Interview with Larry Epstein


Q: Playing both classical music in an orchestra and jazz music isn't actually something I would normally assume. Please tell me who or what has made you a jazz music fan? And what was the sparkle that made you want to play in a jazz setting too?

Larry Epstein: Of all the instruments that comprise a symphony orchestra, perhaps it is the double bass that can also be found in the most wide variety of other musical settings. Be it jazz, country western, klezmer or rock 'n roll (w/ electric bass), the bass is an integral part of the music.
By my late teenage years, I was playing professionally in both symphony orchestras and various dance bands. Then, as now, most of my jazz playing came from sitting in on friends' gigs and playing jam sessions. I've always loved the feeling of being able to lay down some time and find a groove with the piano and drums. Jazz is such a wonderful art form that expresses both structure and freedom.

Q: Both your father and grandfahter are professional bassists. So I guess your parents were very content that you picked the bass too and became a professinal bassist too, weren't they?

Larry Epstein: My father, at the age of 85, is STILL a professional bassist, playing with a symphony orchestra in Florida. Yes, he's very proud of the way my career has gone. When we were both in Miami, we played together in the symphony orchestra there, and we both were very busy working the commercial music scene in the Miami Beach hotels. My grandfather, who came over from Russia and became a successful bassist in the New York society bands of the 1920's, lived long enough to hear me play and realize that I'd be carrying on the family tradition of a life in music.

Q: Who has influenced you musically?

Larry Epstein: I am influenced by an amalgam of the great music I've heard (and played) over the years that has seeped into my unconscious to help form the musician I am. With that being said, I can never hear too much of Monk, 'Trane, Cannonball, Horace Silver, Miles, Bill Evans, et al. Be-bop forever!
In the orchestra, I particularly enjoy playing Brahms, Mahler, Mozart, and Stravinsky.
Two bassists currently on the scene today really inspire me: Renaud Garcia-Fons (Enja Records). With the high C string on his bass and imaginative compositions featuring a variety of instrumental ensembles, this virtuoso bassist exudes a certain irrepressible energy that's hard to label. And, Bozo (pronounced Bosho) Paradzik (Virgin Classics). On his only release to date, Paradzik shows me where the high standard for straight-ahead classical bass playing is today. Simply incredible! With complete technical assurance combined with an evocatively passionate manner, this musician should not be missed.

Q: Where do you see the difference between classical music and jazz music? And in what way are these two musical genres similar?

Larry Epstein: Hmm. Classical music and jazz: similarities and differences. That's really too much to consider in this forum. However, I'll forge ahaed with a few ideas. From the performance perspective, a Beethoven symphony is what it is, be it today, 50 years ago ,or, 50 years from now. Yes, a conductor can 'make his mark' by emphasizing various elements of phrasing and dynamics, but, the work remains essentially the same. In jazz, a composition can be treated in any number of ways; the tune is merely a 'jumping off' point for the performer. A tune can be re-harmonized, arranged for small or big ensemble, played at wildly different tempi - you name it! And, of course, the solo improvisation rendered by the performer brings to the work that individual freedom of expression, which, combined with the discipline of maintaining the work's structure, makes for that wonderful blend of what jazz is. Presenters of classical and jazz music face the same challenges, namely, that of developing new listeners. In our increasingly globalized corporatocracy, young people are media-ized into purchasing spirit-deadening music that maximizes profit for The Company, while providing product that simply washes over the 'listener'. The best of classical and jazz music demands the listeners' attention in order to take us to that 'inner world' where we feel and think. OK, maybe just my bias, but, there it is!

Q: MyTunes! is your debut album. How long did it take you to finish the album and how difficult (or easy) was the realisation from the first notion?

Larry Epstein: The session for myTunes! was late in 2003. The task of adding some bass tracks had to be delayed for some months due to a very bad finger injury. I finally got around to the final editing and mixing in order to release the CD in Dec., 2005. Between my S.F. Symphony schedule and the varied schedules of the band members, we were lucky to have two full rehearsals prior to the session. With lesser players, that simply would not have been enough prep time, but, the guys I assembled together are the best of the best. If anything, I was the one who felt vaguely under prepared! Happily, though, things came together nicely at the session.

Q: Please tell me how you've met the musicians involved on myTunes.

Larry Epstein: Eddie Marshall (drums) and Harvey Wainapel (sax) are players I've heard for years here and there around town and played with occassionally. Matthew Clark (piano) has since moved to New York City, but, was a player I was familiar with from various gigs and jam sessions. He recommended to me Erik Jekabson (trumpet)(yes, misspelled on the CD. oops) John Santos (perc.) was the logical choice to sweeten things up with some deftly placed percussion.

Q: Having only original compositions on one's debut jazz album is quite unusual these days. Why didn't you include one or two cover versions?

Larry Epstein: The whole point of myTunes! was to document my compositions by having them played by very fine musicians. It never occurred to me to include a jazz standard or two. It'd be different, maybe, if I was playing full-time in jazz and working steadily with the same group of musicians. Then, perhaps, I'd mix and match some of my tunes with some cover versions.

Q: After playing with the orchestra of Miami, Milwaukee and Strasbourg (France) you now live in San Francisco. Please tell me what do you like about Frisco and in which way do you think it's different from other (US)American cities?

Larry Epstein: I can't imagine living anywhere other than San Francisico. It's a big 'small town' by the Pacific Ocean. Wonderful climate! Beautiful environs for hiking and bicycling. Tasty little restaurants of all ethnic persuassions. A big time symphony orchestra. Some wonderful jazz musicians. And, San Francisco is decidedly more liberal in attitude (and politics) than just about any other city in America. For life in the USA, this is it, baby!

Q: Why don't you have your own website yet, which is usually a good way to promote one's music?

Larry Epstein: Yeah, I guess it'd be good to have a website. I'm 'lo-tech' and will have to have someone set it up. Might as well - there's gonna be, eventually, a second CD. In the meantime, all are welcome to inquire directly about purchasing myTunes! (Larrylownote@aol.com), or, simply check out some sound clips prior to purchasing at cdbaby.com. OK, so, I'm not a big self promoter. Guilty!

Q: What classical tunes would you recommend to start with to someone like me who really don't have a clue about this musical genre. Although I like Alice Coltranes version of Stravinsky's Firebird (but I guess that has more to do with the arrangement with the strings and because I like most of the rest of Alice's work).

Larry Epstein: Hmm. A good classical music sampler? Bach: Brandenburg Concerti (or, anything by the master); Mozart: Symphony No. 35, 36, 40 or 41; Brahms: Sym. No 1, 2, 3 or 4; Mahler: Sym. No 1, 3 or 5. Check out Ravel and Debussy. Stravinsky's Rite of Spring or Petrouchka...there's a start. Have fun!

For more infos visit cdbaby.com, sfsymphony.org and read my review of myTunes!.