I hope you’ve found the time to listen to some of the audio files Brian Patneaude offers on his website as I’ve mentioned in my review of Distance by the Brian Patneaude Quartet. And if you like them then don’t hestitate to purchase his album as well. In the meantime you can read the jazz-not-jazz interview with Brian.
Q: Please tell me something about yourself. Who has influenced your music and who or what inspired you to become a musician?
Brian Patneaude: I started playing the saxophone when I was in the 5th grade. Like most kids I knew, I was initially enthused about playing a musical instrument but my interest waned as time went on. Luckily my parents made me stick with it through middle school and when I got to high school I had a teacher that introduced me to the music of Michael Brecker and David Sanborn. After hearing them, I had a renewed interest in the saxophone and began to investigate this music known as jazz. Initially I was very enamored of jazz fusion artists such as Sanborn, the Brecker Brothers, Steps Ahead, Spyro Gyra, Yellowjackets, etc. It wasn’t until I got to college, where I majored in music education, that I began to listen to more straight ahead players like Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, etc. In terms of current listening and influences, I’m still very much into most of the artists I mentioned as well as other contemporary saxophonists such as Seamus Blake, Chris Potter, and Mark Turner. I’ve also been obsessed with the music of E.S.T. and artists on the ECM and Fresh Sound New Talent labels for the past few years.
Q: You don’t limit yourself to straight-ahead jazz with the BP Quartet and are part of various music groups/collaborations. Which one of your participations is the dearest to you and why don’t you try to fuse all these influences into one sound?
Brian Patneaude: In addition to my group I also perform salsa/merengue with Alex Torres y su Orquesta, big band jazz with the Empire Jazz Orchestra and participate in a genre blending collaboration with a DJ and live instrumentalists dubbed Nouveau Chill. I also freelance with various other groups whenever possible. Of all the groups I perform with I’d say my quartet is the dearest to me. Within this group I’ve tried to incorporate influences from my work with Alex Torres as well as the Nouveau Chill project. The DJ involved with the project (DJ Michael Campion) has introduced me to many counterparty electronica and trip hop artists that have influenced the way I compose and arrange for the quartet. That being said, it’s refreshing to work with a variety of musical groups and have the opportunity to perform so many different styles of music.
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