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Karen Segal Quartet @ Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

August 2, 2010 by karensegal

Arrival at Copenhagen Airport, July 8 2010

Left to right: Cousin Thomas, Karen S, Maya, Karen M, Ricky front: Camille.

Where are Perry & Cathi? They arrived early and had already booked themselves a room at Hotel D’Angleterre (!) (they got a good deal) before Thomas came up with the van idea. photo by Lilah Rose

The Batida Bus

The first Big Problem to solve when planning our trip was how to get my cousin’s bass from Copenhagen to Århus for Perry to play. After much consideration, Thomas figured out how not only to get his bass there but also the rest of us. He arranged to borrow the 9 seater van from Batida, the theater group that he works with. (Among other things, he composes and plays bass and violin in a clown outfit). They are on break at the moment so the van was available, even though they will soon be rehearsing daily for their October trip to Shanghai where they will be performing at the World Fair. When Thomas told us he had a van, none of us imagined that it was a big beautiful Mercedes. Woah! Check out Batida – they are super creative and brilliant http://www.batida.dk/

Kontrabass.com

Don’t all tourists to Denmark make their first stop at an inconspicuous bass repair shop in the countryside? This guy keeps a low profile I guess so nobody bothers him and his umpteen basses. The sign outside is only for a boxing club. Thomas’s bass had gotten some work done so we had to pick it up.

Jesper Carlsen became an unofficial guardian angel of our trip. An Aarhus -based bassist and friend of my cousin Thomas, he had offered to let us borrow his bass instead of shlepping Thomas’s all the way from Copenhagen. But he would be playing too and we’d have to keep trading the bass back and forth and I didn’t know the guy and it made me too nervous so I declined his offer and went for the shlep instead. Then I asked Jesper if he knew of a place where we could rehearse in Århus the day before the first concert and he said sure, we could practice at his place. Turns out that Jesper Carlsen is Super Cool and so is his rehearsal space. I should have taken more pictures of it. The walls are a collage of posters, photos, newspaper clippings and other interesting things. Unfortunately we were not at the beach because it was an unseasonably hot day and we were shvitzing in there which is partly why we look glazed & baked. After a half hour or so what we thought was a mirage turned out to be Jesper popping in with a tray of water, juice, beer & coffee.

After another hour or so Jesper came back and asked us if we’d like to stay for dinner after the rehearsal. Well, we’d all like to but Perry had plans to be with his wife, Ricky to be with his girlfriend, Maya to be with her cousin and her ex and me to be with my wife and daughter. “No problem,” said Jesper, “you can bring them all.” So after our rehearsal we found ourselves sitting in his beautiful backyard eating bøf med løg og kartoffelsalat: beef with onions and potato salad plus all sorts of other delicious things including fresh food from his garden. Jesper told us that he had received this “ecological beef” from a student in exchange for bass lessons.

Jesper Carlsen

This is Jesper holding a treble clef woodcutting that his wife gave him in one hand and, if you look closely, you will see “The Mystery Of Life” in his other hand. One of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet. I heard him play too and he can swing!

Muziki - Ruhija School Of Music

MUZIKI is a danish private initiative to support Ruhija School of Music in the Bukoba area of Tanzania by collecting and supplying the school with musical instruments and gear. Jesper supports them, has visited there and donated a bass that he fixed for them. Check them out at http://muziki.dk/english.htm

Karen Segal Quartet Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Finally! The show at Klostertorvet! Maya Kronfeld, piano; Perry Thoorsell, bass (you can sort of see him); Karen Segal, guitar; Ricky Carter, drums

Karen Segal Quartet Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

The paparazzi would stop bothering us. Only joking! Thats Martin Madsen, my cousin’s son taking video footage. Thanks Martin! You can see some of his footage at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0IF8o1jryg&feature=channel (What Goes Around) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYDddo2HcMU&feature=channel (Come With Me) Another guy, Lars Hansen from ArtTalentsCom, shot some video too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRYpDNTdWN0 (Lilah Rose)

Karen Segal at Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

check out the guitar reflection on the piano!

