Jim & Martha Hession

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Interview with JIM AND MARTHA HESSION (American Jazz Quintet "AJQ")

Published on 4/16/2007

By Artistopia

Q. At what age did you realize you wanted to become a music artist and why? Jim: When I started classical piano lessons at age 11 I realized I had a driving ambition to perform music. At 14 I played my first professional,paid job and began to understand the relationship between performing music and making money. At 18, while studying composition at UCLA I realized that I was putting myself through music school by playing music in clubs and that something meaningful was happening. Music was always fun for me-never a chore to practice,and performing is always rewarding, both by personal challenge and audience response. Martha: I was one of those children that sang,danced and entertained family from the time I could crawl. By 7 my parents bought me a piano and I studied piano for 10 years and then taught. All the while I used my piano playing to back myself while I sang. Finally my parents got me vocal training and I knew what I wanted to do with my life.Of course I did the obligatory years of music in high school and college. But when I met Jim, all of the pieces of the puzzle came together. Q. Most music artists have that special someone or thing that influenced their decision to do music. Did anyone or something in your life play a major role in influencing you to go into the music business? Jim: My classical piano teacher, Oscar Rasbach, both provided me with inspired instruction in all the details of music theory/piano performance and displayed incredible tolerance when I would also bring jazz and ragtime music to the piano lessons. The early ragtime music was usually supplied by my grandmother, who was herself a ragtime pianist in the early 1900's. Many legendary and established musicians, particularly Eubie Blake, who saw potential in my improvisations and compositions and strongly encouraged me to go beyond the repertoire of traditional jazz. In the first album I did with Eubie, I found myself recording music by Dave Brubeck,Lennon and McCartney and some originals. Other major influences on a personal and professional level were Johnny Guarnieri, Teddy Wilson, Lalo Schifrin and saxophonist,Curtis Peagler who was featured player in our AJQ for many years, Most importantly, my wife, Martha, who always has believed in me and encouraged me to strive for excellence in every performance and stretch the creative boundaries at every opportunity. Martha: In retrospect I have to say that every choir director, piano teacher,and music professor has had a remarkable influence on my ability to stay in this profession for so long. They each saw something different in my abilities that helped me to have faith in myself. As an adult, it was the guidance of Eubie Blake that I think of. As far as jazz improvisation and interpreting songs in a jazz style it would be the brilliant saxophonist Curtis Peagler who saw potential in me. He just was relentless in seeing that I would experience the width and breadth of the jazz vocabulary. I could not imagine what he ever saw in me since he had played with every singer from Ella Fitzgerald-to Frank Sinatra-Joe Williams but I can accept it as one of the greatest gifts I was ever given. In the 1980's I took a week long seminar at USC with the extraordinary British jazz singer, Cleo Laine. It was she that made me see possibilities of including the upper register in my jazz interpretations. We also shared the commonality of working full time as musicians and raising children in a very uncertain profession. And then most of all my partner, my lover, my friend, Jim who has supported my need to sing all the way through. Q. In terms of the music, which major artist(s) influenced your style and why? Jim: Chronologically: Jelly Roll Morton for his compositions, voicings and arrangements, bringing ragtime piano into the jazz world and his amazingly hot piano playing. The major stride pioneers(Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, Lucky Roberts,Willie the Lion Smith) for combining power, finesse and swing into one unit. Oscar Peterson for combining blues and jazz in true virtuosity. Errol Garner for rhythmic freedom in right hand improvisation over a steady left hand beat. Dave Brubeck for innovative compositions, obvious joy of performance and breaking the metric barrier. George Shearing for applying classical technique to jazz, featuring true independence of hands in melodic improvisation and superior voicings throughout. Les McCann who redefined the meaning of GROOVE. Chick Corea for amazing versatility in jazz performance and composition. On a personal note (for which there is no substitute) the aforementioned Eubie Blake, Teddy Wilson, Dick Hyman, Johnny Guarnieri and Curtis Peagler. Lastly, the dictionary of jazz piano to whom we all refer, Art Tatum. Martha: For me it would be the Icons of jazz vocalists: Sarah Vaughn, Carman McRae, Ella Fitzgerald, and Cleo Laine plus the myriad of jazz horn players that I have had the pleasure of working with. I would have to include Curtis Peagler's approach to ballads as one of my prime influences. Q. With so many independent artists trying to make it, what makes you stand out from the competition? Jim: The ability to both improvise during a performance and simultaneously use dynamics and develop musical