maybe it doesn’t sound like a big deal to Chicago natives, but the chance to hang out at the Apartment Lounge and have Von Freeman giving you tips on how to play the saxophone is really something to be treasured.  When I first got to town, Fred Anderson would be taking my cover at the Velvet, and I could sit at the bar and talk about Bird and mouthpieces with him.  I had never experienced this level of accessibility outside of Chicago. 

I’ve been in Chicago almost 9 years now, and I feel like I’ve just scratched the surface.

Dan: You’ve been working with Tatsu Aoki for a number of years. How did you first meet him? What are some things that you like about what he does – his compositions, his leadership style, etc.?

Jeff: As I mentioned earlier, I met Tatsu during my first visit to Chicago, to perform in the Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival.  Since then, I’ve worked with him on a number of different projects, including becoming a member of his Miyumi Project and helping to build our non-profit organization, Asian Improv aRts Midwest into the leading presenter and producer of the Asian American cultural arts in the region.

From Tatsu, some of the most valuable things I learned from him are to approach the music – and organizing, for that matter - naturally and not to force things.  Let the musicians you are working with be themselves.  If it’s your band, you hired these guys for a reason, right?  Probably because there’s something about them that speaks to you, so let them do their thing.

And I continue to learn about more than music.  Both Francis Wong and Tatsu have shown me that the arts should not exist in a bubble, but that they are a powerful vehicle for doing work of a larger scope.  Building and strengthening community.  The arts can bring people together and in turn, make an impact on society. 

Dan: What are some things that you like about doing solo projects? What would you say are some of your favorite solo recordings? About a year ago Joel Wanek invited you to perform a series of solo sets at Brown Rice. What would you say were some highlights of that experience? Did you feel you had experienced any breakthroughs with your playing / sound while doing that?

Jeff: To be honest, I hardly ever listen to solo recordings.  For the most part, I get bored listening to a single instrument or performer for an entire album.  A big part of what I am interested in checking out is the communication between the musicians while they are creating the music.

That being said, I have listened to a bit of solo piano music.  Bach’s stuff… the French Suites, Well-Tempered Clavier.  I like Monk’s solo work.

But despite whatever feelings I might have toward listening to other people’s solo recordings, I have done several solo performances myself.  Yes, Joel gave me the opportunity to do solo performances at Brown Rice so I set out to do monthly shows during 2009.

I knew that doing a solo show every month would be demanding, but I wanted to put myself in a position where I would be consistently presenting in an open, creative environment.  And ideally, through being comfortable, perhaps find some new musical territory that I had yet to discover.  One might think, “can’t you do that while practicing?” and the answer is “yes, of course,” but I wanted to explore this “comfort zone” idea in the context of a performance.  On top of that, I was looking for opportunities to play more clarinet (and bass clarinet) in a performance setting.  I feel a lot of one’s development on an instrument, aside from practicing, comes from “gutting it through” a bad, or perhaps, not-as-stellar-as-one-would-hope performance.  The solo shows definitely forced me to see things through when I otherwise would have stopped or restarted if I were practicing. 

I’m not sure I can pick out any specific highlights or breakthroughs, but it was definitely a rewarding, eye-opening and reaffirming experience.  I’m veryglad I did it.  Joel and/or Jayvee were able to record the sets, and they’ve been a great resource to go back to, giving me an opportunity to assess and reassess many aspects of my playing… technique, sound, structure and composition, and so on.

Some of the recording output I like very much.  Maybe I’ll see if I have enough material to put an album together.  Then I’ll have a solo album that other people won’t want to listen to.  Turnabout is fair play, right?

Dan: You’ve collaborated with Francis Wong on a number of projects over the years. What are some things that you like about his approach?

Jeff: Francis has been a very important mentor of mine.  We met in San Francisco… must’ve been about 1993 or ’94.  He was conducting an Artist’s Residency at Cameron House, a community center in SF Chinatown.  I think of him as the first person who actually encouraged me in my pursuit of music and the arts. 

