When Adam Robertson first picked up a pair of drumsticks in grade six band class, drumming was not really his thing. But percussion pulled him in as a teenager and it was all he could think of. Born and raised in Powell River, Robertson is now studying for a bachelor of music in jazz studies at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo.
How is school going?
I’m having a lot of success and inspiration playing with new people and getting out to see new musicians perform. I feel that I’ve put a lot more on myself than I need to, practising upwards of 30 hours a week outside of classes. The classes haven’t been too much trouble for me yet. It’s all showing in my playing. I’m definitely getting somewhere.
How are you improving?
Lots of little things in my playing, solving problems here and there that I’ve never really had the time for before now. I have spent up to seven hours a day just practising one little thing and I really feel like all these small strides are going to start to add up here during my study time.
Why jazz?
It’s something I’ve always been passionate about. Even playing in rock or metal bands I’ve always taken an improvisational approach to playing. I really like the sensation jazz gives you where you never know what can happen on the fly. There’s a sort of organized chaos to it. I feel that rock playing is, for the most part, straight ahead and it is pre-determined where you’re going to go. In jazz, it depends on what style of jazz you’re playing, but with the stuff I’m into, you can go off the rail.
Who are you listening to these days?
I listen to lots of groups, like Avishai Cohen, The Bad Plus, more “out there” jazz or more avant-garde. I love listening to the great swing jazz of the ’60s and ’70s; Coltrane and Miles Davis and the big band stuff. I really want to go in a new direction with my playing. I’m not going to school to emulate the greats. I’m going to school to learn from the greats and find my own musical voice and go in my own direction.
Are you still involved with Lukah Bouchard Band?
I’m going to remain as an active project member and a contributor and collaborator. Playing with Lukah is one of those acts where improvisation is definitely a factor, and it definitely fulfills my sense of adventure and creativity.
