Available now is a wonderfully melodic album from Paul who readers of this web site will know primarily as the sax player in Steve’s band, but within the jazz fraternity is a respected musician in his own right.
Andrew Easdale and I met up with Paul Booth at the Wadworths beer counter for this year's Cropredy Festival in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Armed with a couple of very fine beers we duly wandered to the back of the festival site sat on the grass. Andrew pressed some buttons on his trusty DAT recorder and it was on with the interview.
I firstly gave Paul a blatant opportunity to plug his new album Pathways.
PB: It was recorded back in April this year at Wincraft studios with my new quintet, of which I made a few changes earlier in the year. I‘ve got this trumpet player called Ingrid Jensen guesting; she’s Canadian but lives in New York. I flew her over; we did a couple of gigs at Ronnie Scott’s back in April. Once we’d finished the gigs we went into the studio and did the album. She’s not on the whole thing, Karl (Van den Bossche) he’s on there as well.
The albums more developed than the previous CDs. 8/10 songs are mine. The other two are ‘Embraceable You‘ (George and Ira Gershwin) just a duet with me and the piano player, and then Cole Porter’s ‘I Love You’, which I’ve messed around with, changed the harmony and it’s in an odd time signature throughout. It was very challenging, too hard to play! I don’t know why I hear it that way but I do it on purpose.
PM: I didn’t have the opportunity to hear the album in its entirety, but did get the opportunity to listen on Myspace, not the best sound quality, but enough to appreciate the underlying sense of melody throughout.
PB: That’s good to hear because that was one the main intentions. Obviously I’m a jazz musician and that’s mainly where I’ve come from, for material in my own name and when I’m doing various projects.
PM: When I spoke earlier to you on the telephone you made it clear that you wanted to primarily be known as a jazz musician.
PB: I do. I’m involved with all this other music which I love and which I’ve done all my life which is great. I’ve had my fingers in lots of different pies!
PM: So you’re pleased with the outcome, and I believe James Towler engineered the album?
PB: He was the engineer for most of it, but over the 2 days of recording he wasn’t there on the second day when Ingrid came over, and Jason Jervis (also part of the Wincraft set up) took over. So it was just us and a couple of photographers, that was it really.
PM: Is it a nice place to work at Wincraft Studios?
PB: Yeah it’s great. It is really beautiful and relaxed at the Wincraft Barn. It’s just a wonderful atmosphere in a fantastic setting. You’ve probably seen the “Nine Lives” video. It’s a beautiful experience just to be there. I‘ve been hanging out there for the last few days actually. It’s quite inspiring just being in that setting.
PM: Do you think the studio influences the musical outcome?
PB: I think it does, the relaxed atmosphere and the sound that James gets.
PM: Well he recently won the engineer of the year award, so you got a top man on board, what do you think he brings to the recording ?
PB: Its clarity, a good mix, you basically walk out of that studio the day you’ve done it and you have a great mix already, and that’s the battle won.
PM and AE in unison (laughing): So how come it takes Steve so long to record an album?
PB: Well (diplomatically smiling) that’s the whole thing about jazz; it’s more spontaneous it’s the way I want it to be. We rehearse the music when we get there and just do a couple of takes of each song, and then it’s a matter of choosing the take.
PM: Are you going to promote the new album with a tour?
PB: I’ve sorted out a tour in December, just a short tour, just over a week. I’m bringing Ingrid back over again. The London show is at Charlie Wright’s International a great venue in Old Street. They get a lot of contemporary artists over from The States.
PM: We discussed Paul’s many other musical projects he is involved in, the most recent being his involvement with the BBC Big Band.
PB: One of their sax players decided to retire and that was over a year ago leaving the first tenor chair empty, they tried various people out then offered it to me.
PM: It sounds like a prestigious role to fill?
PB: Well it is, it’s something I’ve wanted to do, I played some deps and then they offered me the chair. They get some very good artists to play with; it’s steady work as well. Every month there’s 2 or 3 projects
AE: Do you have much chance to extemporize within the framework, or is it jazz within confines?
PB: It is jazz, usually though within confines, as with some singers as they do have band charts and there is room for short solos, short functional solo’s (Paul laughs at this own comment). There is more room when they are not backing a singer of course. There is a challenge, a lot of sight reading involved and in the BBC Big Band apart from tenor sax you have to also play flute , clarinet and alto flute and soprano sax. I do them all anyway with Steve with the exception of the clarinet.
PM: And of course there’s Riverdance as well!
PB: Oh God yes!
PM: You had to leave a SW tour to play Riverdance in The States if I recall.
PB: Yeah I did, Steve’s dates came in at short notice, and Mike Smith stepped in. I’d already agreed to do Riverdance on a five week tour, as Steve’s gigs came in late, though Steve would normally get first call. I joined Riverdance in 1999 and I did about a year and a half with them, and by then I’d had enough so I left. A couple of years later I came back in as a dep. Around 2003 they offered me a full tour around The States. At that point I’d never toured The States, I’d been there but never toured, so I jumped at the opportunity. I agreed to stay 3 months and ended up staying 3 months longer! I haven’t been involved for over a year now so it’s unlikely I’ll be involved any further, the whole thing seems to be toning down now.
PM: There’s also the band Ambulance you’ve been involved in.
PB: There’s not much going on at present with them at present. We had a great run of a couple of years where we did a couple of albums. That’s how it goes you do something and then you move on. I think the band leader wants to put something together for the Spring. The trouble is so do I, and the likelihood is so will Steve!
