John Boswell
LOVE STORIES:
An Interview with John Boswell
The titles John Boswell gives to his albums don't beat around the bush. TRUST, released in 1998, got the pianist a GLAMA award for Male Artist of the Year. And no wonder. The 39 year old pianist bares his soul on this intimate record, sending his music straight to the listener's heart. Tall and ruggedly handsome, with a vulnerable smile, Boswell has carved out an unusual career for himself, writing a musical with actor Tim Robbins, working with artists like Judy Collins and Andy Williams, as well as putting in an appearance on the hit television soap "General Hospital." But the piano is Boswell's forte, as his latest collection of tender musical confessions -- resonantly titled LOVE -- proves with such sincere eloquence. Andrew Farach-Colton spoke with Boswell about TRUST, LOVE, and other affairs of the heart in a coffee shop not far from the artist's Hollywood home.
barnesandnoble.com: For an album entitled LOVE, there are several songs that are surprisingly wistful, even dark.
John Boswell: Well, love isn't always pretty. I want to cover more than just the elated kind of love. Based on my own experiences, and the experiences of the people I know, love isn't always a picnic.
bn.com: Like TRUST, your previous album, this new disc is more intimate and personal than your first few recordings.
JB: It's not conscious. I just feel more relaxed about my writing and my playing. I'm more focused.
bn.com: Well, even if there are no words, your music has a narrative quality, like there's a story hidden somewhere in each song.
JB: I think that probably comes from my experience working with actors. I look at each song like it's a miniature play. Although when I compose, I'm not always specific in my head about any details, there's often some conflict in the middle which is resolved, or maybe not. Some of the songs just leave you hanging at the end.
bn.com: So the melodies are the actors and as they have experiences, their character changes.
JB: Exactly. Or you can think of it as a snowball rolling down a hill. It just gets bigger and bigger, and sometimes it even goes out of control!
bn.com: You write in the liner notes for LOVE: "It's hard for me to describe my thoughts about love with words. I find it easier to express with music." Was it more difficult to write "When You Take My Hand," the only song on the record which has lyrics?
JB: No, because I wrote the music first. And actually, the music is based on a song from TRUST called "From the Heart." But writing words is really difficult for me. It's so much easier to say things through music. I like to say that English is my second language and music is my first. I really feel that way.
bn.com: What inspires you to write a song?
JB: I'm most successful when I have some image of something in my head. Sometimes I'm moved by something I've seen during the day and I'll just come home and play, but I usually don't just sit down and let whatever comes out come out because then there's no focus. I feel most focused when I have a picture of something -- an emotion or a vision or imagining a story of some sort. In my live shows I often ask the audience to give me an image and I'll just play with that. I get some strange suggestions, but it's a great exercise.
bn.com: How does your classical training affect your music?
JB: My classical background gave me a larger menu to work with and I feel I'm a better pianist because of it. Everybody has limitations, of course, but I don't feel too limited when I sit down at the piano.
bn.com: There's an intricacy and richness of texture to your music that one doesn't always hear from other "new age" pianists. Maybe this is a product of your classical background, too?
JB: Yes, that's probably true, but I'm usually not aware of it. Sometimes I'll be playing the melody just with the pinkie of my right hand and then another melody with my thumb, second and third fingers. I'm not really thinking about it, it's just a natural thing that happens. I think I got that from my dad, who was a great improviser.
bn.com: Who else besides your father influenced you?
JB: Leonard Bernstein, because of the way he mixed styles. I was also into Burt Bacharach -- I got into pop music through him. Bacharach used rhythms that nobody else in pop music was using and I really got turned on by that.
bn.com: Since LOVE is on your mind, what's the most romantic music you can think of?
JB: Rachmaninov's music is pretty darned romantic, especially the adagio of the Second Symphony.
bn.com: What are you listening to these days?
JB: Dusty Springfield -- I'm a big fan of hers. In fact, I dedicated the new record to her.
bn.com: What comes after LOVE?
JB: TRUST and LOVE are the first parts of a trilogy. HOPE's coming next. It's interesting, after I've finished something I realize that on some subconscious level I've really been writing music about things I need to work on in my life. That's what happened with TRUST. I was in a relationship where trust was a big issue. And LOVE...need I say more? Though strangely enough, LOVE is the only record I've written when I wasn't in love. HOPE is about wanting a good future -- not just personally, but for the planet. I also think HOPE has something to do with my turning 40 in the year 2000.
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