May 11, 2007

Teacher is the constant pupil

South American sound keeps jazzman hooked for life

By Paul Freeman

Menlo Park jazz guitarist and vocalist Ed Johnson and his band Novo Tempo celebrate the release of a captivating new CD, "The Other Road," with shows this weekend at Berkeley's Jazz School and Redwood City's Little Fox.

Johnson, who recently performed in the Pacific Northwest, plans more extensive touring this summer and fall. On the road, "The Other Road" should have wide appeal.

The album, which conveys Johnson's fervent feeling for Brazilian flavors, was two years in the making. "I wanted to expand the song forms a little more, open up the compositions a little more to feature some of the great players in the band," composer Johnson said. "I was writing with them in mind."

Novo Tempo came together over the course of a few years. Johnson initially thought of talented colleagues Kristin Strom (woodwinds) and guitarist/mandolinist Scott Sorkin, and through Strom was introduced to prominent brass man John Worley. Then Johnson met Canadian pianist/singer Jennifer Scott and her husband, bassist Rene Worst, at a music camp. Soon, drummer Mark Ivester and percussionist Jeff Busch came on board to provide rhythmic foundations.

Justly proud of the band, Johnson said, "Everyone in the group has a solo career in their own right. Everyone has confidence in themselves, their abilities. So we can just let the music emerge naturally, without any conflict of egos, all the sort of stuff that often tears bands apart."

Johnson left room for spontaneity. The band members recorded most of the tunes playing live together in the studio.

"Part of the sound generated by this group is so dependent on the feel of it when we're playing together. I really wanted to capture that on the recording."

Growing up in Palo Alto, Johnson began fiddling around on an electric guitar, playing rock and blues. "Then I had a friend who was taking classical guitar lessons and he was learning all this incredible, exotic music from South America that I'd never heard before. I was transfixed," he said.

"Around that time, the late '60s, the Bossa Nova wave had hit America, so there was no escaping hearing that. Brazilian music had already made an imprint on American culture. The music of Antonio Carlos Jobim appealed to me a lot. That's how I got into jazz."

Though Johnson became adept at many styles, it was the sounds of Brazil that held particular fascination.

"Much as so much of American music is a result of a cross-pollination of styles, that's what Brazilian music is, as well," Johnson said. "You have the Portuguese bringing the traditional, classical European model, fused together with African music, as well as music of the (native peoples). So there was quite a mix of cultures. The country has a volatile history but has borne some of the most incredible music that the world has heard.

"There's always a sort of bittersweet quality about Brazilian music that's beautiful and can break your heart at the same time."

Johnson studied with such luminaries as Tuck Andress and Bobby McFerrin. "From Tuck, I learned so much about the instrument, an approach of trying to do things that you don't think are possible."

Johnson teaches guitar and voice at Palo Alto's Gryphon Stringed Instruments. "You learn a lot by teaching. You learn how to get things clearly across to people - How do you improve your skills? How do you approach music? How do you listen to music? I try to get all those things across. It's not all how to play a G chord or the C scale," he said, it's about taking the guitar and "making it part of the family of instruments, finding a common means of expression and language with other musicians."

Johnson said it was passion that got him into music, and what kept him going later on whenever he felt discouraged. "I would think back on what got me playing in the first place - it was inspiration and expression. And that's what I try to get across to my students - always stay in touch with that."

Currently, Johnson is setting up online guitar lessons, which will be launched in the next month or so, with details at his site: www.edbjohnson.com.

Johnson constantly listens to South American music, new and old, and some quite obscure.

"Just as in America, every generation spawns a new musical style. You progress through the decades and see how the music has changed. Yet there's a unique thread that ties it all together.

"Some people are taking samba and bossa nova into new directions. Some have gone into a new style called 'choro,' which is like Brazilian bluegrass, mixed with jazz," Johnson laughed. "It's crazy, wonderful stuff."

Johnson remains a student, as well as a teacher. "I started down this path in my late teens and I still feel like I'm just at the top layer of soil."