Edo Castro by Brent-Anthony Johnson

BAJ:  The incorporation of the vertical double flute, tabla and pedal steel on various pieces is brilliant!  You have a very unique thought process and ear, man.  Kudos!  Would you describe your “favorite” tune on the disc and how it came together?EC: Again thank you for you kind comments. That is a wonderful piece and I’m quite proud of that one. The Tabla drums and pedal steel played key role in “Bone Dreams” sounding the way it did. I pretty much had the vision about the instrumentation for this song from the start. But as of this moment it’s not my favorite track. My favorite track at this moment is the title track “Phoenix”. I wrote this back in 1984-85. It started off as 3 separate tunes. Then one day while sitting at the piano I had all 3 scores sitting there in front of me and I thought “let’s play them together.” So what you hear on the album is how the score came to be. I used the 2nd section of the tune as the rubato introduction. The Db to D hits was used as transition between each of the sections. It worked out beautifully. What I’m proud of is that this music has stood the test of time. It sounds just as fresh and exciting as it did when I first wrote it. I haven’t written a piece like that since then. There was a period where I wrote a whole tune in 15 minutes but it’s been rare as of late. The last 3 songs on my first CD entitled “Edo” were written within 30 minutes. Separately of course!BAJ:  Let’s talk about “space in music”…  Also, who are your main musical influences?

EC: Oh I love space. It’s perhaps the most underrated tool in music. After 30 years of playing bass, I’m learning to be more relaxed with space and use it. I think we get nervous when there’s a blank spot and we tend to want to fill the void immediately. There are lots of players like this and I for one have been guilty of this on many occasions! When I started off playing bass I was very impressed with the amount of notes and chords some of my heroes played. I was especially impressed with the speed in which they played these notes.

Perhaps it was the perception of “many notes” and my lack of understanding or experience that led me to believe “many notes” meant great musicality. I usually refer to space as “Breath”. Music is no different from speaking or having a conversation. Between thoughts, there is a moment of silence that we all hang on to, before we hear the next thought. In music, the spaces in-between each note is so minute, so small that a whole note seems to last an eternity. When you use “breath” as part of your solo, it really makes a difference. Anybody can play fast, use a lot of notes and play a lick. But it’s the artist who uses space as part of their melodic language that is going to impress me the most. Again my analogy here is more eloquent, like ballet versus running a race. Sure we can get caught in the excitement of the moment and run with an idea, but I have a tendency to run out of gas if I just play fast out of the gate. It’s much more demanding to build and create a story, rather than blow a bunch of “dig me” licks. So I practice taking my time and building an idea in a solo or bass line.

As far as which bassist has been an influence on me, every bass player that has come before me has been a major influence: Bootsy, Donald Duck Dunn, James Jamerson, Scott LaFaro, Ray Brown, Stu Hamm, Michael Manring and Ron Carter to name a few. But I do have my favorites: Mark Egan, Marcus Miller, Eberhard Weber, Jaco, Jimmy Haslip, Steve Swallow and Anthony Jackson. I tend to favor the electric players because I’m an electric player. My latest favorite is Carles Benevent from Spain. He’s amazing and has his own sound!

My main influences as a composer come from the likes of Jan Garbarek, Vince Mendoza, Charlie Haden, Lyle Mays, Pat Metheny, Ralph Towner, Eberhard Weber and Egberto Gismonte. Steve Khan’s “Eyewitness” recordings with Anthony Jackson have been a big influence on me compositionally. Pianist Bill Evans continues to be an influence on me as a soloist and a composer. I have almost every album that’s been released/re-released before and after his passing. Talk about space… Bill Evans is the king when it comes to playing with space.

BAJ:  You have a busy performance and session schedule.  What does your average week consist of, musically speaking, and with whom are you playing at this writing?

EC: I’m working with Edgetone Records artist Drummer/Composer Eric “Doc” Smith. He’s playing an Electronic Triggering device called a “Zen Drum.” I’ve been looking for someone like me who’s walked away from the traditional role of the instrument that they play and created another way to express themselves. Eric is the guy I’ve been looking for. He doesn’t play a kit drum much these days and that’s really great. Between my loops, my midi bass and Eric triggering sound, you hear all these sounds coming from 2 musicians. The possibilities are endless between the 2 of us.

