Below, Mark de Clive-Lowe discusses his relationship with Jazz, connects the music of Ellington and Coltrane to that of IG Culture and J Dilla, and connects the sounds of the big band to those of the MPC.

On his relationship to Jazz:
“I think I was first attracted to Jazz for the groove (especially in comparison to classical piano music which I’d been learning), and the freedom that it offered in improvisation. At each stage of my musical development, what, how and why I played was a reflection of where I was at in my life at that point in time. Now I feel a lot more settled, knowing how I want music to sound and how to make it sound like that while being conscious of keeping my own creativity evolving.”

On the meaning of Jazz to him:
“It’s more what it does not mean to me. Jazz to me is not about the vernacular or musical language that makes say, Bebop sound like Bebop. It’s about the concept and wider creative approach embodied by musicians like Ellington, Miles, Trane, Monk, Herbie and many others right through to the likes of J Dilla, IG Culture and Q-Tip.”

On Big Bands:
“I started off in a big band – in fact before the first big band gigs I did, I’d played big band in junior high school. I’m not sure I really knew what I was doing though! I’m doing some big band show in January 2009 in Holland, fusing the MPC and synths with a Jazz big band. That’s going to be dope.”