ESPECIAL COVID-19
Seguim amb una altra entrevista per acompanyar-vos durant les fases de desconfinament per anar superant la pandèmia, i volem compartir l’entrevista realitzada a Keb’ Mo’ quan va actuar al Festival ViJazz de Vilafranca del Penedès l’any 2012, el dia 8 de juliol. Amb molta il.lusió us mostrem el què va respondre a les preguntes de Big Mama Montse sobre el disc “The Reflection” en l’entrevista que es va publicar a la revista francesa Blues & Co nº 61 (set/oct/nov 2012) amb fotografies de Carme Barrera i Núria Bonell. Desitjem que us agradi!
KEB’ MO’ – “THE REFLECTION”
Keb ‘Mo’ has his own artistic voice, based on keeping the tradition and opening new horizons in music without losing the essence of it. His latest album “The Reflection” is self-produced and published on his own label Yolabelle Records, distributed by Ryco and Warner Music Group. This is a masterpiece where Mr. Moore mixes different styles with his unlimited creativity. In this album we can appreciate a terrific production, as has always been with all of Keb’ Mo’s records, and some lyrics involve the concept of knowing who we are and how to deal with life, friends and moods… All this is explained with poetry and every song claims to be listened carefully to catch its complexity… On “The Reflection” we’ll find once again a great musician who has become a point of reference and whose art reflects the way he is. Fortunately, in a few hours we’ll have the great pleasure to listen some of these songs live by Keb’ Mo’ and his band at the ViJazz Festival (Vilafranca del Penedès – Catalonia – Spain). We wish to thank Mr. Carles Ocaña, artistic director and programmer of the Festival, for helping us to meet the artist. And of course, thanks to Mr. Mo’ for this interview after the soundcheck. This is what happened on the backstage of the Festival…
Blues & Co: Thank you Mr. Mo’ for accepting this conversation… As a producer, you have done a superb job ’cause this album is full of subtle nuances, of different moods that suggest many emotions and it all makes you feel that you want to listen to your music again and again. Did you enjoy by producing that record?
Keb’ Mo’: I always enjoy it but there was also a little suffering in there because I’ve mixed it twice! You know, it’s fun because you have to ask yourself hard questions about your work… there’s no one there that says “oh, it sounds good!”… it’s like you have to make that decision and I like that, ’cause if someone says that it sounds great you might not have to believe him: you have to be truthfull with what you think. It’s a kind of a process that you never really finish… nothing is ever really finished… You always think you can do a couple of things more there, and this is fun! Sometimes every once in a while, listening to some my records I rarely enjoy them because I start working on them, every now and then!!! I have to be very relaxed in a state of non judgement and just become a listener to enjoy them…
B & C: I’ve read on your website (http://www.kebmo.com/site/) that you’ve spent two years composing the songs of “The Reflection”…
K’. M’.: Actually about three years! One year writing material and two years making the record… You know, to me the songs become beings, just like new entities. And you’re always learning about the nuances because no two projects are alike. Each one is a whole different thing to start out and each one has its own process, its own character and it has its own “wants and needs” and you have to listen carefully and give to the song what it needs… Oh, it’s like a woman! She wants something different every day! (laughs…)
B & C: This CD, I think that stylistically is linked with “Big Wide Grin” as it has also a joyful spirit and some of your family members appear on that record too. Do you think so?
K’. M’.: Oh! Yes, it’s very similar… The similarity is the spirit, you’re correct on that!
B & C: John Robinson plays drums on almost all the songs except 12 (“Something within”) where there’s your son Kevin Moore II, and song nº 1 with another drummer named Gordon Campbell… Some other songs use a drum programming formula…
K’. M’.: Oh! There’s two dummers on “Something within”: There’s my son Kevin and also Gordon Campbell. I had overdubbed Gordon playing the cymbals, then there’s a drum program and also Kevin plays the snare in a New Orleans style ’cause he’s very good in that kind of stuff… He is a producer and he works by the name of K. Roosevelt.
B & C: On bass you’ve changed the performers and even have worked simultaneously with two bassists on some songs (“Inside, Outside”). All those combinations are because you were looking for a different sound for each song while maintaining the same solid rhythmic ground?
K’. M’.: Yes. I’ve worked with a lot of bass players because I love bass! I hear the bass so critically and often times I have different bass players because they have to understand where I’m coming from!… Some of them get angry with me a little bit because I’m kind like: “No, I need this…”. Sometimes it’s really simple and sometimes I don’t know what I want! In the case of the song “The Whole Enchilada” there’s Victor Lemonte Wooten, who has played with Béla Fleck and The Flecktones. Then there’s Marcus Miller (on “My Shadow” and “Just Lookin'”), Freddie Washington, Vail Johnson that also plays with my band, etc… I have good bass players friends that they often come to my house, like Freddie Washington… I know he “knows” and he understands me. When I just say play: “boom, bom-boobadoo, boom, bom-boo” (Mr. Keb’ Mo’ sings it with an incredible pulsation!) the whole record and nothing else, I say “just don’t change, just: boom, bom-boobadoo, boom, bom-boo”… you know, without changing the note, a lot of the bass players say “well, that’s just too simple!” but I say “no, no, no, no, just do that…”. But Freddie Washington understands it so he plays “boom, bom-boobadoo, boom, bom-boo” and everyone of this “boom, bom-boobadoo, boom, bom-boo” is different. Any number of guys just go “boom, bom-boobadoo” (here Mr. Keb’ Mo’ sings it without pulsation) because they don`t understand it… they don`t know how to do it!
