The reissue on CD by Musea of the ZAO albums 'Kawana' end of 1991, 'Shekina' late 1992, 'Z=7L' summer 1993 was the ideal reason to meet Yochk'o Seffer to talk to him about that glorious era, but we also talked a little about his current musical activities.
AJ: What are your feelings, after more than fifteen years, to see ZAO's music released on CD?
YS: "It is really very pleasing to see that the folks today want to revive this music which I think was a high point of that era. It is all thanks to Musea for their good work, notably on the booklets which present an interesting biography and unpublished photographs."
AJ: ZAO, was this the first offspring of Magma?
YS: "I don't know, in any case it was while we were with Magma in 1972 that Faton and I had the idea to found our own group."
AJ: Were you not feeling happy in Magma?
YS: "Magma was a very rich experience for us, but at that time the group was becoming more and more a vehicle for Christian Vander, the rest of us had some personal ideas we wanted to try and we could not do that, except in a new group."
AJ: What was your main wish in creating ZAO?
YS: "A fierce wish to be ourselves and to be different to everyone else. Proposing a music which integrated our European roots but which left room for improvisation, this was not the case in Magma."
AJ: The success of ZAO, before all the good understanding that you formed with Faton, it's a difficult thing to comprehend because you had very different personalities. What are your thoughts on this subject?
YS: "It's true that Faton and I were very different; with opposing views, but at the same time we were very complimentary, it's that which I think explains the terrific fusion that existed between us."
AJ: Apart from Faton and yourself, the group always had musicians with great talents: Mauricia Platon, Joël Dugrenot, Jean-Yves Rigaud, Jean-My Truong, Gérard Prevost, the Margand string quartet, Didier Lockwood. What have they brought to Zao's music?
YS: "Much. Zao was never my group or that of Faton's; it was wide open and the arrival of each new musician allowed an opportunity for them to contribute to the originality and richness of the group. There was always this idea in Zao of a collective work in which each member gave equally, giving the best from themselves in order to achieve the best for the ensemble."
AJ: When one re-listens to the four albums by Zao that you created together with Faton, one truly gets the impression that each time you were embarking towards different shores?
YS: "Without doubt, but that is due to the fact that there is a mobility in the music. Each new arrival in the group, by their interpretation, turned the writing upside down and brought a new breath of life. It was a very good thing which sheltered us from the lassitude that one feels when you listen to other groups who always play the same thing."
AJ: Of those four albums, is there one that with the benefit of time, you prefer today?
YS: "No, they are different but all very interesting. The music has not aged; the sound however is a bit worn. Nowadays when we enjoy digital recording there are more possibilities, all the same with their arrival on CD we have achieved an honourable result."
AJ: At the time of the release of the 'Kawana' album, when it was thought that Zao had finally achieved a well-earned notoriety, you decided to leave the group. Why did you quit?
YS: "Quite simply because it transpired that I was the only one who wanted to follow the musical path which ran deeper inline with my work started with 'Shekina' with the Margand string quartet. I had started NEFFESH MUSIC, which in the final reckoning was an extension of Zao. On his part, Faton also wanted to do his own thing, it was therefore inescapable that the group would stop, nevertheless this did not prevent us, two years later, from joining again in ETHNIC DUO, to go to play in the United States and record an album in Philadelphia."
AJ: Is a release on CD of the albums by Neffesh Music envisaged?
YS: "Moshé-Naïm who are the producers of these albums and who gave the group the name Neffesh Music (Music of the soul) intend to get them out, but no precise date is fixed, because before that they want to release a big part of their voluminous catalogue, which is a long and costly task So be patient."
AJ: Could you tell us something about your current musical activities?
YS: "I have two CD's coming out soon. The first, on the Charlotte Records label, distributed by Adda, is an album by the MESTARI group which I formed with François Mechali (doublebass), Thierry Maillard (keyboards) and Patrick Buchmann (drums/percussion) we get together and we have recorded the disc, rather jazz-rock, at Gerard L'Homme's studio in Chennevières. The second, entitled 'Nickel', is an album produced by Moshé-Naim on which I play acoustic saxophone, soprano and tenor, over the top of computers driven by Philippe Gisselmann, an old accomplice from the days of Neffesh Music. This is an interesting association in which I take much pleasure to produce because I am very curious."
AJ: What relationship is there between these two records and the music of Zao?
YS: "There is a piece 'Iron Bird' which is found in two different versions on the two discs and which is partially composed from the debris of 'Czardas', a track which you can find on 'Osiris', the second Zao album. If you listen hard, in the ethnic map you will find all my solos, all this melancholy from my country of origin: Hungary; it was effortless, finally I play what I am."
AJ: We have found some tapes of Zao in concert, of quite good quality, which we would like to release on CD. What's your opinion on that matter?
YS: "Those which I have heard are really interesting. From more than two hours of recordings there are good parts that could be extracted, different versions of some pieces and similarly an unreleased track of Faton's that we played with the first formation of Zao. After cleaning the tape, boosting and reworking the sound, I think there is material to present a document which would interest the fans of the group."
LP Z=7L Vertigo 6499738 1973 CD Z=7L Musea FOBG 4081.AR 1993 7" Bakus/Joyl RCA 42055 1975 LP Osiris Disjuncta 000004 1975 CD Osiris Musea FGBO 1994 LP Shekina RCA FLP1 0097 1975 CD Shekina Musea FGBG 4067.AR 1992 LP Kawana RCA FLP1 0178 1977 CD Kawana Musea FGBG 4039.AR 1991 LP Typhareth RCA PL37121 1977 CD Typhareth Musea FGBO 1995