“Karriem is in a beautiful enviable position: By day, he can cook with the best of those in the jazz and he STILL maintains his respect from the veterans of that world (he is from [Detroit] like Elvin Jones)… Then at night he cooks some treats up on his MPC3000 that I KNOW for a fact has a fellow former resident of the D smilingBesides being a genuinely nice person Karriem Riggins is one of the most gifted individuals in the music industry, period. On a somber summer afternoon recently I picked up the phone and we spoke on everything from family to his new experience that he is bestowing to the audiences of three cities. Along this journey we also spoke about his experiences with the late James Yancey. The man is truly a good soul, enter Karriem Riggins....illRoots.com: What's good sir?
down and snapping his neck from the gates of heaven tapping the shoulders of Jimi & Donny & James & Minnie talking about ’see that cat right there? That’s MY cat right there!!!!…..(*yells to gabriel at the speaker controls*)…TURN IT UP!’
-?uestlove
Karriem Riggins: Everything is well, how about yourself?
iR: I'm good man, I'm glad we got to sit down and speak.
KR: Me too, I really appreciate it.
illRoots.com: No doubt. So explain the "Virtuoso Experience"
KR: The Virtuoso Experience is Mulgrew Miller on piano and rhodes, Warren Wolf on vibes, and Jill Sanders on bass. All of these musicians can play any style of music and that's what I am trying to do. I'm trying to implement and let people know that music is very versatile and I'm incorporating a DJ with it as well. I'm incorporating the DJ more so as an instrument than just mixing an scratching. I'm just trying open peoples ears to something different.
iR: It's going to be 3 dates?
KR: Yes, we do this place in Seattle called the Triple Door, two dates at Yoshi's in Oakland, and then the last show is on the 29th in Minneapolis.
Karriem Riggins’ Virtuoso Experience (Promo Video 2) from Karriem Riggins Music on Vimeo.
iR: This is all new material?
KR: Definitely all new material and new arrangements with probably some Jazz standards. But yeah, I'm going to flip it into something from my perspective.
iR: Give me the significance of your early workings under Betty Carter?
KR: Betty Carter basically put me through Greg Hutchinson who introduced me to Betty Carter. Betty Carter was a real mentor to me. She featured a lot of young jazz musicians and we were all sponsored to come out and do three shows. We did two shows at Brooklyn Academy of Music and then we did one show at the Apollo. She featured all these young musicians and put the word out in New York that we were all in town playing. In return, a lot of band leaders were there to hear young musicians and find out if they wanted to grab ahold of some of these young cats and I made a decision not to go home off of that trip. I was only 17. I stayed in New York and met a lot of people.
iR: Yeah, I mean your work spans from Kanye West to Erykah Badu. Give me one untold story.
KR: Wow, well just working with Dilla was a very great experience. I liked how he was and his studio ethic was really really hip. He thought like a jazz musician with the emphasis that there are no rules in the studio. "However we come up with it we will come up with," let's just do it. That was very great experience working with him.
iR: You actually finished "The Shining" after his untimely death in 06' right?
KR: Right.
iR: Give me some insight on how those days were in the studio working to finish a dearly departed friend's work. It was close to 80 percent done right?
KR: Yeah, it was pretty much done and the only thing I was left to do was finish certain songs left with verses that he wanted to rhyme on and some songs were unmixed. Pretty much his vision was there and everything was laid down and he let me know that he wanted me to help him mix it. He wanted me to approve mixes and to step out and get mixes done while he was still living. That was the last message that I got from him. I kept calling him back trying to connect with him but I didn't know. I knew he was very very ill but I'm always an optimistic thinker, thinking that he was still going to be there you know? I never knew that I was going to have to do that alone but I got it done know that that was his wishes.
iR: One of my favorite records that you did was with Madlib on Yesterday's Universe...
KR: That's my man!
iR: Was it called "Two for Strata-East"?
KR: No we did a song called "Umoja (Unity)," actually that Yesterday's Universe was a compilation of all the jazz groups that he was affiliated with and he featured one of the songs that we have with our group The Jahari Massamba Unit.
iR: Nice.
KR: We have an album coming.
iR: Dope, when should we expect that?
KR: This year. We have completed more than 10 albums under that name. It's more just mapping out the deal and making sure we can get the proper exposure.
iR: With your shows coming up what made you think of putting together something like the Virtuoso Experience in contrast to working more heavily with The Jahari Massamba Unit?
KR: I just want to definitely bring something different to the music, you know I DJ as well so I like a wide variety of different music, all genres of music. I kind of wanted it to be like one of my mixes but not where its just drastically different where were doing the Waltz and then we bang out Led Zeppelin but I wanted it to be more [pauses] where people can see that most music is under the umbrella of Jazz music.
iR: True. What albums are you looking forward to hearing this year?
Karriem Riggins from Karriem Riggins on Vimeo.
KR: That I'm apart of, or just in general?
iR: Just in general.
KR: I'm looking forward to hearing of course The Supreme Team, the group that me and Madlib have together. Common's new project that he's working on now. I'm really excited to hear that he's going to go back to the raw...
iR: He's going back to the Resurrection-type Common?
KR: I shouldn't even say back, he's going to Hip-Hop. The last project he was going towards more dance and electro sounding stuff. I think he's going back to the boom bap.
iR: That's dope, what other instruments do you play besides the drums?
KR: Thoroughly, no instruments besides the drums, but in the studio I play the piano, upright bass, and my first instrument was the trumpet. I know a few scales on the trumpet but I can't really get busy.
iR: Define music.
KR: An expression of art through melody and harmony.
iR: Lastly, what other future endeavors should we look out for?
KR: Definitely my solo jazz project, Supreme Team...
iR: Nice and that's you and Madlib?
KR: Yes, that's me and Madlib rhyming over each others beats.
iR: That's sick.
KR: Thank you, I'm looking forward to that one. The Jahari Massamba Unit and I have some production coming out with Common, Snoop. I have a group with Black Thought that I'm working on.
iR: You said you have a group with Black Thought?
KR: Yeah we are a duo, we are doing a duo record.
iR: I'm still waiting on that Money Makin' Jam Boyz.
KR: I know! He's got a busy schedule these days, a lot on his plate.
iR: Yeah, I can't wait to hear the project with all those guys on it. Truck North's most recent tape is really crazy too.
KR: Yea I have to get up with him. He's been hitting me with some crazy beats. I love him too, he's really dope.
iR: So you go far back with Philly and the whole Roots thing huh?
KR: I worked on Black's first MCA project that was supposed to come out. From knowing him, he's a perfectionist so I guess he thought that it wasn't at a level to turn it in. That's one of my favorite rappers man..
iR: Oh and he's so underrated too. Well good sir, thank you for sitting down with me today and I will definitely look forward to hearing more from you this year.
KR: No doubt, it was great speaking with you.
