James Harries - British singer-songwriter with "a golden voice"
My guest in today's Arts is the British jazz guitarist and singer James Harries, who now makes his home in Prague. When I spoke to him on the phone before our interview, James said he couldn't make it to the Radio Prague studio until late in the day as he was going to spend all night recording. When James Harries came into our studio, I couldn't resist first asking him if that was really the case.
"No, it's not true at all. I thought I might because when you're going to the studio to record something it generally takes ten times longer than you think. But we got it done very quickly yesterday."
So what is it you're working on now?
"I don't know if it's secret or not. It might be top secret. Some music for a film."
A Czech film?
"A Czech film. I shall say no more. I'm not sure I'm allowed to say any more."
But you'll let us know when it's out?
"Sure."
Tell us something about your musical background...
"Well, at the moment I play the guitar and sing - sing mainly. I've always been playing music. Background... from about age four I was playing a recorder, then I was in a brass band - a silver band, not a brass band - in Britain, playing the cornet. Then I played the clarinet and the saxophone. I got on to the guitar much later."
You come from Great Britain but you've been living in the Czech Republic for quite a while. What brought you here?
"Originally music. I came here a long long time ago to play a few concerts. And then I came again to play some concerts and I stayed because... I stayed. I'm now married and I'm now staying."
Record companies often complain that the Czech Republic is too small a market for music. Do you see that as a problem?
"Well, no..."
So you have no problems selling records?
"Oh, I always have problems selling records. I play abroad a lot: in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Austria, Poland, Slovakia and the UK. I just have a record that's come out in the States now. I mainly sell at concerts and I fortunately play enough concerts so there is no problem."
You write your own music yourself. Reviewers say you draw from many styles of music, jazz, folk, rock, blues, country. Have you found any inspiration in Czech music or the musical roots of this part of Europe?
"No, not really - no yet. Maybe I'll work 'round some Moravian folk later."
You have worked with both Czech and Slovak musicians. Do you enjoy that cooperation?
"Yes! I'm very fortunate to have played and still be playing with, occasionally, with two excellent Czech jazz musicians, Emil Viklicky on piano and Petr Dvorsky on contrabass and I enjoy it a lot. It's a lot of fun."
[James Harries plays a song.]
Thank you very much, James. What is the name of the song?
"Café del Mar. It's a name of a café. It's also a record label but I figured that out later."
And it comes from the CD you released last year...
"Yes. The 'Straight Street Session'."
Where can our listeners buy it?
"You can buy it over the internet. You can buy it from lots of places, apparently. I don't know. In shops, too. Type in the name and it will come up somewhere, hopefully."
Are you working on anything else now apart from the film music you mentioned? Is there another CD coming out soon?
"I don't know. There have been a couple of offers. Songs are there, CD isn't."
Are you planning a summer tour?
"In the summer, there is a fair few festivals to be played, in the Czech Republic. There is six, seven, eight festivals in the Czech Republic. And then, in September I go to the UK and then there should be a tour. Two-three months, dates yet to be filled in."
