Plume: From Paris, With Love!

Plume -the name for many jazz musicians who were blessed to have heard him evokes feelings of admiration and reverence.  Known for his honesty both on and off the bandstand he has earned the respect of many musicians from Philadelphia, New York, to Boston and beyond, earning him a  place in the legends of lore even at such a young age!

However, with a promising career on the rise in the states, his honesty led him back to another familiar place he likes to call home- France.  Being raised in both of these countries, he has embraced both cultures, but after some time in New York, he decided to move back to France for personal happiness.  While he still comes back to New York on occasions the alto saxophonist virtuoso now calls Paris his home and is turning heads in Europe just as he did in the states.  He was gracious enough to entertain an interview with Occhi Magazine to tell his wonderful story.

Can you give us a bit of background on your career?

I lived in NYC (Brooklyn) from 2007-2013. I hadn’t spent much time in the city before moving there so it did take me some time adjusting and figuring out the vibe – especially being in my mid-twenties. In the beginning, I spent a lot of time going to jam sessions just to play and connect. I mostly went to Cleopatra’s Needle, Fat Cat, and Sweet Rhythm which had a nice session on Thursdays hosted by Eric Wyatt. In the later years, I hung out a lot at Smalls. Most of my income was generated by teaching lessons through a music store, private lessons, and some busking. Busking ended up playing an important role for me over the years because it provided me with a steady opportunity to play a lot, dig deep into the music while making some money.

Although I didn’t gig as much as I had wished to, I did get the opportunity to work with a lot of great peers while I was in the city: George Burton, Benito Gonzales, Stacy Dillard, Lawrence Clark, Duane Eubanks, Lawrence Fields, Zaccai Curtis, Justin Faulkner, Obed Calvaire, Chris Beck, Ben Williams and many more… I also traveled quite frequently to the Baltimore/DC area to play with Warren Wolf and made the occasional trip up to Boston to play Wally’s Café with Jason Palmer (both of whom I played with there every weekend for over 2 years between 2002-2005).

I was also very fortunate to perform with the great bassist Bill Lee on several occasions and be part of a week-long show around Bird’s music at the Joyce Theatre led by tap dancer Jason Samuel Smith. It took me a while to figure out that I was more cut out to be a leader than a sideman, and had I figured that out earlier I would have certainly approached things much differently. Nonetheless, I eventually did lead my band a few times at Sweet Rhythm, Fat Cat, and Smalls most recently, as well as some smaller Brooklyn venues.

I read you were back and forth between New York and Paris, and now are permanently staying there. What made you decide to reside in Paris?

Leaving NYC was a very tough decision to make. I still love NYC and my musical heart is there – I greatly miss it. However being raised in two different countries (France and the USA), I felt like I was missing something in my personal life that NYC wasn’t fulfilling. Even though I knew a lot of people in NYC, I did feel quite isolated in a way and disconnected from a strong network of family and friends that I had experienced growing up as a teenager. In my opinion, one of the downsides of NYC is that the hustle never stops – meaning even if you want to take a break for a second and just “enjoy life” you really can’t afford to. I was at a point where I realized that I needed to balance my personal life and my professional life. I needed to have a life outside of music to keep inspired to make music.

When I left NYC I wasn’t planning on going to Paris. I just knew I needed a break. I first spent some time in the south of France where my parents were at that moment. Then I went to Berlin for a couple of months, Lyon for a couple of months and then ended up in Paris because I couldn’t escape the fact that to make music you have to be in a big city where there are people that you can and want to play with as well as an abundance of opportunities. I wasn’t planning on staying in the beginning but things started to happen and I am still here!

Now that you are living in Paris full time did it take a long time to re-establish yourself among the local scene; Did previous trips assist with a smooth transition?

Well, I had lived in Paris for a year in 2001 and another year in 2006 right before moving to NYC. I would also spend some time in Paris every summer. So I really was not here that much but enough to know some people and to know what the scene was like. But I had never really done anything professionally speaking or very little at least, especially as a leader. When I moved back to Paris in 2015 I did somewhat start from scratch with the only exception that I knew many of the people who were here previously and had a good idea of what to expect in terms of the scene’s dynamic. I immediately reconnected musically with the cats I dug playing with back when I lived here in 2006. On a professional level, most of my work as a sideman did stem from new collaborations, especially with bassist Geraud Portal and trumpeter Hermon Mehari, who moved here from Kansas City in 2016. I also really started to think as a leader once I moved here because I realized I could no longer expect to be a part of something I aspired to (since what I had experienced in Boston and NYC did not exist here), I had to create it myself. That has been the biggest change for me and although difficult to deal with sometimes, it has forced me to change the way that I see and do things, so in the end, it has been extremely positive. One of the results of this is me finally putting out my debut record (which was overdue by almost 10 years at this point) and doing that has really propelled me into a new space.

How are the two scenes similar and different? Are there any aspects of New York life that you miss?

