Bio: Bruno Råberg is an internationally renowned bass player and composer. Since coming to the US from his native Sweden in 1981, he has made six recordings as a leader, about 30 as a sideman, and has performed with numerous world-class artists. Some of the distinguished musicians Råberg has performed/recorded with include Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, Sam Rivers, Billy Pierce, Donny McCaslin, Billy Hart, Bob Moses, Mick Goodrick, Ben Monder, Bruce Barth, Jim Black, Matt Wilson, Bob Mintzer, and John Medeski. Tours have taken Råberg throughout Europe, Scandinavia, USA, Japan, Africa, and Central America, and to jazz festivals such as Pori, Umbria, Monterey, Nancy, Bologna, Graz, Stockholm, Boston, and Cape Town. Råberg is currently leading several constellations of his own: the Lifelines Quartet with Chris Cheek, Ben Monder, and Ted Poor; the Bruno Råberg Nonet featuring Allan Chase, Phil Grenadier, Jeff Galindo, and others; and Ascensio, a quartet with Allan Chase, Phil Grenadier, and Marcello Pellitteri.

Bruno Råberg grew up in the countryside of Sweden. At 20, he was drafted by Swedish trombone virtuoso Eje Thelin. He stayed with Thelin’s group for 4 years and toured throughout Europe and the US, performing at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1976. During his 20s, Råberg performed and recorded with numerous renowned Swedish and European artists such as Bobo Stenson, Monica Zetterlund, Zpigniew Seifert, Nils Landgren, Lennart Åberg, and Ulf Wakenius.

In 1981, Råberg left his performing career in Europe to come to the USA, thanks to a scholarship to the New England Conservatory in Boston. There he studied with Miroslav Vitous, Mick Goodrick, George Russell, and Bob Moses. He graduated in 1984 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Studies with Distinction in Performance.

As an educator, Bruno Råberg stands out. He has been a professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston since 1986 and has traveled to Poland, Czech Republic, Italy, Mexico, and Costa Rica as a clinician/performer for Berklee.

Interview

Lifelines is a 2-CD set loaded with over two hours of engaging compositions and masterful improvisation. On this double album, you and your talented sidemen cover a lot of ground stylistically, venturing from the aggressive to the subdued, the highly-structured to the freely improvised and back again. “Agog” and “Elegy” should give readers a sense of the incredible breadth of this recording. Did you have a double album in mind when you began writing music for this quartet?

I just had a bunch of tunes that I wanted to record and it so happened that I went into the studio twice. After the first session I thought that, of the tunes we had recorded, the ones that I wanted to release fell too much into the same category. That’s why I went in a second time, to record material that would add more variety. When I started listening through all I had recorded, I realized that there was a lot of material that I wanted to release, more than would fit on one disc.

How does the finished recording compare with what you originally envisioned for the project?

In some aspects, the finished results extended far beyond my original vision, especially the collective improvisations. The interplay and communication between us I think is one of the strongest aspects of the recording and this was something I had hoped for.

Could you share a little bit about the other musicians who participated on this album and why you chose them?

I did two mini-tours with Ben Monder in saxophonist Donny McCaslin’s quartet, and I had been fascinated with his playing and composing before I ever played with him. Ben is truly a master with his own voice as a player and a composer. When we started recording I was completely blown away with the gorgeous voicings he came up with on my tunes. This was what I had dreamt of and beyond. I knew that he could play everything from the simplest to the most complex and make it sound great so that’s why I surprised myself by bringing in very simple-inside tunes like “Ballad for Summer’s end” and “New Land”. I can say the same thing about Chris Cheek. The way he interpreted my written melodies was just incredible—he has such an innate sense of the song that lays within each composition, no matter what style. While mixing I heard details in his playing that I didn’t hear at the recording, how he for example will quote the melody from one of my tunes in another tune. Both Matt and Ted are top-notch musicians; they’re both thoroughly musical and know exactly what the song and band needs. I had played with Matt up in Boston back in the early 90s and Ted was a new acquaintance that I had heard with Ben’s trio.

How has the music on this recording evolved within a performance setting as you continue to play it with your Lifelines Quartet?

I’ve only done a handful of concerts with this band so far, but each time we play, the music goes to another level. I also get really inspired with each new time we play so I’m planning to do another recording with the same group at some point.

