by Luke Stewart
Editorial board

John Hébert, who will perform with his trio this Thursday at La Maison Française, is an extremely talented bassist and composer whose music reflects his exposure to a wealth of musical information. During his humble beginnings in southern Louisiana, he was exposed to jazz by his high school band director, who also introduced him to the bass. From there, he moved to New Orleans and then to New Jersey, where he graduated from William Patterson University with a Bachelor of Music. It was then that he began to really immerse himself in New York’s rich jazz community, playing with a number of prominent musicians.

But it wasn’t until he joined the legendary pianist Andrew Hill’s band that his musical focus would switch from accompaniment to examining the full palette of writing and arranging. Through this collaboration, Hébert gained first-hand knowledge on how to lead a band and how to compose. Since then he has led some of New York’s most celebrated ensembles, and has now formed a powerful trio, with which he has recorded an album and toured extensively.

Hébert’s trio includes the drummer Gerald Cleaver and the pianist Benoit Delbecq. Their music reflects an open conversation, as intense as it is nebulous. As the musicians listen intensely to each other the listener stays on edge, wondering what will come next. Hébert and I had a conversation the day after their performance in Baton Rouge.

CapitalBop: What were your musical experiences like growing up?

John Hébert: I had a pretty musical family. My dad was a tenor saxophone player. He mostly did a lot of dance-band gigs when he was in college around New Orleans. He was born and raised there. He played in a band called the Emperors. My mom played guitar and clarinet, kind of like church music stuff, so I grew up with music in the house. My dad’s brother is also very talented; he plays just about every instrument. There was always some kind of music going on. I remember getting a drum set when I was about 8 or 9. Then I wanted to get a guitar, so I started playing that. I was always encouraged to play music, since it was always around.

I wasn’t really listening to jazz with my family; it was more rock and roll and showtunes and stuff. And also the church, being raised Catholic. That was pretty much it, until I got to high school, where my band director at Baton Rouge high was a man named Lee Fortier. He was probably one of the most influential people in my life to get me going. He was a real “cat.” He had the soul patch and the tinted glasses and talked like what you would hear in the movies. He played with Woody Herman and many others and was a real legend down here in Baton Rouge. He was the one who said, “You’re playing guitar, but we need a bass player. Everyone plays guitar. If you wanna work, play the bass.” So I switched to bass.

CB: When you came to NYC, how did your music and outlook on music change?

JH: I left New Orleans after two years of college, studying with this cat Bill Huntington, who is an amazing bass player. He was very forward-thinking, musically. He was always hipping me to newer music and things. He’s a rare find these days to have really played the whole history of music and still looking forward and finding new music to listen to. So I was thinking about moving to New York and he said, “You should go and see what it’s about.” When I left, I was still into playing “tunes,” and straight-ahead, and went to William Patterson [University] in New Jersey to continue that pursuit. It wasn’t until after I finished that I really started to work in the scene in New York, then started hooking up with folks like Tony Malaby and people of that generation and language.

“I didn’t really overwrite the music, I just let these sketches develop on the gig and in the studio. To me it’s easier to get to the music when there’s less. You can really communicate with the musicians you are playing with, rather than [having] everyone buried in some pages.”

I guess then the biggest influence was playing with Andrew Hill, which was around 2001. It was like a light bulb switched on in my head. I was fortunate enough to work with him for a number of years before his passing. The whole time, it was a real growing thing for me.

CB: How did that collaboration with Andrew come about?

JH: Well, Scott Colley was doing the gig, and was very busy. Andrew had started to do a lot more gigs after releasing Dusk, and there were some gigs that Scott couldn’t make, so I was recommended and he called me. I got home and there was a message on my answering machine from Andrew Hill. I think the first gig was in Philly at a museum or something. It just seemed so natural and easy for me – and for him, I think. Then after that he just kept calling.

CB: How did playing with Andrew Hill affect you as a musician?

JH: Prior to that, I wasn’t really writing much music. I hadn’t led a band at all. I would have to credit Andrew’s own forward-thinking [nature] and being around him. He was always talking about how no one will do anything for you. He could see the handwriting on the wall as far as what was happening in the industry. There was a lot going on in 2001, with mp3s and iTunes. He could really see that the artist is going to have to be independent because the label is not going to be around anymore to take care of you. He was a big proponent of that.