PM: With Steve is that your first call, do you have like a contract with him?
PB: Yes Steve gets priority; it’s just an unwritten word thing.
PM: How did you get to join Steve’s band by the way?
PB: Well do you know Davide Giovannini who has drummed with Steve? Well he’s a friend of mine I’ve known him for years
PM: Didn’t he play with Snowboy?
PB: That’s right, I also used to play on the Latin scene for about 5 years, and I used to bump into him a lot. He was the one who put my name forward to Steve. At that time Steve was looking for someone new, someone closer to home.
PM: Prior to that he had Randall Bramblett and Jay Davidson both USA based musicians.
PB: That’s right, and I think he was looking for a more British based band, apart from Jose. So Steve said come up to the barn, so I went up there, and Steve said I want you to play keys, sax backing vocals and flute. I filled up my car with all the instruments I owned and went up there. We just jammed a bit, we played a blues, and then he tried me out on the organ, at that time I’d never played a B3 before which was fun.
PM: Playing in Steve’s band do you have much input with the live arrangements, does he give you a free reign about how you interpret things?
PB: Yes occasionally we’ll approach things from a different angle, it’ll be Steve that instigates a change, because lets face it, at the end of the day it’s his music. He does give us the freedom to play the way we want to play, and certainly when we were doing the album, when we were recording “Nine Lives”.
PM: I was going to ask you about that, so how much freedom were you given in that process?
PB: A lot of freedom given for “9 Lives”. He’d ask me to come up with a few lines here and there, and everything I played on the album was improvised with the exception of maybe 1 or 2 lines. Then because my improvisations became part of the tune, I had to transcribe what I’d played, like the beginning of ‘Fly’. I play 3 instruments on that, and live I always play the solo at the beginning the same. I improvised that solo on the album initially, and also live I play the whistle solo the same. The other bits including the whistle parts between the singing I improvise.
PM: Is that what they call a low whistle. I recall a similar sound from Davy Spillane who has played with Steve.
PB: That’s right it’s called a low D whistle. It’s funny when I first went to meet Steve at the barn I had all the different instruments in the car, clarinet, bass clarinet and all the different saxes, and I also had my whistle, and Steve said what else do you play? I said I’d got this whistle from when I played Riverdance. Steve said he liked a lot of that kind of music and went on about Davy Spillane, and of course Davy was the original piper from Riverdance. Anyway we ended up having a bit of a folk jam.
PM: Steve’s never released any official full live album. Any views on that?
PB: I think it would be great for this band to bring out a live album, it’s been together for 3 years now, and it would be good to get things happening with the music.
PM: I understand you’ve been playing music since you were very young, did a degree in music and won various young musician of the year awards.
PB: Yeah, I went to the Royal Academy of Music and did the jazz degree there, I went there when I was 16-20. I started on the sax when I was 10, but started on the piano when I was about 4 played for 2 years and that was it , I got upset one day as I didn’t want to practice, so my dad said o.k. that’s fine you can leave it. I left it for 4 years and started again at 10. Music was around all the time, Dad started to play the accordion when I was a baby. He started music late in life; it was always there. I always had this deep feeling for music for as long as I can remember.
AE: You like playing jazz, but is that what you listen to as well?
PB: Yes as I’m always learning, always listening to jazz, there’s so much to check out, so many amazing musicians.
Paul’s musical Influences:
PB: In the tradition people like John Coltrane (Giant Steps, A Love Supreme), Sonny Rollins, early Stan Getz, Ben Webster although less so these days, but more so in my early teens.
I always liked people like Bob Berg and Michael Brecker was a big influence. He influenced a lot of players; he was the most technically gifted. Steve told me the Brecker Brothers played on “Higher Love”.
PM: Which jazz musicians in the current scene should we be looking out for?
PB: Oh God, how long have you got?
PM: Just rattle some names off.
PB: Chris Potter is outstanding sax player, he played with Steely Dan for A While (2 Against Nature Tour and album), and Donny McCazlin who plays in the Maria Schneider Orchestra.
PM: What’s next for you?
PB: A three and a half week tour with Mike Janisch an American bass player who lives here. Fantastic musician plays mainly upright bass and a bit of electric. I recorded with Mike on his debut album in New York which is due very soon (out now PM, and the tour has been and gone). It’s Contemporary jazz and he’s got an incredible drummer called Clarence Penn who’s played with absolutely everybody so I’m really excited about that, he’s gonna kick our arses ! It’s a quintet, trumpet, vibes, bass drums and sax.
Then as I mentioned earlier dates promoting my own album in December 2009
6th Recital Room, Concert Hall, Glasgow
7th Biggin Hall, Coventry
8th Harbour Jazz Club, Ramsgate
9th Swansea Jazzland
10th Charlie Wright’s, London “ALBUM LAUNCH”
11th Fleece Jazz
13th Orange Street Music Club, Canterbury
Our interview grinds to an immediate halt as the Buzzcocks take to the Cropredy stage, they are very loud.
Interview by Paul Minkkinen, on 13/8/09 aided and abetted by Andrew Easdale who thankfully recorded the proceedings.
Special thanks to Paul Booth.
Pathways the new album available from www.paulboothsax.com and Amazon, iTunes, eMusic, Play .com and more.
The full interview will be featured in the next Coloured Rain Magazine, due out before Christmas, sorry for the delay!