Spotlight interview: With his latest album, Benjamin Boone brings back a bit of the Emerald Isle to share

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Q: You were teaching and making music at the University of Limerick, which 1) is the gosh-darn cutest name for an institution of higher learning I’ve ever heard; and 2) home to a pretty special musical academy. First off, what kind of place is Limerick?

A: If it were actually a school teaching limerick-writing, then I’d have been in serious trouble! Tell you what, since you gave me the opening, here goes nothing:

Yes, I had a great time Limerick
Though admittedly I’m a bit of a heretic.
I made music all over
Even stayed mostly sober
Undeniably, Limerick proved to be mesmeric!

Ouch, that’s pretty bad. But to your point, Limerick city is, of course, the setting of Frank McCourt’s famous memoir, Angela’s Ashes, and at that time it was poor, downtrodden, and oppressive. It was even referred to as “Stab City.” But that wasn’t our experience at all – quite the opposite. Limerick is filled with ancient history and is urban, friendly, and safe.

Can I share a story about safety in Limerick to dispel the stereotype and give an insight into the culture? Sorry, I can’t help but ramble on because I love talking about Ireland. OK, true story. My neighbor Margaret said once,

“Oh, did you hear about the horrible thing that happened last night in downtown!?!? The city is just going to pot! Be cautious!”

“What happened? “I replied.

“It’s a tragedy. It was reported on the radio that a woman was walking alone up by St. John’s late last night, and was accosted!”

“Oh no! What happened? Is she OK?”

“Well yes, she is OK, but her PURSE was stolen! Can you imagine something that horrible in our town?”

What I can’t imagine is that the woman wasn’t sexually assaulted or murdered. There was a similar uproar about reported “gang violence” that turned out to be a few kids throwing rocks at cars. So by US standards, its hyper-safe. And there are no guns. Most police don’t even have them. In fact, I’ve seen police “subdue” subjects by doing something revolutionary: gently talking them down until they end up voluntarily getting into a police car.

Anyway, I felt totally at home there though I’m not Irish at all. It was founded over a thousand years ago, and has ancient ruins, but it’s also a vibrant modern city. There’s a waterfront plaza along a tidal estuary of the North Atlantic which is gloriously illuminated at night. And the music, art, dance, and culture are vibrant and supported. The people are well-educated, well-read (there are loads of bookshops), they enjoy great conversation and are helpful and friendly. Very few tourists come through, and there aren’t many expats, so it feels like a true Irish “community.”

Clockwise from upper left: Margaret Walsh (plying Boone with spiked punch), the Shannon River in Limerick, Boone at Nancy Blakes Pub with drummer John Daly, sheep in Connemara.

Q: What was a typical day like for you in Limerick?

A: Well, you MUST begin each day in Ireland with a strong pot of Barry’s tea, right, Donald? Maybe add brown bread with butter, too? And have another pot at noon and another at 4pm and any time in-between you need a lift or when you see a friend. On weekends, we’d walk across an old bridge over the Shannon River and go into downtown to the “Milk Market,” a huge farmers market, do any other shopping, and then either hang out at a cafe or more than likely, go on a hike or explore the Irish countryside. My wife is a journalist and loves to hike, explore, and investigate, which keeps things fun – and sometimes keeps me from being a full-fledged workaholic. She would row on the river when the tidal schedule worked out. On weekdays, I’d be at the university soaking up the unique curricular offerings, or giving guest presentations for students, or playing in various ensembles, or obsessively working on my creative projects. In the evening (which starts at 3pm in the winter), we might go to a concert, build a fire at home and read, or watch Irish comedies like “Father Ted,” – everyone should watch that show – or I’d indulge my inner workaholic and practice or compose. In summer the sun shines until 11pm, and even then it was rarely fully dark, so we enjoyed the outdoors and warmer weather as much as possible. I loved our life there.

Q: The way you describe it, music higher education in Ireland sounds pretty brilliant. You even got to rub elbows with the president of Ireland, a strong supporter of the arts. Tell us about that.

