SCENE SCRIBE
By Michael Swanger scenescribe@mchsi.com
Jet set jazz pianist covers the continents creatively
Local jazz presenter Abe Goldstien has been looking for the right pianist to play the grand Steinway at The Caspe Terrace in Waukee where he occasionally hosts free-form jazz concerts. Little did he know that his search would end in Tel Aviv, Israel.
On Monday, Sept. 14, Israeli-born pianist Anat Fort will make her Iowa debut when her trio, including bassist Gary Wang and drummer Roland Schneider, takes the stage in Waukee.
“Abe sounds like the dream presenter because he simply does it for the love of the music,” said Fort via telephone from her Tel Aviv home. “He’s been so generous with us already that I can’t wait to get there.”
Fort, however, will log in several thousand miles before that happens. Two days before she performs at Caspe Terrace, she plays a show in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Incidentally, the day after her concert here, she performs in New York City.
“Gary will bring lots of hip CDs for us to listen to, and we’ll spend lots of time catching up,” Fort said of the lengthy drives between gigs. “We’ll have a great time.”
Such is life for the 39-year-old musician who was born near Tel Aviv, studied classical piano as a child and began improvising jazz at an early age. During the early 1990s, she spent four years in New Jersey attending college before moving to New York City to pursue her career. For the last 17 years, she has maintained two homes on two continents living in Tel Aviv and Brooklyn, though she now prefers the pace of her homeland.
“It’s not been the easiest way to live,” Fort said. “In the past couple of years, I have spent more time in Tel Aviv to be closer to family and this way of life. The daily grind of New York is exhausting… But I also have a lot of friends who are artists there, musicians, painters and photographers, people who I can talk to in a way I can’t talk to other people.”
Fort began sharing her music with the world in 1999 when she formed her trio in New York and became a force on its alt-jazz scene. That same year, she released her independent debut album, “Peel,” followed by 2007’s “A Long Story” for ECM Records, which put her on the world map.
“After I released that album, my name started getting out and I started getting calls from people in places less well-known than Des Moines to perform,” Fort said. “I feel so lucky to get requests like that from places I didn’t know about until I heard from them.”
Fort also considers herself lucky to have maintained her trio for the last 10 years. They used to rehearse weekly but can’t do so now because Fort spends more time in Tel Aviv and Schneider has returned to his native Germany. Nonetheless, the group continues to tour and record without missing a beat.
“When we all lived in Brooklyn, it was easy,” Fort said. “Now we’re on three continents. But I think we’re more focused and excited when we meet. It’s like added motivation.”
Though Fort is concentrated on touring, writing new material and the release of her third album in 2010, one day she said she might like to own or co-own a music venue in Tel Aviv.
“I get offers to play here, but there aren’t as many options as there are in New York. There is an amazing amount of talent here and the audiences are here, but there are not enough places to play,” Fort said. “One day, maybe, I could open a place where people could enjoy high art all week long and not just on weekends or having to rely on rock bands in between to make money.”
Meanwhile, a ticket and short drive to Waukee are cheaper than airfare to Tel Aviv. Just ask Fort. CV
