Bowie's Piano Man - The Biography of Mike Garson

by Clifford Slapper

  The idea of allowing patients to determine what the symphony should finally consist of is a first in a production of this kind, and is just one of several important and groundbreaking aspects of this event. One hundred patients had been asked which of the compositions made them feel better (or worse) before the final selection was presented. Dr. Duma, who is also involved in research on new treatments for brain cancer, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s, gave his Parkinson’s disease patients a dexterity test to assess their functioning both with and without the various pieces of music and the results showed specific improvements in some cases. The film and audio recordings of the event will be made available to patients, and in addition to raising funds for new research into the possible role of music in helping people with neurological conditions, the aim was also to raise awareness of the medically healing potential of music in general.

  Garson had always been keenly aware of the healing power of his own and other music, though he had his interest intensified in 2011 on hearing how music therapy had helped Arizona politician Gabrielle Giffords recover the power of speech after a gunshot wound to the head. In Western culture the idea of music as a healing force is seen as early as the biblical account of how the tormented King Saul ‘was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him’ after being serenaded by David on the harp.

  In ancient Greece, the use of sound to heal was considered a sacred science. The lyre was used to treat illnesses such as gout and sciatica as well as trauma and mental upset, and the Greek God of medicine, Apollo, was also the god of music. There are similar examples in most cultures. Specific uses of music within medical practice in the modern period are seen from about the eighteenth century, though the broad professional practice of music therapy dates from the twentieth century. The rapid changes in music technology of recent years have opened up new possibilities, with for example the ‘Music and Memory’ project61 bringing personalised digital music collections to many elderly people, who show great improvements in animation and happiness through such stimulation.

  Garson once took his grandson Max to buy drum brushes at the Los Angeles branch of the Sam Ash music store which he himself used to visit as a child in Brooklyn. Whilst he was there, a young goth girl with rings in her nose and what seemed like an engagement ring came in looking very distraught. The salesmen hovered around her ‘for two reasons: first she was an attractive girl, second they wanted to sell her a piano’. She was very upset; she said that she had had a very bad day. Garson thought that perhaps her boyfriend had left her, and she simply asked whether she could sit and play for a while. Max was watching closely. She played, very softly, so as not to disturb anyone, as if she was writing a song, around three very tentative chords. After fifteen minutes she stood up and kind of danced or skipped over to some other part of the store, seeming to have been ‘healed’ by her own music. And yet she had come in with the body language of someone very stressed. There are few creative endeavours which can have such a dramatic effect in self-calming or soothing a ‘troubled soul’. Garson’s father always used to tell him that ‘music soothes the savage beast’.62 Having come into adulthood in the early 1960s, Garson still bears the stamp of having been a sixties ‘love child’. He hates violence and malice and responds to it by playing. This strikes a chord for me, as my own childhood tantrums or upsets were invariably coped with by running to the piano and letting loose with some stormy improvisation too – which he says Max also does when upset, getting rid of a lot of anger by playing his drums.

  Garson’s music has not always been perceived as relaxing or therapeutic. He recalls meeting David Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones (now an acclaimed film director) backstage at a Bowie show in the 1990s, and being told by him that when he was eight or nine years old he had been terrified of Garson’s Aladdin Sane solo, which gave him nightmares. Now, forty years after recording that solo, he has been working to create music which seeks to sooth rather than scare. He jokes that ‘this is my amends project’ for having been so scary in the past.

