Voice of happiness revisits Seoul

Don’t Worry Be Happy’ singer Bobby McFerrin / Courtesy of LG Arts Center

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Bobby McFerrin, a man of a thousand voices, comes to Korea for a concert with his latest album "spirityouall" at LG Arts Center in southern Seoul on March 10 and 11. Mostly well-known for feisty song "Don't Worry Be Happy," McFerrin will unravel musical traits down his family line at his fourth concert in Korea.

The American musician talked about his upcoming concert in Seoul with The Korea Times via email, but the audiences will find surprises at the concert as McFerrin will perform absolutely impromptu as he always does.

Q: Your musical instrument is in your voice. How did you find the extraordinary range of your voice?

A:

I grew up listening to both of my parents sing and teach. They both had beautiful voices and a lot of technical expertise. So I had that in my ears. But I thought of myself as an instrumentalist, not a singer. I started my musical career as a pianist. Then one day I was walking home from playing for a dance class and all of a sudden I could hear it in my head. I could hear the music I wanted to make; I could hear myself singing in a way I'd never heard anyone sing before. I was 27 years old. It was really an amazing experience, a revelatory moment. Then I had to sit in a room by myself and sing and sing and sing until I could make the sounds I was hearing in my inner ear.

Q: In your latest album "spirityouall," you included spirituals of your father Robert McFerrin, who was the first African-American man to sing at the Metropolitan Opera. What was the key in inheriting your father's musical legacy?

The idea for the project has been around for a long time ― I wanted to make an album that honored my father, the great baritone Robert McFerrin Sr. He recorded a whole album of spirituals, the songs sung by American slaves as they worked and prayed and rejoiced and struggled. My memories of him singing those songs are still so vivid. But I knew I had to find my own way to sing the songs. I couldn't sing them like he did, he already did that better than I ever could. So for years it stayed in the back of my mind. Then I realized I could combine it with my love of blues and folk and bluegrass. The whole sound came together really quickly then and the album came out in 2012.

My father had a truly amazing voice and his natural gifts as a musician were great. But he didn't coast on those natural advantages. He was one of the most disciplined musicians I've ever met ― he was very hard on himself and on his students. He was committed to excellence. I always have his voice in my head. I try to emulate him and hold his standards and I also like to loosen things up and go my own way.

Q: Now your daughter Madison has joined this tour as a backing vocalist. How is it like to share the stage with your daughter?

My parents brought me up in a house filled with music, and I've tried to do the same for my children. I've tried to share the joy I feel in singing with all three of my incredibly talented kids, we sing together all the time and goof around and make stuff up.

My mom was a wonderful soprano and teacher. For me as a kid she was my guide to a very personal relationship with music. She helped me understand that all music is prayer. And when I was sick she would put on music and I would feel better. She understood how deeply it affected me. So in many ways I learned my relationship to music from her.

My daughter Madison had a really good funk band when she was at the Berklee (College of Music), but now she's graduated and doing her own solo stuff and touring with the spirityouall band. She is singing backup and it's so much fun.

Q: For this concert, you are with a six-member band instead of being a one-man band. How is it going to be different from your previous concerts in Korea?

The spirityouall band has been traveling together for two years now. I'm excited to bring the band to Asia. I think the audience there will love the warmth and spirit of the band.

In my 20s, when I was a young working musician, I always played with bands. It's great to come back to the feeling of sharing the stage with great musicians you play with night after night, people you love and share inside jokes with, people who keep surprising you. I just love it. And this band has been traveling together for two years now, we've become a family.

Q: Why do you stick to improvised music?

All music is moving through time. Improvisation is like life ― you keep coming to forks in the road and making choices about how to go forward through time. There are infinite options. For me it's tangible evidence of how incredibly wondrous this world is, of the bounty before us.

Q: Audience is an important part of your concert as well. How do you make them engage in your music?

Audiences everywhere are different, but they are also the same in some ways. I think those moments when we all sing together are the most fun. Maybe it's because I feel that way, but all over the world, everybody jumps right in. It's the best. I love to listen to the audience singing.

Tickets for McFerrin's concert in Seoul cost from 40,000 to 130,000 won. For more information, visit www.lgart.com or call 02-2005-0114.