31st July 2020: #WhirlwindInFocus: Letting go in the face of adversity – pianist Tony Tixier on albums old and new
French pianist Tony Tixier will be familiar to Whirlwind audiences. He released his debut trio album, Life of Sensitive Creatures in 2017, while he was playing in bands with Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah, Wallace Roney and Seamus Blake. He appeared on Blake’s Guardians of the Heart Machine last year, and led the SCOPES project in their debut album. We spoke to Tony about this release, dreaming of recording again and his lockdown project, #IAMHUMAN.
Interview by Hugh Morris (hugh@whirlwindrecordings.com)
WWR: Hi Tony! Where in the world are you (?!) and how is lockdown there? Have you found lockdown a time to recuperate or have you found energy to kick on with practicing and creating?
TT: Hello Hugh! I am in Paris, where I started this worldwide lockdown in March right after a memorable last tour with my band in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Kansas City, Dallas and San Diego.
The first weeks of the lockdown I had to adapt and shift my balance, to reinvent a way to keep creating and making money without having the possibility to tour.
I started to get into the home studio mindset and change my apartment in a workplace where I am now able to record and teach remotely. I found myself being able to focus more on my projects, and eventually record a new album in my living room. As an improviser, I always lived on the edge and being locked down and having to navigate through this situation allowed me to see more clearly what I could do from home to keep creating and share it with the world
WWR: You played a key part in SCOPES debut album, which was released on Whirlwind in 2019. Could you tell us a little about the new Scopes recording project?
TT: SCOPES is one of my favorite collective project, we are like family and we grew up together and all met in NYC 10 years ago. So as soon they reopened the borders within Europe, we decided to all meet in Berlin for a residency, with the idea of preparing our next album. For this next opus we have Matt Chalk (alto) joining the band. We spent a week playing in bassist Tom Berkmann‘s living room, and ended up doing a house concert at the end. I can’t wait to go with them to the studio in September.
WWR: If you could play in one venue with one lineup right now, who would it be with, where would it be and why?
TT: Now? I mean I would love to play with my trio, Karl McComas-Reichl and Tommy Crane, they are my favorite combo to play with, it’s always magical to play with them. And the venue… I am not sure we should play inside a confined space, even if I always prefer the sound inside than on outdoor stages… maybe replaying at the Apollo Theater in NYC but with no public, or play a solo piano concert at the Musée d’Orsay – it’s my favourite museum in Paris.
WWR: You’ve recently released a new album, #IAMHUMAN. Could you tell us a little bit about it? Was this a lockdown concoction, or did you plan to record the album previously?
TT: #IAMHUMAN was a reaction to the health and social crisis that seems to hit the whole world at the same time. I have always felt the racial gaze of society on me which has often wanted to reduce me at one time or another to a color or an “exotic” origin. I always had to accept it by looking away or laughing when I was stigmatized so I never have to disturb the feelings of others.
It’s album is a testament of my humanity that I decided to record during the lockdown, like a poetry book:
with a look at the human being
and on what brings us together
The album opens with ‘Humain’ in French, alone – me, the human who reflects and presents myself as an individual ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ is where my double, my best friend, Scott Tixier my brother, comes in. He is there for me, he watches over me, and I do the same. Hermon Mehari‘s trumpet on ‘But Beautiful’ represents ever-present positivity, even when things go badly, and the power to put things into perspective.
I met bassist Ben Leifer in Kansas City years ago and he was madly in love with a girl who didn’t notice him – ‘Like Someone in Love’ is for him. This is the feeling that one can have in front of indifference. His love was so strong and authentic, they ended up together and have now a daughter.
The deep and warm sound of my very sensitive friend Adrien Daoud is featured on ‘You know I Care’; Adrien is a friend who, like all of us, needs to be reassured.
I finished the album alone, with ‘Leaking Life’. Life is leaking and I leave alone as I arrived. And finally, a bonus track with the great Logan Richardson ‘When They Happen’, referring to the things in life, and with no judgments, letting go in the face of adversity.
___________________________________________________________
Tony’s album SCOPES (featuring Tony, Ben Van Gelder, Tom Berkmann and Mathias Ruppnig) is available now on 12″ LP / CD / DL: here. You can find Tony’s most recent album: here.
Click the link to learn more about #WhirlwindInFocus. For our general news feed, click here.