IDO SPAK - The Jazz Traveller
Interview by Chris Wheatley
Composer, arranger and pianist Ido Spak possesses a highly distinctive style, blending classical techniques with jazz and Middle Eastern influences. He is currently working on a new album, Epidemic Adventures, following a successful crowd-funding campaign. Ido's appellation, 'The Jazz Traveller,' is well-earned. He has lived, worked and studied in his native Israel, The Netherlands, the UK and Germany, and collaborated with artists the world over. Ido talked frankly and openly with me about his personal journey through jazz, his major influences, and the process behind recording his new album.
(CW – Chris Wheatley IS – Ido Spak)
CW - Can you tell me a little about where you were born and grew up?
IS - I was born in Israel. I grew up in a small, middle-class city to a liberal family of doctors, lawyers and business people. I was a straight A’s pupil and, until the age of 20, I had planned to study law and go to politics. My sister was the one who learned to play piano, but she’s actually become a very successful lawyer.
CW - Where does your love of jazz originate from? Do you come from a musical family?
IS - My family is very good in real-estate, but I am the only musician. I started playing guitar when I was eleven, in order to impress a girl in my class and make her fall in love with me. I immediately started writing songs and began my classical adventures when I was seventeen. At that age, I switched to piano, because another kid was much better than me on the guitar and he made fun of me. I knew I would one day want to explore jazz and learn the harmonies and techniques, but I only came to it when I was twenty, when all of my friends switched from metal to jazz fusion.
CW - What sort of music did you listen to growing up?
IS - As a child, I heard everything my sister bought - The Beatles, John Lenon, Queen, U2, but when I finally gut a CD player for my Bar Mitzva, I started listening to Nirvana, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, and at the age of seventeen I discovered Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmaninov Wagner and, most importantly, Franz Liszt, who has had a most tremendous influence on my pianistic style.
CW - Are there any jazz musicians in particular who you feel have influenced your playing?
IS - Bud Powell was the first piano player that brought me into jazz, and I spent five years exploring his solos. Also Barry Harris, who was my teacher’s piano teacher. Avishai Cohen was the one who brought me to modern jazz, after many years that I was stuck in bebop. I have never stopped playing classical pieces in order to bring those textures into my improvisation, so that I can develop my own improvisational language.
CW - How did the idea for your new album, Epidemic Adventures come about?
IS - During the lockdown I started chatting with a woman who had lived near the Dutch borders. It became very intensive, we made online cooking sessions, and one day she just took the train and came to my town for a visit. I found myself in a new relationship, one year after my final divorce. I wrote “Epidemic Love Song,” and then it became very clear how I would name my new album.
Composer, arranger and pianist Ido Spak possesses a highly distinctive style, blending classical techniques with jazz and Middle Eastern influences. He is currently working on a new album, Epidemic Adventures, following a successful crowd-funding campaign. Ido's appellation, 'The Jazz Traveller,' is well-earned. He has lived, worked and studied in his native Israel, The Netherlands, the UK and Germany, and collaborated with artists the world over. Ido talked frankly and openly with me about his personal journey through jazz, his major influences, and the process behind recording his new album.
(CW – Chris Wheatley IS – Ido Spak)
CW - Can you tell me a little about where you were born and grew up?
IS - I was born in Israel. I grew up in a small, middle-class city to a liberal family of doctors, lawyers and business people. I was a straight A’s pupil and, until the age of 20, I had planned to study law and go to politics. My sister was the one who learned to play piano, but she’s actually become a very successful lawyer.
CW - Where does your love of jazz originate from? Do you come from a musical family?
IS - My family is very good in real-estate, but I am the only musician. I started playing guitar when I was eleven, in order to impress a girl in my class and make her fall in love with me. I immediately started writing songs and began my classical adventures when I was seventeen. At that age, I switched to piano, because another kid was much better than me on the guitar and he made fun of me. I knew I would one day want to explore jazz and learn the harmonies and techniques, but I only came to it when I was twenty, when all of my friends switched from metal to jazz fusion.
CW - What sort of music did you listen to growing up?
IS - As a child, I heard everything my sister bought - The Beatles, John Lenon, Queen, U2, but when I finally gut a CD player for my Bar Mitzva, I started listening to Nirvana, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, and at the age of seventeen I discovered Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmaninov Wagner and, most importantly, Franz Liszt, who has had a most tremendous influence on my pianistic style.
CW - Are there any jazz musicians in particular who you feel have influenced your playing?
IS - Bud Powell was the first piano player that brought me into jazz, and I spent five years exploring his solos. Also Barry Harris, who was my teacher’s piano teacher. Avishai Cohen was the one who brought me to modern jazz, after many years that I was stuck in bebop. I have never stopped playing classical pieces in order to bring those textures into my improvisation, so that I can develop my own improvisational language.
CW - How did the idea for your new album, Epidemic Adventures come about?
