Yellowjackets top the jazz airwaves

The Gavin interview: Marc Russo by Kent Zimmerman

Yellowjackets formed in 1979 as a back-up group for guitarist Robben Ford’s first official solo album. a few years later, after Ford left the group, the jackets rejuvenated their direction and their careers. Even though keyboardist Russell Ferrante, bassist Jimmy Haslip, drummer William Kennedy and saxophonist Marc Russo all managed outside projects and studio and tour commitments, the success of 1987’s Four Corners LP in many ways forced the hands of the members.

Now the Yellowjackets members are taking priority and commitment. We recently spoke with saxophonist Marc Russo about the current flight of the Jackets. It was Marc who joined the band in 1985, balancing their electric sound with his woodwind work.

KZ: What was happening with the Yellowjackets when you first joined up? The band had pared down to a trio and was quite electric, yet I understand enthusiasm was low.

MR: When I joined them they were contractually obligated to do another record. After Robben Ford left they were looking for a fourth person, and weren’t having any luck. The members were touring around with a lot of different groups, and there wasn’t much focus on the Yellowjackets. In fact, I think they only toured after their first album. After that they didn’t play much live. But whem we met, there was good chemistry. We played well together. we cut “samurai Samba” even though it was more in te R&B direction of the first few albums. “Samurai Samba” represented us just getting to know each other; we were working out. On the Next album, Shades, we started moving away from the R&B material, yet we weren’t one hundred percent removed from it. We were afraid we’d lode too many of our original fansif we dropped the R&B flavor altogether.

KZ: What was the biggest departure that Yellowjackets made in their effort in redefine their sound?

MR: The only change up to about 1986 was that there was more saxophone as opposed to guitar. Up to then the music was derived from theirv earlier sound. When William Kennedy jouined on drums we got away from R&B altogether and adopted the sound that you hear now. On Four Corners, and now Politics, we’ve expanded our sound. It’s become less structured and more open for improvisation. I would cite that as the biggest change the band has gone through since its beginnings.

KZ: So the Four Corners LP is, in many ways, the first album of e redefined sound?

MR: That album broke open doors all over the place. On Four Corners we really became a group. We committed to a new direction. We were willing to sacrifice some fans of our old sound. We felt strongly about maintaining an improvised sound, so we pushed hard with everyone involved in the recording process.

KZ: The consensus among most of our Jazz and Adult reporters has been that they appreciate the evolution of the last two records. They enjoy the complexities, the acoustic additions, as you said, the improvisational dimension to the sound.

MR: That’s nice to hear considering that we’re using a lot of sythesizers. (laughs) We all want to do more acoustic work. Russell played a lot of acoustic piano on the last couple of records. We’re definitely going for a more natural sound as opposed to getting wildly electric. We try to utilize synthesizers more so you don’t really notice them. We’re looking for a pleasingeffect as opposed to your standard Mini Moog solo sine wave sound. We’re using synthesizers more for orchestral balance. We still enjoy using sequencers, so it’s not like we’re giving up the technology, but I can say that we’re very much into acoustic sounds. In fact, we’re considering making an all-acoustic album eventually.

KZ: There are folks in the Jazz field that profess to e new acoustic movement, a rediscovering of the roots per se. Kevin Eubanks didn’t even touch an electric guitar on his newest album and on his latest, Grover Washington, Jr. played a lot of standards.

MR: There was a feeling that this band could only R&B/Fusion. I don’t even know what that is. Fusion means different things to different people. People tell us, “I love your band, I love fusion.” Others think of early John McLaughlin or Return to Forever as fusion.

KZ: I’m uncomfortable with terms like Contemporary, Straight-Ahead, Mainstream, Fusion or Confusion. In fact, we consciously avoid using those terms.

MR: That’s great, because the Yellowjackets don’t use them either. I understand that there is a need for catagories, especially among marketing people trying to find a place for certain types of music. If fusion is where we’re stuck, fine. But it’s hard because those words mean so many different things. Fusion has negative connotations to some people, positive to others. But if they need to come up with a name to market our music so that people will get involved with what we’re doing, that’s okay.

KZ: Can you site any examples on the new record where improvisation sparked some new results?

MR: Most of the tunes came out of just improvising. Nothing was written or worked out. Either the drums started or else there was an idea for a riff. We jammed for a while, played back the tapes and then went back and wrote music around the best improvisations. Sometimes when you turn on the tape the most creative things come up. That’s what makes live shows so great. I like doing live shows that aren’t an entire record note-for-note. We also write out complete pieces of music. Take the song “Helix” as an example. On it, the head to the song is very short and to-the-point, making a nice melodic statement, and then we’re off and blowing. There’s a piano solo, then we reintroduce the melody only to kick it right out again back into another improvisation. We try to design strong improvisational sections, although we do believe in strong melodies. We’re trying to bridge strong the two.

