TAKE THE "Z" TRAIN

Michel Camilo Interview Part II: Triangulating the Trio

Here is the second part of our chat with Latin jazz pianist Michel Camilo, who is set this month to begin a heavy tour across North America and Europe in support of his brand new Telarc Jazz release, entitled Triangulo. We spoke about the "typical" Camilo piano trio style and how his top-flight rhythm section, bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, sank their teeth into the new songs.

Michel, how did you hook up with Telarc Jazz?

I had met a recording engineer named Robert Friedrich about ten years ago while I was touring the West Coast. He was in the audience at one of my shows in Los Angeles. We became friends and he told me he was studying music at Pepperdine University. We kept in touch over the years, and eventually he became a great engineer and went off to work in Cleveland with the Telarc label. When I was looking for another label deal at the time, Robert put in the good word for me. So it just goes to show that you never know whom you might meet and where it all might lead.

Yet you recorded the CD in New York.

Robert arrived at Avatar Studio "C" in New York with all of Telarc's latest, state-of-the-art DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording equipment. That's why it sounds so amazing. With Bob Woods's help as executive producer, we went along with this new DSD recording format. Looking back, it was a very relaxed mood during the recording sessions, and all the material was performed completely live. We did no sweetening at all. There were no overdubbed tracks on this record at all. Some of the drum parts may sound layered, but they absolutely were not. "El Negro" has incredible independence; he can manage all the elements of the groove at the same time.

So these tunes are extremely fresh in every sense of the word.


Anthony and Negro never saw the music until I called them in for rehearsals shortly before the sessions. They kept asking me, "Give us some parts. We want to check it out." But I never did. I showed them their parts only a week before the recording date because I wanted to keep things fresh and as spontaneous as possible, which kept them on edge and made them rise to the level of the moment. In terms of sidemen and band members, I really believe in that method. Plus we have enough chemistry over the years to make the magic happen in the studio.

The opening song, "Piece of Cake" is a typical Michel Camilo-sounding trio piece. But in terms of execution, was "Piece of Cake" really a piece of cake?

The title is an inside joke. I call it "Piece of Cake," but, really, it's not a piece of cake at all to play. It sounds very easy, but it was very demanding. It has a lot of what I call "meeting points," Latin Jazz with groove. Technically speaking, the piano pattern I play is called a "montuno," which sets up the whole groove of the song. It runs through all kinds of Latin Jazz music as well. The band has to be on their toes to play it. What I had in mind was to write a "delicious" groove. That's another reason why I called it "Piece of Cake." It's good enough to eat.

"Afterthought" is a very introspective piece in the Bill Evans tradition, much like some of your previous ballads, like "In Love," "Nostalgia," and "Remembrance."

I try to write interesting ballads and do something that goes beyond the usual. "Afterthought" does draw on my Bill Evans influences in terms of textures as well as the delicate colors. I challenged Anthony to play some double stops and even play on top of my parts. If you listen close you'll notice sometimes I'm playing the bass parts while he takes over the counter-melodies. Then I asked Negro to call Zildjian, his cymbal company, and request a larger, more shimmering cymbal to create a more ringing ambience. I needed to hear those different textures from the drums and change the colors throughout. I'm happy with how it came out. Check out his brushwork. Sounds cool, doesn't it? It's upfront in the mix and they sound wonderful. Actually, the most introspective ballad on the record is "Just Like You." We were going for a very minimalist approach there. The concept of the ballad naturally fades away at the end of the song, just like a whisper.

Where did you get the title Triangulo?

The triangle formation is how I envision my music every time I step out on stage with my trio. Each member takes care of his own angle, his own point of view, and between the three of us, we create an energy that signifies a triangle. The beauty of the concept is to see how that triangle shifts and colorizes. Sometimes one of the angles becomes more dominant than the others, which is the soloist at that moment. But in reality, each player has to hold his own corner.

So Michel, what's up for the rest of 2002 now that you've finally released a new trio recording? You've dabbled with classical, Flamenco and even appeared in a Latin Jazz film, Calle 54. What's next?

We are now going to tour extensively. On April 19, I'll be appearing at a big jazz gala in Monte Carlo, a fest organized by the Montreux Jazz Festival. Then after that we come back to the United States and start our U.S. tour, beginning in New York on April 30. We're coming back to do another week at the Blue Note. We'll be playing all over the United States throughout May and part of June. Over the past few years, I've haven't really toured the States all that intensely, so I'm looking forward to doing that again. Even now as we speak, we're adding more dates beyond the month and a half, doing spring festivals and more club dates. Then we jump over to Cancun and Puerto Rico for a couple of shows. Then in July we'll do all of the major summer jazz festivals in Europe until late August. I'm really anxious to get started; this is a great time for Anthony, Negro and I to go and try out all of this brand new music live on stage.

Part I of this interview