  Certainly there is much evidence now of music having a demonstrably curative effect. A number of research findings gathered and endorsed by the independent Cochrane Collaboration63 have been positive. Protocols such as the NICE standards for clinical excellence have also shown favourable outcomes. MRI scans have been used to show the beneficial responses of the brain to certain music. Research is still at quite an early stage on the neurological mechanisms by which all of this functions, as is our understanding of which musical features have what effects and why. The tension followed by resolution which music can manufacture, however, may well prove to be a natural relaxant and analgesic through the release of naturally occurring brain chemicals, such as dopamine and opioids. One of the very best reviews of recent work in this field is ‘The Neurochemistry of Music’ by Mona Lisa Chanda and Daniel J. Levitin64, which concludes that music ‘may reduce stress, protect against disease, and manage pain’. There has also recently been a growth in work and research within the emerging concept of ‘Music, Health and Wellbeing’, and this is well documented by Raymond MacDonald, who co-edited a book65 of that title in 2012 and is Professor of Music Psychology and Improvisation at Glasgow Caledonian University. Other research cited by Professor of Neurology at UCLA, Joshua Grill, has shown that some stroke patients with damage to the part of the brain used for language, though unable to speak, can still sing.

  Garson’s Symphonic Suite for Healing reflects equally the classical and jazz strands in his music, epitomising his eclectic art. Dr. Duma, also originally from New York, studied classical piano for nine years and plays in a rock band called Vital Signs, as well as playing with surf band The Chantays, who had a huge hit in 1963 with ‘Pipeline’, since covered by artists from Pat Metheny to Johnny Thunders. As a former member of the board of directors of the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, he consulted their President and Artistic Director, Dean Corey, who it turned out was familiar with Garson’s music, and the 2014 concert was produced together with the Philharmonic Society.

  Dr. Duma spoke to me from one of several Californian hospitals at which he works, and explained some of his findings. The type of music that an Alzheimer’s patient would brighten up to was very different from that which would help a Parkinson’s patient:

  We had a trial with 100 patients, and some of those with cognitive issues [such as Alzheimer’s] on hearing some of Mike’s music actually took their headphones off and threw them down – it was too complex, atonal and contrapuntal for them, whereas if you played them an old Benny Goodman tune from the forties they just brightened up, loved it and smiled the rest of the day. In contrast, one Parkinson’s patient specifically requested an Argentinian tango from Mike, and then she was able to dance!

  Whereas the Alzheimer’s patients responded to music which evoked their deep recollections, bypassing their lack of short-term memory, the Parkinson’s patients needed a rhythmic beat, however complex. Dr. Duma is keen to explore further, for example, the relationship between emotion and movement in such patients. Parkinson’s affects the basal ganglia, a part of the brain which helps to ensure smooth movement, but when patients become more relaxed, the symptoms often ease.

  He has also patented a radical development which involves using the in-ear monitors used on stage by musicians to hear the parts of the music needed for their own performance, but for the medical purpose of ‘delivering’ regular periods of pain-relieving and therapeutic music. He is developing this with Jerry Harvey of JH Audio who have already pioneered the necessary hardware. With a three-time or four-time piece of music gently played into the ear of a Parkinson’s patient several times each day, Dr. Duma believes that this subliminal relaxant may possibly restore their motor control sufficiently to allow more normal movement. It could likewise reduce hypertension in those with high blood pressure.

  Composers and concert pianists travelled across the country to be present at the Symphonic Suite concert and the response was res
oundingly enthusiastic. The patients’ final selection of twelve parts for the Symphony starts with a fanfare, and closes with an equally optimistic affirmation via the mellow ‘Lullaby for Our Daughters’ and a contemplative piece, ‘Gratitude’, in honour of Garson’s grandchild Jacob (one of seven), whose autism has been noticeably improved by Garson’s playing for him.

  The line-up for the jazz band in the first half included his long-term friend and colleague from Free Flight, flautist Jim Walker, as well as legendary jazz drummer Joe LaBarbera, opera singer Jessica Tivens and many other stars in their various fields, including conductor Lori Loftus, orchestrator Bruce Donnelly and jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon, who has toured with Ray Charles and George Benson and been nominated for six Grammy Awards. With more than one hundred people on stage, the event successfully put the whole close relationship between music composition and therapeutic communication soundly on the map. Another of Garson’s grandchildren, Max, already a competent drummer at eight years old, joined him on stage at the end to play the congas.

