Deviations From The Formula Part 2: Ian Anderson

By John Voket

While the progressive rock band Kansas was beginning to raise eyebrows on American stages and the attention of radio listeners in the mid-‘70s with its unique instrumental formula incorporating the violin, across the pond, Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull had already carved out a unique place in the rock and roll landscape with their own variation incorporating the flute.

In fact, Anderson is commonly credited with being the first musician in the genre to tweak the conventional lineup of drums, guitar, bass and keyboards, and injecting it with flute as one of the lead instruments. It may be said that other UK musical institutions like The Moody Blues had concurrently incorporated flute into arrangements like “Knights in White Satin,” but Anderson has gone far beyond merely flavoring Jethro Tull material with an occasional flute introduction or passage.

His sharp and somewhat nasal vocals may clearly define Tull material to the average listener, but across a body of material spanning more than four decades, Anderson has concurrently stamped another trademark aspect to his material with a variety of small but infinitely expressive wind instruments led by the flute. But this elder statesman of rock and roll also plays a host of ethnic flutes and whistles together with acoustic guitar and the mandolin family of instruments, providing the acoustic textures which are an integral part of most of the Tull repertoire.

From early on in his career with Jethro Tull, and more recently as a solo artist, Anderson has cleverly tapped several centuries worth of musical history and legacy weaving medieval and classical elements into many of his compositions. And while he has utilized a wide variety of orchestral configurations in the recording process, Anderson and Jethro Tull have rarely been seen in live settings fronting this level of accompaniment – until now.

After two well-received Connecticut appearances at Torrington’s Warner Theater, and a show at Foxwoods’ Fox Theater earlier in the month, Anderson is returning to the state for the final show on his current tour which features a mix of classical interpretations, solo works and popular Tull songs backed by a wonderful and talented five-piece band and a 12-seat chamber orchestra comprised of young musicians handpicked mostly from the New England Conservatory.

That show is next Monday, October 23, at Stamford’s Palace Theater.

Anderson is no Ian-come-lately to orchestral music. He traces his interest back again to 1968, when he played with a small chamber orchestra on “A Christmas Song,” the B-side of Jethro Tull’s first single, “Love Story.”

Tull went on to record with string instruments throughout the 1970s, including several tracks on its classic album Aqualung, as well as a bevy of other songs: “Living in the Past,” “Bungle in the Jungle,” “Songs from the Wood,” “Heavy Horses” and numerous tunes on the album “Minstrel in the Gallery.”

Except for studio sessions, Anderson had more or less given up on string sections until four years ago when a German orchestra asked that he join them for a few performances. Rather than take a paycheck, Anderson traded his services for orchestral sheet-music charts, some of which he’s using on this tour.

The Torrington set showcased Anderson in peak form, singing and chatting animatedly in between with the audience. He primarily performed with flute in hand, and occasionally on acoustic guitar. 

Material included classic and obscure Tull Material: “Living in the Past,” “Life is a Long Song,” “Wond ‘ring Aloud,” “Cheap Day Return,” “Mother Goose,” and the obligatory title track from Aqualung, “Thick as a Brick,” as well as “Locomotive Breath.” Anderson sprinkled the set with solo material like “Eurology,” “Griminelli’s Lament,” and a tune dedicated to one of his many beloved feline’s “Runtie.”

But the most impressive aspects of the show were Anderson’s takes on Mozart, Bach and a host of American composers in various interpreations and medleys which allowed the orchestra to shine.

During an exclusive interview with The Newtown Bee the morning after his second night of the tour, Ian Anderson talked about gearing up for the tour, his new take on the classics, wild cats, and most importantly, what’s in store for audience members during the Stamford Palace set on October 23.

Newtown Bee: You started spreading your wings in recent years touring with orchestra accompaniment, but this tour is decidedly different than the last in that you hired and rehearsed with a set group of musicians for the entire trip instead of picking up a new group of musicians in each location. I imagine that makes it easier on you in many ways?

Ian Anderson: Yes, on this last tour we had a different group of musicians each night. But this is a different operation where I auditioned a number of brilliant musicians from the New England Conservatory in Boston for these 22 shows.

We suffered a setback (before the tour) when our conductor and keyboard player was told by doctors he was unable to travel because of a recurring illness and was forced to cancel. That put us in an uphill battle with only one day of rehearsal scheduled and suddenly being without a conductor. So we went to the ranks of Jethro Tull for our keyboard player (Andrew Giddings).

NB: What kind of opportunities does working with an orchestra afford you versus the more compact configuration of Jethro Tull?

IA: It’s an opportunity to do some Jethro Tull pieces just the way they were recorded. It wasn’t uncommon to include chamber orchestra on Jethro Tull recordings throughout our history, to include orchestral parts on our material. Then there were Jethro Tull songs without orchestra like “Aqualung” and “Locomotive Breath,” which require creating new parts including additional music.

It’s not as simple as having the entire orchestra, say, play the guitar part there, or the keyboard part here. We create rather more subtle and sometimes more melodically pleasing sections for the orchestra. And they aren’t eye candy, just waving their bows around. These guys are working hard all the time and some of the music has challenging degrees of rhythmic intensity playing in complicated time signatures.

NB: So the audience will actually be hearing material that has never been played live by you before?

IA: There’s a bunch of material like classical Mozart themes done in a jazz/folk style, and a number by Bach all done in ways stepping outside of the classical renditions to the realm of improvisation, taking the themes to new time signatures and keys. I like to take old dogs for new walks down the street. This may offend the purists, but Mozart and Bach were improvising kind of guys and I should think they would rather approve of someone taking a piece of their music and giving it a different perspective. You can dress it up in a new suit of clothes, but you can’t destroy a good melody.

NB: I understand that these are not veteran musicians, but I imagine there is something to be said for the youthful exuberance of college-age performers?

IA: The great thing about working with young musicians – the average age of our orchestra is about 22 – is they’ve all grown up in the years of rap, electronic drum machines and absolutely strict, repetitive tempo, so they have a better sense of rhythm than the older folks tend to be. They also seem to have a greater awareness of music outside their traditional world, of multi-cultural music. I feel every time I get on the stage it is as much an opportunity for me to learn something, as it is for them to learn something.

NB: Is it true you are even going one step further inviting a local young musician at each stop on the tour to audition and sit in with the orchestra during sound check and even rubbing elbows with you in front of the ensemble during a sort of solo duet?

IA: It’s giving young people a chance a bit of an opportunity they might not otherwise have. It’s a difficult world out there for young classical musicians. Around the globe, orchestras are under greater economic threat than ever before. There’s little money in the purse to support orchestras these days, consequently most orchestras are forced to enter the harsh world of the high ticket price, and frequently have to work for very little money just to get a gig. And unfortunately I too often see the ones who drop out are often the really great players who can’t get into great orchestras – who end up working as cocktail waitresses and florists. But then again, working with me can have mixed blessings as well, I imagine (laughing).

NB: In recent years you have not only received a lot of press for your musical pursuits, but for your advocacy on the part of the world’s wild cats. How did that come about?

IA: Since I was a small child I had an interest in wild cats, more than the domesticated fluffy things. And in recent years I’ve been building a number of initiatives in regards to the conservation of some small wild cats species throughout the world, leaving saving the whales and crusades toward the cancellation of third world debt to others who seem to have much greater talent for these sorts of these big issues. I’ve decided to stick up for the smaller species – the undercats of the world.

Tickets for the Ian Anderson Orchestra Tour’s final stop at the Palace Theater in Stamford are still available through Telecharge by calling 800-233-3123 or clicking on www.telecharge.com.