Going Solo: An Interview With Eyran Katsenelenbogen
© Andrea Canter, 4-1-2006

Israeli pianist Eyran Katsenelenbogen has achieved a rare feat among jazz instrumentalists—8 solo recordings. Virtually unknown in his adopted country outside of the Boston area, the  recipient of the ASCAP Plus Award (2002-06) and 10-year faculty member at the New England has earned high praise from artists such as Paul Bley to international jazz journals including Jazz Hot (Paris), Cadence (New York), and Jazz Journal International (London). He has also developed acclaimed methods for teaching students with autism and other disabilities. The release of Eyran’s latest set of solo improvisations, Solotude, will hopefully bring greater recognition to this unique artist. Click here for a review of Solotude. Following CD release shows in New York and Boston, JazzINK caught up with Eyran online.

JI. What (or who) has inspired you to focus on solo piano?
EK. I think that the need for a rich, emotional and non-verbal language directed me from an early age toward solo piano. As a child, I already sensed the emergence of this need and, therefore, showed instinctive interest in playing the piano. I still didn't read music, so I would place a music book in front of me and improvise, making believe that I was reading from it. Once I became a teenager, this need for emotional expression became more evident. I started practicing 12 and more hours a day. Presently, I look for this same need both in the younger and adult students that I am working with, as I know it is a main force behind the passion for musical creativity. And that may also explain why I have a strong tendency to separate words and music; I never seem to feel that they belong together as they form two different, wonderful languages.

As an adult, I continue to concentrate on solo piano because it offers endless freedom while striving toward ideal perfection and complete control, which answers to basic driving human desires. In recent times, I feel that the music is stronger than I am, and I am more committed to solo piano than ever before. Music has taken over me and I merely accept it.

On a lighter side, you may find other good reasons to play solo piano: You can never be late to a concert or a rehearsal because they can't start without you. And also, it's a great way to be completely egocentric, yet still be loved. 

(Photo courtesy of www.eyran.com)

JI. What is most challenging in solo piano versus working in duo or larger ensembles?
EK. To be completely honest, I find solo piano to be easier than any other format involving other instruments. As a solo performer I love the fact that you hear the whole of the music anytime and any place you are working on it, rather than your specific part. I have a natural inclination toward the total expression embodied in playing solo, and find more freedom and better control being in tune with myself than with others.

JI. How does “Solotude” differ from your other recent solo recordings?
EK. Solotude continues the exploration of selected standards from the American songbook via the solo piano medium, which started with my previous CD, It's Reigning Kats & Dogs & Bogen (a pun on my nickname “Rani” and my last name). My ambition is to create definitive solo piano renditions of classic tunes such as “Take Five” and “The Christmas Song”. Solotude continues a musical journey that began with tonal improvisation (Jazzonettes, 1989) and continued with explorations of popular songs (One Time, 1992) and excursions into the realms of free improvisation (Formation, 2000). 

JI. How did you become interested in developing methods for teaching students with disabilities? What have been your most significant challenges (and rewards) in your work with these students?
 EK. I have been very fortunate to be teaching for the past 10 years at the most wonderful music school imaginable -- the New England Conservatory Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education in Boston, MA. NEC kindly directed various students with special needs and abilities to my studio because of my teaching style, which is known to be relaxed, non-critical and patient.

What I learned from my work at NEC is that we should not relate to anyone as different as we all share the same driving desire to live, grow and be loved. Yet, various aspects of our personalities are enhanced in comparison to others. When you are looking at any person with such unique attributes, you are looking at yourself in a magnifying mirror. Understanding the psychological effect that the realization of one’s own special nature has on any person holds in my opinion the key to helping others achieve their optimal natural growth. The most rewarding aspect of my work has been learning to incorporate this sensibility in my life. Throughout my teaching years, I have learned to recognize the importance of observing and evaluating the lesson from an objective standpoint. When I teach, it is as if “another me” is present beside the student and myself. This gives me a third person perspective of the lesson and subsequent essential professional feedback.
 
In teaching music, psychological sensibility is instrumental in providing an inspiring environment unique to each individual.  

JI. Musically, what do you want to do next?
EK. I would like to continue performing and recording solo piano versions of standards from the American songbook. I discover and learn most of my repertoire through teaching and have already started recording my next CD. The last piece I fell in love with is “Close Enough for Love” by Johnny Mandel. Other pieces I intend to include on my next CD are “September Song” (Weill), “Lover” (Kern) and “My Old Flame”(Johnston).

Interpreting music of other composers enables using music as a non-verbal language in a social context. I feel that it is also more humble than performing my original music.

For more information about Eyran and his recordings, see his website at www.eyran.com