  Jazz guitarist Larry Koonse has been a featured soloist with the LA Philharmonic as well as working with John Dankworth and Cleo Laine, Mel Tormé, Billy Childs and Bob Sheppard. He performed that night and said afterwards:

  Before collaborating with Mike Garson on the Symphonic Suite I had never met any single musician that could weave classical, pop, and jazz musics in such a seamless way and possess the level of virtuosity to perform the music with such mind-blowing creativity and power… Mike is that rare kind of genius that can think outside of the box and has no fear in realising his creation.

  Another person on board was Dr. Barry Bittman, CEO and President of the Yamaha Music & Wellness Institute and also a senior neurologist whose research is pioneering the development of ‘whole person’ approaches to health, and helping to further establish the connection between musical creation and human well-being. In addition to his many other activities, Bittman is a keen pianist – though he feels that traditional music education thwarted his creativity. On first meeting Garson, he told him: ‘You’re the first virtuoso musician I’ve ever met, who has a truly balanced life!’ Garson assured him there are others.

  Bittman flew in to assist Garson with the production in the final days before this world-premiere performance of the Symphonic Suite. Bittman and Garson have found a great affinity with one another’s work and vision, and have even formed a musical duo called ‘The Physician and the Musician’, performing shows for audiences of doctors and patients. Bittman begins with a presentation about current research into the ways in which music can be used in a medical setting. Then the audience is asked to share emotions, and these are conveyed by Garson on the piano. They have also played for large groups of patients and there have been some very poignant moments. Garson explains:

  We have this shtick, a bit like two Jewish comedians on stage, in a funny kind of way: we play off each other and I improvise things; I always do a little Gershwin, I do my four-note improv… in Lexington, Kentucky, I played in a hospital music theatre and it was filmed and broadcast into the rooms of patients who could not get to the theatre. When I asked for my four notes from the audience in the theatre I got some crazy, dissonant choices so I played this absolutely crazy atonal piece from that, which made Aladdin Sane seem tame! I suddenly got worried how the patients in their bedrooms would take it, and feared my healing might backfire and that we would lose a few of them!

  Bittman emphasises that ‘in ancient times, the physician and musician were one and the same’. He also says that he has ‘had the joy to work with Mike Garson over many years’ and finds, as a doctor and a researcher, that Garson’s profound creativity, together with his essential humanity and caring involvement with those who play music with him, has helped to generate music which ‘resonates with our DNA’. He argues that experiencing Garson’s performances can have a transformative effect on audiences. He has been engaged in a wealth of cutting-edge research into the possible effects of music at the deep biological level. He explains that:

  The science of creative musical expression is in its infancy, yet in the last decade alone we have been able to demonstrate psycho-social changes, biological changes and DNA changes. I believe that music truly resonates with us on a cellular level, that we are each hard-wired for music.

  Crucially, the data shows that merely relaxing in some other way does not have as pronounced an effect as engaging in a specifically musical experience.

  The emphasis of Garson’s work with Duma on the 2014 Symphonic Suite for Healing and beyond is the composition and performance of music which might contribute to the healing and comfort of a wide range of patients. The longer-term aim is for composed music to be delivered to patients as a supplement to, or even replacement for, certain medication. They would like to see suitable pieces by various composers supplied into hospitals worldwide, as well as establishing music rooms in community centres and in all hospitals, just as they all have chapels today. The creation of music has always been seen as more than simply superficial entertainment. Garson comments that ‘I think this is where my next twenty, thirty years will be dedicated’ and observes that there is increasing awareness of the possibility of healing with music: ‘We’ve been doing it our whole life by playing music, we just didn’t use that word… I think we’re tapping into something which in twenty years will be commonplace.’