A: You bet. The University of Limerick has a unique entity within it called the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance (IWA), which has one of the most diverse music curriculums in the world. Music students can study traditional Irish music, ritual music and chant, community music, music therapy, songwriting, composition/creative performance, music education, play in a Javanese Gamelan orchestra, a world pop ensemble, a string orchestra that also does movement – as in choreography while you dance, etc. The Irish Chamber Orchestra is in residence there, too. And tons of world musicians flow through IWA all the time. It’s an amazingly inclusive and diverse curriculum and I was like a kid in a candy shop, soaking up all of the massively cool things going on. I was in heaven.

You mention the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins. Get this: he is a poet! Imagine having a President who is a poet. Wow. He is thoughtful, well-read, insightful, smart, and has a great aura. Anyway, when he was the Minister of Education, he helped establish the IWA. I performed at a big University anniversary concert that President Higgins attended and I saw him there. My wife was in a wheelchair then – a long story – and they made eye contact. He later came up to her and put his arm on her shoulder as if to say, “I see you and your situation. It will be OK.” My wife said she felt a jolt of positive energy and a peace came over her– that it was incredible.

Q: I have this image of Ireland in which average folks cram into neighborhood pubs every night of the week to listen to live music. Is this accurate? Would we have found you listening or performing?

A: Yes, there are lot of neighborhood pubs, and many do still have live music and sense of community. If traditional Irish music is played, the musicians often sit at a big table or in a circle, chatting between tunes. It seems like less of a “performance” and more like “communal music-making.” I played mostly in concert settings, but did play at a few pubs, and had a blast. I also enjoyed just sitting back and soaking it up.

Q: Let’s talk about your new album(s). You were busy in Ireland. How do you describe “Confluence: The Ireland Sessions”?

A: My Fulbright project was to immerse myself in the culture, play with lots of folks, then collaborate on the composition and recording of new works. So that’s what I did. I recorded three albums that year, and Confluence: The Ireland Sessions is the first to be released. It’s a contemporary jazz album featuring a great singer on three tracks. It’s not a “swing” type jazz album – instead it embraces influences from R&B to ancient Irish chant, and from fusion to Avant-garde. My favorite track is my arrangement of a thousand-year-old Irish song called She Moved Through the Fair. There’s something mystical about these old Irish songs that just resonate with me. Anyway, I recorded the album in downtown Limerick, in a great little studio readers can see in three YouTube videos I filmed there. The musicians all live in the area, with the exception of former Fresno State colleague James Miley, who produced the album, and overdubbed piano on three tracks. James is one of the leading composers for jazz ensemble in the US, so lots of Fresno area band directors play his music. In fact, Clovis North just commissioned a wind orchestra piece from him that will be premiered sometime in mid-March.

Clockwise from top left: Ben, Alice and Atticus Boone along the wild western Irish coast; the band (Joe O’Callaghan, John Daly, Benjamin Boone; Jane Fraser, Dan Bodwell); on the River Shannon in Limerick; performing with UL Gamelan Ensemble.

Q: The album has some fun nods to Limerick. The track ‘From the Banks of the Shannon” described your morning walking commute. I’m tickled by “Clash of the Ash.” Tell us what this mysterious game called hurling is.

A: One of the joys of being in Limerick was feeling connected to water. Right at Limerick, the Shannon River, the longest in Ireland, becomes an estuary to the North Atlantic. Its depth fluctuates about 20 feet with the tide so the flow rates change dramatically. I walked across the river multiple times a day whether to go downtown or when I was on campus. Right at IWA there is a 382-yard pedestrian bridge across the Shannon, one of the longest in Europe. At lunch I’d walk across the bridge and watch the three families of resident swans and just watch the river. I could also see the Shannon from the room where I composed the music on the album as well. The river is mystical and feels alive, historic, and like it has a story to tell. My piece tries to capture that in music.

And I’m glad you are tickled by “Clash of the Ash!” I am too. It’s meant to be a comical, fun, and action-packed piece that depicts the crazy sport of hurling, a 3000-year-old field game also referred to in Ireland as the “Clash of the Ash.” It is absolutely insane and a thrill to watch. Two teams, unpadded, try to either hit a small ball over raised goal posts (1 point), or score a goal like in soccer (3 points). You can catch the ball with your hand or with a 3-foot ash paddle, and you can hit the ball with the paddle or pass it with your hands. But to run, you have to dripple the ball on the end of the paddle – which is called a hurley. They hit the ball – and each other – with the hurley for goals, passes, field goals, and to disrupt play – all while running full steam. The field is three times the size of a football field and the ball can be hit 360 feet. I mean, they are running ALL the time. And contact? All the time! Can you tell I love this game??

