Jonathan Scales & Jay White & Xavier Breaker－Jonathan Scales Fourchestra－美国爵士乐队
DB：你从什么时候有了组建这个乐队的想法？When did you come up with the idea of forming this jazz fusion band?
Jonathan: 我在2007年时萌生这个想法。我当时想组建一个乐队演奏自己的乐队，而我需要一些有天赋并擅长不同乐器的音乐家一起协助我完成这个目标。我的音乐演奏过程有些复杂，需要与队员相互了解和时间磨合。因此，我开始和一些跟自己兴趣相仿的伙伴一起合作和演奏我们的音乐。
Jonathan: I first came up with the idea in 2007. I wanted to form a group to play my original music and I needed some talented musicians who specialise in different instruments to do it because my music is sort of complicated such as the cooperation in timing and some small details that entail mutual understanding. So I started to work with some like-minded people and put the group together to play our music, which is just like a vehicle for the music.
DB：乐队的名字是个有趣的合成词，里面包含了“四”的概念。可乐队中目前只有三名成员，这是为什么呢？The band name “Fourchestra” includes “Four”, what does the “Four” mean when your band only has three members?
Jonathan: 其实每个人都想知道这是为什么。其实在2007年时，我们是用“四重奏（Quartet）”而不是“四人组（Fourchestra）”。但我发现当时太多乐队用这个名字了，所以我们才决定把它换掉。这个乐队一开始有四个成员，现在剩下三个。但无论怎样，我们还是保留了这个名字。
Jonathan: Everybody wants to know why is that. In fact, it started with “Quartet” rather than “Fourchestra” in 2007. But I don’t want the band name to be called “Johnathan Scales Quartet” because I think everyone uses “Quartet” as part of their band names and I don’t want the name to look boring by just repeating each member’s name. The band used to have four members, but now it only has three, so anyhow we still keep it that way.
DB：你们音乐的创作灵感来自哪里？What are the inspirations for your music creation?
Johnathan: 他们来自不同的音乐家们，包括我曾经合作过的音乐家。他们的音乐感染力是灵感的重要源泉。比如，这位音乐家也许是名爵士乐者，由于他对音乐的执着和态度，让他所表现出的感染力启发了我。有些时候，现场表演也会启发我的临时创作。我甚至会在其他的东西获得启发，比如不同的语言。
Johnathan: They come from some musicians, including the musicians that I have played with. Their influences are what matter. For example, he may be a Jazz musician and what he plays influences me because he has his own spirit and attitude in his music, which can inspire me. Sometimes, actual live shows can influence my plans of creation. I am even influenced by some random things such as languages.
Jay: 由于每个人在音乐的造诣和理解上存在不同，因此在与其他音乐家或者明星合作会让你在不同程度上获得灵感和影响力。如果定位自己十分重要，因为这是你对观众诠释与交流音乐的方式。
Jay: Working with other musicians or stars can help you get some inspirations and influences in various scales because what you do is different and they have different experiences and voices from yours. So how to brand yourself is very important, because this is what you want to present to your audience and how you want to communicate with them.
DB：爵士与钢锅的结合十分新奇和创新，请问你是如何将两者融合，为什么呢？It is creative when Jazz is combined with the steel pans. How did you manage to put them together and why?
Jonathan: 我觉得这很简单，因为我并不是要故意去制造什么。我只是接收到某些东西的影响，然后这些影响让我不自觉地想将其融入创作，让其代表我个人的声音。说到融合，我的看法是这样的：如果你妈妈是德国人，你爸爸是中国人，你会想为什么这两类人和这两种文化能够毫发无伤地相处在一起。答案很简单：那是因为我们就是我们，你的与众不同和影响力都能积极地影响他人，并产生新的融合。
Jonathan: I think it is easy because I am not trying to do anything deliberately. I am influenced by things around me and those influences empower me to make it happen. All I know is that it has to represent my voice. Speaking of fusion, let me put it this way: if your mother is a German and your father is a Chinese, you may ask why the two different people or cultures can be together. The answer is simple: it is because of you. You have your own influence and that influence empowers the other and the new fusion just comes out.
DB：最近大热电影《爱乐之城》中有句关于爵士乐非常经典的台词，“爵士是属于未来的，如果你一直守旧不前，你怎能掀起革新？”。你认为自己是爵士乐中的革命者吗？In the recent film LaLa Land, there is a very famous saying about Jazz, which is ‘Jazz is about the future. If you hold on to the past, how can you make a revolution?’ Will you see yourself as a revolutionist in the Jazz music that you create?
Jonathan: 我创作的音乐是一种自我的影响力，而它融合了一切。我与拥有不同才华和想法的人合作，并且我十分享受。我不认为这是有什么不同，或者我们正在突破些什么。我们只是在创作。人们常说，“嘿，你在突破自我哦”。他们以为，只要你融入了新的东西后，这就是创新或革新。他们要这样想，我不会阻止的。但我个人纯属热爱音乐创作，继续做好自己的音乐，与自己兴趣相仿的人一起合作和玩音乐，因此我并不认为这算是创新或革新。我喜欢这个乐器，我喜欢它和我音乐搭配起来的感觉，我就用了。若人们继续认为这就是创新，我不会阻碍的，只是我个人不这么想。
Jonathan: The music I want to make is like an influence in myself and it is a combination of everything. I work with people with different talents and ideas and I very much enjoy it. I don’t think it different and I don’t see it that we are pushing the boundary. We are just doing what we have been doing. People would say, “man, this is pushing a boundary” and in their minds, it means something new happening. I just let them think that way. I purely enjoy my music, keep making my music and get like-minded people together to play the music. So, I don’t think it revolutionary or something different. I like this instrument and I like how it goes with my music and that is it. I just let people think what they may want to think, but personally, I don’t see it that way.
DB：你认为中国如何？你觉得这是个汲取灵感的好地方吗？How do you think about China? Do you think it would be a good place for you to get inspired for your music?
Jay：当然。对我而言，我从来没来过中国，而在这里，我们乐队能体验不同的文化；能了解到中国的音乐是如何影响别人，如何与听众交流，跟我们的音乐到底有什么不同。一旦知道了“这种音乐是如何交流的”，这种感觉真的很棒，即便这两种语言互不相通。我认为这可以让我们获取新的灵感。比如，京剧具有经典和传统的影响力，将它与传统的爵士融合一起，这将会是一场全新的冒险。
Jay: Definitely. Personally, it is a place I have never been before and here we can experience different cultures; we can know how Chinese music influences people and how it feels and communicates with ours differently. It is very awesome to know how ‘the conversation’ happens even if the two languages are different and I think this is what helps us get some new inspirations. For instance, Peking Opera is a classical influence and blending it with something classical like Jazz would be a new adventure.
