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Since April 1, 2006 (c) 2006-2024 Uesugi Hayato（上杉隼人）
植物の種は小さいが、人間の目で確認できる。だが、フランシスコ・エギュイアという人物とともに持ち込まれたものはそうはいかなかった。彼が持ち込んだのは微生物であり、細菌だった。このエギュイアはコンキスタドールに連れられてきたアフリカ人であること以外、詳しいことは何も知られていない。そして言うまでもなく、当時の人々はこの目に見えずに病害を広げる細菌のことは何も知らなかった。中央アメリカに到着すると、エギュイアは体調を崩し、咳がとまらなくなり、高熱にうなされた。体中に膿疱が広がり、スペイン人はこれをヴィオエラと呼んだ。天然痘によるもので、ヨーロッパ人は数世紀に渡ってこの病気に苦しめられてきた。だが、１５２０年までにほとんどのヨーロッパ人はこの病原体にすでに何年も体を接触させてきたことで、ある程度の抵抗力は備わっていた。免疫ができていたのだ。
だが、インディアンは天然痘をまったく経験したことがなく、何の免疫もなかった。それに罹患した者は「顔に、頭に、胸に」発疹が広がった、とアステカ人のひとりは思い出す。感染した者は「まったく動けなくなり、起き上がることも、寝返りを打つこともできない……動かそうとすると、大声を上げた」。父も母も姉妹も兄弟も、苦しみ、並んで横たわったまま死んでいった。テノチティトランで多くの人が亡くなり、彼らが住んでいた家は死体もろとも取り壊され、墓と化した。そして罹患者は体がひどく衰弱し、食べ物を探すことも、「泉に行って瓢箪に飲み水を満たすこともできず」、数千人を超える人たちが餓死することになった。
この天然痘のおかげで、エルナン・コルテスは10万人を超える都市の征服を実現できたと言える。事実、アステカ王国は大砲も闘犬も後ろ脚で立つ気性の荒い馬も備えていたが、そうしたものを使用することはついになかった。コルテス軍は武器も動物もごく限られていたが、目に見えない、インディアンには未知の病原体を味方につけたのだ。勝利を確信したスペイン人がテノチティトランに入ると、「通りも広場も家々も中庭も死体で埋め尽くされていて、通り抜けることすらできなかった。コルテス自身も腐敗する死体のすさまじい悪臭に体調を崩してしまった」と言う。悲しいことに、天然痘は単なるはじまりにすぎなかった。１６００年までに14の病原体が中央アメリカに、少なくとも17の病原体が南米に広がった。歴史家や考古学者はごく大まかな死亡者数しか割り出せない。だが、ヨーロッパからもたらされた麻疹、腸チフス、インフルエンザ、ジフテリア、おたふくかぜといった疫病に、コンキスタドールによる暴行も加わり、中央アメリカと南米でおそらく５０００万人から９０００万人もの命が奪われたと見られる。たった１世紀のあいだにおもに病気でこれほど多くの人の命が奪われたのは、歴史においてこの先にも後にもない。
『若い読者のためのアメリカ史』（すばる舎）49-51ページ
Tom Corwin, Producer of Mostly Dylan
Interviewed by Hayato Uesugi, Editor/Translator
AN INTERVIEW WITH TOM CORWIN
Q1: First, would you tell us about the making of MOSTLY DYLAN?
Mostly Dylan was conceived as a way of looking at Bob Dylan’s material from a new angle. I was compelled by the idea of approaching his music from a deeply musical perspective with fresh arrangements, great players and a masterful singer.
Tim Hockenberry and I had worked together before, he is truly a singer’s singer and really knows how to get inside a song. Tim and I worked together to pick songs that we felt we could dig into. Next we explored where the musical heart of those songs were from a fresh perspective.
The challenge was to remain true to the melody and chord changes of the songs while doing our best not to be influenced by past recordings and arrangements.
With each song, I tried to clear my mind and listen from my own intuition for the music that told the story. Some songs changed dramatically in tempo and feel from the originals, but the dedication was always to honor the song and lyrics in the process.
