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Take Five With Amir Perelman
Instrument(s):
Guitar, oud and bouzuki.
Teachers and/or influences? I have listened to lots of people that had a great influence on the way I write and play music; to name a few: 
Shakti
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1974
John McLaughlin
guitarb.1942
Anouar Brahem
oudb.1957
Jan Garbarek
saxophoneb.1947
Arild Andersen
bass, acousticb.1945
Perhaps even more influential are the people I've played with throughout the years.
I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I started playing guitar for fun in my teens and very quickly it took over my life to the point that I could not think of anything else to do with my life. The joy of improvisation was and still is what got me into it. The musical dialog between musicians as a social art form and a way of communication always fascinated me, and from the first few months playing guitar I knew that was what I'd be doing.
Your sound and approach to music: I read once, in a book by 
Mick Goodrick
guitar
1945 - 2022
Your teaching approach: I try not to make my students replicas of me; instead, I give them the tools they need, inspire them to play the music they hear inside, and keep their own musical voice while learning everything they can.
Your dream band:
I'd love to work with Arild Andersen, any good string quartet , 
Zakir Hussain
tablas
1951 - 2024
Dave Holland
bass
b.1946
Trilok Gurtu
tablas
b.1951
Road story: Your best or worst experience: Well, I'll give you my worst. During a tour with a great ethno-jazz group I put together, we arrive in Israel (I lived in Holland back then) to play at an open air festival called Bombomela on the beach. The sound man was kind of on the edge, having done two concerts before us. Then a monster north wind begins to blow and we are all playing acoustic instruments like tabla, Persian Ney, contrabass and oud, and the guy is fighting feedback. We start the first tune for the third time and it slowly builds up to feedback again. After about an hour, I take the mic and apologize to the five hundred people waiting for the concert, inviting them to the next concert in Camelot Tel Aviv a few day later. A lot of them came and, from the band stand, I had a few laughs with them and thanked them for their devotion.
Favorite venue:
For me it's not about the venue, it's about the sound man and the vibe from the audience.
Your favorite recording in your discography and why? The last album is the one; I'm very happy with the way we played as an ensemble, it was recorded live, altogether in a very organic way. It's a very good ensemble, if I may say.
The first Jazz album I bought was: I think it was Portrait in Jazz, by 
Bill Evans
piano
1929 - 1980
Billie Holiday
vocals
1915 - 1959
Nina Simone
piano and vocals
1933 - 2003
What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically? The spirit I bring to my projects is a very personal fusion that enters the ears, blends together, and comes out through the pen as a personal voice. If you want to hear that kind it will have to be me. I'm a virtuoso listener and that's what my music is about.
CDs you are listening to now: a lot of classical music lately . Yo-Yo Ma, six suites for cello by J.S Bach, Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations.
Desert Island picks: Shankar, Who's to Know (ECM);
Glenn Gould, Goldberg Variations (Sony/BMG);
Miles Davis, Kind of Blue (Columbia);
John Coltrane, The Gentle Side of John Coltrane (Impulse!)
Amir Perelman, Beyond Words (Magda).
How would you describe the state of jazz today? As many before me have pointed out, it's the artistic music of our times. And it tends to influence and be influenced by all sorts of music. Its main feature is the spirit of freedom and improvisation; there is a lot of great stuff going on.
What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing? Don't Become too academic, and keep an open mind; in other words, keep it growing in all directions, so it's on the edge, not just a maintenance of the forms we have become used to hearing.
What is in the near future? I'm working on a new album that combines ensemble works that are a kind of Oriental chamber music, and a few duets and trios, featuring my compositions along with a few standards I enjoy playing in a very personal way. And I am back on the guitar alone on this album.
If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be a: A jazz drummer? Just kidding; perhaps a philosopher.
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