Biography
Noir is composed of Kris Spiteri on keyboards, Edward Ellul on bass, Mario Borg on Sax and Alex Debono on drums.
The band was formed for the Jazz Festival, right after NNG Promotions approached Kris Spiteri to play at the event. Alex and Kris had already worked on an original project, composed by Kris and commissioned by St James Cavalier in 2005, entitled The last seven words of Christ (a musical, non-religious parallelism with the last seven phrases from Jesus on the cross.) Edward was then introduced to the band for his fresh ideas and rock/funk/fusion inclinations.
Both Alex and Mario had played in previous jazz festivals with the Johann Strauss Big Band, so Mario was definitely the next choice when this quartet was being formed.
Noir’s numbers are originally composed by Kris. The quality of the songs lies in the amalgamation of genres, odd timings and, mostly, a search for melodies through the web of chromatics. The four members of the band consider themselves students of music, thus some of the tracks like Jumping Joe and the latin-based Africa are mere studies in musical possibilities. Other tunes, such as Birds and the intrinsic ballad Stormy nights, contain the same mathematical fractions but are possessed by emotions and visuals. The improvisational element is visible throughout all the works, even during the most structured parts. Though the basis of all the songs has been pre-composed, one can still hear the different personas of each member. Noir’s mission is not only to make music but also to increase awareness in Maltese society of the need for artistic education.
Is it easy to become a jazz musician in Malta?
Unfortunately, even though we have so many showcases in Malta, we do not have enough art education to support and create a professional musician. Let me give you an idea of the scenario: Let us say that a student in a school wants to become a full-time musician when she or he grows up. Unless his or her parents pay for him or her to attend private lessons, this student has to either learn music through the school curriculum (which is usually only about music appreciation and, to top it all, in a government school, as far as I know, music education is there for only one semester), or else enrol in the National School of Music. Problems start arising when the student is sitting for O and A levels. Thus, we are generating part-time artistes whose musical career can only end up in a teaching job (unless you are lucky enough to be chosen for the National Orchestra, but this is also subject to what instrument you want to play). Further-more, problems arise when the particular student is not learning classical music. It is interesting to note that, with some exceptions, our idea of a musical education on the Island is linked – and this is to university level – to only one genre, that of classical music. To make matters even worse, musicians here are defined in greatness only by how many grades and diplomas they have been able to obtain. In the pop genre, the story is different. In this case, it is the Eurovision Song Contest that makes artistes renowned on the Island, while in the rock scene, the judgment is in the hands of the radio station managers who dictate what to play or not to play, according to the station’s image. There are no proper learning opportunities for jazz musicians here, and it is very hard to get publicity and unfortunately one starts to doubt one’s abilities as there are no set standards.
What do you suggest should be done?
I honestly think that it is about time that Malta opened up a Conservatory for the arts. Lately, I attended Berklee classes in Umbria and I was so impressed by a 17-year-old pianist that I asked him where he had studied and with whom. He described to me his daily routine at this music school. In his main time he studies music and the arts. On a part-time basis he studies languages, mathematics and other academic subjects. The question that arises is simple: how come Malta, that needs to attract tourists, (who in turn must be entertained), doesn’t have such a brilliant educational system that handles artistic intelligence? If I am not mistaken, it was Howard Gardner who said that in Western schools there is an over emphasis on linguistic and mathematical intelligence and that by doing this, schools exclude multiple intelligences and draw hierarchies of subjects. In the end, one lives only one life, so why not concentrate on what one really wants.
Tell us something about Noir.
Well to be quite frank, it is true that I wrote all the music for the band’s performance at the Jazz Festival, but it is also true that without the different personas and the diverse solos of each band member, nothing would have sounded the same. Saxaphonist Mario Borg, for example, is a very reflective person, and before he played one note of my music he made a point of understanding the concept of it. He could read when I wanted the sax to be intricate, as in the ballad Stormy Nights, and very violent, as in the free form of Chant of the Infidels. A reflective person is always appreciated and liked by a composer. Bassist Edward Ellul, on the other hand, has given the band a rock/funk/fusion sound with his bass playing. He is a very imaginative person and his keenness to learn has helped us all to be students, or rather researchers, for our own expression. Alex Debono’s drumming was vital. He is the mathematical backbone. Alex could tell you exactly what is rhythmically wrong or right. This, of course, does not exclude his sense of expression.
We have worked as one big family on this project and we are proud of it, whether or not it stands in the scales of hierarchical standards of some people.
As we have always pointed out, what we are after is not applause or showmanship, but expression – with all our limitations and our fortés.
What are Noir’s future plans?
The band is now planning to record the material but this will be very hard, unless we find a good sponsor. Actually, this is another issue that could be discussed at length. An artiste on this Island has to be: his own manager, producer, marketing manager, designer and so on. We don’t have a lot of record labels that are ready to record and promote our artists, regardless of the genre from which they come.
What do you think of the new Jazz festival?
Let me put it this way – we performed in this jazz festival – we were not the organisers. It was an incentive for our band to work on something. To be quite frank, The Independent is the only newspaper that has so far asked for our interview. Everyone was so into the politics of it all, that they forgot that we actually had to perform on a national platform.
We think that if it is true that the previous jazz festival was not making enough money, and that a change had to be made, then the name should have been changed as well. If it is not true that the jazz festival was going bankrupt, then it is a different story. As I said at the beginning, we were never part of the organisation.
What is happening around the world is that approximately 75 per cent of the artistes who take part in jazz festivals play jazz – the other 25 per cent are pop artists. The logical reasoning behind this is first of all financial but also educational. They say that if a jazz band is playing before a pop artist, then that pop artist could be a dummy to get a new crowd to like jazz music. I don’t know if I agree with this or not, or if NNG Promotions has this frame of mind, but a lot of jazz festivals around the world are doing it. We also have to remember that jazz festivals abroad are spread over more than three days, and they have more performances. To be quite fair, I think that even the previous organisers had this in mind when they got artists like Jorge Ben Jor or other similar artists, but not to the extreme of getting Alan Parsons. I was actually one of the people who watched Elton John, Diana Ross and other pop artists live in the Umbria Jazz festival, but in the same festival, which is a week long, I saw Terence Blanchard, Oscar Peterson, Roy Haynes, Joe Lovano and other big names. So I think that to be in conformity with the rest of the world, 75 per cent is a good percentage. Now, whether Noir agrees with this or not, I don’t really think it matters.
What would you add to it?
Workshops and more Maltese musicians playing in it and working together on different projects! The Jazz Festival is by far the closest we can get to fine jazz musicians, so why not organise workshops during the three days or even before or after? I am sure that some of the foreign musicians would be glad to give lessons to jazz enthusiasts and I think most Maltese musicians would be pleased to attend some planned classes. Maybe the workshop programmes can be issued on the tickets or boards so that even the foreign musicians would know about them. I don’t know what this would entail, but I can definitely see no harm in education and in any form of investment in such.