ABOUT THE ARTIST

As a child, Brock performed with his classically-trained parents and soon dreamed of becoming a musician himself. To pursue that dream, he left his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, to attend college in Chicago. After performing at the annual jazz conference (IAJE) in Chicago in 1997, Brock began appearing regularly with an exciting young group, Spazztet. In 2000 the NEA and Smithsonian Institution honored Brock with a grant to create a concert/lecture showcase to illuminate contributions of early American jazz violin pioneers. A pioneer himself, Brock was the featured guest soloist with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble in 2001 and performed with Mose Allison, Patricia Barber, Kurt Elling, John Abercrombie and Chris Potter soon thereafter. Besides leading the Coffee Achievers and his quartet, Brock regularly collaborates with local guitar legend, John McLean and Polish vocal sensation, Grazyna Auguscik – both of whom he joined at Pritzker Pavilion for a January winter concert presented by the City of Chicago. Brock’s music has been featured in theater productions and will be showcased in the upcoming documentary film, “Fair Days.” Since 2003 Brock has co-led a quintet with saxophone phenomenon, Rob Scheps, and has played with violist, Tom Wright, with whom Brock has recorded a spring '05 release for Delmark Records. Carnegie Hall selected Brock for it's Dave Douglas Residency which began April 13 and concluded with a Carnegie Hall performance April 18.

DK: First thing I’d like to ask is how did you come up with the idea to use a violin in jazz?

ZB: I wish that I had! When I was younger, my Dad started buying me every jazz violin record that he could find. I started listening to records by early jazz violin greats like Stephane Grappelli, Joe Venuti and Stuff Smith, as well as some records by Jean-Luc Ponty and Darol Anger.

DK: Growing up in a world of classical music, it is something that one doesn’t normally think of to incorporate into Jazz music. What commonalities have you observed in playing violin in classical music compared with Jazz?

ZB: Many. In fact, the cornerstone of my approach to playing jazz on the violin has always been to find those commonalities. The obvious things that a classical background can provide are solid technique on your instrument (an especially thorny and never-ending quest) and an appreciation for voice-leading (Bach) and beautiful melodies. As I grow older, I am finding that it can also give one an appreciation and intuitive sense for compositional form and technique.

DK: Would you agree that the violin is probably one of the more emotional of instruments (capable of evoking emotional responses)?

ZB: Certainly. Of course, I’m biased. The violin, or any bowed string instrument for that matter, and the human voice share many of the same qualities, both physically and sonically. I think that people’s sense of a stringed instrument’s emotive powers has a lot to do with these similarities.

DK: Would you say that you can perform a more emotional piece in Jazz or in classical?

ZB: I would say that between classical and jazz music, I try to express the same emotions in different ways. For me, regardless of the scales or chords or songs, when I play jazz I am always aware of and seeking to communicate through a “blues aesthetic”. I’m not saying that I want to or try to use the blues scale or other common blues gestures every time that I improvise, but I am aware of and passionate about the unique history and culture of jazz in America. That is what inspired me to want to specifically learn how to improvise with the “jazz” language. For me, jazz is an original and genius rebel music that sprung from a deeply troubled collision of cultures. If any art form could be said to exemplify the social experiment that is our country, with all of it’s beauty and ugliness, it would be jazz music.

DK: How old were you when you were performing with your parents?

ZB: Five years old.

DK: Was it easy for you to take to the violin while growing up?

ZB: I don’t really remember, but probably not. If my parents hadn’t been there to “practice” with me, I doubt I would have stuck with it.

DK: How many hours a day did you rehearse?

ZB: Not too many; an hour or so a day when I was a kid. I’m sure that there were times when I got lost in it and played for longer periods of time. I also had violin class every Saturday, and that usually lasted a couple of hours at least. As I grew older and started getting more interested in the violin, or should I say, getting into more interesting musical situations, then I started practicing more. My main passion was skateboarding. That’s something that I never had to “make myself” do.

DK: Do you have any brothers or sisters and if so, are they also musically inclined?

ZB: I’m an only child. I come from a family filled with musicians. My Mom is a classical vocalist and pianist, my Dad is a multi-instrumentalist (trumpet, guitar, and more) and a vocalist, my Uncle is a bass player, and my Grandfather is a trombone player. In the early sixties, my Grandfather started a music store after working as a band director and piano salesman after the second World War. He is 94 years old and still drives to work every day.

DK: Did you do any performing during your college years (before the Jazz conference)?

ZB: Definitely. I used to go to jam sessions as often as I could. I would also play with my Dad on his gigs when I was at home. As for the classical side, I was studying with Myron Kartman at Northwestern University and performing all the time.

DK: I see the Spazztet site is still up, is the band still around also?

ZB: No.

DK: You’ve had a distinctive career thus far; performing with some big names like John McLean and Grazyna Auguscik. Are there any other performers you’d like to perform or record with?

ZB: So many. If I listed everyone that I aspire to play or record with, I could easily fill this page.

DK: When playing the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, was that the first time you’re performed in a venue of that size?

ZB: Size? No. Architecture? Yes.

DK: If so, how was it for you?

ZB: I am grateful to have been able to play there. Acoustically, it might be better suited for an “unplugged” concert (which would be great fun).

DK: Your song, “Cold Turkey” gets fairly wild as it goes on; where do you get your inspirations from?

ZB: That song was written by Sam Barsh. From a textural standpoint, we were thinking of bands like Radiohead and Tortoise. As for the violin part, probably Jimi Hendrix and all the other great “shredding” guitarists that I love to listen to.

DK: I must admit, your website (www.zachbrock.com) is much more modern in design than I would have expected. Is there a reason you didn’t go with a more traditional “Jazz” kind of site?

ZB: Yes. Most of them look bad and are not very interesting to navigate. That being said, I certainly think that mine could use some improvements. I think that a lot of younger jazz musicians are looking to the graphic design of rock and pop artists for inspiration because it tends to be much more creatively inspired. Ideally, I would want everything associated with my career to reflect an artistic sensibility.

DK: Would you say you are already living out your dream? Or do you feel you have a ways to go yet, before you get there?

ZB: I am living my dream. I believe that our ideal lives are the actual process of discovering our potential rather than attaining arbitrary goals that we set.

DK: Where would you like to see yourself in three years time?

ZB: Around the world, playing with my favorite musicians and continuing to be involved in exciting creative projects of all kinds.

DK: Well, thank you very much for your time and we look forward to watching your career continue to rise!

ZB: Thank you very much for this opportunity. I enjoyed the questions immensely!