There are three freely improvised pieces at the end of the second CD (“Distant Roads,” “Flurries,” and “Eruption”) where the quartet’s interplay and inventiveness really shine. Do you intend to focus more on freely improvised music with this quartet in the future?

There’s actually eight completely improvised pieces in all, 4 on each disc. We recorded them 4 and 4 at a time. I set it up to be 2 mini-suites and the only planned action was that I decided that we each should start a movement. Whatever each player would start with would be the motif for that movement.

In your bio, you mention that you’ve been studying Indian music for seven years. What intrigues you about Carnatic and Hindustani music and how did this interest develop?

My fascination with Indian music started way back through Ravi Shankar and Mahavishnu Orchestra and a little later John McLaughlin’s Shakti. I took two classes with sitarist Peter Row at the New England Conservatory and I also played with Indian/African world-music group Natraj. It was with natraj that I got started learning spoken rhythmics solfege and led me to study with the group’s tablaist/percussionist Jerry Leake. I have since then been to India studying the konnakol privately with mridangamist Umayalpuram Mali. I now teach 3 classes at Berklee on South Indian Konnokol and Jazz/World Music Improvisation.

To answer your question on what intrigues me, I’d say everything, to be specific.

How has your study of Indian classical music affected the way you compose and perform?

I continually learn from the rhythms, melodies, and forms from the Carnatic music. The rhythmic system is really complex and has given me a whole other perspective and vocabulary. You can hear a reduction patter called Gopuccha Yati (Cow’s Tail) at the end of the Nardis/Cow’s Tail on Lifelines. The whole Coda section is actually based on Cartnatic rhythmic concepts. At the end of the drum solo we do a rhythmic modulation called Nadai, where we play the exact same phrase at a different sub-division. Having studied some of the Carnatic melodic concepts has opened up my ears to micro-tones and different kinds of embellishments and this comes out in my playing now.

Who are some of the musicians composing and performing today whom you most admire? Why?

There are many artists that I admire beginning with the guys on my recording. Ben, Chris and Matt have several recordings as leaders and I can recommend Vine by Chris, Flux and Dust by Ben, and Humidity by Matt. Other current musicians I really like include John Hollenbeck (A Blessing), Rez Abbasi (Bazaar), Chris Speed (Emit). There’s also a Swedish drummer named Peter Danemo who’s a great composer and I’ll be playing with him this summer.

With over twenty years of experience teaching music at Berklee College of Music you’ve likely had the opportunity to help thousands of individuals develop into better musicians. Aside from technique, what are you most concerned with instilling in your students?

I strive to instill in my students a deeper love of music and appreciation for the art of listening and communicating when playing. I didn’t start with formal studies of music until I was 16 when I picked up the acoustic bass, so I started by playing with people. What I see now is that there are many students that just practice and don’t really play that much with others. I really encourage them to get out of the practice room and enjoy playing with others because after all that’s what it’s all about.

What are some of the challenges students face after graduation and how do you try to prepare them for the struggle?

Again I encourage them to find friends to play with and stay connected with them after school’s over. I also stress the importance of pursuing whatever music is in their heart and learning and being curious as a lifelong endeavor. That way they can explore music their whole life and not be dependent on getting this or that gig. In this field, or let’s call it creative new music, the measure of success isn’t how many CDs you sell but to what extent you can realize your visions.

Creative musicians rarely receive significant attention from major media outlets in this country, so it is often much harder for them to get the word out. How have you and other musicians you’ve known succeeded in reaching new audiences?

With the Internet and all the online possibilities you can really reach people anywhere anytime. You have to be willing to spend a lot of time getting your stuff out there, websites and ads if you can afford it. However, since the web is open to anybody, there’s also a lot more music out there to compete with.

Here at AmbushArts.com we’ve been talking about ways artists could better support one another outside of the marketplace. Do you have any ideas?

I try to go out and hear live music as much as I can and I think that’s the best way to support each other. I don’t only go out when the superstars are in town—I love going out to hear my peers play. I’m always fascinated by being there to see and hear how musicians interact in performance. As any musician knows, the real magic moments can happen at anytime and are not dependent on whether there are 200 or 2 people in the audience. To quote Wayne Shorter, a friend of mine asked him how it felt to play in a small club after playing huge concert halls with Weather Report, and he replied, “Every person is a universe”.

Thanks for the interview and best of luck with AmbushArts.