The Saxist |
|
|
"We're quoting this interview courtesy of New Funk The NFT first talked to sax great Maceo Parker (of James Brown and P.Funk fame) when he started his solo career in 1990.New Funk Times: There is one question that you hear a lot. Let's see if you can come up with a new answer: What is the difference between playing live with James Brown and George Clinton? Maceo Parker: [laughs] Both is a lot of fun. When James Brown was THE James Brown at the height of his career, it was like... once you hit a certain boiling point in excitement and heights of entertainment, you just can't get any higher. It's almost like a boxing match. Once you knock the guy out, why keep hitting him and hitting him? I mean, it's over! I have reached that point with both George Clinton and James Brown, especially when we were landing the space-ship on the stage [during the late '70s Mothership shows with Parliafunkadelicment - Ed.] - and when we still had Glenn Goins. |
|
|
We always had a lot of fun, but I can't think of any other times that it got more exciting than that, when the excitement level reached the boiling and over-boiling point before we landed the space-ship on the stage. To look out and see the awe that comes over the audience... it was the visible kind of excitement that you really could almost reach out and touch when the people saw that space-ship landing on the stage, and when George stepped out of it like he really came from outer space. It was incredible! As far as heights of endurance and peak of entertainment, there's no difference. But James would have strict regulations - you gotta wear this uniform, you gotta stand here, you gotta do this routine -, that's where it differs a little bit. George is like, come as you are and do what you feel like doing, ain't nothing but a party! It's almost like being invited to an outing. One invitation says: "Evening attire is in order", and the other one goes: "Hey, we're having a party, come as you are, come on down!" And if a cat is wearing just a shirt and just shoes, it's cool! New Funk Times: With George it is: "Don't bring attire, bring attitude!" Maceo Parker: Right, exactly. New Funk Times: How would you compare working in the studio? Maceo Parker: Most of the time when James recorded, it was like live. What would happen is, [before live shows] we would rehearse or have a sound-check every day at six o'clock. It was mandatory, part of the job, that you be at the venue and ready to play or ready to rehearse at six o'clock. Lots of times James is late, and you know how musicians do, they always gonna strike up some kind of groove - the drummers can't sit back there holding sticks without hitting their drums, and guitar players gonna turn up, you know, this kind of thing. So when James comes, there's always a groove started. And this has been the beginning of a lot of James' hits, just grooves started by cats jamming around. He comes in and says, "oh, I like that, keep doin' it," you're still doing it, "oh yeah, Maceo, come play your horn," and he'd do a few grunts - and here's another song by James Brown! He tried to recreate that same kind of live feeling in the studio, and then he secretly told the engineer to turn the recorder on. With George, it's mostly over-dubbing. I mean there's multi, multi tracks of everybody's playing. And then you sit down and kinda weave this out, weave this through, maybe turn this up, maybe not have this and this part... New Funk Times: So you never did a live horn section together with the rhythm section on a P.Funk album? Maceo Parker: No, I can't think of a time when everybody just played. New Funk Times: How did stuff like the Horny Horns albums come about, was it improvised? Maceo Parker: It was thought out before we got there, and we'd sit down and read it [play written arrangements - Ed.]. There were a lot of tracks by Bootsy, and we just put the horn parts to 'em. New Funk Times: A lot of people were asking why you played so little saxophone on the European shows. Maceo Parker: I really was not a part of this. What I am trying to reach for I probably won't necessarily get by playing more on George Clinton shows, if you understand what I'm saying. If the opportunity is there, George feels that it maybe helps to boost the morale a little bit if I'm there to clown around, just my presence, that kind of thing; fine, then I'll do that. But to share more of the spotlight, to share more of the solos, to share more of the horn spots - I don't really think that's needed from a Maceo on a George Clinton show. New Funk Times: Can you think of any especially enjoyable experiences during your recent touring with George Clinton? Maceo Parker: I really like all the guys. At one time I was like the bandleader there, and then during my separation from them I felt that a little bit of the closeness we had was lost. But then somehow it was rekindled on this last tour. It takes time to rebuild a closeness which I once had with those guys, but I've done it again! That's what I think I like best about having this last little thing with George. New Funk Times: Do you think that the magic of the old Mothership shows could be repeated in the future, that the excitement could ever again reach those heights that you described? Maceo Parker: Yeah... I think what you probably need is another gimmick, or maybe even the space-ship again; because I think there still have to be a lot of people who didn't see it land yet. It would also have to go along with more current hits. But then, what I think has happened is that George has really established himself in the business... he does not really need a current hit. They just come to see him act silly and do his thing, clown around, bounce around on the stage and jump out into the audience, "make my funk the P.Funk, get off your ass and jam," this kind of thing. They like that because it's almost the other extreme to a certain extent, almost! I believe just from taking a couple of steps back and looking at it, it seems like that's what the audience likes - something that they cannot be, or would not dare to do. "We be funkin' over here, over there ain't shit", - who would have the nerve to say that? -, "I call my baby Pussy, P-U-S-S-Y", these things. But when it's done and said all in the positive "let's have fun, let's have a party" kind of mood, fine! It gives them something to talk about. New Funk Times: Let's talk about your own project: Your first jazz album is called ROOTS REVISITED - which music did you grow up with? Maceo Parker: I grew up with R&B, I heard the James Brown / Ray Charles stuff. That appealed to me at a very early age. Every now and then I would hear maybe a little Charlie Parker or John Coltrane, but my interest was stimulated a little greater when I heard Ray Charles' band with [David] "Fathead" Newman, Hank Crawford and other guys like King Curtis and Stanley Turrentine. New Funk Times: All those players you mentioned were doing both, r&b and jazz... Maceo Parker: Yeah, but their R&B stuff took my interest a little more. New Funk Times: How was work on the Menace album? Maceo Parker: What album was that? New Funk Times: DOGHOUSE, the Bill Laswell production in New York. Maceo Parker: I just came in - somebody called and said they need me to they need me to do a solo. I don't really know too much about that project. It was just a session date. A lot of times I do sessions, and I don't really know exactly who they are gonna be for. I just come in, listen to the track, do 'em and leave, and then they take it to whichever artist they think it fits with. New Funk Times: Do you like working like this? Maceo Parker: Yeah, sometimes. It depends on what mood I'm in. And a lot of it has to do with the business - if I need to make a quick dollar for whatever reason, then I'll do that. If not, I may say: "I'm too busy!" © 1989 Funkateers International - no unauthorized
republication, pleez
|
|
| Interview: Peter Jebsen | |