Q2: What about the musicians who participated in MOSTLY DYLAN: George Marinelli, Rickie Fataar, and others ― Michael Rodriguez, Randy Quan, Jimmy Sanchez, Jerry Cortez, Peter Booras, Garrin Benfeild? Their performances on the CD are amazing. Needless to say, the performances of Tim Hockenberry and Bonnie Raitt and yourself here could not have been better, either . Could you briefly introduce them and their abilities ?
That constitutes a lot of deserving introductions. All these players were very specific choices for what they could bring to the recordings.
George Marinelli is one the most musical and melodic guitar players I know. He has played with Bonnie Raitt in her touring band for over a decade. He brought amazing ears, tone and sensitivity to the studio.
Ricky Fataar has the deepest and most solid pocket of any drummer I can think of. He is also a great listener, and plays from a music first perspective. Ricky has also been in Bonnie’s touring band for ove r a decade.
Jimmy Sanchez is a great drummer, his slinky feel on Rainy Day Woman still knocks me out. I don’t know anyone else who can play like him.
I have played with Randy Quan a lot over the years. He is one of those rare guitar players who listens for when not to play as an equally valid musical choice. We played together with Booker T at the Tokyo Blue Note. I love his solo on Rainy Day Woman and his playing on Times are a Changin’.
Jerry Cortez, has played with a lot of people including Jesse Colin Young. He brings a great feel to the acoustic guitar and supported the two originals on the record.
Michael Rodriguez is a wonderful engineer, our ears worked really well together in crafting the sound of the record. He also brought enormous sensitivity and care the recording process.
Whereas the basic tracks for all the Dylan Material were recorded in a top studio, Two Steps Back and Flirting with Disaster were both recorded in my living room, which was not designed for sound, but has a wonderful feeling in it. These sessions were less formal, Peter Booras and Chris Sandoval were the drummers on these sessions and they both did such a good job that I decided not to re-record them.
Q3: MOSTLY DYLAN is a tribute album to Bob Dylan, with a new perspective on his songs , by you and Tim Hockenberry. Ten songs on the album are Dylan’s, but you include two of your own original songs, “Two Steps Back” and “Flirting With Disaster”. The two songs seem Dylanesque, but they have genuine originality, too. They are magnetic!
How did you decide to put the two songs onto this CD? Your choice made for a great result, but I’m wondering whether you wrestled with that choice.
I was very concerned about the presumptuousness of including my original songs next to Bob Dylan’s genius. I really went back and forth on the decision to include these songs. I finally decided NOT to include the originals on the record and mastered the record without them.
Then Carol Yumkas, my manager at the time, who loved these songs, insisted I go back and put the originals back on. At her encouragement I re-mastered the record including the two originals. Surprisingly they did seem to fit musically and sonically in the final master. Since the CD came out I have gotten a lot of positive feedback about these songs. So I’m glad it seems to have worked. Carol really gets credit in the end for their inclusion.
Q4:What does Bob Dylan and his music mean to you? What is it in Dylan that has intrigued you? His music attracts people from all over the world. In addition, his lyrics make us think a lot. Some people have recently said he should get the Nobel Prize for Literature for his lyrics. Are you intrigued by his lyrics as well as his music?
I am compelled by Bob Dylan as a powerful cultural force and as an extraordinary poet. There is no denying that he had an amazing impact on a generation. It is equally stunning that his influence continues to be felt by succeeding generations.
I think his greatest strength is in his poetry and conviction. His melodies are also penetrating. His approach to music production was always elementary, which worked because it emphasized its rawness, consequently I felt there was an opportunity to honor his genius from a respectful, yet more sophisticated musical perspective.
Q5: You launched your label MOSTLY with this CD. And this MOSTLY DYLAN is the first in a series that will feature new perspectives on legendary artists. Do you have concrete future plans now?
Absolutely, the concept of MOSTLY is to continue to find opportunities to explore other iconic music from new perspectives. I have been sidetracked by other projects in the last year, but I am excited to continue the series.
Q6:The cover of MOSTLY DYLAN is cool. Who designed it?
