JazzNation Talks With: Aaron Liddard

1.7.2001

Final part of JN's interview with Nylon Jungle bandleader Aaron Liddard the day after closing the 2001 Manchetser Jazz Festival...

JN: Last night went really well. Were you pleased with the response?
AL: I was a bit scared at first. It was a bit tepid at first. And then basically, the set worked right and it brought people up and I was buzzin'. Because I'd had visions of people sat down, y'know? And it wasn't. It was a load of people.

JN: So how long have the band been together?
AL: 18 months it's been together as a concept. Probably about 30 players have been through. I've ended up when I've got a project seeing who can do it, and half the band I was working with before can't do it, and then you move onto the next set. Then that becomes the project.

JN: Is it difficult to lead such a big band?
AL: Yes! Basically, you've got 12 individuals all with their own way of working. The only way they're gonna sound good is if they're really happy and content, and feel they're being entrusted and loved. That's what I like. But 12 really different people, and that can be really on top. Sometimes, like rehearsing this, there've been points where I've flipped into teacher mode. I've got 12 people in the room and they're prattin' around and taking the piss and I'm trying to get something done, and I'm sorry but you're gonna have to listen now, y'know? They're mates though. They're not students, they're mates and people I respect as well. And all the other. Just having to be the organiser and trying to get gigs. That's really paining me at the moment, 'cos musically I've got everyone around me, but I haven't got any business people around me. That's what I need at the moment, to sort that side out and it'll be a lot easier then.

JN: How healthy do you think the UK Jazz scene is at the moment?
AL: It's one of those things where you don't really know if you don't live somewhere else. At the end of the day, Britain is heralded the world over as a centre for music. So it's seen as great opportunities 'cos if something comes out of Britain it gets treated really well. But when you're actually here, how many full-time Jazz musicians are there in the country? Who just do that? Just play Jazz music? Not many. I feel like it's maybe at a breaking point. A moving-on point really. Between people being willing to check out something totally new and take risks and it might scare 'em a little bit, and the old school of 'it ain't Jazz unless it swings'. Because, I'm into that, but there's a lot of people who aren't into it, they're just doing it. I've got a friend who's doing House clubs with a 4-piece band. They're all producers. They're improvising and just playing grooves in a DJ place and doing it. So they're coming from that side and winning people over. And Jazz bands and Jazz musicians like myself, are putting it in a light which is danceable and acceptable to the general public.

JN: Why do you choose Manchester over London?
AL: Moved here for college. I was doing a BTEC down there and playing in a couple of bands, and my teacher on the course bullied me into applying for Uni. And I came up to Salford. And I found out that they'd had 5,000 applicants and there were only 40 places, and I got offered a place and I thought, "right". That brought me to Manchester. Brought me out of Hicksville, Buntingford, where either you work in London or you work in the factory at the end of the road, and if you don't, then there's something odd, something wrong with you. This is a really welcoming city. You can chill out here and do what you want here, and people will support you to do that. Overall, moving to London or moving to New York is on my mind.

-JN-