Karen Segal at Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Ricky Carter at Aarhus Jazz Festival, 2010

Ladies and gentlemen, Ricky Carter

Karen & Ricky at the Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Maya Kronfeld, piano @ Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Maya is a huge Bay Area talent and we were fortunate to have her join us on this trip.

Lilah & Aslan selling the merchandise

Karen Segal/Marilyn Mazur interview Danish Radio 7.13.10

left to right: myself, Carsten Ortmann from Danish Radio, Marilyn Mazur at Klostertorvet, two days after our show and a couple hours before Marilyn’s.

This was a really interesting interview that included the question “why are there so few women instrumentalists at jazz festivals.” I have been pondering the question ever since. It was a tremendous experience, my first radio show as such, and in the company of none other than my beloved mentor Marilyn Mazur.

The program was broadcast later that evening as a one hour show featuring . . . me! The broadcast includes some of my recordings as well tracks “that inspired me,” where I give a little introduction about what about them inspired me, including Emily Remler’s “Dahoud” (the first other woman jazz guitarist I ever heard, ten years after I had been playing jazz.) Also included was Carla Bley, the only other woman jazz composer I’d ever heard of. And Joshua Redman, Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin & Melissa Ethridge.

Karen Segal/Marilyn Mazur interview Danish Radio 7.13.10

“Can you tell the difference between women and men musicians when you hear them?,” asked Carsten Ortmann from Danish Radio. “Absolutely not,” answered Marilyn. “Music goes beyond all boundaries. Some women played strong and fast because that’s how they hear it or how they think they have play in order to have opportunities in the jazz world. For some men playing jazz is a chance for them to show their more sensitive side.”

Karen Segal interview with Danish Radio

: My cousin’s radio

This is the radio at my cousin Hans Henrik’s house where I was staying. At 10 PM (kl. 22) on July 13, I turned it on to hear my very own “In The Moment.” What followed was a one hour program of my thoughts, experiences, inspirations, some more of my recordings and a number of recordings that inspired me. I intend to transcribe and translate this interview (I did it in Danish) and make it available on my website.

Makiko Hirabayashi Trio at Aarhus Jazz Festival July 13 2010

Makiko Hirabayashi, piano; Klavs Hovman, bass; Marilyn Mazur, drums
They played Klostertorvet two days after we did. Awesome show!

Marilyn Mazur, drums

Meeting and playing with Marilyn as a teenager in Denmark has remained one of my most memorable and inspiring music experience throughout my life. This summer’s encounter with her was the first time I saw her again since then and it quickly all came back to me. Marilyn and her music is magic and it is impossible to not fall under her spell.

Bassist Klavs Hovman (Marilyn's husband), myself, & Marilyn

KSQ @ Fairbar, Aarhus Jazz Festival July 14, 2010

Fairbar is a super cool coffeeshop that runs totally by volunteers to promote art, music & debate. All profits go to worldwide humantitarian aid projects. “Welcome to a creative and committed cafe which offers concerts, art exhibitions, debate, and where we focus on social and existential issues.” http://www.fairbar.dk/

Perry Thoorsell, bass; Aardvark, wall; Maya Kronfeld, piano

I can see its hard to get good pictures of pianists – very hard to get their hands and face at the same time. Finally got a decent shot of Perry.

Karen Madison, photographer & Ricky's girl friend

Cathi Thoorsell, Perry's wife

Cathi and Perry for mayor! These guys know how to make the most of a trip. They made friends everywhere they went.

Daniella, Maya's Danish cousin

Camille Angel, wife, photographer, chauffeur, rabbi

Lilah Rose presents the Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Lilah Rose, official mascot of the Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Lilah Rose

Earplugs for $2 @ Fairbar

Don’t ya wish they sold at all the clubs? And movie theaters? Or maybe if people just turned down a bit?

Yeah!

Three cheers for music, inspiration, travel, collaboration, family & friends

And for the Aarhus Jazz Festival ~ truly a jazz festival by & for the people of the city. http://www.jazzfest.dk/?a=reviews&lang=da&s=bands&kryds_id=674 Thanks to Mads Pinholt for inviting us.