  Having explored with him so many of the mixed experiences in other avenues of his musical career to date prior to his Symphonic Suite for Healing, it is quite moving to witness a creative artist who has finally arrived at an endeavour which comes closer than ever to expressing his own essence. It allowed him a degree of control and collaboration and the free flow of his own creativity, whilst at the same time offering the chance of reaching out to help other people:

  It’s maybe the first concert in my life I could say, from beginning to end, I was totally present there and loved every minute of it, even though you wouldn’t call it a perfect concert in terms of technical expertise, as there were so many moving pieces to deal with, but the spirit of it kind of nailed it…

  As this book went to press, Duma and Garson were already planning further concerts and presentations. I explained to Christopher Duma that I had been involved myself in some related work in London for the previous two years. At the Royal Free Hospital since 1992 there has been an excellent Complementary Therapy service run by Keith Hunt as a voluntary massage service for cancer and a variety of other patients. In 2012 he was awarded an MBE in recognition of his dedication to this unit which now provides more than 25,000 treatments each year, and these have been found to ease pain, nausea and poor sleep patterns as well as reducing anxiety and promoting relaxation. In consultation with Keith Hunt I have been composing a series of suitable pieces of music for use during these therapies which increase the effectiveness of the treatment by supporting both therapist and patient. Duma was enthused by this English counterpart to the work with which he and Garson have been involved, saying that this is exactly the sort of thing which they want to work on next.

  Nordoff Robbins is a British-based music charity widely respected as a centre for the practice of music therapy and the education and training of music therapists.66 Their Director of Education, Gary Ansdell, explained to me how the long history of this area of endeavour has produced different approaches in different parts of the world, with a huge range of both practices and research. Therapies are broadly ‘receptive’ (listening) or ‘active’ (making music). Most of Nordoff Robbins’ work has been in the latter, as it also eliminates social isolation. If someone is severely withdrawn, he explains,

  You can coax them into both listening and playing music. We use improvisation all the time, so it’s kind of sculpting the music that’s appropriate for making a musical conversation with someone, or even just to recall them back into the human world of relationship and community through making music with them.

  Ansdell has worked as a music therapist for
twenty-five years and has countless experiences of the many ways in which this has worked.67 He places an emphasis on the social and cultural engagement which various forms of music can bring to a vast array of suffering individuals, whether they have medical conditions, learning difficulties, severe injuries from accidents, or depression and isolation. He sees musical therapy as being above all about building a relationship between people rather than simply something passive or technical.

  Mike Garson is convinced that the main work of the next part of his life will be to develop much further his contribution to the use of music for healing. He takes an interest especially in the idea of integration and acceptance for children, including those on the autistic spectrum, and plans to have a diverse group of children performing together on stage for his next orchestral work. He passionately opposes the negative ways in which some children are sometimes perceived, emphasising that ‘we’re all on a spectrum’, with strengths and weaknesses in different areas. In his programme notes for the premiere of the Symphonic Suite, he states:

  The inextricable link between music and healing has survived the test of time… healing is truly about putting back into our lives what is missing, and can occur even in the absence of disease. Music enables healing to begin. It’s a fact that in ancient times the physician and musician were one and the same. Yet now, thousands of years later, the scientific basis for music as a healing strategy is finally becoming understood… The true intention of this music is to bring joy, to inspire, and to remind us of who we are and who we are really meant to be.

  15 - From Ventura to Fitzrovia, a pilgrimage complete

  ‘Mike Garson is a cathedral of music’ – Jérôme Soligny,

  Editorial Consultant, Rock&Folk magazine, France

  AS A TEENAGER, I PAINTED the walls of my bedroom in silver-grey, with bright red on the skirting boards. I only realised years later that the unusual colour scheme had been inspired subconsciously by the cover of David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane album. My fascination with those songs helped to shape my formative years and much that has happened since. In this I was similar to many thousands, if not millions of others worldwide who were inspired by that album. This book began with a couple of days spent working with Bowie followed by a pilgrimage of sorts, a visit to Ventura County and the home of the pianist whose fingers had rippled over those keys nearly forty years earlier on that album. Telling his story in these pages has been a cathartic experience, as well as a joyful opportunity to celebrate the vast influence which has emanated from this music.