NW Folklife
“When you see an object, leave your subjective preoccupation with yourself; otherwise you impose yourself on the object, and do not learn.”
My friend Robert posted this quote from the 17th century Japanese poet Bashō. It’s weighing heavily on my mind this weekend as I prepare for my first time back at The Northwest Folklife Festival after a long hiatus. I’ve been invited to play a concert called The SuperFolk Showcase, which is an attempt to supercharge the evolutionary process of folk music by inviting musicians from various traditions to play with a kind of house band of bass, drums, keyboards and guitar.
This concept both excites me and unnerves me. The traditionalist in me says (as I have said many times before in this brog) that traditional music is evolving no matter how much we may try to inhibit that progress. The very act of a human being playing a piece of folk music—that is, not pressing play on a recording—is progressive continuation of that folk tradition; adding bass and drums is not inherently more progressive.
The reality is, traditional music can often come across as perplexing at best and cliquish and unwelcoming at worst. Creating the bridges for people unfamiliar with a given tradition is a noble cause, and if bass and drums can serve as a gateway to broadening horizons, I applaud it.
That doesn’t mean I’m not nervous about it, and my ability to translate that successfully. In many ways, it’s easier to improvise over a piece of music you’ve never heard than it is on a piece of music you’ve played a thousand times a certain way. However, the prospect of creating one of those moments where true, spontaneous collaboration happen in the moment is too enticing to pass up.
Come see me at the Seattle Center Mural Amphitheater tomorrow night (May 26th) from 8-10. I’ll also be playing a solo set at the K Prom Welcome Stage on Monday (May 27th) at 4:15.
I hope to see you there!
More anon,
Hanz