Steve Lacy

Steve Lacy came to Paris in 1965 for a few weeks, and after being stranded in Buenos Aires, went to Rome. He moved to Paris with Irene in 1970, and created probably the most significant contemporary jazz movement in the City of Light. This interview took place outside Marie-José Pillet's atelier during the going-away-surprise-party for him and Irene.

Why are you moving back to the US, to the New England Conservatory?

Steve Lacy: ...you know, it's a base, I think it's the best music school...it's about 150 years old, and all the Boston Symphony goes through there. But they have a wonderful jazz department, world music, electronic, uh, I mean it's really a comprehensive school with excellent teachers; I know a lot of the professors, they're great musicians, really, so it's very stimulating for me to be associated with them. In fact Danilo Pérez is teaching piano and composition there and he and I worked together. George Russell is one of my heroes, too, he's still teaching there, and Gunther Schuller really reorganized the place and he's a good friend of mine, and a champion, really. So it's top level.

When did you first arrive here in Paris?

Steve Lacy: Oh, in '65. Well, I didn't stay here then, I just stayed for maybe a few weeks, came back for a few more weeks, and then came back in 1970 with Irene. Irene and I came here from Rome in 1970. And we've been here since 1970 except for one year in Berlin, '96, where we were invited by the German government.

In all those years what do you consider your highlights?

Steve Lacy: I think the time, uh, there was a few highlights, quite a few; in 30 years, in more than 30 years, you have quite a few highlights, otherwise I would've gone a long time ago. But one of the greatest experiences in my life was working with the Merce Cunningham dance company at the Palais Garnier, for I think it was 10 nights. But the music was completely improvised and the dance was not at all improvised. 15 dancers in that beautiful place every night, it was one the thrills of my life. But also a lot of the things I did with Irene, doing "The Cry" at (club) Dunois, and playing at (theatre) Chatelet with Masahiko Togashi, the Japanese percussionist, and the workshop I did, and, you know we did thousands of things here, in 30 years. Specially in the beginning we played everywhere, we played in schools, libraries, museums, clubs, theaters, in parks, radio, we did everything at that point. Now I hardly play at all in Paris. So, it's wound down like that, so it's time to book.

How would you describe Irene - as a muse, companion, partner?

Steve Lacy: She's my partner, my lifetime partner, my musical partner, and my muse and my model and my friend and my mate and we've been together 35-36 years since Rome. And, see, I wrote many many things for her, maybe 250 vocal pieces, and I would never have done that without her, really. I couldn't have and I wouldn't have. So that's very important, that's one of the most important things I've ever done is all those pieces that now are very useful to other singers and to students at New England Conservatory. I did a masterclass there a year ago, a year and half ago, and the students jumped at the stuff, they just leaped right on it, and it was written for Irene, see, years ago, but it's perfect for the students, they love it, and that's very important, really. She inspired me a lot of work that I did.

And what can you say of the record industry, record producers?

Steve Lacy: There is on the wall in there, [laughter] that's only a part of it. I mean there's a discography of 50 pages or so, and that's not complete, that's from a few years ago. And most of it is out of print. It's just part of the game, part of the process, very important part, because it's at the same time documentation, representation - representation - that's very important, it represents what we do, it travels around, they get around, the records, one by one, and people find them, they collect them, they trade them, and all that, they copy them, and the music wouldn't exist without all those records, really. And the records, on the contrary, would not exist unless we had some music to back up!

18/06/2002 Copyright ©  Einar Moos