AN INTERVIEW WITH WAYNE NAUS
by Trey Stuvek,
Berklee News Paper, "The Groove"
TS--- GIVE US A QUICK HISTORY OF MOKSHA AND WHY AND HOW YOU CHOSE THE
NAME.
WN--- I began the group in the Mid 1970’s and at that time performed
numerous concerts around the Boston area. In 1982 I dissolved the group
to persue other musical directions such as Latin Jazz, Be-bop and Big
Band music. It was in 1998 that I decided it was time to regroup Moksha
and continue where we left off. The band still maintains the same musical
direction and philosophy, but due to the changes in technology, we incorporate
contemporary sounds combined with computer generated visual effects.
The name “Moksha” comes from Sanskrit and means” freedom”.
Kenny Werner makes reference to it in his book “Effortless Mastery”.
I first discovered the word in 1975 when I was interested in the philosophy
of Allen Watts. I adopted the name for the band because I felt it appropriately
represented our music and where the music seemed to be leading us.
TS--- WHO ARE THE OTHER MEMBERS OF MOKSHA AND HOW
LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING WITH THEM?
WN---The first meeting of the new group in December 1998 was memorable
in that the temperature with the wind chill was -50 degrees. The musicians
that came out to play on that day with a band they really new nothing
about, are the same musicians in the group today. I feel very fortunate
to have such incredible musicians that are willing to play my music. They
are : Joe Mulholland - Synthesizer and Either Way Therimin. Dino Govoni
- Tenor Sax, Berke McKelvey -Atmospheres and Sound Design, Bob Schlink
-Viatar, John DiSanto -Drums, Michael Farquharson-Bass and myself on electric
trumpet. Vasshua Vassyuk is our recording engineer and has been with us
since the beginning. His ability to mix the music is really amazing; he’ll
spend months on each performance and literally listens closely to each
beat on Pro Tools.
TS--- What could you tell those not hip to your
group’s music about Moksha?
WN---The first thing I would say is that “It’s not about a
style...it’s about an adventure”. The music is designed for
mind travel, and that is where the adventure comes in. We like to create
a audio and visual backdrop for mind travel. The interesting thing about
this music is that it can be experienced on many levels simultaneously
depending on what your interests are. You can get real close and listen
to it on a technical level, or step back and view it from a distance.
Recently we started to project original computer generated cyber animation
behind the band while we play. The animation, created by Berklee graduate,
Raleigh Green, adds yet another dimension to the overall experience.
2. Each performance is approximatly one hour in length with no breaks
between tunes. I compose three or four tunes for each performance. We
decide on the order in which they will be played but everything between
each tune is an improvisational interlude. When we rehearse, we only rehearse
the tunes. Quite often these interludes provide material for future compositions.
I would say each performance is approximately 30% written and 70% improvised.
This assures many musical surprises along the way for the listener as
well as the performers. The challenge for this style of performance is
to maintain a feeling of forward musical momentum. It requires experienced
players to pull it off.
Ts--- You seem to incorporate many other elements
into your music (crazy sound FX, A/V FX,etc.). When did you start doing
that? What influenced you to start doing so?
WN--- I was incorporating pre-recorded sounds into the music from the
very beginning. I felt it helped to give the music a depth and direction
which makes the listening experience more unique. Anything goes-from whale
sounds to waves to someone speaking Swedish but in reverse. Berke McKelvey
is our sound design person. He is mainly responsible for “ finding
the perfect balance of sonic perspective and density”.
Bob Schlink plays an instrument which he invented called a “Viatar”.
It’s a cross between a violin and a guitar. Very interesting colors.
Our synthesizer player, Joe Mulholland also plays an Either Way Therimin.
It usually creates a little humor in each performance which we feel is
important. I am running my trumpet through a variety of electronic effects
which adds to the overall sound of the band.
Ts--- Any future gigs or important events we should
know about?
WN---Our venues are somewhat limited due to our sound system requirements.
As a result, we have been limited, but fortunate enough to perform in
the Berklee Performance Center almost each semester. Hopefully we will
have a date in the Spring at the BPC. Last summer during the 5-week program,
we had saxophonist, Dave Liebman, as a guest. His style of playing was
a perfect match for our music. Until our next performance you can visit
our web site at www.mokshamusic.com
We have CD’s available, anyone interested can contact me at my Berklee
extension 617-744-8293. Thank’s Trey for the interview !!
Wayne Naus is a full time faculty member at Berklee
College of Music. In addition to teaching Core Harmony courses, he
conducts the Berklee
Tower Of Power Ensemble, teaches his own composition elective entitled
“The Music Of The Yellowjackets” and is the author of “Beyond
Functional Harmony” published by Advance
Music.