figures and passages that present the music in a true form from start to finish. Also, versatility in musical styles and techniques that makes it possible to function in a wide variety of musical settings, each with its own set of demands on the performer. Martha: I would agree and add to that that the musician still must have a unique style that makes him or her stand out among the crowd. Audiences members must leave the performance knowing that they have heard something special and unique. Q. Music industry professionals are quick to say that being an artist means to gracefully fit a marketable niche in the industry. If you were offered an opportunity that asked you to be something you are not, would you do it to get your foot in the door? Jim: An important part of exploring opportunities in the music business is the ability to refrain from saying yes or no until you know the details. A venture into the world of "what you are not" could be beneficial or disastrous to a career. While weighing the possibilities of such a venture one should always refer to the immortal words of Sgt. Joe Friday: " Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts". Martha: Jazz artists who have had successful pop careers such as George Benson have had to endure tremendous criticism from their peers who view them as selling out to the money. That criticism has hurt his standing and respect from other jazz musicians. This would be a tough decision for someone in the jazz field. Q. Making music is one thing, selling it is another. What types of strategies do you use in promoting your artistic work and getting it heard by the proper professionals? Jim: Probably the biggest difference in artistic promotion in recent years has been the addition of the internet. Previously we all adhered to a pattern of promo packages, demo tapes and live auditions. That procedure allowed the "proper professionals" to establish personal contact and to have something in hand. It also allowed those same people to file or trash the promo paks without reviewing them and then not return the phone calls. Today an artist can put his entire promo pak, recordings, videos, and clippings on their web site. That way the "proper professionals" can review your entire artistic life at the push of a button and still not return your phone calls. Martha: OK, but I would add that now we are more and more hearing the excuse that they don't want to be bothered with websites, "just send your CD's and DVD's to me". The best selling tool has always been live performance with live audience response as far as I am concerned. Q. In regards to wheeling and dealing, how important do you feel business knowledge is to making it in an industry filled with much heartache? Jim: To quote Hunter S. Thompson:" The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side. " Martha: We have watched over the years as many people with business talent have gone far in the music business while real musicians trudge on from job to job. I think that business skills especially in promotion should be taught to every aspiring musician. One of the most challenging aspects of this career is finding the balance between the business sense and making music! Q. Let's fast forward to 5 years from now. What advice would you offer to struggling independent artists? Jim: Always work nonstop on improving your musical ability and creativity. Learn all that you need to about promotion and managing your business affairs. If you are uncomfortable with that, find someone that you trust with the expertise to do it for you. Martha: Never stand still, never be satisfied with yourself, always be moving forward in mastering your craft. Always remember that the great gift is the joy of making music! Q. Most successful artists are involved in charitable organizations that stand for a cause that hits close to home. In that regard, once you reach success, what charitable cause(s) would you like to be involved in and why? Jim: Living in Gulfport Mississippi and working in New Orleans we were greatly affected by hurricane Katrina. The organizations primarily responsible for coming to our aid in a time of need were all affiliated with the music industry. Besides assistance from the American Federation of Musicians, we were also aided by charitable wings of organizations such as The Society of Singers, Jazz Foundation of America, Actors Fund, Music Makers, Preservation Hall Foundation and The New Orleans Musicians Clinic, among others. These are the organizations that I would put at the top of the list. Martha: I agree plus I would add the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles whose aid and assistance with our son when he had cancer would also be on my list. Jim: You're right! And may we also add the Mississippi Arts Commission who have provided grants to so many artists in all mediums after the hurricane. To all of the above mentioned groups we owe our thanks and our help in the future. Well, we thank you for taking the time to interview with us and certainly wish you the best in your music career endeavors. There you have it ladies and gentlemen, an inside look into the mind of an independent artist struggling to bring their hard work to fruition in an industry where perseverance and thick skin means survival. No one said it would be easy.



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Interview with JIM AND MARTHA HESSION (American Jazz Quintet "AJQ")