High Life

HIGH LIFE #14 Nov 2017 101 “It took about a year to talk with the director and producers to figure out what they needed, then the actual creative part was a very intense period of writing,” Braid recalls when asked about Born to Be Blue . “Once the work began, it was very intense.” To recreate the spirit of Baker’s music in order to truly express his story was already quite a challenge, but Braid also decided to modify certain feature songs to connect more with a contemporary audience. Those efforts paid off and then some. Praised by The Times in the UK for offering “contemporary patina without sacrificing period authenticity,” Braid subsequently won “Best Original Score” and “Best Original Song” at the 2017 Screen Awards. It shouldn’t surprise then that the 42-year-old has many strings to his bow, performing both jazz and classical music on his current world tour including a recent showwith his Epoque String Quarter at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. “I don't like to separate music by categories,” Braid says. “Music is music. It is harmony, as in a rhythm. To pay too much attention to style is not a good way of thinking. “Jazz spirit means exploration, interpretation, improvisation, taking the past and giving it sort of a new life again, letting the past speak into the present and in a newway. “It’s about continuing tradition and inspiring a sort of future. Frommy view, jazz music is kind of like a verb. It’s not a style, not a noun, but a way to do something. “That’swhy themusic I’mcreating nowfor string quartets or solo piano music, it doesn’t sound like Duke Ellington’s music but it has sort of his jazz verb, the jazz way of exploring in the format built on structures of classical music.” Braid explains that his interest in jazz was piqued when he developed a love for composition. When he was introduced to jazz, the fact that he could compose while performing proved an irresistible lure.