My guest is a very versatile jazz musician. I won't dwell on his history as it is well covered in the bio on his site. I present to you Marty Namaro... Hi and welcome to the ezine I hope I did not intrude? Hello Claude! No, you aren't intruding. It's a pleasure to be talking to you. You have an interesting artistic history from early childhood piano lesson to composer arranger with a little bit of acting added for good measure. How much is just fate and how much is active artistic pursuit? In my case, both are intertwined. My father was a professional musician in Toronto, Canada. He worked primarily in the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) studios, and knew a lot of artistic people: actors, singers, dancers, writers, and artists. So, most of the guests that came to our house were in the arts and they were a great influence on me. My father's hobby was painting and he had many fine art books around the house, which captured my interest, too. In addition, my mother had always been a great music lover and lover of the arts. She had some musical talent, too. She played the mandolin. So, consequently, I was in an artistic environment all of the time. My sisters were much older than I was and weren't around very much, hence, I was alone quite frequently and I found solace in drawing and writing stories. Also, like a lot of little boys, I enjoyed detective stories and the super-heroes of the day and often acted out action skits with the neighborhood kids. Through out junior high and high school my favorite classes were music and drama. So, to make a long story short, as an adult, even though I've worked some "day jobs", my heart and soul are connect to the arts. It's my life. I feel the passion is there because of the early influences in my life and perhaps because of what I call my "artistic genes". Also, my wife is as passionate about the arts as I am and has always been supportive of my artistic life style, which helps immensely. As I already admitted in another interview I am not very well verse in Jazz.What was the attraction that made you decide on that genre? As I mentioned above, my father was a professional musician and jazz and classical music was constantly played around the house. Also, my father worked on both sides of the border and met many of the jazz greats over the years. He was personal friends with people like Teddy Wilson, Joe Williams, Buddy Greco and Major Holley. We would go down to our local jazz clubs and see these people and many others, whenever they were in town. Some of them were dinner guests at our home. So, in a way, I was intimately involved with jazz. I love the spontaneity and improvisational aspects of it. We do share an affinity for percussion and rythm section. You as musician me as listener:-) What instrument in particular get's you excited at the prospect of composing for? It depends on what I hear with the tune. For example, I've written enough material for 2 more CDs. One of the new CDs will be based on Leonardo Da Vinci's great works and inventions. One tune is called, "Solo for Wheel-Driven Drums", and it is a drum solo with tympani and piano backing it. (Da Vinci was interested in musical instruments and drew plans for snare drums and kettledrums equipped with a toothed wheel to make the roll easy and regular.) My other CD is about the UFO phenomenon (another fascinating topic in which I'm interested). I have a tune called, "Flying Discs Over the Cascades", which is basically an up-tempo tune with "walking" string bass and drums, played with brushes, with a fragmented hybrid chord building off of the rhythm section. Since, I also play drums and bass, I try to give them as much as a compositional role as the piano by making them three equal voices. Your CD "Abstractionism" is not only a musical masterwork. But it is also visually impressive. Who did the artistic design? Thank you! I wish I could say that I designed it, but actually it was designed by the art department of Disc Makers, the company that duplicated my CD. My producer and wife, Angela and I had a few ideas about what we wanted, artistically. We showed them photos of some Salvador Dali paintings that we liked, and told them that we wanted to incorporate some other abstract items into the cover and inserts. They came up with some great stuff, we fine-tuned it a little, and the result is what you see. They did an excellent job! The title of some of the pieces are very expressive I refer to: "The social morality of immorality" "Skirmish of the mind" and "strange beings of futurity" to name a few... Those are social commentaries wrapped up in one neat sentence. Congratulation! Do you favor a special social cause in particular? I don't have a special social cause. However, I feel that humanity has reached a time where we have some interesting technological toys, but socially, philosophically, emotionally and morally (I hate that word, because it's so overused, but it's applicable here) have entered a dark age. I feel that the old authorities and institutions that we have had and continue to support are starting to crumble and collapse. It's clear that we truly need to evolve or become extinct. I realize that all of this has been said before, but it appears most of us are too self-absorbed and self-involved to notice or to care. I feel that most social causes are an appeasement to the corrosion of humanity. It's almost like putting a tiny bandage on a large, gaping wound. It doesn't help much. We are clearly primitive and superstitious and have not really changed our ways in thousands of years. 