Andy
We're back with an interview with another first time resident, Andrew McGhie. Andy has been a great addition to this session and I'd really like to have him back to play some tenor since clarinet has been so fashionable for composers this session.
Where are you from and how did end up in Kansas City?
I am originally from Glasgow, Scotland. I moved to Kansas City with my family in 1998 after living in Houston, Texas for about 8 years. I went to high school here at Shawnee Mission East before leaving for school at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin in 2003 before leaving to New York to study at New School University. I moved back here in August of this year.
Who are your main musical heroes and why?
My main influence from the get go was always Trane. I didn't really listen to any jazz before my junior year in high school. I was playing clarinet and only joined the school jazz band to work on sight reading, but when I picked up my first Trane cd, I was hooked. His music has always spoken to me in a way that I haven't found in many artists. As far as more modern players, I've lately been enjoying checking out the music of Logan Richardson, Mark Turner, Ambrose Akinmusare, Tyshawn Sorey, and Steve Lehman, amongst others.
You're doing your first BHIC residency, what have you thought of the experience so far?
BHIC has been great so far! It's a great place for composers to get a chance to write for unique instrumentation, and have a chance to rehearse the music without having to pay out the ear for rehearsal time. I think that it's a wonderful organization, and hope to get a chance for another residency in the future.
What kind of musicial training have you received?
I studied classical theory and ear-training in a conservatory setting while I was at Lawrence Universtiy, where I was in the classical saxophone studio and took lessons with an amazing classical saxophonist called Steven Jordheim. I also played in the big band and combos, took jazz saxophone lessons, and studied composition with the former head of the Eastman jazz program and ASCAP award-winner Fred Sturm.
At New School, I studied with Reggie Workman, Vic Juris, Bennie Powell, Greg Tardy, Mark Turner, Bobby Sanabria, Donny McCaslin, Jim Snidero, and Tyshawn Sorey.
How was your experience studying in New York?
My experience in New York was amazing. I learned so much about both music, and the way the world works. I got a chance to play, study, and hang out with some of the greatest musicians in the world. I got to play everything from Haitian compa to hip-hop and everything in between. Although I was sad to leave New York, I am happy to be in Kansas City where the talent level is very high, and the music scene is fertile and growing very rapidly.
What groups do you play with?
Besides the BHIC, I play with my own group, where I play my own compositions with a mixture of KC's young talent (including Hermon Mehari, Dominique Sanders, Ryan Lee, and Brad Williams), and some friends from NYC who have recently repatriated to various cities in the midwest as well (Peter Schlamb and Karl McComas-Reichl). I also play with Jeff Davis' Sir Threadius Mongus, and have recently been playing with pianist Eddie Moore's group with Dominique Sanders on bass and Ryan Lee on drums.
What does one of your typical practice session consist of?
I wouldn't say I necessarily have a regular practice regimen, although I definitely should! Typically I work on long-tones and a mixture of improvising through song forms as well as practicing various scale-patterns. I also spend a fair amount of time at the piano composing, but definitely seek to step-up the amount of time that I devote to both of those endeavors.
**I suppose I'm going to have continue interviewing everybody unless things starting getting catty at rehearsals. Seriously guys, my call-center day job has four times the political intrigue.***
I totally saw Russell pick his nose and eat it the other day.
Posted by: (not) DJ Clem | 03/24/2011 at 03:44 PM
Stover smells...
Posted by: Peter Lawless | 03/31/2011 at 07:48 PM