The clock never stops, and the players never show fatigue or injury. A player gets hit with a hurley? They brush it off. Run for 45 minutes straight? No problem. These players run like track sprinters, catch like receivers, hit like baseball stars, have moves like basketball guards, hit goals like soccer pros, and have the long-distance accuracy of golf pros. Incredible athleticism.

John Daly, the drummer on the album, got me into hurling and I became a rabid Limerick fan. That irritated the guitarist, who is a rabid Tipperary fan. In my piece I tried to capture the incredible athleticism of the game, its twists, turns, clashes, and pile-ups. Near the end you hear the guitarist and me battling it out, and the very end, a victory-winning goal by Limerick -though I didn’t tell the guitarist that. This tune is just great fun to play. Let’s watch a game together, Donald – I bet you’d love it even if you don’t think so. It’s like a Pina Bausch dance!

Q: I’m also taken with “Another Round at Margaret’s.” Tell us about Margaret.

A: Margaret is one of the most adorable people I’ve ever met. She was our neighbor and a retired midwife. I mentioned before that my wife had to use a wheelchair. Well, she was hit by a taxi and lay languishing for days in a COVID–era ER and Margaret became our rock. Later, we went over for parties and dancing and to watch hurling matches. If she gave you a drink, the glass would NEVER be empty. You’d drink half a glass, turn around, and it would be full again. Or she’d serve you punch that had “a bit of something in it” and in 10 minutes you’d be flying. Needless to say, my then 18- and 20-year-old sons LOVED going to her house. “Oh, have another one, son” she’d say. “You’re just across the street, so it won’t do you any harm!”

Anyway, the title of this song refers to her holiday party, an evening where she plied us with too many rounds, and the evening ended with me drunkenly playing a few tunes on sax while the tipsy guests danced and sang along. I think you can hear that in this tune.

Q: You don’t have any spoken poetry on this album, is that right? You’re well known for that in some of your previous albums, like with Phil Levine. Have you moved on from that?

A: Well, not really. I’d love to do something with more poets, especially some folks here, but I’m focusing on instrumental music for a while. That said, when I was in Limerick in September, I recorded another album, and after three years of my pestering, the President of Ireland, who we discussed earlier, is on it, reciting his poem, “Take Care” to a piece I wrote for him.

Since you mentioned Philip Levine, I just wanted to say that I loved working with him on those albums [The Poetry of Jazz and The Poetry of Jazz Vol. Two]. You, by the way, Donald, are one of the ones that prompted me to pursue that recording project – so my eternal gratitude to you. It’s almost surreal that I got to do that project and that it did so well. The musicians who collaborated with me on those albums helped make it all happen. I’m not talking about the jazz stars [Branford Marsalis, Chris Potter, Greg Osby, and Tom Harrell] but locals Brian Hamada, Gary Newmark, David Aus, Nye Morton, John Lauffenburger, Spee Kosloff, Craig VonBerg, Karen Marguth, and Max Hembd. What a treat and how fortunate to collaborate with these folks, and the myriad local poets and musicians on my other two poetry albums. I’ve been incredibly fortunate. You’ve got me thinking about it now Donald, so maybe I’ll do another one when the time is right.

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Q: Traveling the world can be great fun, but it can also come with unexpected challenges. Your wife, Alice Daniel, was involved in a serious pedestrian accident not long after you arrived in Ireland. How did this impact your visit?

A: They tell you to always look right-left-right when you cross streets in Ireland, because cars drive on the left side of the street. One day in Dublin, I didn’t do that, and was inches from being killed by a speeding car. What saved me is that my wife screamed and I stopped. The next day, on her way to rowing practice on the Shannon River, she was hit by a taxi as she crossed a street. The lesson is that if you are in Ireland, or England, or Namibia, look Right-Left-Right! In short, it was a horrible experience for her. The 10-day wait for surgery was excruciating, but luckily the surgery was successful, and after months of not being able to put weight on the leg, more months in a wheelchair, and numerous rehab appointments, the last few months in Ireland she was rowing again on the Shannon River again. She’s tough.

