It took Hans York a little longer than he had planned to come to America.
| 7 p.m. Saturday, Espresso Americano, Everett Library; free; 425-259-3492. |
The German resident had a full scholarship to the Berkeley College of Music. Then the value of the dollar rose.
“Even with a full scholarship, I was not able to pay room and board. Imagine being 17 … I was very disappointed. I grew up with American music, jazz, and I always had a love for that country,” York said.
Living near a U.S. military base, York decided to play with mostly American musicians.
“I’ve always been very eclectic and open to different kinds of music. I wanted to be a professional musician and make a living. You had to play in a band to be successful or be fairly versatile so whatever comes up (as a job) you could deliver,” York said.
That versatility and openness brought him jobs accompanying Robert Palmer on German TV, playing bass with the New York Broadway Ensemble tour, touring Europe with master harp player Rudiger Opperman, and performing a concerto as a soloist on a fretless bass with a chamber orchestra.
The ensemble job came through a friend who was intimidated by the score to “West Side Story” and offered it to York.
At a music camp in Germany, he met two California brothers, who invited him to visit. California won his heart, and York moved to America.
He had been involved in folk music at the time, and part of the draw was to see music in action.
“I went to parties with music sessions where everybody was playing Americana music to old-time to bluegrass. I was very fascinated,” York said. Germany’s “original folk music was pretty much destroyed during the war.”
He went back to Germany in March. “When I listened to the radio, maybe one in 15 songs were in German, all the rest were in English; American or German artists singing in English. But that’s better than it used to be.”
York spent six months in Rio de Janeiro and studied samba and bossa nova. It inspired his first solo album, recorded in German.
For York, music is not just a collection of notes and words.
“I try to approach music from a spiritual aspect. Nowadays the role of a musician is being a modern medicine man because we can reach into people’s soul somehow and untie knots.
That’s what music did for me, when I heard lyrics with a meaning that I could relate to. … I’m like a doctor in a war zone. People need music and culture and art more than ever.”
Hans York
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
