Interview with Adam Bernstein from Solar


Q: Please tell me how did you, Adam Bernstein and Andy Demos come together and how Solar was founded.

Adam Bernstein: We met in 1986 at Rutgers University in New Jersey. We were all studying jazz and found we had likeminded ideas about the power of the music, politics, living in the moment and the pursuit of a spirtual path.

Q: Which musicians has influenced the sound of Solar and where do you see the Solar's place in today's jazz market?

Adam Bernstein: We're influnced by 30's swing, the free improvisational music of the 60's, indian devotional music, Monk, Mingus, Bill Evans, Duke, Sun Ra, Charlie Haden, Jelly Roll Morton, John Coltrane, the list could go on and on.

Q: Solar performs together since the late 1980s. Why did it take you so long to release a CD of your music?

Adam Bernstein: We've been recording periodically along the way. Some of these recordings are available on Eli's Pushin' 30 and Claire Daly's Heaven Help Us All. We've always had other projects happening along with Solar, now is just the right time for the debut.

Q: Solar has turned from a trio into a sextet now with Ravi Best (trumpet), Claire Daly (baritone sax) and Greg Wall (woodwinds). What was your reason to integrate three more musicians?

Adam Bernstein: This isn't accurate. We have done gigs with augmented instrumentation throughout Solar's career but now we are focusing on the trio.

Q: Will there be an album of the new line-up in the next months?

Adam Bernstein: Doubtful.

[Note: Looks like I have misunderstood something about the three other musicians that I've read somewhere on the web.]

Q: Please tell me something about the motivation to cover songs like Remember Rockefeller At Attica, Love In Outer Space, Come On or September Song.

Adam Bernstein: First off, we gravitate toward music we love; music that speaks to us melodically, harmonically, structurally and that reflects our outlook in the present moment. Then, we figure out ways to play these great tunes with our personality and vision. Hopefully, covering others' composers can provide a forum for us to improvise and communicate in a new way.

Q: Eli Yamin also sings on Come On and the song Reincarnation 1968 features some chanting. Is adding vocals to the songs of Solar something you and the band would like to extend in the future?

Adam Bernstein: Yeah.

For more infos visit adam-bernstein.com, eliyamin.com, cdbaby.com and read my review of Solar's Suns Of Cosmic Consciousness.