Comics, jazz and the real life

Muy pronto en su versión en español....

Photo by Nadje Noordhuis

By Pablo Javier Frizan

Kelly Fenton would be for some people like that strange but funny friend that we all of us have during childhood. But, instead, she’s a young artist who, through the music, expresses all the feelings and emotions that a good story and master piece of art, let’s say graphic novel, can awakes.
She is from New York and is known as an interesting jazz composer for small and big orchestras. Her works are really worthy to be listened. And the best thing is that, at his 29 years old, she will keep doing it until she founds her own kryptonite.
You can read about her and listen to her compositions at http://www.kellyfentonjazz.com and http://bottomlesscupmusic.typepad.com/.

1) Why comics as inspiration?

Good question- one of my favorites! I love the concept of music as storytelling, be it fact or fiction. I hope one day to evolve into a musical journalist of sorts, writing music about real people and their lives from around the world. In a sense, I consider writing music aboutcomic books to be practice for the real thing! Plus, I am just very passionate about comics and the stories they tell. I believe just about every comic book storyline if stripped down of its multidimensions, extreme scientific accidents, and muscle to body fat ratio, there would bea story or situation we can all relate to on some level. I think it often takes the fantastical to teach or express the more bitter realities of life and that's what comics (and music) excel at.That, plus I completely fell in love with Ted Kord back in 2005. He was the first character I ever wrote about, and I got hooked! (I explain all this better on my website under "Creation" and "Infinite Crisis" (http://bottomlesscupmusic.typepad.com/creation/2009/06/infinite-crisis-suite.html)

2) How do you compose your themes?

I mean, how do you decide which sounds or instruments fit better than another?This is often the hardest, yet most fun part of the process! I almost always approach these themes abstractly. I make pages of notes about a character, read as many story arcs that involve them, and plaster their picture all over my work space. I try to get inside their head andunderstand what general musical aesthetics accurately express them.
Choosing an instrument to represent them is the easiest part. Most instruments match a certain personality type and except for the occasional exceptions, you can almost always look at an ordinary person and guess what instrument they would play (my boyfriend, who is a saxophonist, and Ilove to play this game in airports!).So, for example, when I was conceiving the music for Cheshire in my Secret Six Suite, I immediately thought alto sax. Alto is, to be completely stereotypical and generic, the "girl" sax (though I know enough women that play the other saxes to contradict this rule, but in my world, sticking with stereotypes helps to make my already highly interpretable music just a little clearer!).
Cheshire is sexy, manipulative, and a martial arts bad ass! She suffered a crappy upbringing and is probably one of thosecharacters that got mixed in with the wrong crowd. I like to believe that if she was given the right chance with the right person, she could come over to the good side. I wanted her music to evoke a feeling of a smoky film noir nightclub with the sexy, mysterious stranger telling you her sad life story, but only as a means to manipulate you to fall for her so she can get what she needs from you. Here music features a very scoopy alto with a dark, dense harmonic progression. By the end of the piece, theentire band is screaming (trumpets are VERY high) pretty much to the point of over-dramatizing.
I almost picture Cheshire sobbing over her vodka tonic, but looking out of the corner of her eye with a smile to see if youfeel for it.Now, whether or not that is what the listener understands, I have no idea! That's just my thought process. However, I am trying to understand my comic-centric audience and have invited them to follow me along my creative process and butt in when they see fit.



3) Which character is your "musa inspiradora" and why?


Hmm... good question. As far as each piece of music goes, the character whom I am writing about takes over the "muse spotlight." Yet in a sense I could say Ted Kord was my "musa del numero uno" simply because he got mestarting in this direction and when I really feel stuck, I often think back to the way he inspired me and try to find that same inspiration in what ever project I am stuck on.However, if you what you are really asking is who is my favorite character, then the answer is without a doubt Donna Troy! She has all the amazon bad-assness of Wonder Woman but with a bit of a softer side.Definitely my superhero role model!





4) DC versus Marvel. Amalgam arc. Describe me the hypothetical soundtrack.


Honestly, I haven't read this!!! But according to the Wikipedia entry, it is something I should read! Without having read it, I could still hypothesize a soundtrack of clashing themes, probably 2 main themes, or leitmotifs, one each for DC and Marvel. All the subsequent battles wouldbe bases around these themes. The resulting Amalgam world would attempt to play these two themes together (perhaps half of the first, the latter part of the second) but with a really unsettling and unresolved feeling. Interesting idea... hmm... must go drink some coffee and muse on this a bit!



5) Do superheroes really exist or they are just a figment of our imagination?

I LOVE to believe they exist! Though perhaps more in an M. Night Shyamalam "Breakable" way. I actually really liked the idea that Heroes Season 1 was following about superhero powers as a result of evolution. That, I definitely believe could happen one day! If that were to happen, I only wish that I would evolve in my comprehension of what I am hearing. That certainly would speed up my writing process!