| When
it comes to understanding the nuances of traditional
folk music, it certainly couldn't hurt to have a B.A.
in Ethnomusicology, and an M.A. in the classics (Latin
and Greek Literature) when one's combining a Chinese
flute with an African talking drum. He speaks Latin,
Ancient Greek, French, and is currently studying Japanese
and Chinese in a quest to become multilingual. In fact,
Ian got as far as one year towards his Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology
at Stanford before deciding that playing music in a
band was more fun than studying it in school. So in
l980, the first Ian Dogole unit was formed.
The
six piece combo played a brand of New Age World Beat
Jazz at clubs around the Bay Area for 6 years, and
received lots of airplay on the more commercial tunes
from their albums The Ian Dogole Unit - Along the
Route. Ian also produced a solo album Dangerous Ground
using many of the same musicians in duo, trio, and
group formats. Although Ian was the official band
leader, he encouraged all members to contribute their
own songs and playing styles to make the experience
more equitably satisfying. It is a democratic method
of orchestration, where each member contributes interpretations,
styles, and instrumentation to the common goal. This
style of leadership is a trait influenced by the late
Miles Davis as exemplified by the ground breaking
fusion LP-Bitches Brew, which Ian attributes as the
single most important influence in his work. As did
Miles, Ian likes to sketch out the framework of a
piece and allow the musicians to fill in the body,
putting their own individual stamp on the songs. Eventually,
though, the material began to feel stale. So, in 1986
he dissolved the band.
After
the demise of his first band, Ian joined a quartet
called Ancient Future. Besides performing on percussion,
he also produced two of their three albums, Dream
Chaser and World with Walls, on the Narada Label.
Ian will again be performing and co-producing some
of his compositions on an Asian oriented album due
for release in September.
In 1990, Ian performed some original compositions
at a concert in Mill Valley, sharing the stage with
current bass player Bill Douglass and hornsman Sheldon
Brown, and received such an overwhelmingly positive
response that he felt enough impetus to continue on
his Global Fusion path. But his real turning point
came just a few months later when he received funding
for a series of concerts by the National Endowment
for the Arts. This had been his fourth application
to the Endowment, and his persistence finally paid
off. Self-described as thick-skinned, Ian opines,
"As a musician, if you can't take rejection,
forget it."
Having
been the recipient of a National Endowment for the
Arts grant, Ian is particularly sensitive to the attacks
on the institution from the right wing. "Artists
are mirrors for society, and they reflect back things
that are often ugly as a means to propel things forward,
and that makes people who are change-resistant very
uncomfortable. That's why Jazz has been such a hard
sell throughout its history. Because Jazz tends to
be on the leading edge, it's reflective of a lot of
controversy and tension; and because of that, it gets
a bad reputation."
The
NEA funding proved invaluable in the development of
Global Fusion Music, particularly because of the style
of band-leading Ian had chosen. Since the success
of his work depends so heavily upon the contribution
of idiosyncratic musicians, Ian had to hire great
talents to pull it off, and for this the money came
in quite handy. He was able to pay his band unusually
well, considering the typical treatment of most Jazz
musicians. Seasoned players such as Paul McCandless,(of
Oregon fame), Jon Jang, Eddie Marshall, and Jack Dorsey
joined Ian in varying incarnations of the evolving
Ian Dogole Unit. Four performances were planned in
California. The first show at the Bach Dancing and
Dynamite Society in Half Moon Bay featured: McCandless
on reeds, Jon Jang on Keyboards, Jack Dorsey on Drums,
and Bill Douglass on Bass, and Chinese and African
flutes. The second performance took place at Yoshi's,
and included Sheldon Brown replacing McCandless on
reeds and Eddie Marshall on drums. The same lineup
played at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Mill
Valley. The Unit's final performance was held at the
Noe Valley ministry in San Francisco, on March 22,
1992. It was at this concert that I caught up with
Ian, and received a dose of his rhythmic alchemy.
Nothing
I had been told about the Ian Dogole Unit prepared
me for what the band is actually about. The lights
dim, the stage is empty. Suddenly, Ian marches on
to the stage while pounding an African talking drum
that he holds under his left arm, squeezing the side
winding cords. Ian is lean and wiry, and his angular
features and auburn coloring belie the fact that his
lineage is Russian, not Irish, as is commonly thought.
He plays the drum maniacally, as if driven, writhing
cockedly to and fro. He stares straight into the audience,
at once taunting and inviting, alternating expressions
between bliss and defiance as he forces harmonies
from the rhythmic instrument. Presently, Kurt Moore
steps out with a tar drum rapping, and sits down to
the drum set to whip out a supporting beat. Then Bill
Douglass walks out,takes his place at the bass and
strums a complicated ostinato. Next, Andy Ostwald
threads delicately through the milieu, and sits down
at the piano to pour out an intense melody. Not to
be outdone, Erik Golub, another original IDU member,
saunters onstage with his violin and lays down a silken
veneer to the cacophony. Finally, out bursts Sheldon
Brown, wailing on tenor sax. The members continue
to dish out their own undulating rhythm, until eventually
merging into a dazzlingly tight Coltrane arrangement
of Mongo SantaMaria's "Afro Blue." Whew!
