Jazz music tours were held in the cities of Turkmenistan with the participation of the Ari Roland Jazz Quartet from the United States. The initiator of the series of concerts was the US Embassy in Turkmenistan, together with the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan. Famous performers gave concerts in Ashgabat, Mary and Turkmenabat.
The correspondent of Turkmenportal was able to communicate with the quartet participants. The quartet leader is double bassist Ari Roland, alto saxophonist Zaid Nassar , another member of the quartet is tenor saxophonist, composer and arranger Chris Byars, and drummer Keith Balla.
— You told that you have been several times in Turkmenistan. You have played very good Turkmen music. So, how do you evaluate Turkmen music?
— Ari Roland: First of all, Turkmen music is very complex. Some of the rhythms very complicated and you must be master of the instrument. However, any note you play, there are so many feelings. When you play notes in dutar you feel it with your blood and in your bone. That is the perfect combination, you must be great at an instrument and play very rich music, but you must play lots of feeling.
— Keith Balla: Yklym Babaniyazov played traditional instruments with such as technical command, but also great deal emotions, and feelings. I can pretend to understand all the nuances of the Turkmen rhythm but just to be next to him and play together, I feel like great cultural experiences. Great to see him again, I believe we met him in 2012 last time when I was here.
— The music world is very interesting. Sir when you play music, you just close your eyes and like go to improvisation. Please tell us what is most important for you in music?
— Ari Roland: For Jazz music, number one is rhythm. Rhythm must have tremendous life, must be alive and it must make people dance, and tap their foot, snap their fingers so these are most important, everything else comes after. To make a beautiful melody, to make interesting variations. In addition, listen to the peoples with your playing’s that is very important, so everything that what you do relates with other people.
— Zaid Nassar: Well, also relates to the audience. If you can play feeling and good rhythm by yourself. You must be strong by yourself then you come with the bang and bang help you with that rhythm. If you are playing from your heart and you playing strong, the audience you will be ever communicated to the audience. For me when I am playing if I could see even two people there moving I feel like for that day I accomplished what I want. This is important to have this feeling by yourself.
— Jazz music is very effective music, as we know. When you listen to jazz, you just start dancing; however, you move your body and join the music. You have traveled to different provinces of Turkmenistan and gave concerts there. How did the public react to the jazz concert?
— Zaid Nassar: Remember that time where were we? We were in one of the cities of Turkmenistan. In that city, people do dance, which they pretend the shovel as they plant, so we learned one song for planting. Every region has some special dances; it is the same in America. New York has a certain kind of jazz, new Oreland has a certain kind of jazz, in different places it difference. In Turkmenistan every city they really enthusiastic and welcoming.
— Mr. Keith Balla, when you plan drums, you made music with using every part of your drum. I just would say every instrument is fine for jazz, even dishes, and table. Please, tell us about your improvisation, when are you playing music?
— Keith Balla: Well, you want trying taking what you know, kind of vocabulary what you learned in your life and make a story of it, hopefully, people can enjoy it and I tried to do. At the depose of whether you have one drummer whole drum said you have a ratio of different colors and different kinds of sounds with those, you trying to communicate to the peoples listening hopefully enjoying not just noise. Any object could be a musical instrument; I use all over in the world. There are people incredible procrationist and they do not have drums just have plastic buckets, and they come up with the most incredible things. You know somebody might have a drum and play for two months, they cannot play anything but somebody play for years, and never had a drum set playing on the plastic pocket and creating the whole world just on that piece of plastic. There is no limit to the imagination when you trying to communicate something.
— On one of your interview, you said that you do not play like Charlie Parker, Lester Young you told that you have your own way?
— Ari Roland: Those are our heroes, those are one whom we really learn from. The basic style of jazz comes from them, from those guys but in that style of jazz, we all try very hard to have our own voice our own style. It is as if you had poetry like Magtymguly and you write in same form but you want to have your style, not his style. Same form, maybe ten lines, the rhythm is the same but in ten lines and this rhythm, you want your own story your own style. Charlie Parker, Lester Young this are the people that we learn from.
— Can you say any song that made you famous and popular?
— Ari Roland: Songs that we play that people like. I will tell you this one, Chris Byars. He is also very famous for writing music. He writes very beautiful music, it is great music. The music people wrote that great masters wrote like Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington. Chris’s music can be in the same place. Very strong, very individual. He writes music almost every day.
— You have been in India and other countries. What about public, differences or similarity between Turkmen public and others?
— Ari Roland: Every audience is something alike. Trying to think anything about Turkmen audience particularly.
— Chris Byars: They are very attentive and always smiling. You know either they are happy that we are playing or they are just happy. I do not know what it is. They are very kind Turkmen audience.
— Ari Roland: They make feel you really welcome. They support you. Lots of young people come to a concert, that is very important. People from every age, little kids, teenagers. Usually, in America all the old people go to one kind of concert, middle age people go to one kind of concert, kids to one kind of concert, but here it is mixed, it is nice. That what we thought.
— What would you like to advise to Turkmenistan music industry, Turkmen jazz improvement?
— Ari Roland: For Turkmen musicians trying to play jazz first there is only one way to learn jazz. You must do two things you must learn from the recordings of the great masters and second you must play with other people every day. Because jazz is about the group not by yourself and then is the audience. If they listen to the great recordings Luis Armstrong, and they learn from the recordings they copy every note, so they learn the vocabulary, feeling and then they meet with the friends colleagues every single day, maybe day each week and play together a lot then they will start to find places to play for audiences, because if you meet every day. Four people like this, you play every day, and we play for four hours in this room for sure energy so strong that you will find a place for us to play café, club, and concert. You cannot keep this energy in the room.
— You have been several times in Turkmenistan. Is there any progress in Turkmenistan's traditional music and jazz music?
— Ari Roland: We have played with many master Turkmen musicians.
— Chris Byars: It was very impressive in 2007 when we came. Is harder to say it is better, because that time was very good, and it is still good. This young man Yklym Babaniyazov he is carrying about tradition and he plays with clarity. Here is a lot of things to say about him, we appreciate the art we hear of him, very good.
— What would you like to say, your Turkmen public?
— Keith Balla: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to visit your wonderful country; this is a big chance to travel this part of the world for me. It is one of the most beautiful, and culturally reach places with kind people.
— Ari Roland: Turkmenistan is a very special place in my heart. Every time when I come, it gets bigger and bigger. People make me feel, experience wonderful new things every time.
— Zaid Nassar: I very liked the hospitality and kindness of people. I see everywhere we go in every city and in every town. Actually we have friends, still keep in touch via the internet. Hope that for more times we come here. Always looking back to come to Turkmenistan.
— Chris Byars: There are two things I want to see in Ashgabat. Ashgabat in fall and I want to see snow falling on the desert. I would come to see these two things.