Francis is so much more than a musician.  He’s a strategic leader in the community, and he brings so many organizational and leadership skills to the table.  And he’s helped countless musicians get started with their careers.  But to keep it simple, I’ll mention one of the things I admire about his approach to music.  He is very versatile, yet always manages to be himself.  I’ve seen him fit into so many different musical contexts and not just be a part of it, but contribute something to the proceedings.  That’s not easy to do.   

Dan: I remember seeing your Chicago Clarinet Conglomerate perform at the Velvet Lounge recently. That's an interesting name...how did you come up with that name? What are some things that you like about that project?

Jeff: Yes, the Chicago Clarinet Conglomerate.  I called it something else in the beginning, but met unanticipated resistance… I called it a Quartet, even though there were only three of us.  This is because the Chicago Clarinet Trio name was already taken.  Some people just don’t have a sense of humor, I guess. 

Anyway, I love this group.  We’re always finding interesting musical spaces with the group voice continuing to develop.  Each performance shows me something new.  And the sky’s the limit.  With Ed Wilkerson and Mwata Bowden in the group, I’ve got wonderful artists with really solid musicianship skills who I know can handle any ideas that are brought to them.  We’ve done a lot of improvising, and I’ve started to get into composing for this ensemble.  And like I said earlier, the clarinet is hip.

My goal is to work this group more in 2011.  We have a couple of hits lined up at Elastic Arts in January and February, and I’m looking forward to those.  I really want to see where this group can go.

Dan: What are some recent developments with the big fUn philharmonic?

Jeff: big fUn is very close to my heart and we just had a very nice performance at the Chicago Cultural Center back in October.  big fUn was a project I started in around 1998 or 1999 when I was still in the Bay Area.  I’ve been able to reconstitute a “Chicago edition” for some special hits since I moved out here and I’d like to work this group more.  A large ensemble gives you a lot of options to try different ways to develop the music.  But it’s tough to find opportunities for a large ensemble as well as to be able to have consistent personnel.  Same story, nothing new.  big fUn isn’t going to go away, though.  I’ll continue to work it as much as I can.

Dan: How was Tatsu Aoki’s Miyumi Project performance at the Harris Theater in November? Sorry I missed that...

Jeff: It was a great privilege to be able to perform on the Harris Theater stage.  I’ve seen shows at Harris, so it was a blast to be on the “other side.”  Tatsu is continuing to work his “Rooted” composition cycle.  The piece we performed at the Harris was the third performance of the third installment of the Rooted cycle, titled Trans-Rooted.  I think Tatsu’ main achievement through Trans-Rooted is that his efforts to raise the profile of taiko (Japanese drumming) culture in Chicago and the Midwest is coming to fruition.  The piece features a group of young taiko drummers that Tatsu has been working with for the last several years, and they are now at a level where they can perform at places such as Millennium Park, Harris Theater and the MCA.  It’s very meaningful.  I don’t think the traditional Asian cultural arts have ever had this kind of recognition in the Midwest before now.

Dan: What other ongoing projects have you been working on? 

Jeff: This year I’m going to focus on the Clarinet Conglomerate and another new-ish band, my Cultural Arts Quartet with Ed Wilkerson, Tatsu Aoki and Avreeayl Ra.  We do a mix of improvisation and some of my compositions.  I put this group together because I wanted to get back to a horn-bass-drums sort of thing.  I’ve been working drummer-less projects for a while now for various reasons, but none of those reasons have to do with any sort of dislike of the drums.  I love the drums and have been fortunate to work with some great drummers, like Elliot Kavee and Chad Taylor.  And Avreeayl, of course.  So the Cultural Arts Group is my opportunity to work in that context again.  Like the Conglomerate, the Quartet is capable of a wide range of music-making.  It’s been fun to work this band and we’ll see where it goes.

The Chicago Clarinet Conglomerate And The Cultural Arts Quartet -- Tatsu Aoki, Mwata Bowden, Avreeayl Ra, and Ed Wilkerson -- perform at Elastic Sound & Vision Gallery (2830 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago) on Saturday, February 12 (9 p.m.). 

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