The Hairy Ape
Posted on Dec 7, 2009 in Thoughts | Comments Off on The Hairy Ape
Many years ago I had the extreme fortune to work with one of Jazz music’s true legendary figures; Max Roach. Max was the composer for the live score to Eugene O’Neill’s ‘The Hairy Ape’. This production was done by the Berkeley Repertory Theater and was directed by George Ferencz. I’ve included a number of reviews from the production for you to check out.
Jazzman gets dramatic with O’Neill Score
Jazz Drummer and 1920’s Playright?
Hairy Ape explores the Jungle of the Soul
O’Neill’s Class Menagerie in S.F.
The experience was an amazing one for me. Getting a chance to hang with Max for several weeks while we collaboratively created the music, sounds, and effects for the play was truly inspiring. Max lead by giving me a framework of what he wanted from the sounds in each scene and I would call up and program different sounds into my guitar synth set-up as well as play an acoustic steel string when the scene demanded it. What was wonderful about the experience was being directly involved in a different compositional process. It wasn’t the notes so much, as the feeling and mood that Max was directing me towards. He gave me complete control of what notes I could play and I improvised every night for the length of the run.
This experience had a profound effect on me on many levels. I learned to understand how to give more space to musicians in my own compositional process and how to think about writing for improvisors in terms of providing frameworks as opposed to strict forms and changes. I also learned a great deal about the craft of acting and particularly gained a greater appreciation of how to be creative when you are acting the same script night after night. Every night the play was different with different emotions and moods. I translated this to the interpretive art form of classical music and gained a gerater clarity on how a performance could change even though the notes stayed the same.
The process of osmosis, learning from a master by working with one like Max, is one that is extremely undervalued, since in my experience it is when an artist learns the most.
The world is far less rich without him here.