B & C: That’s right, pulsation is something very important. Let’s talk about some of your lyrics: “We don’t need it” is against consumerism and a clear vindication that what’s important is not how many possessions we have but to have sufficient time to enjoy ourselves, our friends and our families… that means that money shouldn’t be a controlling influence in our lifes. It’s a beautiful song and you’ve made a videoclip that describes the story… How comes the idea of this lyrics? Maybe you were inspired by the present-day crisis?
K’. M’.: No, no, it was actually written before the crisis… You know when the Irak War broke out and in the United States there’s a few greedy men that decide to go to war? I could see that they were taking our ressources: first of all our men (as soldiers) and they put them in risk… They sent people to die rather than figure them out. Then they started another war! Two wars in ten years!! It’s kind of insulting! These “smart people” should know that they were killing people! They operate so much from the greeds to fill their pockets, and they don`t care about us! So I couldn’t see a person loosing a job and that’s why I wrote this song that it was supposed to be on “Keep it simple” but I had too many songs and that’s why I left it off… But I saved it for another record and now I’m still working on it… It’s not about having a bad time, ’cause you can have a bad time when all is good and everything is great, but on “We don’t need it” I’m talking about hard times… And people are still having hard times in the world!
B & C: That’s right! Maybe that’s the reason why you made those videos in your kitchen where you’re with a friend cookin’ rice and beans?
K’. M’.: Oh, ja, ja (laughs)… oh, you understand! Rice and beans!! I thought no one would understand that!! Ja, ja, ja!!! (laughs)… Rice and beans ’cause you can live on rice and beans!! That’s all you need! Rice and beans…. and bananas!!! (laughs)
(At this point in the interview, Keb’ Mo’s road manager knocks at the door to ask if he wants to finish with it… But Keb’ Mo’ says “We’re good,… we’re good! This is good! You should be in here on this!”… Thank you Mr. Moore!!)
B & C: The song “The Reflection” starts with a cool funky rhythm but when it goes to the lyrics the atmosphere changes and you play chords that create a very original and magnetic mood… When you start singing, the melody is full of tensions and you connect very well one chord with the next one, creating a beautiful harmony with semitones at the end of each sentence. All this provokes the emotional feel that prepares body and soul for the presentation of an enigma… The song “The Reflection” is about the mystery of love?
K’. M’.: It’s about the mystery of nature… (Then he recites the lyrics of “The Reflection”) “I never saw a day, so pretty as the one I see today. These eyes are seeing the same thing in a different way…”. I imagine myself sitting by a river, on a rock… and it’s quiet out there and you hear the birds, you know, and the river is goin’ by… That’s about “all in one thing”…
B & C: To be a part of the same “thing”…
K’. M’.: Yeah… that’s what it’s about… (Mr. Moore keeps on reciting the lyrics) “She handed me a gift, a rainbow then she broke it on down”… This is it, this is the real world and that’s all on one thing…
B & C: That’s a very beautiful song… You are an artist that has always been some steps further than most of all the vast majority of people. You have risked a lot in the music world… Do you consider yourself a brave person?
K’. M’.: Oh yeah! I do! I’m not scared… I’m like Bernie Mac. Do you know Bernie Mac? He was an american actor and comedian who died a couple of years ago (he was about 53 years old). He would come out and play “Ain’t scared!! Ain’t scared of not of-you-all!” Ja, ja, ja (laughs)… You know I’m still like Bernie Mac: I’m not afraid because there’s nothing to be afraid of… You just do what you do, and if you do what you do you’re heartfelt. Really there’s nothing to be afraid, there’s nothing to fear… Listen: brave is not like you have to be big and strong, you know, it’s like willing to show yourself…
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B & C: Oh yes… that’s right! Thank you for all your explanations and for mentioning Bernie Mac.: he was really a genius! I would be interested too if you can comment us something about the fantastic vocal harmonies that you always add on your records. They remind us to a gospel choir…
K’. M’.: I have a very good friend from were I come from… Well, I was raised in church, you know, in gospel. I have a friend who I’ve been working for many many years the vocals and her name is Alexandra Brown. You see her a lot on my records. She is from Los Angeles and she worked with Steevie Wonder. When she was eighteen she was a Raylette (with Ray Charles). She’s one of the top background singers in L.A. and she’s a great songwriter! She comes when I call her and I just talk to her and she says “OK!” and she brings her friend Bobbette Hairston and sometimes Phillip Ingram who is the brother of James Ingram… And so they come in and they just know what to do!
B & C: And you have to say nothing to them?
K’. M’.: Partly anything! It’s just like what happens with Freddie Washington, because I know Fred since a whole lot of years, or like my drummer Les Falconer that I know him for a long time so we don’t have to talk!! Ja, ja, ja! (laughs)… You know what I mean? It’s just like play!…
(At this moment, the road manager opens the door and tells Keb’ Mo’ that the band is waiting for him to go at the hotel!)
B & C: Oh, thank you for your attention Mr. Moore!! Thanks for your time and for your conversation. That was a real pleasure!
K’. M’.: Oh, I’m very surprised! I’m so surprised…! Thank you!
B & C: Thank you again for your attention and we wish you all the best! (Keb’ Mo’, Carme, Núria and I were still laughing a little longer, talking about beans and rice and some other nice things! We had a great moment that was previous to the beautiful and exquisite concert that Keb’ Mo’ and his band offered to close the VIth edition of the ViJazz Festival. )
ITW – Big Mama Montse
Photos: Carme Barrera / Núria Bonell