And that was just a warm-up song!
The
rest of the evening's material was comprised of original
arrangements by Mr. Dogole. This is not music for
the short attention span. On the contrary, listeners
need to hang on to their hats while rollercoasting
through the rhythmagoric progressions. We are told
that we are in for a night of "high adventure."
Song after song we are treated to sounds from a cornucopia
of instruments, both common and indigenous. On "Ode
to Ajanta," Brown switches to bass clarinet while
Douglass takes up the Chinese flute to create a melody
that is a blend of Middle Eastern and Indian classical.
The reedy strains waft and swirl like billows of smoke
rising from a Bedouin's hookah. Later, the group breaks
down to a trio of Golub on violin, Dogole on talking
drum, and Douglass on a Chinese flute that seemed
more akin to a simple kazoo. The trio conducted an
improvised musical conversation that appeared to be
great fun, especially when Douglass laid down the
flute and began emitting deep bellows from his lungs.
Very weird.
But
the strangest part was a duet between Golub on Chinese
fiddle and Douglass on what is affectionately known
as the "plumbing." This instrument can best
be described as a J-shaped, four inch pipe that, when
blown at the short end emits a baritone that closely
resembles a foghorn. Contrast that with the high pitched
squeak of the Chinese flute and you have a bizarre
sound indeed.
After
performing a wonderfully evocative solo on Malinese
Balafon (a South Pacific version of a Marimba), Ian
kneels on the floor to play a set of Peking Gongs
laid out, untraditionally, on the floor before him,
and a ceremonial gong hung, conventionally, op-right
This segment, I felt, was the most spiritually intimate
music of the whole show.
A 30-minute instrumental followed with Golub on Chinese
Fiddle, Douglass on flutes, and Dogole on African
Udu, switching back and forth in great humor, despite
the intrusion of unwelcomed FM signals over the sound
system. The song they play is a combination of Indonesian
Gamelon, African and Straight-Ahead Jazz, which, reflecting
Ian's philosophy about coffee, was adroitly named
"Roastmaster General."
The
Udu, a Nigerian clay pot with three orifices, is Ian's
current fascination though it has not quite proven
itself as a concert instrument. The tone is so deep
and subtle that it is virtually undiscernible with
accompaniment, and even in a solo it requires tremendous
amplification.
Between songs, Ian spoke to the audience about the
NEA funding that help brings this music to them, and
lashed out at the "Infidels of the Right"
who are working to abolish this "national treasure."
The fire in Ian's voice and his scathing remarks drew
loud whoops and applause from the supportive crowd.
With
all the utilization of exotic instruments and the
folk influences that follow, Ian's roots are still
firmly imbedded in American Jazz. As a debut presentation,
the Unit played "Miles Beyond," a homage
to the great Miles Davis, ala "Bitches Brew."
One didn't have to be introduced to this song to make
the association. With instrumentation being predominantly
Western, it captured the intensity and flexible phrasing
of classic Miles in his Fusion period.
The
second set started with "Toremo," a Bossa
Nova departure that gave the crowd something to sink
their teeth into, lest they were lost previously.
"Me thinks," was written in honor of Frederick
Sommer, Ian's photography guru from Santa Fe, but
the influence was pure Mingus. Once again, a straight-ahead
arrangement with Indonesian tonalities.
Among
other exotic instruments that Ian and his cohorts
make use of are: a custom built Javanese Tube Saron,
a Dholak - North Indian folk drum, the Dumbek - a
Middle Eastern bowl-shaped drum, and the Kalimba -
an African thumbpiano.
During
periods where other band members took over the spotlight,
Ian hung out in the wings while he watched the band
swing. Occasionally, he stepped in to give direction
at certain transition points, but mostly he left them
to it. Literally beside himself with enthusiasm, he
wore a ecstatic grin as if it was Christmas morning
and Santa had left him everything he wanted. He had
good reason to smile, as this current inclination
of IDU, one of whom joined only two weeks prior, was
tight and fluid, and enjoying themselves in every
way.
It
is likely that the NEA has found its biggest advocate
in the heart of Ian Dogole who will be forever grateful
for the support he has received from them. So much
so that he not only encourages other artists to seek
funding, but is offering to use his knowledge and
resources to help anyone who wants to make a proposal.
[Without the NEA funding], "my music would not
have evolved as it has, and I never would have been
able to get these musicians on board who care about
my music."
The direction of Global Fusion music is as obvious
as its name implies. "I want to put it on the
international stage where it belongs," declares
Ian. Unfortunately, lack of name recognition is his
biggest stumbling block when it comes to getting into
the big festivals; but being the persistent type,
Ian is undeterred "I believe that if I keep hammering
I'm going to end up playing, whether it's the North
Sea Jazz Festival or the Mount Fuji Jazz Festival.
I will eventually get on to the stages, and that's
where things will begin to happen quickly because
I feel strongly about this music."
by
Mari Kane
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