Alexandria, VA--
PM: How are you doing today Euge?
EG: Just great and very happy to be here.
PM: When did you know you wanted to be a saxophone player?
EG: I was ten years old. I thought at the time that playing sax was like a chance to be a part of the school band so I knew that I wanted to do something with the sax. I started playing piano before that but I really wanted to play the sax.
PM: I really though you were going to say it was because you know the ladies love the sax.
EG: (laughter) No, my whole motivation actually for starting to play the sax was that my best friend at the time was playing sax in the school band so I figured we could hang out more if we both played in the band.
PM: I understand you’re originally from Maryland?
EG: Yes, I am originally from Hagerstown Maryland but I live on the West Coast now and I’ve been out there for about twenty years.
PM: Oh yeah, L.A. is the place to be. As far as the music world the way it is today especially with the jazz genre, at this point and time in 2006 where to you feel jazz is headed?
EG: That’s a pretty loaded question. I think it depends on who your speaking to, There is no doubt that a lot of the ground work has changed because of the internet but I think jazz still remains the same in a lot of ways because the fans that have been there for jazz are passionate about it and they will be there twenty years from now if you treat them right. Where pop stuff may come you know an album or two and you may have one hit and it’s over and done with, but it seems like the jazz bands sticks around. You know I hope the guys could get back more into the creativity of working with other musicians, more live playing because I think that is what’s missing from a lot of jazz recordings.
As records sales have gone down, a lot of guys budgets have been cut and they are making these albums for next to nothing on their home computers and that to me is not the way to make jazz. You know there is no collaboration there and so I think that’s an element that is missing from a lot of jazz. So I think the future of jazz is leading back more to the live performance in the studio and going back and recording.
PM: You played with a lot of great jazz artist, who is someone you have not performed with as yet and would be more than happy to jam with, is their anybody out there?
EG: Oh man, you know umm gosh, I don’t know. I have been pretty fortunate with the guys that I get to play with. I probably would love to jam with the band “The Roots”. I mean as far as laying down the funk that’s as good as its gets.
PM: For the younger jazz artists that are up and coming what is something you can say to inspire them.
EG: To inspire them, wow, umm you know I don’t know if words can inspire you to become a musician. I think it was always the music for me. I hear some music that I like and that made me really want to practice and then if I got to hear that person that played this music and they say something that hopefully may be inspirational that made me keep going well that’s a good thing, but you know I think the key to it is to always listen to as many things as you can and don’t be a music snob you know if it comes from rock, if it comes from pop, R & B or country or rap, wherever it comes from there’s a lot of great music in every genre I mean there really are. I mean blue grass music, that’s some of the most amazing guitar playing I ever heard in my life and the guys that mold these two together and form new things that is what jazz is all about. I just discovered this harpist, I cannot recall this female artist name but she plays jazz on a harp and it’s the most unusual thing because to watch this thing going and play jazz on a harp and the way it’s set up it was the most unique sound I ever heard and it was really cool and so if you open your ears up to these new sounds then you can bring those elements into your project I think that is how jazz grows.
PM: As a jazz artist do you think it’s important today to be able to read and write your own music?
EG: Ummm yeah, reading I guess is probably less important as an artist because people are not putting as much stuff in front of you like when I was doing more studio work. I come into the studio and they put a chart up and you know you have to read it down. Being an artist, again I think that is what’s lacking from a lot of guys as well too. They don’t necessarily write or don’t focus, as much time on their writing chops as they do on their performing chops and that has always been a really important thing for me sort of out of necessity. When your putting together a record it’s very difficult, then you have to call up people and asked if they have any songs for you and if they don’t then you cannot make a record, otherwise you sit down and create your own stuff. This last record, I wrote everything on it myself and my new CD will be done the same way no co-writes at all. It’s something that I kind of developed and push for to keep the writing myself.
PM: Where does your creativity come from. Do you sometimes listen to different sounds when you’re outdoors?
EG: Sometimes it can be some environmental sound that all of a sudden triggers a groove in your mind or a leaf blower will also trigger a cord in your mind that can sometimes do that. Sometimes you will hear another song and you go ooh if I twisted this it could be cool sometimes it’s like that as well too. So it comes from many different places and strikes at many different times. I know when I get in the writing process I just kind of lock myself in the studio and forget about the rest of the world and I don’t turn on the news and I don’t even take a shower you know what I mean, I hate to say that but it’s just like you disconnect from everything else but what’s at hand. I usually start writing on the piano, which was my first instrument.
PM: Well, why don’t you ever play?
EG: I’m sorry?
PM: Why don’t you play?
EG: What you mean play piano?
PM: Yes
EG: You mean in the set?
PM: Yes
EG: You mean play piano in the set, Naw I have good piano players.
PM: On your new CD what would be your favorite?
EG: That’s a tough question. You know I think out of all the songs that I’ve recorded and I can say I am the most happy with I picked the least flaws in, let’s put it that way cause in every one of them I hear the flaws. The least one is probably 12:08 AM on this last record. I am most happy with how I wrote the song and the performance and everything was completely cut live there’s no program, there’s no machine on it whatsoever, all real instruments down to the string orchestra the hold deal, so I was really happy in how the production came out. The writing of that the musicianship level from all the guys who played on it was phenomenal.
PM: Did you write it at 12:08?
EG: I did, but the title came out because it’s the music, the 12/8 time signatures. It kind of has a trickle appeal to it, so that’s why I called it 12:08.
PM: Thank you Euge for giving our readers additional insight into your life and we wish you continued success.
EG: Thank you for taking the time to come down.