I designed the CD package, but the cover photo was taken by a wonderful photographer named Christine Alicino. Tim Hockenberry’s wife is a photographers rep and she represents Christine. Tim sent me this photo among others as options for the cover. This one really jumped out at both of us as a perfect match for the feel of the record. Christine also provided the interior photos, which again really felt right.
Q7: After many years of recording and performing as a bass player and vocalist with a variety of artists including Patti LaBelle, Booker T., Bonnie Raitt and the House of Blues band, you chose to focus your attention on producing and recording. Can you tell us about your activities as a musician in those days and as a producer now?
I’ve worked most of my life as a backup musician. And have been lucky enough to work with some great players along the way. Several years ago I started to focus more on studio work, having tired of the travel and labor of playing live. It is always fun to play, but when you’re on the road you may travel two days to play one hour.
About this time I met Bonnie and we began to work together on different projects. We have become great friends and I have had the pleasure of performing with her and working on about twenty different records with her in the studio.
I love the creative process of getting into a song, finding the best way to express it musically and nurturing the best performances. This is the thrill of working in the studio.
Q8:What about your own music background. Where did you learn how to play music?
I am essentially self-taught. I had the good fortune of discovering the thrill of playing music when I was about thirteen. I listened to records and found I could quickly figure out how to play what I heard. I loved soul music, Motown, blues and jazz, which became a real focus. I developed my chops by learning all the bass parts on my favorite records.
I started playing professionally in clubs when I was fourteen. I am still not sure how I got away with this because I looked my age, but I played in bars with bands that were in their twenties and somehow the management never raised the issue of my being underage.
I also played jazz with some incredibly talented young players. Adam Nussbaum, Robert Aries and I formed a jazz trio and continued to play together from age fourteen to nineteen.
As you may know, Adam turned out to be one of the great Jazz drummers of our time and the keyboard player Rob Aries grew up to tour with John Scofield in his funk band . Adam is still touring the world. Rob has settled down and is focused on raising his daughter, but still plays some great gigs.
Q9:Do you have any favorite musicians?
There are so many musicians I love. They range from soul to pop to jazz to classical, really too many to list. It is always hard to single them out, but Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, The Beatles, Bach, Jaco Pastorius, Jonatha Brooke. Portishead, Michael Brecker, Radiohead, Me'shell NdegéOcello, Ella Fitzgerald, Beck, Peter Gabriel, Ennio Morricone,are a few, the list goes on and on.
Q10:I heard you have had some experiences of playing here in Japan. You played at Tokyo Blue Note as a member of the Booker T. band in 1998. Please tell us about the shows and your impression of Japanese audiences.
I have a special affinity for Japan. Somehow I feel at home there, as if I had lived there in a previous life. I loved playing at the Tokyo Blue Note. Japanese audiences are really wonderful. They seem to really listen intently and have a deep appreciation of music and musicians that is refreshing.
In America audiences are not always as considerate or attentive. Japanese audiences tend to have a deep and serious love of the music they go out to hear. It is a real treat as a musician to play for such genuinely appreciative audiences.
Q11: You published MOSTLY BOB just after MOSTLY DYLAN had been completed. Bob was still alive while you were making MOSTLY DYLAN and I am quite sure Bob enjoyed listening to the sound you guys were making. Can you tell us something about Bob?
Anyone who has read MOSTLY BOB knows that once Bob penetrated my heart, he was almost always at my side. He lay on the floor underneath my recording console for hundreds of hours during the production of MOSTLY DYLAN. Just picture him at my feet under the console, sleeping with his head right next to my tapping foot.
I really hope you bring the live music of MOSTLY DYLAN to Japan and we can enjoy your shows in the near future!
I would love to bring MOSTLY DYLAN to Japan. We put together a wonderful live band to support the record. There is a magic to the live band that really honors the sensitivity of the record and often spontaneously lifts it up another level. I know Japanese audiences would love the live show.
Copyright © 2007 by Hayato Uesugi
Forever, MJ!
Michael Jackson, Forever.
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