david s. ware ....you really have to be on, you know, when you're playing a solo, there's no room for that much searching. I mean, there is, but you have to be on it. it has to be right on it. you can't be dibbling and dabbling around the idea, you've got to be on that idea. at least that's me, you know....you've got to be on that. you've just got to be on. ... 
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interview with david s. ware conducted by cactus, with thanks to steven joerg at aum fidelity.
cac: what's the deal with europeans and jazz? why are they so gung-ho nutty, especially in scandanavian countries? americans, in contrast, seem so intimidated and perplexed by it all. dsw: it's the same thing, really. europe is just, you know, there's just a lot more work available. but we never have any problems wherever we go. they love it. the audiences and the promoters, they love it.
cac: can you talk about the difficulties or differences playing solo as opposed to playing in a group? do you like one better than the other?
dsw: they are definitely totally different. it's a totally different mindset when you go into it. it's a different kind of sensitivity. I think that unless you are doing solos on a regular basis, the performances are much harder, much more difficult. now if you're doing it all the time, maybe it eases up. I can see where it would be easier, but it's a whole different way of thinking.
cac: it seems that in some ways if you are playing solo that it would be a more direct form of self-expression because you are relieved of the responsibility of listening to the other players and then reacting to what they're doing. seems like you'd be more able to sort of turn off your thinking and go on automatic intuition.
dsw: well, yeah, that can happen. that's a part of it. but, you know, you really have to be on, you know, when you're playing a solo, there's no room for that much searching. I mean, there is, but you have to be on it. it has to be right on it. you can't be dibbling and dabbling around the idea, you've got to be on that idea. at least that's me, you know, I don't want to stand up there, looking and searching and beating around the bush trying to find something. you've got to be on that. you've just got to be on.
cac: I'm curious, in your free time, when you are at home, you're done touring, you're done recording, you're just sitting around, what sorts of music do you listen to?
dsw: I don't. I don't listen to too much music. not unless it's something that I particularly feel that I need to listen to, you know, somebody tells me I want you to definitely check this out, I want to know your opinion of it. but other than that, I don't listen to jazz radio, you know I stopped listening to that a long time ago.
cac: what about live shows?
dsw: I don't go to live shows, either. unless there's somebody in particular that I want to check out. and that happens every now and then. but, you know, when I'm off the tour, I'm doing other stuff.
cac: most people would think, you know, you're in scotch plains, pretty close to new york city, that you'd be, not hanging around the downtown free jazz and noise scene, but sort of interacting with that whole thing.
dsw: well, this is the thing. I moved to new york in 1973. and I got a chance at that time to do my thing around there in downtown new york. we were playing and rehearsing most of the time. but even at that time, I'm not one to hang out. you're not going to find me just hanging out. and it's always been like that for me. if I'm playing somewhere, you'll see me, and if not, you won't see me. that's just my thing. I got other stuff to do. I have other things to take care of that are more meaningful to me than that. but I've had a couple of places in new york, I was there during the loft scene years and all that, we had our own building. but now, I'm not really a city-oriented person any longer. I'm just there for rehearsals or performances, and other than that, we'll come into the city to have dinner or something like that sometimes.
cac: how did you come in contact with sonic youth, and how did the shows with them come about?
dsw: basically, they just called us and said hey, let's do a show. it was wonderful. there's a whole oceanic audience just waiting. we just have to figure out how to get past the promoters to get to them, though, you know?
cac: seems like there's wider appreciation for jazz among the rock audiences, now. are you getting more rock people at your shows, now, or is it still pretty much straight-up jazzheads?
dsw: man, I don't know, it may be mixed-up a little bit, but I don't know. you'd have to ask somebody else that, you know, because I hardly even glance out into the audience when I'm playing.
cac: I read a bit about your yoga and meditation practice. I'm curious whether you feel there's some connection between your music and eastern thought, or if you think of your music as a form of spiritual practice akin to yoga?
dsw: yeah, I do. yes, it is a vehicle for trancendence, just like meditation. it's not so formal, you know, the guidelines are more open. it's not really a traditional path in that sense, but playing music is a very high activity, depending what your viewpoint on it is, and how you are accepting that into your life. you can be playing heavy music, and any other time running around acting like a fool. so it depends on how you take it in, you know, and what it can do for you as a human being.
cac: can you talk about the differences between recording this kind of music and playing it live? obviously, when you play live you can sort of let loose, but do you feel it affects your process when you're in the studio, when you have to work with the engineer, and others?
dsw: well, that's not really a problem, but this is it: when we first record new material, we don't really know that material to the point where we can really expand on it the way we do months later. so that's really what's happening. we just haven't really had a chance yet to really explore it in depth, and find out what it's really about. you know, 2 or 3 months down the line and you listen to the record and you say geez, you know, why didn't I do this? why didn't I do that? we didn't have time. we didn't know the material. we hadn't played it, stretched out on it yet. so, you know, that's what's happening.
cac: when you go in the studio, do you have structured pieces that you improv off of, or do you just go into the studio and then construct the pieces?
dsw: usually, all of our albums, up until the last one, we spent time rehearsing the forms and everything like that. now, on corridors, it was done differently. we didn't do any rehearsing for the album. all the pieces you hear were spontaneous pieces. just a little bit was said before, and that was it.
cac: can rehearsing inhibit the improv process? sort of burn out the spark?
dsw: it can if you over-rehearse for a record. if you rehearse too much, then that's not good. you've got to know how to time it, so you don't go over the peak before that time period. you just want to be learning the material, you know, you don't want to go beyond a certain point. you've got to know just when to stop, right there, that day.
cac: when you were a child and first picking up the sax, I understand that you didn't bother with learning songs, but actually just starting playing? early improv days?
dsw: I don't know, maybe it was. I was kind of like, I had the saxophone, I had the tune-a-day book and all of that, and as a child I didn't really pay attention to, well, you know, this fingering's a "b" and this fingering's a "d." I just didn't pay attention to it. and then one day, in music session, you know, as I recall it wasn't in a band room, it was like a normal classroom, and they had music in there. there was 5 or 6 of us sitting around playing the saxophones, and there was this lady, a music teacher. we were playing out of the tune-a-day book. and she said, oh, david. you know, you sound good! (laughs) it sounds good! I had no idea what I was doing, I didn't know a "b" from a "d," but that's what she said to me. it sparked something in me. just her saying that simple statement sparked something and made me want to keep going. I was kind of like disgusted because I knew I didn't know what I was doing. but when she said that, it set off something.
cac: what are some of your favorites places to play?
dsw: well, san francisco. and I'm not just saying that! (laughs) I was telling you before, man, this is one of the best audiences ever. I saw that when I first came out here decades ago with cecil taylor. this is one of them.
cac: I read that you said your music in the future will be more deconstructed?
dsw: probably what I meant was, you can make a lot of music and you might not really be aware of exactly what you are doing, as far as the textures you are coming up with, and the way that you move through what it is you're playing. I'm on the verge of writing a lot more music, you know, as that relates to now. I'm kind of like trying to find my abc's as far as composition goes. because I haven't done it. so, it's going to be a long period, you know, to find what works and what doesn't work for what it is I'm trying to do. so, I'm thinking about trying to develop myself as a serious composer from this point on. |
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