And as you know, in times of crisis, one silver lining is that priorities become crystal clear and you have a deeper appreciation for the person in crisis. It was hell, but a great bonding experience for us and we laughed and made crazy videos and made funny songs to get through it. In spring when she was better, I then returned to my creative projects with gusto.

Q: Following “Confluence,” you have two other albums coming out. Tell us about them.

A: One is due out on One World Records (Denmark) sometime this spring. It’s not jazz at all – rather atmosphere and cinematic in the way it blends musical styles and global sounds. It’s with my long-time collaborator in Germany, violinist Stefan Poetzsch. He came to Ghana several times when I was there and we recorded with two amazing traditional Ghanaian musicians. When I was in Ireland, he came over a few times and we recorded with a Mexican ancient chant/improvisation specialist colleague at UL, and an Irish guitarist. The Ghanaian and Irish tracks appear side-by side on the album so you’re taken on a cool sonic journey. The third album is with famed Irish percussionist Tommy Hayes (who is on tons of Irish-themed movie soundtracks like Titanic), an Australian UL colleague who plays the Indian Sarod, an Irish bassist, an Indian table player, and a traditional Irish singer. I love the blend of these instruments with the saxophone and I’m hyper-excited about the music. And, when I was back in Ireland this fall, I recorded another jazz album with the Confluence band. I also have an album I recorded in Fresno last spring waiting to be mixed.

Q: When I think about your life and career, Ben, I’m ever amazed at how music has opened the world for you. It’s like you speak this extra-special language that allows you to meet and relate to people of all cultures. When you were first starting out, did you know that music would change your life the way it has?

A: I’ve been massively lucky and fortunate, and pinch myself at the amazing opportunities I’ve had. I couldn’t have dreamed any of this would have happened as a kid growing up in Statesville, NC. I’m basically a home-body, but my wife loves traveling and new experiences. To paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, a mind expanded can never go back to its original dimensions. So my experiences have, I hope, broadened my perspectives and made me more open and understanding and thus a better teacher and person. And yes, music making allows someone to view culture from an inside perspective. In many countries, if you’re a musician, and humble and open, you are welcomed as a musical sibling. To do that, though, you have to seek common musical ground not impose your ideas, all the while being yourself. Let me give you an example. Say I’m playing with an Indian tabla player. There is no way I can ever understand the complexity of what they are doing, and how they hear rhythm, but I can try, and then tweak what I do so that it fits. But if I tried to actually play traditional Indian music in a traditional way with them, I would undoubtedly sound like a horrible Indian musician. See what I mean? So yes, music is a common language, but the language has significantly different vocabularies in different places and in different styles. I try and find ways to collaborate so that 1+1 = 3, not only 2. Meaning that the players make something larger than the sum of what each person brings. It should be something new and different.

Q: Tell us about your recent library performance.

A: The “Jazz at the Library” series at Woodward Park Library was a true community treasure. I played with a fabulous cast of local musicians: bassist John Lauffenburger; drummer Nate Guzman; guitarist Chris Janzen; and singer Debbie Rudd. I give some of the backstory of the album, and we played some tracks from the album live. I was really excited to share this music with the Fresno community and thank Jazz Fresno for making it happen, and those wonderfully generous musicians for joining me.

Q: Anything else you’d like to say?

A: Well, first of all, I am so thankful that the Munro Review exists. Your coverage of Measure P and other arts-related news is much needed, and the reviews you do are massively valued as well. So thank you, Donald! Also, I hope to do a spring release event with this band, so I hope people keep an eye out for that. Lastly, I’m not great at pushing myself online, and my record company says I need to, so I invite your readers to a) check out videos from these sessions on YouTube and subscribe to my channel, “bbone63”; b) look for my albums wherever you stream music and put them in your playlist and share them; c) purchase a CD from any online shop; and d) if you listen and like this album, or any of my previous ones, please share that with your friends. And finally, a huge shout of gratitude to all of the Fresno folks who have supported my creative work all these years. Music doesn’t exist if people don’t listen to it.