| October 2000 SoundStage! Talks with John Chiasson
SoundStage!: I'll be honest, I picked up Here in the Moonlight when it was released mainly out of curiosity. I thought, quite ignorantly I might add, "What does the longtime bassist for The Rankin Family, a band primarily known for Celtic music, know about jazz?" And I must say that I was very pleasantly surprised to hear just how good it was. Where, and when, did your passion for jazz develop? JC: I always liked the sound of jazz from the first time I heard it. Also, when my parents would have parties, everyone would gather 'round the piano and sing. My mom would play pop tunes from the '20s-'60s and some of them (like "Stardust"), I still have in my repertoire. To me, a good song is one that will work well in any style. Take Gershwin's "Summertime" for example. We've done it in my group as swing, Latin, fast, slow and even in 5/4 time. It always works. SS!: Why do you think jazz has come back into vogue over the past few years? JC: Jazz is a new sound to most people. It's a great alternative to alternative music. Most people live a hectic lifestyle. Smooth jazz presents a nice, easy space to hang out in. I've had a great response from people who need an easy way to relax. SS!: You mention jazz being new to most people. For those people who are getting turned on to jazz for the first time, would you mind recommending a few smooth-jazz albums, classic or current, which you consider exceptional? JC: One of my all time favorites is a Joni Mitchell album called Mingus. She wrote words to and sang several Charlie Mingus tunes. Just when they were finishing the project, Mingus died. The album turned out to be a great tribute. Sarah Vaughn is also very captivating. Anything by her. SS!: On the CD you cover many popular jazz ballads. Is there any trepidation associated with rearranging and performing a classic song like "God Bless the Child," which for many of us has Billie Holiday's voice indelibly etched into our minds? JC: A sign of a good song is one that can be done in any style and still sound great. This is an exciting prospect for me because not only can the time-tested standards be made new again to a new audience, but the best melodies from the last 40 years can also be redone in a jazz style! SS!: When you were the bassist with The Rankin Family the spotlight and attention was primarily on the Rankin family members. How do you feel with the spotlight now firmly on yourself? JC: I enjoyed playing with The Rankins. They had to deal with all the publicity and as a sideman, and I had time to do my own thing. As a bandleader, I have to spend more time on the business side of music. It's more demanding of me, but an equitable trade. SS!: Earlier this year John Morris Rankin, a great musician and a cornerstone of the Eastern Canadian music scene, died tragically in a car accident. He also happened to be a very dear friend of yours. Would you mind sharing with us a few thoughts about John Morris Rankin? JC: John Morris left us a great legacy of recorded music. It meant a lot to him and he poured his heart out into every note. Many great musicians such as Gershwin and Mozart left this world at a young age. I feel lucky to have been a part of the Rankins' music. I enjoyed traveling with all of them. It was truly a great experience. SS!: It has been three years since the release of Here in the Moonlight. Have you started work on your next project? If so, can you give us a glimpse as to what we might expect hear? JC: I'm just in the planning stages. There have been many great standards that I have been doing over the last few years. I would like to record some of those along with the best originals I can find. I have written a few myself and there will be some contributions from George Antoniak and J.P. Ellis as well. I'd like to do more writing. It's hard to plan creativity though. I prefer to write through inspiration. If I get an idea for a tune I can only hope I'm in a position to write it down before it fades back to where ever it came from. I wrote an instrumental this year that we've been playing live. There is a free MP3 of it on my website. I got the inspiration for it like an instant download. It just came to me all at once as I got out of bed one morning. All I can do is be thankful, skip breakfast, and grab a pen. I've had so many ideas for a CD that it's hard to know where to start. I would like to do a live CD sometime, and Dave Staples had an idea for a whole album of Beatles tunes done in a jazz style. SS!: Thanks for taking time to talk with us and we look forward to hearing more from John Chiasson in the future. ...Bruce Bassett GO BACK TO: |
With the dawn
of the new millennium, John Chiasson enters a new phase in his professional career.
Emerging from a productive seven-year stint as bassist for the Rankin Family Band,
Chiasson hits the music circuit full force, offering a professional package designed to
appeal to a wide variety of musical tastes. In 1997, the release of Here in the
Moonlight -- a collection of light jazz numbers -- marked his debut as vocalist. Both
the success of the album and the popular response to the accompanying video featured on
Bravo demonstrate the appeal of Chiasson's performance. On record and in concert, he
presents his audience with a pleasant, accessible form of jazz -- an approach that allows
him to draw on a variety of styles, including Latin, swing, and blues to enrich the
listening experience. This versatility lends itself to a range of venues, from an intimate
engagement to a large-scale concert setting. In his ability to adapt to the mood of any
function, Chiasson creates a musical atmosphere uniquely appropriate to the occasion. His
conscientious attitude, combined with over 20 years of involvement in the Canadian and
international music scenes, make John Chiasson a performer in tune with both the needs of
his audience and with the professional demands of a new era.