Chopin Society of Atlanta

Adam Makowicz talks about Chopin, classical music and jazz
before his concert with Piotr Folkert in Atlanta*

Interview by Bozena U. Zaremba

You are a renowned jazz pianist, but
at your concerts you often play classical music. Why this liaison?

I was classically trained - I attended
musical schools at the end of the ‘50s and the beginning of
the ‘60s. There were no jazz schools or jazz classes at that
time in Poland. Jazz was still considered decadent and unwanted,
though no longer forbidden as it had been during the Stalin regime,
when you could be jailed for playing jazz. So the only education
musicians could get was in classical music. After having played
only jazz for so many years, I still love listening to classical
music. It is very inspiring and helps me in my improvisations to
go beyond typical ways of expression. Gershwin
was the first one who managed to combine classical music with jazz
when he wrote Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F (which I have in
my repertoire). Then Bernstein continued this tradition,
as well as Copland and other American composers. Classical music
is based in Europe, while jazz came from Africa, Cuba and Brazil,
then other parts of the world. Latin music influenced American music
as well, to form this unique form of music. But I never liked to
limit myself to one convention, and classical music opens great
possibilities and gives me incredible tools. Another reason for
playing classical music is to have a chance to cooperate with great
classical musicians and orchestras.

How did your classical training influence
your jazz career?

It gave me the necessary foundations and
the technique. Whether it is classical music or jazz, the bases
are the same, the tools are the same.

When did you know jazz was the music
you would like to devote your life to?

I discovered jazz when I was about sixteen.
I listened to "Music USA-Jazz Hour," a radio program broadcast
on the Voice of America every night and produced and hosted by Willis
Conover. I gained basic knowledge about jazz from him;
later he became my close friend. There were a few jazz pianists
like Art Tatum and Erroll Garner
who had a tremendous influence on my almost overnight decision to
play jazz. I was brought up in a completely different culture, and
the rhythm, the swing so inherent in this music was so fascinating
that I knew right away this was the direction I was going to take.

In 2000 you released a CD, “Reflections
on Chopin,” and last year you played Chopin with Leszek Mozdzer
at Carnegie Hall; here in Atlanta we will have a chance to listen
to your improvisations on Chopin. Why such an interest in this composer?

The Carnegie Hall concert was created and
organized by the director of the Polish Cultural Institute in New
York, Mr. Pawel Potoroczyn. The CD from this concert
has already gone double platinum in Poland, which is quite unusual
for jazz music. And why Chopin? We are both Polish, I live here
in America, Leszek Mozdzer in Poland, and Chopin
is our national composer. So two Poles playing in New York, at the
most prestigious concert hall—we had to play Chopin. Chopin
is also one of the best-known composers in the world; there is something
in his music that is so appealing to people everywhere. The dialogue
with the audience is easier if you play something they already know
well.

Which elements of Chopin’s music
appeal to a jazz musician most?

Mainly the melody. Whether it is a ballade,
nocturne, etude or prelude, they all have beautiful melodies, and
each and every one of Chopin’s melodies is great for improvising.
It is really incredible that something written so many years ago
can fit every genre or style so smoothly. One of the first examples
of Chopin’s melody used for this purpose (though not a direct
quote) was a bossa nova, “How Insensitive,” based on
Prelude E minor and written by the Brazilian composer Antonio
Carlos Jobim. It’s incredible how this melody fits
this genre so well - the melody and the harmony are the same but
suddenly we get a beautiful bossa nova.

Let’s talk about improvisation.
It has been known in music for ages, but it is different in classical
music and jazz.

Right. Chopin or Liszt did improvise; there
were even improvisation contests at that time. Chopin, for example,
would get in touch with his publisher and ask if he could still
change something in the manuscript because he liked the way he played
the piece the night before better than what he had written in the
manuscript. So his music often comprises improvisations that have
been simply written down; his preludes or sonatas consist of a few
main motifs, and then we hear different variations of the theme.
Those variations are very unique: specific for Chopin, for the way
he felt the music. When I play his music I only take fragments,
the melody (because you cannot improvise on improvisations), which
I transform in my own way and add the element of swing. Classical
music does not have that swing, which is the most important element
of jazz.

Can you describe the creative process
of improvisation?

It’s a very long and subtle process,
which can be compared to the work of a writer working on a novel.
You need to learn how to work with the words, then with sentences,
and how to make them comprehensible, how to build tension and make
it all interesting for the reader. The same in music – you
need to find the way to play a phrase so it will touch the listener’s
soul, so it will move him/her to a different world of sound, world
of beauty. You definitely need musical knowledge to do that, but
improvisation is an individual creative process, and every musician
plays differently. Every jazz musician searches for his or her unique
mode of expression and learns to build musical phrases so that music
will reach and influence the audience.

What about spontaneity? Is there a
place for that during the concert?

Yes, of course, but the improvisation does
not come out of the blue. It does have to have some sense and be
consistent. The whole thing is based on contact with the audience.
A good improviser can communicate with the listeners. The language
he is using has to be concise and has to tell a story that will
appeal to people.

What role does intuition play in all
of this?

A great deal. Improvisation is after all
played on the spot, but you need a blueprint; you need to have plan.
The rest depends on a lot of different elements—on the audience
and their responsiveness, on the acoustics in the concert hall and
on the instrument. These things decide whether the concert will
throw the audience on their knees or will be just a good one.

How does a “classical”
audience respond to jazz improvisations on Chopin’s music?

They find it very interesting, this combination
of classical music and jazz. The audience in Atlanta will have a
chance to compare the two genres and to experience how Chopin’s
music can evoke different feelings and emotions.

Is your concert with Piotr Folkert
in Atlanta the first time you will play with a classical pianist
in such a format?

No, I have played many concerts with classical
pianists - here in New York, for example, with Roman Markowicz,
who is also a great music critic, and with Jacek Zganiacz,
and also in Poland with Krzysztof Jablonski. I
also played a combined concert—that is, classical and jazz—with
the young, talented pianist and composer Stanislaw Drzewiecki;
we both improvised on his compositions. The response from the audience
was always enthusiastic, and they asked for more.

Tell us something about the format
of the concert in Atlanta.

Piotr Folkert, who is
a purely classical pianist, will play the classical version of Chopin’s
music, and I will improvise on the same piece. We will try to communicate
with the audience with the two different genres, and finding this
contact with the listeners, both classical lovers and jazz fans,
will be fascinating.

What pieces are you planning to play?

Mainly short pieces: preludes, nocturnes,
mazurkas and ballads, but we will decide on the details when I come
to Atlanta.

Is this your first visit to Atlanta?

Yes, and I am really looking forward to
what will surely be a great experience.

Thank you very much for the interview.

*May 14, 2005 7:30 pm

St. James United Methodist Church

4400 Peachtree Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA 30342

The artist’s Website: www.west.net/~jazz/bio.html