This tour is dedicated to the memory of my grandfather, Andreas Skotting, who was born and died in Aarhus.

Special thanks to the American Embassy in Copenhagen & Fulbright Grant for funding assistance.

The Magician / Musician’s Apprentice

July 3, 2010 by karensegal

When people ask me where I got the inspiration from to become a musician I often find myself transported to my grandmother’s 75th birthday in the barn at my aunt Eva’s farmhouse in Denmark, I was seven or eight years old and my cousins Thomas, Helle and Nina were singing and playing music. Everybody was dancing, transformed under a magical spell of excitement and connection. Right in that moment I knew that I too wanted to become an agent of that magical transformation – I wanted to be a musician.

Now my cousins and I are grown up they are still my musical inspirations. Thomas can groove the @#$% out of any instrument that he picks up. He can fly all over a piano and keep it sounding fresh indefinitely. He plays violin, guitar and flute professionally. He sings beautiful bass and choral harmonies. He studied contrabass at the Danish Royal Conservatory, in Prague, and with from Niels Henning Ørsted Petersen. He is also a trained and experienced music educator with a speciality in making music creation accessible to all people, young and old with little or no prior musical training. One of the many jobs he performs is accompanying a Danish theatre group which will be travelling to perform in China in 2011. Walking inspiration. It would be amiss to neglect mentioning that he is a great guy who is fun and interesting to hang out with. And I love him.

Late last year I was thrilled to be invited to bring my quartet to perform at the Århus Jazz Festival 2010. I also knew that as the band leader I would be facing a number of logistical and practical challenges. At the top of the list was that pesky problem of how to transport an upright bass from San Francisco to Århus. I turned to Cousin Thomas who immediately and generously offered the use of his bass and amplifier. Great! . . . now how would I transport the bass from his house on the Danish island of Sjœlland to the peninsula town of Århus? After running a number of possibilities back and forth, Thomas came up with this plan. He will borrow the 9 seater van belonging to his theatre company and load in his bass and amp. He will drive out to the Copenhagen airport and meet me, the band, and my wife and daughter. He will drive us all 3-4 hours to Århus. That is how we will get there. Wow – sounds like a plan, huh?!

Just so happens that Aunt Lasse, Thomas’ mother, will be celebrating her 85 birthday the next day in a little town just outside of Århus and Thomas was planning to be there anyway. He will pick up his daughter there and the two of them will come and stay at our cousin Hans Henrik’s house in Århus with my family and I. It is available to us these days because Hans Henrik and his wide are currently visiting San Francisco and staying in our house.

Can you follow all this? Its stranger than fiction, right? There are many players in the magical mystery (of life) tour bringing my San Francisco Quartet to Århus. Topping the list is my band, Ricky, Perry, & Maya, my wife Camille and my daughter Lilah. Cousin Helle, her daughter Julie, son Martin, and our cousin Kirsten for making sure that we all have working cellphones & SIM cards. Cousin Ingrid is lending her Arhus apartment to Ricky and his girlfriend Karen. Peter Anderson is waking up at the crack of dawn to get us to the airport on time. Then there are The Fairies who I haven’t met yet: Mads Pinholt from Århus Jazz Festival who invited us; Deb MacLean from the US Embassy who funded our airfare with a Fulbright Grant; Århus bassist Jesper Carlsen who has invited us to rehearse at his house the day before our first show. Somehow I have a feeling that there may be more Fairies to come as the trip unfolds. Today’s blog pays tribute to my dear cousin Thomas, who I adore, admire, enjoy and am deeply grateful to. His inspiration has fuelled my musicianship from an early age. Next week that inspiration takes a very practical turn.

Stay tuned to future blogs to learn more about the many wild & wonderful talents of his sisters Helle & Nina . . .

Cousin Thomas is very talented. He learned how to do this in Africa. That is real milk and cheese on his head.

