IN CONCERT
What: Jacob Collier
Where: McPherson Playhouse
When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $37.50, $45.50 (Victoria Jazz Society 250-388-4423 or Royal/McPherson box office 250-386-6121
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You鈥檇 think a one-man band playing a dizzying array of instruments would pray that nothing goes wrong on stage.
Not Jacob Collier, the musical wunderkind.
When the 22-year-old north Londoner hits the stage on Wednesday as part of TD International Victoria Jazz Festival, he鈥檒l be playing drums, grand piano, guitar, bass, synthesizer and melodica. Collier will also sing, harmonizing up to 12 voices simultaneously using a one-of-a-kind device created by Ph.D. student Ben Bloomberg at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Essentially, Collier keeps all these musical plates spinning simultaneously using a looper system that records and repeats sections of sound (drums, bass etc.). The performance is accompanied by a real-time video display.
Not long ago, he played a show (Collier can鈥檛 remember the town) at which an audience member let out a loud whoop. This ambient sound was recorded by his percussion loop, which meant the shout was heard every couple of bars, over and over again.
It didn鈥檛 faze Collier. In fact, he liked it.
鈥淚t was great because I made that into part of the melody,鈥� he said, phoning barefoot from a beach in Los Angeles.
鈥淚 think people enjoy seeing this human element of the technology. Often, technology can come across as seeming quite invulnerable.鈥�
Collier鈥檚 stage set-up is so complex, it鈥檚 rare when something doesn鈥檛 go slightly off the rails. He views this as a bonus 鈥� something that yanks him out of his 鈥渃omfort zone鈥� and keeps him on his toes creatively.
He came to international notice on YouTube. In recent years, Collier has posted videos of himself playing a grab-bag of music, such as Burt Bacharach鈥檚 Close to You, the Flintstones theme, Georgia on my Mind, Jerusalem and George Gershwin鈥檚 Fascinating Rhythm.
His big breakthrough came via a virtuoso version of Stevie Wonder鈥檚 1973 song Don鈥檛 You Worry 鈥橞out a Thing. It begins a cappella, with Collier singing a choir鈥檚 worth of harmonies. Then it shifts into percussively dense Latin jazz, with him playing a multitude of instruments with jaw-dropping aplomb.
Don鈥檛 You Worry 鈥橞out a Thing not only racked up two million- plus views, it attracted raves from musicians including Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, k.d. lang, Pat Metheny and Steve Vai.
And that鈥檚 not all.
鈥淨uincy Jones sent me an email saying: 鈥楬ey, this is great. I love it. We should talk,鈥� 鈥� Collier said.
Jones did more than talk. The legendary producer/composer/ musician flew the then 19-year-old Collier to the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2014 so they could meet. The upshot was that Collier was signed to Quincy Jones Productions, joining a roster of gifted young musicians handpicked for mentorship. 鈥淗e鈥檚 an unbelievably special guy,鈥� Collier said.
Last year, Collier released his album In My Room. A mixture of originals and covers, it spans jazz, pop, rock, folk, funk and world music.
In My Room shows the influence of such artists as Stevie Wonder, Take 6 and Sting.
鈥淪tevie was my number one growing up and kind of still is. Everything I love about music I think he represents on some level,鈥� Collier said.
He recorded and produced the album by himself, toiling away in his room in his childhood home in London. This home studio can be seen on the disc鈥檚 cover, which shows a spikey-haired Collier surrounded by keyboards, banjo, guitars, a double bass and percussion instruments.
There鈥檚 a certain slickness to the music, perhaps a reflection on his heavy reliance on technology. Interestingly, Collier says he鈥檚 not particularly enthralled with electronic instruments. For one song on In My Room, titled Hideaway, he uses the sound of 鈥渕e hitting the floor with my fist鈥� instead of a kick-drum.
Taking the one-man band concept to such a level requires extraordinary dedication. During recording, he would sometimes log 16 or 17 hours a day, stopping only to eat and sleep.
鈥淚f I鈥檓 in that room and I鈥檓 on a roll, I can just go and go and go. It takes for the sun to come up to put me to bed,鈥� Collier said with a laugh.
After the In My Room tour concludes, Collier plans to make a collaborative recording using guest musicians. A follow-up tour will reflect this approach, mixing his one-man-band concept and other players.
Collier said the 鈥渨underkind鈥� tag doesn鈥檛 worry him. After all, it鈥檚 not a label he came up with.
鈥淚n a way, it鈥檚 not up to me to think about that too much. My responsibility is more concerned with just to be making things,鈥� he said.
鈥淚f I can be happy in my life and keep on making music, I think that鈥檚 the best thing that I could be doing.鈥