Words by David C. Obenour
Self-described as a vessel, keyboardist Deron Johnson has channeled his talents to the music of artists as far-ranging as Paula Abdul, Damien Rice, Alanis Morisette, and Miles Davis. After decades of performing within the structures set by such luminaries, Free to Dance marks his solo debut. The songs are every bit as adventurous as his resume would promise too, bridging progressive rock, improvised jazz, experimental electronics, soundscapes, and robot bebop. A heady mix, that all somehow still manages to land through an inspired collection of talented vessels of Deron’s own.
Off Shelf: Charlie Weinmann created a very classic and beautiful illustration for the cover. Can you talk about how that came together? What you enjoy about it as the visual element to your album?
Deron Johnson: It actually came from a drawing my mother had from over thirty years ago. Charlie made some amazing photos, but my friend Peter Stougaard helmed the cover. He works closely with Peter Jackson recently and has worked a bunch with James Cameron on the Avatar campaign. I sent him some photos and that drawing, and the drawing struck a chord. The icing on the cake were the two lines that he made on the drawing that personalized it for me. He put glasses on the drawing! And also, on the last piano key he put a small image of a dancer, which represents my mother, on the 89th key! So he’s a genius… [laughs]
OS: Is this your album credited solely under your name? How did it come together and what made this the right time for it?
DJ: Yes, it’s a Deron Johnson record. It was the right time mostly because I was going through personal things that probably needed to see the light of day in musical form. I was over at Pete [Min of Colorfield]’s studio one day doing a session and Jasmine [Joseph-Danielpour, manager] mentioned the idea to Pete. When he told me how he wanted to do it, I was on board immediately. It’s a world where I’m in the studio with a master sound man and I have a hundred instruments at my disposal! We brought in no songs. Even more important on the co-producer side, Pete is a master at leading into areas and keeping you from yourself.
OS: Was it at all daunting to put the parameters on what you’d want this release to sound like? What all you’d want it to cover? You’ve played with so many amazing musicians, but from some very far reaching schools of thought.
DJ: Yes, I think we all think about what we want things to sound like but the letting go of that was really valuable for me. I just knew that I wanted it to be organic, and have some structure, but maintain a large measure of improvisation. From the beginning of my career, I felt I could rarely do conventional things, which made this recording all the more attractive for me. You’d be surprised how similar some of these people I’ve played with are!
OS: “Call Me Back” opens with a voice memo from Miles Davis – who’s band you played in for a number of years. Can you talk about why you chose to include it and how you think his influence lives on in your playing?
DJ: That was the first piece I made in the studio and it was improvised in one take. The middle section reminded me of Sketches of Spain. We tossed ideas around, and Jasmine talked about having a trumpet player. From there it naturally went to the vocal recordings that I had. She and I wanted to find a place for these valuable voice recordings. It has turned out to be a journey of life tune where, as Jasmine puts it, Miles gave to me, and I’m giving back to Joey Curreri [trumpet] on his quest to becoming a jazz great. The title came from another voice recording where he is actually saying, “Call Me Back!’
OS: I love how “Robot Bebop” catches me off guard each listen, especially the last section about two and a half minutes in. Could you talk about that song?
DJ: Yes, thanks! The middle section sounds like some AI trying to play bebop, which is probably how it got its name! I love the beginning and still don’t know how it was made… which makes me love it even more. I remember years ago seeing Kraftwerk in Hamburg and just sitting in shock at the sonics that overtook me. I captured a tiny piece of that here. Again, that was pretty much played on an instrument all the way through, but the ending with me playing pitched up drums sounds like a rebellious robot trying to play funk of some sort. It is definitely my nod to what’s coming in the world! Words like divisive, left, right, alt, AI, apathetic come to mind.
OS: How do you think your work in soundtracks informed the compositions of Free to Dance? Are there any different considerations that helped to refocus how original and unaccompanied music can work or be experienced?
DJ: Composing for film has greatly affected my approach. I do think of narratives when I improvise more now. Even words like Free To Dance take on musical meanings that could inform a whole ballet or symphony.
OS: Outside of some vocal explorations on “Can A Song Save Your Life”, “I Don’t Have to Wait for a Clear Day” is the most central use of singing on Free to Dance. A tribute to your mother, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind sharing the importance of that song to you. I know she passed during the recording, but was she able to hear you perform it or any of the earlier recordings?
DJ: The song On A Clear Day was one of her favorite standards. The song that had no vocals until the very, very end. We achieved a Phillip Glass approach to the tune, and the solo that Mark Turner plays is one of the best I’ve heard, so we thought it was done. But I remembered a Phillip Glass tune called Changing Opinion that had vocals. I looked it up and listened again. It was sung by an old friend of mine, Bernard Fowler. It sparked an idea to put a vocal on this static piece of music. I enlisted Alan Hampton, and we carved out a lyric that didn’t have to say more than it does. With that, we talked about death and ascension, and basically flipped it, meaning, when you crossover you don’t have to wait for a clear day! You can go at any time.
OS: Was your mother part of your inspiration and upbringing as a musician or creative? Was your’s a musical household – whether performing or enjoying?
DJ: Absolutely a huge part of my upbringing! She was a dancer for more than thirty years, and was in a lot of films in the 50’s, like Carmen Jones and South Pacific, and into the 80s she danced in films like The Blues Brothers and Color Purple. My brother is a drummer and our house had a drum set – a lot of years in the living room [laughs] – at one point I was given a Hammond B3 that was in our family room [laughs]. Music was always around the house and encouraged to play.
OS: Continuing to explore the inspiration of others that surround you, can you talk about the collaborators that you brought into the studio for the album? Why you chose them and what you felt excited about their contributions?
DJ: They were all at the top of the list of people that we “knew” and wanted to play on the record. I didn’t know Mark Turner personally, but Pete did, and had his number. I knew Gretchen [Parlato] from many years ago, but when they both said yes to playing on it, I was so excited. In my opinion, all of these collaborators are the best of improvised music today and I just want to be around that forward-thinking energy. Even CJ Camerieri, who played on Santur, just painted such an amazing landscape that is so filmic. He comes from playing with Bon Iver and Nicholas Britell and Paul Simon. Jonathan Pinson, who plays a lot with Mark Turner, got his early lessons from Billy Higgins, who is a God among percussionists.
OS: As a frequent collaborator yourself, do you think that gave you a special approach to these songs? Both in how you wrote and performed them but also provided space for those you invited to play with you?
DJ: That’s a tough one to answer. I’ll put it like this: There is an organized genius behind your personality that is there waiting for you to discover it. You only get to it if you have clear focus. More importantly, you get there by leaving space for spirits to enter the room. All of the collaborators were so sensitive to this, and for that, I’m grateful.
OS: What do you think a follow up Deron Johnson album would explore? Are there threads on Free to Dance you’d like to further wind out? Things that got left on the cutting room floor that you’d hope to breathe new life into?
DJ: I’m like to explore more of the modular synth world. I touched on it on this record, and really spoke to me. I was lead spiritually to those instruments a little more than the conventional piano or Rhodes for now. Also, keeping in the tradition of having an influential parent, I’d like to explore more vocals, perhaps in the soul or gospel realm!