Karen Segal Trio with Special Guest Jef Labes, Savanna Jazz Club 6.18.10

I needed a piano player for an upcoming show and out of the middle of nowhere Jef Labes walked in. Who? Good question. He told me he could read and play standards and his vibe told me yeah, so I got his number. When he left I googled him and turns out he toured and recorded with Bonnie Raitt and Van Morrison. Kay . . . . think he can handle my gig (!) . . . Turns out he was all I could've hoped for and more: inside, outside and all around with joy, passion, exuberance and taste. Read my crazy charts like they were Harold and the Purple Crayon. Turns out he’s the guy on the original recording of "Moondance" so of course we had to play that. I felt like Wes Montgomery playing "Think I'm Goin Out Of My Head." But the real test came when a listener requested Sophisticated Lady. Man - haven't played that in years - really glad I brought my Real Book! Jef took it in no problem, except when it turned out he was in a different key . . .turned out that was no problem either because (check this out) he modulated the melody chromatically while he was playing until he matched my key. When I told this to a friend she suggested that he availed himself of the chromatic melodic descension, but thats not what he did! He ascended chromatically til it matched the bass and I, all the while maintaining the melody. He’s got the magic. Plus he is super good people. I’m looking forward to working with him this summer at the JCC Macabbi ArtsFest up in his home town of San Raphael. And many more gigs in the time to come!

His steady gig is his one man dinner show with drum machine, vocals, swangin bass line in his left hand and groovin fills in his right. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELmSIZrgrT0&feature=related and his home page: http://jeflabes.com

On Composition

I love to compose. I feel like I am God creating universes, worlds, planets, each with its own distinct gravitational pull, atmospheric pressure, temperature, climate, and landscape. I create a space and then I go exploring. My intention is to become the tour guide. Not the kind who sits at the front of the bus monologuing about the local history and cracking jokes to entertain you. I want to be more like a Ms. Frizzle type- just when you thought you knew where the bus was going, voooom, you are in a completely different reality where you’ve never been before. Maybe you are a little nervous because it is new, but you are also compelled to want stay along for the ride. And then, hopefully, you are glad you did because I am a fairly safe driver and you get to go to some cool places.

When I compose, I have a quest, although the purpose may change or not reveal itself until later, sometimes much later. I am trying to see where the song leads. What is the song’s message? What is the song trying to teach the world? My meta-cause, that I keep coming back to, is the cause of ambiguity and the process of realisation. There are plenty of songs that are happy or sad or angry or look-what-I-can-do but what about the particularly modern phenomenon of ambiguity? Real life isn’t black or white. Life would be so much simpler if it were, which is why many people try to live and see things as if it were. Ambiguity can be hard to tolerate. But its real so why run from it? Its messy, its unpredictable, its beautiful and it sure makes life far more interesting and its actually really exciting. So I would say that embracing life’s ambiguity is a major cause that I seek to address in my compositions. And in my playing too. Its related the external world too - embracing diversity and not just trying to do things the same old way. Because many of those ways don’t work any more so we need to be open to the possibility of possibilities. That's what my music is about.

Another thing that is important to me is the relational aspect. That’s another cause of mine - embracing real heart to heart relations and conversations rather than quick judgements and sound bites or text messages or emails. Those are all good and all and I use them all the time, but I am also a strong proponent of the Conversation Defence Fund (not to be confused with the Conservation Defence Fund, also a worthy cause). I heard a quote attributed to Bill Evans who said something about jazz reflecting a true democracy with everyone working together for a cause and taking turns supporting each other independence. That's what I’m talking about but with one more layer. Relating in a way that's not just arguing a point or making small talk (which has its own place) but actually becoming bigger by being one’s self and at the same time understanding the world through someone else’s eyes. In soloing I’m always looking for ways to play around with my fellow musicians and in my compositions too.

In term of the actual craft of composing, cooking often comes to mind. Ooooh, maybe a little too spicy. Lets stretch it out with a little comfort food, or cool it with some yogurt. Somethings taste good, but only in small doses. Sometimes you need a nice refreshing beverage to cleanse you palette. Sometimes ya need to totally fareak out. But don't worry, I promise to take always take you safely home again.