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| Kenji Omae is taking time out from New York's pressures. |
From Gloucester to Toronto to New York to Seoul. OK jazz fans, did you detect where that progression went a bit off track?
Kenji Omae, the fine young tenor saxophonist whose quest for his jazz muse has taken him along that exact course over the past decade, just laughs when you mention that, sure, it's hip to be "way out" in jazz - but Seoul?
"No, you don't usually think of jazz when you think of Korea," he says over the phone from Seoul. "It's just starting up here, really. But being here has given me time to work on my own thing."
For Omae, who is in the middle of a year-long job teaching jazz to Korean college students, that's a mouthful. They shy 28-year-old musician is as spare with words as his saxophone playing is packed with notes.
The Gloucester High School grad hasn't shown up on the public's radar yet; he hasn't mad eany records or performed any big-time gigs. But there are many in the Canadian jazz community, especially musicians, who believe it's only a matter of time.
He's a beautiful player. He's amazing - for his age or any other," says Kirk MacDonald, the searing Toronto saxman Omae credits for inspiring him to make a career of jazz. "he's an incredible talent."
Ottawa audiences havne't seen much of Ame since he left town a decade ago for Humber College and later the University of Toronto, where he graduated with a degree in jazz saxophone performance.
But he's back for two rare shows this week at the Bayou Blues & Jazz Club while in Ottawa to visit family. Those who haven't caught Omae since the early 1990s will be knocked out.
His technique and intensity are already legendary among Ottawa musicians. The power of his playing and the cascading fury of notes that characterize his up-tempo numbers contain an electric quality reminiscent of John Coltrane from the early 1960s.
Omae doesn't like to categorize his style - he says he's still searching for his own musical voice - but he lists every saxophonist from Coleman Hawkins to Coltrane and from Wayne Shorter to Anthony Braxton as influences.
"I'm just a modern saxophone player, I guess," he says modestly. "I feel I'm open-minded about old and modern styles."
Omae also knows he's restless, always on the lookout for something, or someone, who can surprise him and broaden his range.
When he left university in 1997, he scuffled around Toronto, leading a group of his peers but mainly sitting in at gigs with many of the city's big jazz names - Michael Occhipinti, Bernie Senensky, Pat LaBarbera, Mike Murley, Keven Turcotte, MacDonald.
"It got so I knew he'd be at every gig I'd play," MacDonald recalls.
Soon after, he got a Canada Council grant to travel back and forth to New York to study with pianist Kenny Werner.
"I had just come from a very structured school environment and Kenny Werner's whole thing is about liberating yourself from all the rules and the things going on in your head," Omae explains.
The encounter had two important results: he began to approach music in a more "spiritual, holistic" manner. And he knew he had to move to New York.
"I was doing relatively well in Torono for my age ... but I saw things in New York that had a big affect on me - things that told me I wasn't even close to being ready," he says.
For most of the next 2 1/2 years, Omae lived frugally in a small apartment in Brooklyn, selling one of his two saxophones for cash, getting paid under the table waiting tables in a coffee shop and teaching music.
"I was alwyas close to the edge financially," he says. "They were some of the worst times. I ate a lot of cheap food."
At first, like all newcomers to the mecca of jazz, he went to late-night jam sessions looking to meet other up-and-coming musicians, hoping to establish his reputation. Eventually he began to play frequently at afternoon sessions with other young musicians.
And he practised. And practised.
"I have this reputation as a practice freak, even with other musicians who practise a lot," Omae says. "I've always had that quality." For eight or 10 hours a day he'd work on scales, harmonic explorations and technique, mostly alone, sometimes playing along with CDs, other times unaccompanied. "Whatever needed to be done, working things through, trying things out."
MacDonald first met and taught Omae in the late 1980s in Ottawa. He says his protégé's respect for jazz traditions and what it takes to achieve excellence are what set him apart from many young musicians.
"One of the things I like about him is his humility and his willingness to work hard," he says. "With Kenji, there's never a problem with him not picking up the horn often enough. He always takes care of business."
Omae says the intensity of the New York scene made him a much better musician, but when a former Toronto colleague offered him a teaching position in Korea, he jumped at the chance.
"I'm trying to use my time to think about how I was to sound," he says. "It's a very friendly environment to do that. I have time to work out what I need to work out."
MacDonald agrees a period of reflection, without the survival pressures of New York, is a good move for Omae. But only for the short term.
"It kind of surprised me he didn't get more of a profile in New York," he says. "He's a very shy guy so he probably didn't do much self-promotion.
"At some point, though, he'll have to throw himself into a challenging environment if he wants to have a profile."
Kenji Omae performs with pianist Peter Hum and other musicians Jan. 2-3 at the Bayou Blues & Jazz Club, 1071 Bank St. Both shows begin at 9 p.m. Admission is $8.