That’s a tough question to answer honestly. It is really difficult to compare the two scenes because jazz music is a Black American art form. One city is in the US and the other in Europe where Black American culture is non-existent on a local level. One thing that I have truly realized since I left the States is that an art form is inseparable from its culture. If you strip the art form from its culture you are left with theoretical knowledge which in itself is an empty shell. Jazz music isn’t just about chords, scales, and rhythm – there is also a whole lot of feeling, culture, philosophy, and history that is intricately part of the art form. The problem is that while you can learn the theoretical part in schools, much of the second part can’t be taught through a curriculum, except for history. The second part is a heritage that is passed down directly by people and the music itself. While Paris may have a lot of great players and music enthusiasts, the city lacks the presence of Black American culture in general, which results in a huge gap in essential elements such as the blues, swing, sound & the notion of developing an integral artistic identity. The closest insight or education you can get here is by checking out shows of American artists when they are in town, hanging with them, and of course checking out records, videos, and books. But that is still skimming the surface of things, looking at them from the outside. It will never replace the experience of being submerged in the culture which can truly only be achieved by living in the US for a while. When you live in NYC or a big city in the US, Black culture is all around you all the time in many ways. When you are part of a scene in the US you are surrounded by some amazing peers and many generations of musicians before you who have witnessed or even played with the masters of this music. It’s very different to be in this type of environment than in one where most people have learned the art form exclusively in a Conservatory.
 I moved back to the States to go to Berklee and NEC in Boston when I was 16 years old. Back then I knew my vocation was music but I really didn’t discover the music I wanted to play now until I got there. I learned a lot about music in both of these institutions’ classes but mostly on a theoretical and technical level. But as far as the substance of the music goes, I really learned that from listening and being around great peers at school, and later at Wally’s Café in Boston where I played for over 2 years between 2002 and 2005.

Coming back to Paris, I’ve seen a lot of positive change between when I lived there in 2006 and now. The younger generation of musicians seem more eager and open to check out what is going on in the US and to keep up with current events. Nonetheless, the Paris scene has a lot of room to grow and could greatly benefit from the presence of American musicians who would want to move here.

Your album ‘Escaping the Dark Side’ has been very successful allowing you playing opportunities in Europe as well as New York. Can you tell us a little about the concept and inspiration behind this album?

As I mentioned before, this album for me was long overdue when I finally was able to complete it. Although most of the compositions were written during my NYC years (except for “Seek You Must” that I wrote in Paris in 2006) I was never in a position to financially make a record. Moving back to Europe was a sudden decision and a setback since it took me a while to re-establish myself and to start thinking about the album again.

When I moved to Paris I organized a lot of sessions playing mostly standard repertoire to figure out who I wanted to play with. After I figured that out I brought out my book of compositions and we started to work on the music and eventually played a couple of shows with the repertoire. At that same moment, I met Vincent Bessieres who runs the “Jazz & People” label who really dug the music. We also clicked on a personal level and immediately after we started to plan the recording session. So in a way the album is a result of hard work, meticulous planning, and also a bit of fate. I do believe that things get done smoothly when the time is right and in this case, that is exactly how it happened!

In lieu of the current pandemic, how is the state of things over there in Paris?

Over here we had a police enforced lockdown for 55 days during which you could only go out for bare necessities with the exception of a short walk in a 1 km radius. The lockdown ended almost 3 weeks ago and things have slowly been progressing with bars and restaurants planning to partially open up next week. But for the moment there is still no scheduled date for concerts to start again. All musicians have had all of their gigs and summer festivals canceled like everywhere else. We are lucky here in France to have a system that supports artists pretty well, so for the moment the situation isn’t disastrous but we have no idea what is to come. When will gigs start again? Which venues will be able to open and under what circumstances? Will some venues even be able to continue to hire live bands considering the economic impact of this crisis?  So many questions… For the moment everything is a bit up in the air so the best thing to do in my opinion is to stay patient but at the same time get ready for things to pick up again. But there’s no knowing at the moment the long term consequences of this crisis.

What are your plans for the future with regards to a second album, maybe touring with your band, post-COVID-19 of course?

Well… The band had some great gigs lined up for the summer (such as the Nice Jazz Festival) but unfortunately, everything has been canceled for the moment. I’m hoping that some of these gigs will be rescheduled as these were really our first festival gigs promoting the music from “Escaping the Dark Side”. Also, a second record was being planned to be recorded in September 2020 but with the crisis, everything is a bit in suspense until we find out how things will evolve. It might get pushed back a bit, or maybe the plan will have to change to accommodate new circumstances, we’ll see! But I’m hoping things will pick up again soon and that new music can be recorded as soon as possible!

While we are deprived of hearing his genius on a regular basis in the states,  we are fortunate enough to have his amazing record Escaping the Dark Side to get our fix until the real thing comes back in person!  For our readers in Europe, you will be doing yourselves a tremendous favor by checking out Plume anywhere and everywhere he is playing, and Occhi Magazine anxiously awaits his next album and much more!

Photo Credit: Eric Garault

For further info please visit his website

 

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