Justin Haynes: Eclectic pursuits and Ottawa roots
In the late 1990s, Ottawa lost one of its most accomplished improvisers, the young guitarist Justin Haynes, to Toronto. Before his hometown duo show Saturday night, Haynes tells Peter Hum of his Ottawa roots and his eclectic pursuits.
Q Tell me about your musical development in Ottawa.
A I was lucky in Ottawa. I had an inspiring teacher in Roddy Ellias and steadfast and brilliant allies as friends. I grew up with Jordan O’Connor and Nick Fraser and we played a lot.
Jordan and I had a weekly gig at Cafe Wim when were 15 years old. The owner, advised us how to play standards, which we did through one amp that we stole from Canterbury High School, which we drifted in and out of.
We met Nick a little later, who started playing with us at Sammy’s Cellar and wherever else would have us. We started playing original music, rearranging standards and doing what we believed to be more “outside” stuff. We were also incredibly fortunate to have opportunities to play with more seasoned musicians like Hugh O’Connor, Vernon, Charles Gay, Jamie Gatti, Kirk MacDonald and others who kicked our asses.
I also started playing with Rebecca Campbell, with whom I went on to make some pretty ambitious records and tours. Bill Stunt at the CBC helped a lot in terms of getting money to record, when the CBC still did that kind of thing.
I also discovered the Canada Council in Ottawa, and thank God for that. Ottawa was small enough so that we could play with the big boys, and big enough that the big boys were, and are, as good as anyone anywhere. I defy anyone to find me a saxophone player more swinging than Hugh O’Connor or a musician with more integrity than Roddy, for example.
Q Why did you leave Ottawa for Toronto?
A I didn’t really have a choice but to leave Ottawa, although I think things have changed somewhat. My friends (Nick, Jordan, Rebecca and Jean Martin) had moved to Toronto already, and I wasn’t doing much in Ottawa except for teaching guitar, practicing and smoking cigarettes. When I got to Toronto I almost immediately got busy playing, recording and touring.
I started composing for groups and theatre as well as some short films. Just the sheer volume of musicians and artists in Toronto or any big city makes doing this sort of thing more viable — if not always financially, at least in terms of community. I found a community in Toronto, which beyond any career highlight has been the most significant thing about being there.
Q You took some lessons with jazz greats Gary Peacock and Ralph Towner. What were they like?
A They are both lovely guys and geniuses in their own ways.
Ralph and I played together a little and talked a lot about writing tunes and working as musicians. “We both have the same problems,” he would say. Gary, like Roddy, is a very gifted and inspired pedagogue. It’s really a part of his practice as a musician to teach. He gave me a lifetime of work in about an hour. One thing that Gary stressed was the value in “living a life in service” — a phrase I say to myself almost every day. I don’t claim to always live one, but it is my goal to do so.
Q Tell me about your collaboration with Felicity Williams. How does it work? Why does it work?
A Felicity is an amazing musician. When we get together to work on stuff we usually just end up hanging out. Last week we read the Bible and recorded it for some reason. We’re going to write a song based on an Al Purdy poem in the car on the drive to Ottawa. You know, it’s pretty loose.
It seems, though, that when we play together on a gig things become extremely focused instantly. There is that telepathic thing going on and an esthetic we share.
It’s easy in that way. We’ve played standards, original songs, songs by friends as well as free improvising. I don’t think either of us are too concerned about material, (although we try to present stuff we like), so much as the process of spontaneous music making. It’s cool. That’s how it works. We hang out, commiserate around our trials in life and love, and read the Bible.
Then we play a show and knuckle down hard.