So I was definitely getting a lot of information. I started thinking about doing something on my own and writing music, because I could really relate to how he would approach writing music. There was never too much information on the page. He would leave it up to the artist to interpret the music, which I really admired. He never felt like he had to give a lot of direction. He very rarely told me anything about what to play. A lot of times, there wasn’t even any music. He would just give very broad directions and we would just play. This was all very influential in how I write music and how I lead bands. I would rather give too little and let the musicians decide how the music should go, rather than over-direct things. It leaves room for a lot of chance and conflict and uncertainty, so you have to find a certain musician who can handle that kind of “lack of direction,” so to speak.

CB: Since that collaboration, you have had the opportunity to lead a number of bands. Could you talk about your current band with Beniot Delbecq and Gerald Cleaver?

JH: This trio has been around since 2009. The first record we recorded for Clean Feed, Spiritual Lover, that was the first time I met Benoit Delbecq. We have mutual friends, and I’d always wanted to play with him. His approach seemed similar to what I was hearing. Then Gerald I had of course heard in New York. I spoke with Benoit, and he was coming to New York, and Gerald was in town, and it all kind of came together. I got us a gig at the Jazz Standard, and we played the gig and the next day we went in the studio. It was kind of the typical jazz project; we got together, rehearsed, played the gig and recorded a record. [laughs] I knew it was going to work. I wasn’t worried about it. And again, I didn’t really overwrite the music, I just let these sketches develop on the gig and in the studio. To me it’s easier to get to the music when there’s less. You can really communicate with the musicians you are playing with, rather than [having] everyone buried in some pages.

“People tend to think that we need to ‘dumb things down’ and make music more simplified. But I think the audience is really intelligent, and what they really want is something honest. So for me, I know that as long as I am attached to the music in a deep emotional level, then I know it will touch somebody.”

CB: It must’ve been a great conversation among the group, yourself coming from Cajun country, a Parisian, and a little De-Trois (Detroit) thrown in there.

JH: Right. [laughs] The French thing really came about this year with this grant from the French-American Jazz Exchange. When I applied, I immediately thought of Benoit. It was fortuitous that we had already recorded this record and the band was already formed. It was really easy to put the thing together. We did our first gig last week in Baton Rouge, and it was great. Benoit brought some analog synthesizers, and mixed in some sampling, so the music has really developed from the first record. On the next record we will definitely be using the synth and more textural stuff, so I’m really excited to do it.

CB: What do you see as the differences in terms of the reception of your music and of “creative music” in general in the overly saturated Northeast corridor, versus in the underexposed South?

JH: I’m a bit biased, I guess, because I’m from here, but playing in Baton Rouge the audience was great. Everyone really dug the music. New Orleans is the same. People say that people down here are “friendlier.” I wouldn’t necessarily say that is true, but … sometimes when you play in New York and the Northeast, you get this sense that you’re there and you have to prove something. You feel like there’s this New York audience and they’re just waiting to be blown away by this deep, profound experience. Whereas here, people are just enjoying it for what it is. It’s definitely a different vibe.

Going back to Andrew, his view was: If you’re honest about what you’re doing and honest about the music you’re making, then the audience will pick up on that. I think sometimes we give the audience too little credit, especially with the way the music industry is and what they promote. People tend to think that we need to “dumb things down” and make music more simplified. But I think the audience is really intelligent, and what they really want is something honest.

So for me, I know that as long as I am attached to the music in a deep emotional level, then I know it will touch somebody. In that regard, the audiences are the same everywhere, even if they haven’t heard this kind of music before. So I don’t get too caught up in to whether or not people have been exposed. I’m not going to change the set to play more to the audience; we’re gonna do what we do. And for the most part people will be intrigued because they will see us sweating and really trying to get at something special, rather than just going through the motions.

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The John Hébert trio performs at La Maison Française at 7:30 p.m. this Thursday. The show is mostly sold out, though some student tickets remain available. Those can be purchased here. More information is available here.

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