The Lina Allemano Four gets filed under "Avant-Garde Jazz", but you don't need to get hung up too much on either half of that tag. Their music is adventurous and technically sophisticated, but it always registers first and foremost at the emotional level. At the upcoming LIVE IMAGES/Wavelength co=presentation, trumpeter Lina Allemano will be leading the combo (rounded out by Brodie West on alto sax, Andrew Downing on double bass and Nick Fraser on drums) on a live score to some classic experimental films. I spoke to her via e-mail about sounds and images, improvizations and collaboration.

Wavelength: This Wavelength show is taking place in collaboration with the Images Festival. Are you a movie buff yourself? Do you have a taste for experimental film?

Lina Allemano: Yes, I definitely have a taste for experimental film and am excited to be involved with this event, but I wouldn't call myself a movie buff per se. However, my brother Luigi is in film - he's an animation artist, film music composer and sound designer in Montreal - and so I've absorbed a lot about film via him.
 
WL: There's a long and rich relationship between the screen and jazzy sounds. Do you have any favourite soundtrack albums? I'm pretty partial to Ascenseur pour l'échafaud and Naked Lunch, myself.

LA: Of course Ascenseur pour l'échafaud is a classic. I saw that when I was a kid and was already very much into Miles Davis… My parents took my brother and I to a lot of non-mainstream films at the local repertory theatres in Edmonton, so we were exposed to a lot of great films as kids. I also clearly remember seeing the Antonioni film, Blowup, from 1960-something, which features a jazz soundtrack with Herbie Hancock's band.
 
WL: It sounds like you came from a creative family! It's a Toronto thing to sometimes assume that people from places like Edmonton grew up in a cultural wasteland, so that's a cool story. (I say this as someone who moved here from Winnipeg.) Was there a creative music scene in Edmonton that inspired you early on?

LA: Yes, Edmonton has a surprisingly lively cultural scene, but really, my parents are largely responsible for my early exposure to creative music, art, and culture - they actively sought it out. We grew up without a TV in the house, so that in itself opened up loads of time for my brother and I to pursue more creative and artistic endeavours. The jazz scene in Edmonton definitely nurtured my early musical development, but I didn't really start heading toward the more avant-garde or improvised side of things, or whatever you want to call it, until I moved to Toronto. And even then, it's been a very gradual shift for me over the years toward a more "avant-garde" sensibility with my own music.

WL: Compared to Edmonton, how do you feel about being a member of Toronto's music community?
 
LA: It's exciting here. Toronto is a fantastic place for music with its huge diversity of cultures and high density of musicians, but my only regret about the Toronto music community is that it sometimes feels a little fragmented and cliquey. There are so many individual music scenes here, and even within any given genre, there seem to be different sub-scenes - but yet none of them appear to be interacting as much as they could be, at least from my vantage point. And I don't even mean musically speaking, but just in the way of supporting each other and checking out what other people are doing in other scenes. Personally, I find it refreshing to get exposed to things outside of the ordinary.

WL: Your recording credits include appearances alongside both Sloan and Achilla Orru (who, sadly, recently passed away). Was this session work? Is there a satisfaction in getting to play with different kinds of musicians, even if it means serving someone else's creative vision?

LA: Sloan was just session work, I never actually performed with them. But I played in Achilla's band for something like 10 years, maybe more. Interestingly, he never wanted me to improvise, but he would write the trumpet parts specifically for me, so the music became very special and very personal nonetheless. Yes, I love being an integral part of other people's projects and serving their artistic vision - it's very satisfying and keeps me fresh. I learn a lot and I enjoy the challenges that other people put in front of me… and I've been very lucky to play with some pretty remarkable musicians.

WL: What is your general approach for this show going to be? Are you watching the films beforehand? Will the band's music be fully improvised, or will you try and come up with something in advance? Will there be a different balance of improvisation to composition than there normally is with this group?

LA: I have seen both of the films, and was able to get my hands on the original soundtracks as well so that I could have a frame of reference on which to base my own score. We will be doing a combination of composed and improvised material, much in the same manner as we do in concert performance, only now we are adding in an additional factor - the film. One thing my band is very adept at is reacting spontaneously as a synergetic entity, so I know the music will be seamless.

WL: I know that The Existentialist has a pretty distinctive original musical accompaniment. Are you going to play off/respond to that, or will you be starting fresh?

LA: Actually both films, Allures and The Existentialist, have very distinctive original soundtracks and so I wanted to somehow pay homage to the original music while at the same time adding my own take. I suppose in some sort of abstract way, we will be responding to the feeling and form of the original music, but from a completely different and fresh angle.
 
WL: Music is always a dialogue, both between members of a band and with the whole tradition that came before. Who are some of the musicians that you are responding to (or reacting against!) in your work?

LA: It would actually be hard for me to make a short list of musical influences… I've had so many different interests over the years, so I guess I've been slow-cooking up a huge pot of diverse influences for years which has lead me to where I am now. I'd hate to put one or two names on it… and anyway, probably the people I am always responding to most are the musicians in my band, who are always at the forefront of my mind.
 
WL: In which case, tell us some more about your agile band, and how "the four" came together.

LA: This particular formation has been together for something like 8 years now, I think. It was just intuition that lead me to put the band together for a first trial gig, and I think we could all sense that there was something special right away. So I pursued it and have been very lucky to have all these years together to grow and develop as a group.

WL: I'm excited for this show to see a double shot of Brodie West, who I hear has been busy with some non-musical developments lately. You've also been keeping things fresh with the Titanium Trio, which with the addition of Ryan Driver has lately become Titanium Riot. What plans do you have for that?

LA: Yes, it's exciting for me to have a new group, Titanium Riot, also in the mix. That group is currently working on recording our first album in much the same fashion as Lina Allemano Four's latest album, Live at the Tranzac, was recorded. Our plan is to record the next few shows at the Tranzac (generally on the 2nd Sunday of each month), and then choose the best takes from several different nights for the album. Once we have the album finished, I can start pursuing touring possibilities, etc. For now, I'm still concentrating most of my efforts on Lina Allemano Four.

WL: Thanks so much! I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing the results.