Bill McBirnie is a jazz and Latin flute specialist who has been personally solicited by Sir James Galway to serve as his resident Jazz Flute Specialist at Sir James’ official website. Bill also enjoys the unusual distinction of having been declared a winner in all three of the National Flute Association’s Jazz Flute (1) Soloist, (2) Masterclass and (3) Big Band Competitions in the US.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Bill about the latest project (Forever) with Bruce Jones, adapting during a worldwide pandemic, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
This isn’t Bill’s first time on these pages. Find one of our previous articles here.
Where are you from, and how would you describe your style of music?
I am from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. My collaborator, Bruce Jones, is originally from Brazil, but he has lived in Canada for years now. I myself have background in both classical and jazz, while Bruce has background in Brazilian music and rock…So it is a very interesting synthesis of the styles! Bruce writes beautiful tunes, I have lots of scope to improvise on them, and the results are really pleasing, and very accessible to any type of listener.
How did you get here? What inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?
In my teens, I was heading towards a career in classical performance on the flute. However, in my 20’s, I decided that I didn’t want to be reading a “script” anymore, and that I wanted to improvise instead. So I modified my classical technique and learned how to play bebop on the flute! And then I started to freelance as an improvising flutist, and this gave me the freedom to play in a lot of very different musical contexts, including this one with Bruce.
How does your latest project compare or contrast with your previous releases? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, to follow a specific theme, or to explore different creative styles?
FOREVER is actually the third Extreme Flute release I have done with Bruce. The previous two are Desvio and Grain of Sand. I have six other acoustic jazz releases that are, of course, quite different. All of these albums are available at BandCamp (https://billmcbirnie-extremeflute.bandcamp.com/) as well as iTunes and other major retailers!
Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative artist during these unprecedented times? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?
There is no denying, and there is no pretending. This has been a most difficult time for indie musicians (…indeed, ALL musicians!…) As a consequence, this latest release, FOREVER, was recorded remotely. It helped to give Bruce and me something towards which we could direct our musical drive and energy as the pandemic wore on.
I have developed a remote recording capability now too. So I can do overdubs for anyone, and anywhere! Here some concise details on that!
https://sites.google.com/view/extreme-flute-remote-overdubs/home
What was the last song you listened to?
That’s an interesting question! I had to check my iTunes to answer it, and the last tune I listened to was “Night and Day” by Cole Porter.
What I actually did was practice along with the tune. I have about 20 different versions on my hard drive, by various musicians (…Oscar Peterson, Stan Getz, Bill Evans, Erroll Garner, Doris Day, Coleman Hawkins…)
This is how I practice. I simply call up a standard on my iTunes and play along with every single version I have of it. It’s an interesting and challenging way to practice, because each version is so different in terms of feel, vocal vs. instrumental, key area, style, etc. There really is no better way to learn how to improvise!
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?
Well, the medium I rely on for listening has evolved over time. Although I have amassed a huge collection of CDs, now I rely on the iTunes library on my hard drive where I have transferred most of it. I also have a very old iPod Classic with a HUGE archive of music of ALL kinds.
I have to say that I do NOT like streaming, because I am typically working a particular tune (and all the variations that I have on file), or I am listening to an entire album.
Moreover, there is no denying – and there is no pretending – that streaming has ruined my career as an indie! I used to make “dollars” on CD sales. Then I began to make “cents” on downloads. And now I make “ZERO” on streams…And I am not kidding!…My revenues from streaming are often rounded UP…to ZERO!…
Needless to say, as an accomplished musician who has dedicated my career to developing my craft, and trying to earn a living at it, I have developed an intense animosity towards “streaming” because, as I previously indicated, it has been the death of my career as an indie musician. (My one and only consolation is that I am hardly alone.)
I am acknowledged as an international calibre jazz and Latin flute specialist. So I don’t need “exposure” (and especially…for nothing…) What I need is to make a living at this! And I refuse to be a Pollyanna about it. In short, I have become very disheartened, disenchanted and disgruntled by what the music industry has done to accomplished musicians such as me, and I would be dishonest as well as stupid to say otherwise! (…End of rant…)
Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?
You can always find out more about me, both new and old, at my website which is located at www.extremeflute.com.
In addition, all of my albums are currently available at BandCamp. So if you are in any position to support an indie, then please do! 🙂
I really appreciate your time. Is there anything else before we sign off?
I suppose one thing I might mention in closing is that I published a book about improvising (The Technique and Theory of Improvisation: A practical guide for flutists, doublers and other instrumentalists). Publishing this book has turned out to be the smartest thing I have ever done in my musical career, because that book (which has been really well received and reviewed) has generated more revenue than ALL my other sources of income combined, including gigs, concerts, recording, CD sales, teaching, clinics…everything!…I never, EVER anticipated that.
This was also a very unusual outcome because, of course, I see myself more as a performer than as an author! (…Who would have ever thunk it?!…)
Of course, if you are at all interested in improvising, the book is available at all Amazon websites!
Thanks so much for hearing me out, folks, and I apologize (ever so slightly) for that earlier rant! 🙂
