The Doug Largent Trio

Doug: Ben, you and I are both originally bass players. At the Blue Note jam session, you play archtop guitar, and I play organ. First of all, let me say it’s a pleasure to be able to play with you, where when we were both playing bass, we would never have a chance to!

I feel that as a former bass player, I’m driven to be supportive when playing the organ, and not to rely too much on licks or tricky techniques. Or maybe I just don’t have the chops yet to do that stuff! How do you think that being a bass player informs your guitar playing? Thanks!

Ben: Thanks Doug. What a great unexpected surprise, you and I, both bassists, neither playing bass on the same gig. I take that back, your left hand slams on that lower keyboard! Everyone has been thoroughly enjoying your organ playing and the great energy you bring to the jam.

I feel the same way about comping. As a bassist, you spend most of the gig doing your best to make who ever is in front so comfortable, they can do their best playing. I take a little less strict a role on guitar, I don’t feel like I have to outline every chord, I can lay out a bit. I do love to dig in on some Freddie Green quarter notes! That’s the rhythmic home turf for a bassist. It’s all about letting the soloist drive it. See you tonight. B

Thanks, Ben Palmer

Jazz Jam Session -mondays 7-10
Bluenote Grill Durham

Doug: According to your Reverb Nation music page, you came to the United States about 4 years ago. What drove you to leave behind your music career in Moscow and transition to the Triangle area of North Carolina?

Janna: Marriage this time; but I had gone to a grad school in DC in the late 90′s, so it’s not my first relocation to the US. Now I’m married to an American guy and I have to start my music career from scratch, here. As I am also a singer-songwriter, that means writing songs in English – which is becoming easier after some years of living among native speakers (including my own little daughter).

Doug: A lot of people are curious about your singing. After hearing you sing, many are surprised to find out that you are from Russia! What motivated you to learn how to sing jazz standards in English and Portuguese?

Janna: Ella F. has always been my idol; plus I went to a jazz college in Moscow for a couple of years. I also sing in French, Italian, Romani, etc. – don’t care what tongue it is as long as it sounds good.

Doug: In America, it is notoriously difficult for singers to find shows performing original music. How would you compare the music scene here versus Russia in terms of finding musical venues and building a loyal audience?

Janna: I’m just starting to self-promote here, so I can’t compare. In Moscow, you have a 3 musicians to 1 listener ratio so it can’t be much worse here. Hopefully when the economy recovers, the music industry will boom again, and us singers-songwriters will also ride the wave. For now, I am content performing standards (much easier to find musicians to play with!) and squeezing in an original tune here and there. My next show is Feb. 9 at Oliver Twist, 7 pm, no cover fee.

J.

Doug: Todd, it seems like a lot of musicians today choose to be very specialized about what to play. I’ve seen musicians who are so focused on jazz that they seem to be completely unaware of any other types of music.

On the other hand, musicians like you and I enjoy playing a variety of music. How did you become such a well-rounded musician?

Todd: My first inclination towards music was listening to rock and roll which back in the day was the pop music of my generation.. Today pop music is a genera within itself.

My musical tastes started to branch out when my drum instructor suggested a few recordings for me to check out. He wrote down (which is in the drum lesson notebook that still have today) Mahavishnu Orchestra Inner mounting flame, Tony Williams Lifetime Emergency, and Miles Davis My Funny Valentine + Four and More. The first recording that I listened to was Inner Mounting flame and it blew my head off. Track one side one is “Meeting Of The Spirits” which starts with three fermatas before the melody is introduced. I could not believe what I was hearing. They started the song at the end which seemed totally crazy to me, but I was in the eighth grade at the time. So I sat and listened that recording from beginning to the end( I did have to take the cassette out to flip it over) so I would not miss out on anything. It was as if I were waiting for the next mind blowing experience. So from then on I was a Mahavishnu fan and are still are. Billy Cobham and Tony Williams became my new found drum heroes. If there is anyone who is reading this and has never heard of Mahavishnu Orchestra you need to check them out, that is if you like fusion. Thus my musical journey had just begun.

Over the next twenty years I would fall in love with a particular genera or style within a genera and really dig in. For instance I got into James Brown. I listened to everything that I could get my hands on then I would transcribe the grooves, and I even went so far as to transcribing the bass lines so I could play bass with my students. I did not realize how much this helped me as a player and at the same time helping my student by jamming with his or her teacher. The lessons became more fun for everybody and I was challenging myself on a different instrument.

Music became this mistress that I could not get enough of. I eventually explored other styles like Cuban, Dominican, Indian, African, and South American to name a few. I never looked at these different styles in the sense that I had to learn them for some sort of academic purpose or need to know basis. I looked forward to hearing something fresh and new. If you check out my music collection it is all over the place from classical to world music and everything in between. To me music is like food. I don’t like the same thing day to day or even week to week. I see some young players that get so focused on artist or style that they can’t see the forest for the trees. We must not forget that variety is the spice of life.

Doug: Frank, we’ve known each other for about 10 years, and I’ve noticed that there’s nothing that you can’t do. You’re a professional level pianist and trombone player. You also play drums and bass very well. You were a church choir director, and participate in an improvising opera company. You designed and produced corporate websites from the ground up. You designed and built a recording studio in New York City, and deftly manifested a parking space out front in the loading zone. You have written and arranged albums for singers, and ran a top-notch rehearsal space.

A few months ago, you moved from Brooklyn, NY to Cary. As a North Carolina native, it makes me very proud that someone like you would choose to move here! Why did you choose North Carolina to live, and what are your goals, musical and otherwise?

Frank: Wow, well first let me let the swelling go down in my head so I can hold it upright enough to look at the screen.

I am humbled indeed to receive such accolades from such an accomplished colleague as yourself. (Seriously, picking up organ inside of 2 years from bascially scratch and playing it well? Pretty amazing.) As for some of those accomplishments, lets just say I used to be a pretty good trombone player (trying to pick it back up), and can do all right on a kit but wouldn’t think of picking up a bass without some serious shedding (and never in your presence).

There are several reasons for moving to the great state of North Carolina after living in New York for 24 years. First, I just think 24 years was long enough. Spending all my time hustling to make enough money to live there and not having time to actually play music was beginning to take its toll. This is something all aspiring musicians who are considering a move to New York or a major metroplis should consider. Make sure you don’t have to completely shift your focus away from your art just to live in a particular place. That goes for anyplace obviously, but particulary New York these days.

Next, I’m orginally from the South and although I never lived in North Carolina, this area has always appealed to me. The countryside is beautiful, there are actual seasons, and there seems to be a nice population of forward-thinking people. I’m closer to my family in Alabama and Georgia as well. Also the notion of living in a place where there are actual driveways and parking places was enormously appealing to me. I always had a car in the city and it was usually a huge pain.

From a personal standpoint it was really just time to start over in another place. I was divorced in 2008 after being married for 21 years and am now in a new relationship with the beautiful and talented Angela Bingham – a wonderful jazz singer in her own right. It was acutally her suggestion that we move down here in the first place. She has a life-long friend living her and the possibility of living near her was a definite plus.

In addition to that connection, I must say that knowing you were living back down here and obviously thriving was a great incentive to get back to the homeland. Almost immediately I started playing out more than I EVER did in New York – and with some of the best musicians I’ve ever worked with (you included of course). I find myself wishing I had done this years ago, but I guess everything in its own season.

My professional goal is to really get back on track with my music. Performing, writing and working with this great population of musicians that seems to be everywhere down here is really stimulating.

I am very much looking forward to this next part of my life living and working in my new home. Thanks for hipping me to it man, I really appreciate it!

Frank