IS - During the lockdown I started chatting with a woman who had lived near the Dutch borders. It became very intensive, we made online cooking sessions, and one day she just took the train and came to my town for a visit. I found myself in a new relationship, one year after my final divorce. I wrote “Epidemic Love Song,” and then it became very clear how I would name my new album.
CW - Can you tell me about your writing process?
IS - I run a lot and, when it’s hot, I can run 30km or 40km. It clears my head and sometimes I hear music and write it. During the divorce, I had been travelling a lot, to meet my therapist, and I used that time on the train to compose five sonatas for piano and sax. 'Asman,' from my third album, was composed on the bus from Berlin to Hamburg. I cannot really control the inspiration. I had a big burst of inspiration after recovering from a great injury that had led to two weeks hospitalisation and required many months rest until I could use the bike and run again.
CW - What prompted the decision to crowd-fund this album? How easy or difficult is the process?
IS - I came to that decision during the spring, knowing that I won’t be able to cover my expenses as I could with the first four albums. Many concerts had been cancelled and I lost many pupils. I had to plan which platform is the most suitable and make a good presentation video, but I have managed to launch the project.
CW - Who will be playing on the album?
IS - Jan-Gerrit Lütgering is a German bass player with whom I have bin playing since 2015 and he has already played on two previous albums. Jean-Philippe Tremblay is a Canadian trombone player who has played and recorded with me and with Jan since 2015. The drummer, Alex Möckel, has been in the band since 2019 and also played in my previous album, In a Hot Distant Land.
CW - How do you find the contemporary jazz scene – it seems to be undergoing a revival?
IS - There are a lot of great things going on in modern jazz. I see Asian musicians creating jazz in their language, improvising on their own traditional sounds. I see collaborations between European and African musicians. Jazz is, after all, the result of a collision between the African blues, gospel and the 19th Century music that the slaves had heard at their master’s parties, or during the marches on the streets, and this continues to transform jazz into new directions.
CW - Where will you record the album and when do you hope it will be available?
IS - I will record it in a small village near my home, in a studio with a Bechstein grand piano. I always make three appointments, with a two months interval between them, so that we have enough time to practice and we record three-four pieces each time. Many producers use two intensive weeks for production, but I think it is not sufficient, since it’s too stressful and, from my experience as a producer for rock bands, after very intensive work it can happen that the ears are no longer fit - only a few weeks later, we hear the recordings and can realize that a guitar is not in tune, or we discover other problems. When we give it more time and space, we have less stress and can always make little corrections and notice problems, without going through mental breakdowns. I hope we will finish the recordings in the summer of 2022.
IS - I run a lot and, when it’s hot, I can run 30km or 40km. It clears my head and sometimes I hear music and write it. During the divorce, I had been travelling a lot, to meet my therapist, and I used that time on the train to compose five sonatas for piano and sax. 'Asman,' from my third album, was composed on the bus from Berlin to Hamburg. I cannot really control the inspiration. I had a big burst of inspiration after recovering from a great injury that had led to two weeks hospitalisation and required many months rest until I could use the bike and run again.
CW - What prompted the decision to crowd-fund this album? How easy or difficult is the process?
IS - I came to that decision during the spring, knowing that I won’t be able to cover my expenses as I could with the first four albums. Many concerts had been cancelled and I lost many pupils. I had to plan which platform is the most suitable and make a good presentation video, but I have managed to launch the project.
CW - Who will be playing on the album?
IS - Jan-Gerrit Lütgering is a German bass player with whom I have bin playing since 2015 and he has already played on two previous albums. Jean-Philippe Tremblay is a Canadian trombone player who has played and recorded with me and with Jan since 2015. The drummer, Alex Möckel, has been in the band since 2019 and also played in my previous album, In a Hot Distant Land.
CW - How do you find the contemporary jazz scene – it seems to be undergoing a revival?
IS - There are a lot of great things going on in modern jazz. I see Asian musicians creating jazz in their language, improvising on their own traditional sounds. I see collaborations between European and African musicians. Jazz is, after all, the result of a collision between the African blues, gospel and the 19th Century music that the slaves had heard at their master’s parties, or during the marches on the streets, and this continues to transform jazz into new directions.
CW - Where will you record the album and when do you hope it will be available?
IS - I will record it in a small village near my home, in a studio with a Bechstein grand piano. I always make three appointments, with a two months interval between them, so that we have enough time to practice and we record three-four pieces each time. Many producers use two intensive weeks for production, but I think it is not sufficient, since it’s too stressful and, from my experience as a producer for rock bands, after very intensive work it can happen that the ears are no longer fit - only a few weeks later, we hear the recordings and can realize that a guitar is not in tune, or we discover other problems. When we give it more time and space, we have less stress and can always make little corrections and notice problems, without going through mental breakdowns. I hope we will finish the recordings in the summer of 2022.
For more information visit idospak.com
