Pushing sounds and songs towards an area of the ungraspable, that may be one of the working ideals of Ashley Paul. No nostalgia, no common sense, no simple formula. But a deep sense for the elemental, the heartfelt, the now. More about this in my upcoming JazzFacts edition at the Deutschlandfunk, on August 4, 9.05 p.m.
I wasn’t wrong assuming she got, at one point in her life, obsessed with Julee Cruise and Twin Peaks. Amongst other things, I kindly asked her to tell about a „normal day“ in London town. Starring: a tortoise named Zoe, Richard Brautigan, and a tropicalia compilation from Soul Jazz Records. And why not add her ten records for the famous desert island …
„I come from a very musical household. My sister, who is 8 years older than me, was always practicing piano and voice, my dad plays jazz guitar, and my grandfather was a saxophonist and clarinetist. So there was pretty much always music around. I remember that when I became aware of Paul Desmond (sometime around age 5 or 6), I began to tell EVERYONE that I would grow up to be a saxophonist. This near-obsession with Paul Desmond lasted into my twenties. I started transcribing his playing when I was ten. First song was “Skylark.” Other favorites are “Hi-Lili-Hi-Lo” and “Taste of Honey.” I think he instilled a strong sense of the importance of melody and the power of understatement in me. His work is perfectly distilled and crafted with absolutely no excess.“ (from foxydigitalis)