1) We are still at war with one another. 2) We are as corrupt as ever. 3) We still allow the few to rule over the many. 4) When all is said and done, we are a completely disingenuous group. Humanity is capable of rising above this. But, I feel, it will involve a completely new structure of life. Radically different from what we have or have ever had. It will require great courage and honesty to really open up our minds as we have never done before. I certainly apreciated the "Ode to Wells" one of my favorite "social" writer... What marked you in Wells literature? What is your favorite work by Wells? My mother was a fan of H.G. Wells' writings. She introduced me to him. I remember getting my first library card, checking out and reading, "The Time Machine". I have several favorites, but I think "The First Men in the Moon", is my very favorite. I always loved the characters of Bedford and Professor Cavour. Really strong characters! I felt as though I was actually going to the moon in the sphere with them, that I, too, was jumping around on the surface of the moon and that I was watching their skirmish with the Selenites (the moon people). And then feeling Bedford's final frustrations at the end of the story of losing the sphere, because a little boy tampered with the controls and whoosh, off it went! It's engaging, exciting, and quite funny. As mentioned I am not a fan of Jazz however, Your CD draws me in. It is a great stress reliever:-) The complicated undertones mixed with engaging melodic moods really makes for one relaxing musical experience. Was that the main focus or just an added benefit? I'm glad that my CD has somewhat relieved your stress! The other day, someone else was telling me much the same thing. I'm not really sure, but I think using acoustic instruments helps. No electronics involved. The music is less intense, perhaps, because of that. Plus, I try to use dynamics, interesting harmonies and pretty melodies. That would be my guess. It's nice to know that I left you with those feelings. What is for you the hardest part of creating? Finding a topic in which I'm interested, one that really stimulates me. This is what starts my compositional juices flowing. For example, the music I've written for my next two CDs are, as I've mentioned, about Leonardo Da Vinci and the UFO phenomenon. Both are very stimulating topics for me. I feel some really nice tunes have come out of the music for those future CDs, some of it better than the music on "Abstractionisms". The bio fails to mention if you ever got back to comics reading, Do you have a current favorite? I have been wandering around the comic book stores, recently, and have bought the odd issue or two. But, I must be honest with you; I buy mostly the old comics from the 50's and 60's that I had as a youth. The comics today are slicker and the artwork is better, but the stories are a bore. Perhaps the comics of my youth were slightly corny and naive, but I feel that they were produced in a more imaginative time. People today lack so much imagination. Perhaps, it's because of technology or maybe it's because they aren't using enough independent thought. I don't know. I do know that I watch TV as little as possible and I only use my computer sending or getting email. I mostly read books, think, play and write music. I guess I'm a pretty boring person by today's standards. Which brings me to your next question. When you are not being musical what do you do for fun & relaxation? For the most part, my wife and I and our cat lead a very sedate life. We don't go out much. Usually, our biggest outing of the week is to go grocery shopping! I'm just kidding about the grocery shopping! But, in truth, we really don't go out much. We prefer to read, talk, or listen to music. I do have a telescope and occasionally, do some star gazing, but at the moment, I mostly practice piano and drums, try out new musical ideas, write, and recently, I've taken up string bass, which relaxes and centers me. (I already play electric bass, but string bass is almost like taking up a new instrument.) Thank you for doing the zineterview! You're very welcome! Any parting words for the readers? I would say to the readers to follow their hopes and dreams, and never allow anybody to negate them. No matter how well meaning that person seems to be. Visit the website: http://www.MartyNamaro.com Get the cd at: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/namaro or at amazon.com email comment to: abstractionisms@yahoo.com Place your comments in the forum!

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