KZ: I think the extreme example of melody is the song “Local Hero”. It’s a very memorable melody, almost to the point of distraction.

MR: That’s good. It’s an infectious piece. It was originally for the Olympics album, but unfortunately they didn’t want it. So we decided to put it on our record. It’s definitely a pop-oriented song that a lot of stations will be able to play. You never know what radio wants. What was it it I heard on KBLX the other day? I think it was “Evening Dance”

KZ: Doesn’t “Evening Dance” have a special significance for you?

MR: Back in 1983 I was introduced to the guys in the Yellowjackets through that song. We were all playing in a small club in Los Angeles and Russell had just writtten the song. I was playing with Tower Of Power and we opened the show with a couple of Russell’s songs, “Evening Dance” being one of them. After that I asked, “Can I please play with you guys?” because I didn’t want to just sit in the horn section and do pows and stuff all night. Russ said, “Sure,” and handed me a chart. That was the basis for me joining the band. I guess I made an impression in Russel’s mind.

KZ: So that moment has been preserved on this album.

MR: Exactly. We’ve always wanted to play that song, but in the past it didn’t fit into the band’s style. Four Corners enabled us to resurrect that song.

KZ: back to “Local Hero.” It reminds me of mark Knopfler’s soundtrack song of the same name. Both songs have a strong melody line played on the saxophone. Were you aware of that song when you wrote it?

MR: I don’t think so, but I’m terribly with titles. actually, I’m not familiar with Knopfler’s song. We originally conceived ours for the Olympic project and that’s where the term “Local Hero” fits in. I wasn’t aware another song had that title.

KZ: Russell Ferrante was quoted as saying that it’s a goal of fis to devote full time to the Yellowjackets. That’s a strange comment. With most rock ‘n roll bands, the group is always the prime focus. In the Jazz field, is sticking to one center project that much of a luxury?

MR: That goes back to what I was aying about the band when I first met them. They didn’t have much direction—they were backing Robben Ford. When Robben left there was uncertainty, so each member went out on the road with major recording stars. Russell saying, “This is now my priority,” is his way of stating that there is a solid base for people to latch onto. Even after “Samurai Samba,” I went out on the road with Huey Lewis for almost a year. Jimmy was out with Chaka Kahn and Al Jarreau. (Former Yellowjackets drummer) Ricky Lawson was out with Stevie Wonder and Russell was out with Joni Mitchell. We’d make a record and then split into different directions. That’s how we got the rep that we’re just a bunch of studio musicians getting together to make albums. We’ve been a solid unit now since 1984. People can rely on the fact that, yes, the Yellowjackets do exist. They make records, they tour and they’ll come to your city. That’s what Russell was saying. He’s not gonna do what his sax player does and go out and play with Kenny Loggins.

KZ: Is that what this sax player does?

MR: That’s what this sax player did last year. Maybe that’s why Russell said that!

KZ: How about outside soundtrack projects?

MR: We’d like to do one. We got to do fifty-nine seconds worth of music for Star Trek IV. That’s the last soundtrack we did. Fifty-nine seconds.

KZ: Do you remember the scene?

MR: Of course! It was the only scene with quote modern music unquote in it. They landed on Market Street in San Francisco right after landing in Golden Gate Park.

KZ: It says here that Yellowjackets is a four man democracy. Is that true?

MR: As much as possible. Actually were a five man democracy. We run things by Gary Borman. He’s our manager, and we’ve got him wired.. That’s a joke, Gary. Actually we’re a partnership and a democracy. We believe that everyone has a say. We’re equal partners in everything we do.

KZ: I have to ask about the tribute to Jaco Pastorius, “Galileo.”

MR: It’s undeniable that Jaco was one of most influencial modern electric bass players. He shaped it and did things to it that no one else was doing. He made a statement in modern Jazz music. If players haven’t heard of him, they’ve definitely heard of him through someone else. That song is probably my favorite on the album. I did meet him e few times. He was a very tragic figure, but I believe good comes from everything.

KZ: Were you serious when you mentioned recording an acoustic album?

MR: We’re always talking about it. We joke about getting a string bass, an acoustic piano, a small drum set with brushes and finding a small place to play. That usually comes after all the chords and the electronics wack out.

KZ: How do you feel about the band’s total identity?

MR: I play saxophone and try to make music. As far as a singular identity, that sounds like a marketing strategy. Music is what we’re about. We like to play and create music. That’s why you have a creative manager, promotion people and advertising people. They’re the ones that come up with the phrases that market the band and keep us visible. I like to separate all that. from the music. Getting someone we can trust involved with managemant allows us to concentrate on the music without compromise. We let our manager and record company get our music to the people. Getting into the acyual numbers, who we’re selling to and their lifestyles gets in the way of the music. I believe that we are singular inn that we are four pieces with a common goal: to create music however it may come out. We know where we’re heading. In our case, four heads are better than one.