MORE SMART TALK FROM A VERY SMART GUY

         A couple of weeks ago I posted some remarks made by the great jazz pianist Bill Evans.  Though he was speaking about himself and his trio, they applied as much to cinematography as they did to music.  Further research revealed some equally fascinating truths drawn from a post-concert interview conducted in Helsinki at the home of Finnish composer Ilkka Kuusisto in October 1970.

         I’ve always felt that cinematography and jazz share a great deal in common.  Evans proves the point.  For each response, it’s once again easy to transpose his observations to the world of film.

         Q: How conscious are you of the work you are doing as you’re doing it?

         “Not so conscious.  It’s more of the musicians who are involved than anything, and I think we have sort of a common desire.  And I think what we look for is freedom with responsibility.  In other words, there’s no requirement to do anything at a certain time, but we’re responsible to the total performance.  And, of course, it requires a certain kind of musician, exceptional musicians.”

         Q: How far does your intellect go in your playing?

         “Jazz is a certain process that is not an intellectual process.  You use your intellect to take apart the materials and learn to understand and work with them.  But actually, it takes years and years and years of playing to develop the facility so that you can forget all of that.  And then, just relax and just play.”

         Q: Doesn’t this pruning down imply an intellectual process, or is it just playing and playing?

         “I think it’s a matter of taste and just what you want to hear as a performer because you play for yourself first, of course.  You are the primary audience.  And I just don’t like to hear superfluous things and I hope there aren’t too many elements that are superfluous in what I do.  There probably are, but I don’t like obvious embroidery.  And I do like to state things as clearly as I can, as precisely as I can.  I don’t like to make people work hard to understand what I’m doing – or myself either.  If you can say it easy, why make it hard?”