CSMA welcomes the Dahveed Behroozi Trio to Tateuchi Hall. Dahveed Behroozi (piano), Tyler Harlow (bass) and Tim Bulkley (drums) will be performing their interpretation of Bill Evans compositions and American Songbook standards he was known for.
We spoke with Dahveed Behroozi to learn more about him and what the audience can expect from the performance at Tateuchi Hall.
Dahveed Behroozi, piano
Tell us a little about yourself. How did you begin playing and performing music?
I was born and raised in San Jose, California. I earned my undergraduate degree at the Manhattan School of Music for Jazz Piano Performance and my graduate degree from the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College for Classical Piano Performance. After 10 years in New York, I returned to the Bay Area where I teach at San Jose State University and Gavilan College, perform and raise my family.
My dad, Bahram Behroozi, was a classical professional guitar player and music professor, so music was always in the house. He started my sister and me on the violin at the age of five. I began playing classical music, but from a young age I was always interested in improvising. When I joined the Castillero Middle School Jazz Band I liked how it felt playing this type of music and that is how I fell in love with jazz.
Did you have access to music education in school?
I was lucky to have music at home and at school in both middle and high school. I attended Lincoln High School, a magnet visual and performing arts school, where I participated in Jazz Band and Chamber Orchestra playing the violin.
Having music in school had a huge impact on me as a performer and musician. Looking back, I don’t know if I would have had the opportunity to discover jazz the way that I did if I had not been in the middle school jazz band.
Jazz pianist Fred Hersh
Tell us about a great music teacher you had.
Joni Swenson who taught Chamber Orchestra at Castillero Middle School and Lincoln High School was a phenomenal teacher and wonderful spirit. She introduced me to many different types of music and composers. She gave me the opportunity to play solo violin behind the orchestra and playing both violin and piano concertos. She shared her love of music which had a significant impact on me.
I was very fortunate to study with premiere international jazz pianist Fred Hersh for a number of years. It was a humbling experience and wake-up call for me. He is known to be a serious and honest teacher, which made the experience intense. He gave me a good reality of where I was as a player and told me what I really needed to work on. At the time, my sense of rhythm and time were very weak, so we worked on it intensely for a few years. He helped me with harmonic playing and other small details. A lot of the New York jazz pianists studied with him and I was lucky to be a part of his institution.
How often do you practice ?
In college and the years following, I practiced the most. I would spend all day practicing. Unless you are a brilliant protege, you don’t have a choice. You need to practice. For me, it was the only thing I was good at, so it was piano or nothing.
Now things are chaotic. I have a family with two young girls. Whenever I have free time where I’m not teaching or busy with the family, I find time to practice. On a good week, I try to get behind the piano five to six times for two or three hours each time. I love practicing now, but it’s normal for younger students to not enjoy it. Over time you figure out how to practice. I think it’s a lifelong process.
Do your daughters play any instruments yet?
My oldest is five and my youngest is two. I just introduced the violin to my five year old and I’m trying to do it slowly without too much pressure. My sister and I had a lot of pressure with it growing up and she finally burned out, but I was lucky to have found improvisation. I want to be careful not to push it too hard. It’s a fine line that I am trying to figure out.
What advice do you have for aspiring musicians?
The first thing that comes to mind is patience. You have to be patient with it. Don’t expect results within a year or even two years. You have to set a five year plan just to see basic results.
It’s important to always focus on the music you love. Play the pieces you love, even if you think they are too difficult for you. While it is important to be introduced to different types of music from your teachers, having the choice to decide what you want to play is important as well.
Jazz pianist Bill Evans
What made you choose to focus on Bill Evans’ work for your performance?
I thought Bill Evans would be good to focus on since I’m bringing in a trio of piano, bass and drums and Bill Evans was famous for his approach to the piano trio.
His approach was revolutionary, as he added a new dimension to the way jazz piano was presented, which mostly has to do with his harmonic language. He was taking material from a lot of 20th-century classical music and putting that harmonic language into a jazz context. I felt like there was a lot of material in there that I could work with. He was an important composer in that you can take his tunes and make them sound like your own. His tunes give you creative freedom.
What can the audience expect during the performance in Tateuchi Hall?
It will be an afternoon of Bill Evans music and some standards that he was famous for. We will be playing our interpretation of his music and giving a little background on some pieces. I will be joined by bass player Tyler Harlow and drummer Tim Bulkley.
Anything else you would like to share?
I taught private piano lessons at CSMA ages ago. It will be nice to come back and perform in Tateuchi Hall.
