Ron Kobayashi has managed to make a go of it as a rarity—a homegrown Orange County jazz musician.
How long has the Ron Kobayashi Trio been playing?
Kobayashi rallies OC's hardcore jazz lovers. Photo courtesy of Ron Kobayashi.
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Twelve years now, and with the same personnel.
How did you get your start as a jazz pianist?
I studied classical when I was a kid . . . kind of reluctantly. I didn't want to play piano, but my parents wanted me to play. I took classical for about 10 years and started to enjoy it toward the end. My dad played jazz in his youth, and he introduced me to jazz toward the end of my classical studies. I really latched onto jazz because of the improvisational aspects. I took a summer course at Fullerton College and lessons privately from some pianists I admired, and just listened incessantly to jazz records. I really had no formal training in jazz. It was mostly self-taught. Because I had the classical background, the technical thing wasn't as big of a feat for me. I already had the technique. It was a matter of getting my mind around the whole improvisational thing in jazz.
Did you grow up in Orange County?
Yes.
How was it for someone interested in jazz?
That was about 20 years ago—in my youth. Los Angeles had a much hipper jazz scene. There was a lot going on there. My dad would take me. I would hear some of the greats play. In the past 10 years, Orange County has really started to have a wonderful jazz scene sort of spearheaded by Steamers in Fullerton and a few other clubs. So I'm able to get my jazz fix here in Orange County and not necessarily go all the way up to LA. In that respect, jazz has grown in acceptance and availability here in Orange County. But it's never been really popular with the masses. I think the reason why is because it's so much a musician's art form. You really have to understand music to appreciate it. A lot of people who don't have experience with music listen to jazz and wonder, "What's that gobbledygook?" Because it's a musician's music, it's always going to be minority music—it's never going to be popular. I think that's one of the attractions to me.
I'm catching you on your way to a gig, so you're definitely a working musician. What's the life of a working musician—specifically a jazz musician—like?
It's a lot of hustling for gigs. In a shaky economy, the first thing to go is music or entertainment at clubs. So we're always the first to feel the pinch of a bad economy. I think every musician would agree that you have to keep as many projects going as possible because you never know when one is going to fall through. Because I make my living solely on music, I have to do three or four different gigs if possible, teach, do studio work, arrangements, write music for people, because I know at any time any one of those could fall through. It's a real juggling act. I would love to just play. The downside of it is that business end—having to keep so many balls in the air at one time.
Do you get gigs networking?
That has a lot to do with connections. For example, I've been the Music Director of the Hollywood Diversity Awards. It's a show that awards ethnic and religious diversity in movies. What's great about that is, because I'm the Music Director, it's opened up a lot of connections to musicians.
Orange County isn't thought of as a jazz mecca, but it seems you've managed to find an audience.
Yeah, it's small, but it's a real loyal following. When we play Spaghettini, Steamers or Cavallino, there's this hardcore jazz crowd that I'll see over and over again. Fortunately, they come and support live music and keep those clubs open. I think those few loyal jazz fans make it possible for me and other jazz musicians here to keep making a living. It's really a credit to them. Because [our music's] improvisatory, maybe that's why there are repeat audiences, because they never know what they're going to get. It could go off in so many infinite ways.
Do you ever find that people are dismissive of modern jazz or only want to focus on the originators?
That's a big complaint I have of jazz radio in general, but not necessarily the clubs. Traditional jazz radio stations the majority of the time will only play the old masters. They're great because they're masters, and I appreciate that. The problem is that it's treating the music as a museum piece. That's disappointing. I wish jazz radio in general would be a little more open to playing more local artists and newer artists. But KSBR 88.5 in Orange County actually does a really good job of that. They've been really supportive of a lot of local artists. In order for jazz to grow, we need to hear from people we don't know about.
THE RON KOBAYASHI TRIO PERFORM TUES., SEPT. 4 AND THE FIRST TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH AT STEAMERS JAZZ CLUB AND CAFE, 138 W. COMMONWEALTH AVE., FULLERTON, (714) 871-8800; WWW.STEAMERSJAZZ.COM . ALSO EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY AT BISTANGO, 19100 VON KARMAN AVE., IRVINE, (949) 752-5222; WWW.BISTANGO.COM . EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT AT BAYSIDE RESTAURANT, 900 BAYSIDE DR., NEWPORT BEACH, (949) 721-1222; WWW.BAYSIDERESTAURANT.COM . VISIT WWW.MYSPACE.COM/RONKOBAYASHI FOR MORE INFORMATION.
