Ken Waxman
“Working with other people from other places and other disciplines expands your own ability to be creative,” notes pianist Andy Milne, the 46-year-old Canadian who has lived stateside since 1991. He has spent the past few years proving this dictum.
Best-known for his six years in the ‘90s as keyboardist with alto saxophonist Steve Coleman’s different bands, as well as leading his own Dapp Theory since 1998, Milne’s recent and upcoming projects include experiments with small group improvising and composed orchestral music; collaborations with a fellow pianist, two koto players, actors and a comedian. Plus his associates hail from the US, France, Japan…and even outer space.
Where is Pannonica, Milne’s 2008 Songlines duo CD with French pianist Benoît Delbecq, was the inspiration for another undertaking in 2014. Called Strings and Serpents, it’s a multi-disciplinary show, linking the two pianists with Japanese koto players Tsugumi Yamamoto and Ai Kajigano, plus a 60-minute animated film. “Here are the two iconic pillars of Eastern and Western music, yet they’re both simpatico,” he enthuses. “What the piano can’t do, like bend notes, the koto can and vice-versa.”
Milne, who states ruefully “I’m my own development office”, is busy working out the logistics for these projects as well as the release of an already-recorded Dapp Theory CD – label to be decided. The
reason for this multitude of disparate projects, he says, was the realization around 2005 that “if I have a creative idea I should act on it. In the past I felt if it didn’t fit with what I did at the time I shouldn’t do it.”
It was this openness to new ideas that got Milne to outer space and film scoring. The keyboardist, who over the years has backed the likes of singers Cassandra Wilson and Ranee Lee, has also worked with actor/singer Avery Brooks since 2006, sometimes even playing four-handed piano with the entertainer. Brooks is known for his ‘90s role as Captain Benjamin Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. When William Shatner was directing The Captains, a feature consisting of interviews with the actors who were in command on the various Star Trek franchises, “Shatner initially came to Avery and wanted him to do the music, but he said ‘you need Andy Milne’,” recalls the pianist.
The result was Milne flying to Los Angles to create the music for The Captains. “At this point I hadn’t even seen the complete film, just a few scenes. But I put on the headphones, watched the film and improvised music that I thought would fit with the scenes, frequently being forced to change gears in mid-thought as I couldn’t anticipate scene changes.” To make matters more confusing, parts of the film already had an ersatz music track, so Milne had to ignore those sounds while he played. Working around the clock, he created the score in just over two days. The result so impressed Shatner and the production company that Milne has since done the music (“composed, not improvised,” he’s quick to add), for six more Shatner-affiliated features. The Captains soundtrack also became a limited-edition CD, for sale at last year’s Las Vegas Star Trek Convention, where Milne and Brooks performed.
This desire to follow new paths extends to the show with comedian Regina DeCicco. “There used to be more of a link between jazz and comedy and this is a way to bring it back,” Milne states. Right now plans are for the comic to do her own material between musical sets and perhaps riff along with the group during the show, trying to extend some of the humor that appears on most bandstands.
Augmenting Dapp Theory with additional instruments on the other hand is part of Milne’s ongoing interest in larger-form writing. Last June, for instance, his composition “Elements of Surprise” was performed at Columbia University’s Miller Theater by the 43-piece Jazz Composers Orchestra. “It was nerve-wracking, with a different way of communicating and thinking without performing myself. But the experience presented me with new ideas,” he recalls. So too does the Dapp expansion. Part of a project he calls The Seasons of Being, it’s an attempt to find a holistic approach to analyze different musicians’ qualities in order to compose music geared to that player. Once he’s satisfied with the concept Milne hopes to record this configuration as well.
This interest in various streams of music has been with Milne for years. Brought up in Toronto, he graduated from that city’s York University with an honors degree in music. A Canada Council grant allowed him to study at The Banff Centre. Besides meeting fellow student Delbecq there, it was instructor Coleman who was important to his growth. “He encouraged me to take the high road and showed me more that was possible.” Following a year playing in Montréal, Milne moved south.
Eventually, he would also like to make his first trio CD, with the group that will appear at Dizzy’s Club this month. “Most people don’t realize that my background is that of a piano trio guy just because I don’t choose to play in that context,” he notes. “Even Dapp Theory isn’t an electric band per se. I play piano about 99% of the time, not synthesizer.” As for involving veteran drummer Andrew Cyrille (bassist John Hébert fills out the group), he explains, “I spend most of my time in NYC playing with my peers and don’t have too many opportunities to play with cats of an older generation like Andrew.”
Despite all these projects, it’s likely there won’t be a flood of Milne CDs any time soon. “It’s purely logistical. There’s so much content out there that it’s staggering,” he notes. “You don’t want to just cobble together a record to a make a document. It has to be coherent.”
For more information, visit andymilne.com. Milne is at ShapeShifter Lab Aug. 16th-17th and Dizzy’s Club Aug. 26th. See Calendar.