Just recently I played with Atlanta GA Guitarist Ronnda Cadell who I met through myspace.com Ronnda drove out from Georgia and just gigged along the way to the West Coast. She’s a wonderful artist and musician to work with. She gave me carte blanche with her songs. At the end of the night she just had this big grin on her face and said, “Thank you for making me sound like Joni Mitchell.” She was referring to Joni’s album “Hejira” with Jaco Pastorius. That was a fine compliment because I spent many hours pouring over all those progressions and arrangements. That’s a beautiful album.

BAJ:  What are you listening to these days? Also, who are the artists you find yourself returning to again-and-again?EC: I love all kinds of music so I try to have varied diet of listening. Lately I’ve been listening to Herbie Hancock’s “Possibilities” disc, and Imogen Heap’s disc “Speak For Yourself”. Man Everything Herbie touches is magic. His other album “River-The Joni Letters” is amazing. Imogen Heap is a wonderful composer and a great arranger who reminds me of Kate Bush. She definitely has a style all her own that I find appealing. Man can she orchestrate her music.But the music that I seem to return to is, Joni Mitchell, Patsy Cline, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Cash, Laura Niro, Carole King, James Taylor, Miles Davis, Bill Evans (the Pianist), Paul Desmond, Pat Metheny, Steve Khan, The Yellow Jackets, Enrico Rava, Charlie Haden, Egberto Gismonte, Eberhard Weber, John Taylor, Bill Frisell, Ralph Towner and Tord Gustavsen. Paul Desmond is an oddity in that I see him as player who really re-composes a tune through his solos. I don’t recall a too many tunes written by him. There’s Take 10 and some others but I can’t recall. I’d have to look through my collection to verify that. Nonetheless, his tone, deliverance of each note and his lyrical approach is breathtaking. They recently re-released Paul Desmond’s album “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. It’s somewhat dated in it’s arrangements & Orchestration but nonetheless it’s gorgeous. It’s some of the finest playing I’ve heard in 50 years. Don Sebesky arranged the music. Guest musicians include Herbie Hancock, Airto, Ron Carter and a host of others.

BAJ:  Would you tell our readers one of your most important life lessons?

EC: I think the biggest lesson for me has been to appreciate where I am in my life and not focus on where I am not at in my life. I spent a good portion of my life fretting because my life didn’t unfold as I imagined it would. This caused me to overlook the opportunities and possibilities that were right in front of me. Under the surface I was unhappy. Living in the present moment by appreciating the things that you do have brings contentment and joy.
Besides everyone loves being around a happy person.

2) Always be thankful for everything and not overlook the smallest of things. This probably part 2 of lesson 1. You can have all the money in the world, but it would be worthless if you were sick or dying. I believe if you live your life with gratitude, you generally tend to be a happier healthy person. Happiness is contagious and it really changes people around you when you’re happy.

3) Don’t be influenced by what people think of you or your art. Insecurity is our worst enemy. That’s not to say we should be conceited. For me it’s about believing in what you do and holding true to your vision. There are folks out there who would like to undermine your thinking and get you confused. Don’t be afraid of people disliking what you do in your art.
Not everyone is going to get it and that’s OK.

4) Trust your instincts. If you feel something’s not right, you’re probably right.

5) Be true to yourself. We all want to fit in and be cool, hip etc. I think that’s a mistake. Did you ever find times in your life where you did things you didn’t really care for or didn’t want to do but said yes so you could be seen as cool or fit in? That’s being submissive to the will of others. I think when we stop “trying to be something” we begin to take on an authentic self and step away from “the hipness factor.” Everything about us is more genuine. It’s human nature to want to be identified with a group.  Yet, each of us wants to be seen as an individual or unique. It’s a crazy paradox for the psyche. My friend and bassist Yves Carbonne and I have this ongoing joke to see who can play the slowest. The point is we’re not trying to sound like Marcus Miller or Jaco nor are we trying to impress anyone by playing the fastest bass line or solos. We are just being ourselves. Besides there can only be one Jaco, or one Marcus Miller. Why be a great imitator?

LIFE, like music, is an evolutionary process… These life lessons I mentioned are things I work on every day. The more I work at them the more applicable they become in my life, just like practicing scale modes, arpeggios and other musical exercises. Again this is just my prospective and there are those who would disagree with me or find these things not applicable to themselves. If anything, I think about this old Chinese proverb I heard years ago, “If you want to know what the road is like up ahead, ask the traveler who is coming in the other direction.”