Geordie Haley & A Tribute to Thelonious Monk (HFX Jazz Fest Day 5)
If you’re in Halifax and looking for
a fulfilling way to spend your lunch hour, head down to the Halifax Jazz Fest
tent on the waterfront for free concerts from 12 – 5pm. The music begins with
Geordie Haley (guitar), Martin Davidson Star (saxophone), Will Paynter (bass)
and Tom Roach (drums), and their tribute to the ‘High Priest of
Bebop’, American jazz pianist Thelonious Monk (1917-1982).
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| Geordie Haley |
Geordie Haley is a prolific
composer, improviser, educator and guitarist who has been performing and
collaborating for over 25 years. During his career he has become a creative fixture
in the Toronto, Fredericton and Halifax music scenes and has recorded six
albums under his own name. Specifically in Halifax he has been a featured artist
for various productions, including those with Symphony Nova Scotia, Mocean
Dance, SuddenlyListen and Jazz East Vocalypse. Haley took the time to chat with
Arts East during one of his few breaks, as he has already performed
several times during this year’s Jazz Fest and has more planned for the rest of
the week.
When did you first fall in love with
music?
GH:
Singing and making up sounds and songs have been part of my life since I can
remember.
Why do you think you gravitated to guitar
as opposed to another focal instrument?
GH:
The guitar was available. I love all the guitars: nylon string, steel string, solid
body electric, jazz guitars, resonator guitars… The oud , sitar, sarod and vina
have also been a big influence.
Based on your many recordings, it’s
obvious that you are in “endless search for new sounds”. What musical genres
have you explored?
GH:
Like many East Coast beginning guitarists, I started with the blues…ragtime
fingerpicking à la John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Bruce Cockburn… I became interested
in jazz, modern classical and world music. The recording industry brings the
world to your ear, and I still am inspired by the ever increasing access to so
many types of music.
Collaboration also seems very
important to you—playing with various quartets and trios at Jazz Fest is a case
in point. What do you like most about collaborating?
GH:
Music is generally a collaborative art. It's more fun with others. A well
rehearsed ensemble of any size will develop a third mind, an instinctual group
thought that can make a great musical moment on stage supernatural. The
communication of these ideas without even speaking is something I strive for. I
have also had great joy in working with dancers, writers, and visual artists of
all types.
What does a typical day/week look
like for you in terms of musical activities (professional and personal)?
GH:
Some weeks are crazy, some are more structured. I teach, rehearse, perform,
create. There are long cycles—things that are in the works for a long time—and
short one-off projects. I am blessed with being asked to do both.
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| Thelonious Monk |
What do you like most about
Thelonious Monk?
GH: For
me Monk is the composer who brought elements of modern harmonic composition
into the jazz world .Monk's ability to blend swing with extended harmony is
paramount .His influence on modern jazz is immeasurable . It's taken me a long
time to even consider doing a tribute. Monk's music is hard, while it is approachable
by the novice too. Many of my peers learned the basics of expressing oneself in
a jazz format through learning Monk's music. Plus the tunes are such earworms.
I will go around singing them for days.
If you could jam with any musician (from history or present), who would it be?
GH:
I feel honoured to work with the musicians that I do. The incredible Canadian
drummer Claude Ranger comes to mind.
You can also catch Geordie Hailey:
Tonight (July 9): Sylvio Pupo
Quartet (The Company House, 11pm)
Tomorrow (July 10): Will Fisher
Quartet (Festival Jazz Tent, 1:15pm)
Tomorrow (July 10): Martin Davidson
Trio (Obladee Wine Bar, 8pm)
Thursday (July 11): Riot Squad
(Festival Jazz Tent, 2:30pm)
