Pianist Paul English is well known to Houston audiences. The popularity of his jazz groups in the 1980s, groups that played English’s original compositions as well as the traditional standards, helped establish some of the most successful venues of that time, including Cody’s, Cezanne, The Blue Moon, Ovations and The French Quarter.

Over the past week, whenever I mentioned to someone that I was writing about Paul English, they would immediately respond: “Paul English! I LOVE Paul English!”

This is a musician who has made quite an impression on music lovers both casual and serious.

“Most of my public life is about jazz,” English says. “And I figure jazz is about 20 percent of my musical life. I’m 100 percent passionate about it. It’s a lifelong pursuit … but most of my musical life is not about jazz.”

English is referring to his work as a studio musician, arranger and producer, where he often works with country, rock and R&B artists. He’s also referring to the several works he’s composed for chamber ensembles, choral groups and orchestras.

In February 2012, the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra will premiere what the company's website describes as a “jazz influenced” work by English for a 40-piece orchestra — no piano and no rhythm section. That news, as well as the praises sung by my friend singer Kim Crowder regarding English’s teaching inspired me to reach out to him for a talk about music, Houston and the business of making art.

What’s an Oratorio?

Born in Denton, Texas and raised in Refugio near Corpus Christi, English grew up in a family with three sisters. While his mother took care of the girls, English spent a lot of time with his father, a jazz musician, trombone player and educator, who would take his young son with him on jobs.

“I grew up playing by ear, before I could talk as far as I know… in my head when I was eight I was writing my first oratorio," English says. "I didn’t know what an oratorio was! I just liked the music.”

In addition to playing a piano at home that had been originally delivered for his older sister to take lessons on, English had his father show him how to finger and play many other instruments. Arriving with his father to a venue for a gig, English says, “I had every instrument at my disposal, like a toy factory.

"That’s the way I learned how to arrange, by playing all of these instruments and getting a feel for where they could play and how they sounded … I started writing arrangements in elementary school.”

English says he was improvising from day one; that it was “the most natural thing.” He observed and listened to his older sister play classical pieces, and then would play them himself from memory without the pressure of a piano teacher’s instructions.

Not surprisingly, when it comes to music education, English considers ear training “vital.” However, with regard to being able to read music and having an understanding music theory, English says, “If you’re going to be a musician, how can you not love it enough to not do your homework? If you want to learn to read (music) you can do it. If you can’t read, you’re going to be in situations where somebody’s gonna have to pick up your slack. And a lot of times, it’s me in the studio!”

So English wouldn’t agree that reading interferes with musical expression?

“Oh, it can!” English says. “Sure! Musicians are the worst …we learn how to read very well. We learn how to read (and play) all the patterns and all the transcribed solos … but so what? Jazz musicians of this age have better facility on their instruments than ever before. The young musicians play their horns better than any of the great masters, because that’s where the emphasis is in the education.

"But to me, the emphasis should be on sitting down, looking somebody in the eye and having a meaningful conversation. Regardless of what you’ve read, what have you experienced? What do you know?”

Jazz Becomes A Fad

After studying jazz at the University of Miami, English went on to complete a bachelor's and master's in music composition at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. He’s been a part of Houston’s musical community since then (at least a few decades) and spoke to the current state of jazz in the city.

“It’s a struggle. There was a time … in the mid '70s to mid '80s (when) there were a ton of clubs for jazz. Around '83, the oil crunch caught up to Houston and they all went away. (Before that) we had a very young town, everybody had way too much money, we were partying and jazz became a fad. Houston has never had an old guard dyed-in-the-wool jazz audience, like Chicago or New York.

"But back then, (jazz) became a fad. For eight or nine years my band played six nights a week … we were working locally and making a living. That’s one of the reasons I stayed in Houston.”

With all the attention Houston is getting now, from magazines like Fast Company and Forbes, which tout the city as an up and coming “boomtown,” will that translate into more opportunities for musicians and more venues for listening?

“I don’t believe there’s a large part of the population that’s waiting for jazz to come back,” English says. “But I do believe there are opportunities for jazz entrepreneurs. If you want to put together a jazz venue and promote it, if you get people in there and spending money, then you can call the shots.

"You can play whatever you want! If you’re willing to promote it and make it a successful business, it will nurture itself. That’s what happened in the '80s.

“The social atmosphere is critical. That’s what jazz clubs were in the '70s and '80s. It was fun to go to those clubs, a great place to take your friends from out of town. And sometimes, my colleagues and I are too egotistical to admit that that’s part of the deal.”

Beauty

Being relatively new to Houston, I haven’t had the opportunity to hear Paul English play live. Instead, I’ve had to be content checking out English’s music on a mix CD he was kind enough to burn for me before our interview. I’ve also perused some of his scores for voice and piano and voice, flute and piano.

This may be my own ignorance talking here, but the musician I thought of after hearing English’s chamber music-like arrangement of his tune “Beauty,” a tune he composed when he was just 18 years old, was guitarist Ralph Towner.

“Tremendous influence!” English confirmed, going on to say he has had the pleasure of working with Towner’s colleagues percussionist Colin Walcott and woodwinds player Paul McCandless. Harkening back to his childhood exploration of numerous instruments, cello, classical guitar, oboe and flute often play, double or harmonize his composed melodies, while soloists, including former Miles Davis alum David Leibman, lead the music into uncharted realms.

The shadow play of major and minor keys, an unforced quality to the melodic writing and soloing, and an aural “vibe” reminiscent of classic ECM recordings from the late '70s and early '80s, are all parts of a sound I am starting to identify with many of Houston’s jazz composers.

Of course, real “Beauty” is multifaceted, not just superficially “pretty.” And that concept is present in all of English’s music. And his repertoire is huge! There’s so much I still have to hear.

The Joy of Writing for Acoustic Instruments

So how does one get a commission from the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra?

“Most of this is networking, like any other business,” English says. “Someone hears a piece you wrote and they like it. A little bit of self promotion, someone’s looking for some new blood, something from the street … all of these things come into play.”

“(With) my first commission from the Houston Symphony, they were looking for a different audience. At the time I wasn’t known as a “serious” composer. I was playing a lot more, we had large audiences (and) they came to me because they were looking for a new audience.”

In the early stages of composing a work for orchestra, is it helpful to go back and listen to and study the scores of classical or contemporary repertoire?

“Yes,” English says. “I write everyday but I haven’t written an orchestra piece in years. So you have to be realistic … I pop my knuckles and warm up and I go back and listen to the classics. I have a precious library of scores … I know I’m not going to copy these guys. It’s like studying Bach. When you go back you always see something you didn’t see before.”

“People ask me: ‘Do you hear all of this music in your head?’ Yes! Of course. And it sounds exactly like I imagined it. And, it sounds completely different.”

“A big part of that is the human input. When you get into a rehearsal you’re dealing with different personalities … that’s the joy of writing for acoustic instruments! You have other human beings who are going to input. And that’s the joy of playing jazz. You don’t know what the other guys are gonna do!”

On Feb. 18, 2012, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra will premiere that new piece by Paul English. Check the ROCO website for more details.